The Cat's Whiskers

We arrived here in February with snow on the ground and everywhere deserted. Now it is the Summer Solstice and the holiday period is just around the corner - it is doubtless going to get very busy here over the next few weeks.
It has been great spending an extended period in the mountains, I know Sherri was a bit doubtful about being here for so long here, but in the event I can't drag her away ! A mixture of a super-tranquil setting, great weather (unlike the UK - what a season to be away!) plus the host of 'pets' to look after have persuaded her. She has also taught me to play wiff-waff - from being a complete div, I occasionally win the odd point now.
Currently work on the books has stalled a bit, motivation has plummeted which is an odd feeling - but who cares - all work and no play...............

Plodding On........

We have been back in the Ariège over a week now, and have settled back into the pleasant routine of checking, working and climbing in roughly equal amounts. It has been a bit showery, but not enough to affect what we are doing, whereas it sounds like it hasn't stopped raining in the UK since we left so that is a bonus - and of course this is June, usually the most reliable month of the year for weather.
We only have a couple of weeks left at Chez Arran now and there are still quite a few jobs that need sorting before we push off north - no rest for the productive! How to get home is the next thing to wonder about and whether to stop anywhere on the way.

To Travel Hopefully.....

10 days back home flew by then it was back on the road. The flight out of East Midlands was at 06:50 a.m. which required a pre-dawn taxi. On the up-side we expected to be established back in the Ariège by midday. In the event, we taxied down the runway, sat there for a while and then returned to the terminal - neither of the 'transponders' were working so we it was a no go. RyanAir flew an engineer and spare parts up from Stansted whilst we twiddled our thumbs in an information vacuum. Eight and a half hours (fuming - not me!) later we finally got on our way. Today was hot and sunny so we did one of our regular round-walks to blow the cobwebs away - it feels a bit like summer has arrived. The last few years we have been in Norway by now, lets hope it doesn't get too hot down here in the deep south!

A Day on the Grit

A hot Monday and a small team - Stanage far north was the chosen venue - it got it up to 29C in Sheffield, so shade was must. We wandered out beyond High Neb and settled on the Marble Wall area. After ticking a couple of of the popular classics I had a wander round and spotted a line or two that I was pretty sure hadn't been done. After the exceptionally wet spring, I was expecting the recessed area to be green but it wasn't too bad at all. A couple of hours later and we had six new (OK unrecorded) routes in the bag. The pick was Hidden Pleasures E2 5c (see photo) - a tricky little number. A bit of shoddy footwork and I was rewarded with the Gritstone Kiss, but it was worth it!
Further research has failed to find any mention of the routes so maybe they really are new - get in!

There and Back

The UKC/RF team have been and gone, the weather was kind and lots of excellent climbing got done. Overall impressions of the area appeared to be very positive; great scenery, brilliant routes and as ever, it was lovely and quiet. There were several highlights but the BBQ at Chez Arran (photo above) went down particularly well after a long hot day on the rock. The next few days are forecast to be showery so it looks like they timed it pretty well.
Our original booking runs out at the end of the week and Chez Arran is fully booked (a group of 16, including lots of children - arggghh!) so we are set to be homeless  ;-( After checking our options - the simplest thing appeared to be booking a flight back to the UK for 10 days; RyanAir: Carcassonne to East Midlands €12:99 each - all in - unbelievable!

Change Over

Colin has just had another six days with us and has climber ever one of them (I farmed him out to John Arran one day to give me a breather) and now he is trekking back north, with a big bag of butties and a song in his heart - UK bound. Today was really hot (35C briefly) to we went bouldering at Orlu which was a great call, a bit of a breeze from the river, and shade from the trees. It was really idyllic - even though we don't 'do' bouldering.
Tomorrow the UKC/UKH/RF team arrive for their weeks 'jolly' in the Ariege - the forecast is set fair - I am sure they will have a cracking time, with loads of climbing, partying and sun bathing - bloody holiday makers!

End of the Line?

The forecast was for rain later so a quick job was in order; check-out Roquefixada and had a look at a couple of other crags in the area - time well spent - the rain arrived bang on time.
The Ariege guide is progressing well, maybe another six months work should see it done.  It has been great living in the area and working on the book - so much easier then jetting backwards and forwards, especially considering this is such a lovely part of the world to spend a bit of time.
I wrote my 1st guidebook in 1991 - 21 years ago - I don't think I'll be taking on any new books, I must have done around 20 titles now - nor bad for a slow learner! That doesn't mean I am stopping just yet mind, those UK titles still need nurturing as does the Blanca, Lofoten and Cote d'Azur.