BIMBLING ABOUT 2002

 

Parapente - French Alps

Well to be honest we didn't so much plan this one but merely walked into the "Parapente" office and book it. If you are going to do this though, then the French Alps is the place to do it. These guys really take it seriously and do up to 9 jumps a day. At different times of the day you have to go off a different mountain due to wind and weather conditions. The "tandem" jump is when you are strapped to an instructor and you both walk, then run down a big slope on the top of a mountain.

 

Dave (being terrified of heights) and Mark (who couldn't care less) were the bimblers for this challenge, although Warren and Xav could have come but wimped out (due to wife pressure).Mark points to the man who will have his life in his hands. Good job this man has lived in France all his life and has never had a wife or girlfriend in Wales otherwise "The Claw" might have met his match!

I must admit that I was nearly sick in the minibus while driving up to the take-off point so this photo does not show the true picture as my life starts to pass before me a few minutes before launch. I'm not sure if the smile is false as I'm absolutely terrified of heights.

 

There are courses you can do and get qualified to go solo which sounds fun but we just did the late afternoon jump which lasted about 30mins? Great views, especially if you look down past your dangling feet ...

We used "Les Volatiles" who are Club Champions of France. Tel: 06 61169554 (when in the French Alps).

 

Flying
We floated up, up and away on our beautiful canopies above the summer resort of Les Saisies and got some pretty spectacular views as we circled on the thermals above the mountainside. My take-off was crap and Mark's landing was crap, but between us we managed a good take-off and a perfect landing.

 

If you're scared of heights I can't recommend this enough. OK, I'm kidding, but it is a fantastic experience well worth doing. And it doesn't take much effort either, unlike walking.

 

It's a bit weird 'cos you start off a few feet in the air and then your up about 10ft and all of a sudden you shoot up in the air and out and your 100's of feet up. We floated over some electricity cables, a forest or two, a busy road but no combine harvesters - the views were terrific!

 

I was torn between being scared shitless and really enjoying it. I'm still not sure which emotion won in the end but it was well worth the £50 or whatever it was to do. Opposite is a shot I took as we came in to land. If you look carefully you can see Mark just about to land in front (in the blue parachute). We took off at about 2000m (6,600ft) and landed at about 1200m (3,600ft) according to our instructor. It felt higher!

 

 

Welsh 3 Peaks

One cold winter's night in the snug of the Llan over a pint of Dylan's nitrogen infused excuse for a beer Dave and Mark decided that February in the Welsh mountains would be fun. So we press-ganged, sorry that should read, welcomed the brave new bimbler; Martyn, to our crew and off we went. Dave (as always) arranged a few places to stop and we set off for North Wales. It all began early Friday morning with a bacon buttie at Dave's house, but because Mark was late as usual we didn't get to Llanberis until mid-afternoon.

 

In Llanberis we stayed at "The Heights" - 74 High St, Tel: 01286 871179.

We shared a dorm (sleeps 8) which was basic but OK for £15 each (singles were about £25). Showers could do with a bit of work though. Breakfast good, especially as we were a bit late getting up for it. Good pub with lots of climbing photos on the walls etc.

 

Dolgellau we stayed at "The Royal Ship Hotel" - Tel: 01341 422209.

We had a single for £28 and a twin for £45 including breakie which was much better than in Llanberis. Comfortable enough but late bar wasn't really very late! Brecon we just passed through but there are plenty of places to stop if you want.

 

Walking
We used the OS Map 17 - Snowdon & Conwy Valley and bimbled off from the Pen-Y-Pass car park (£2 all day but free after 2pm ish). The wind was outrageous to quote Bob Dylan but with an extra layer we set off. It was hard for myself and Mark to keep up with Martyn's pace but somehow we managed.

Snowdon is one hell of a mountain and we love it. It would be nice to see it occasionally too. We took the easy route up the Pyg Track but with very high winds indeed it would have been foolish if not suicidal to have gone for the "knife-edge".

The summit stands at 1085m (3560ft) but it is the last bit that is really steep and the final drag up alongside the railway line that hurts. We had nice blue skies and then blinding snow. Before I could get my camera out for the sunshine it was raining or sleeting again though so not the best time of year to climb.

Once at the top we had to take the Rangers (Llanberis) Path back down as it was getting dark. We decided to stick to the railway line itself so as not to get lost in the dark and overall we must have walked about 9 - 10 miles.

Due to the bad weather on Snowdon and worse threatening on Cader Idris plus the fact that we had to do an afternoon raid on the Dolgellau Doggie Charity Shop to rescue poor old "Idris" we decided to abandon all attempts to kill ourselves on the other 2 mountains. Dave was also very ill, although didn't know it at the time. Pen-Y-Fan we have done many times but Cader Idris we shall return as they say in Hollywood and American history. We did manage to have a couple of beers though to celebrate the release of "Idris".

So I suppose we should really call it the 1 Peak. Mmmm?

 

Beers
Nothing like a quiet drive to Llanberis via second, late, breakie in Newtown to get the juices flowing. After a short dash up Wales (and England's) highest mountain it was time for Martyn to freeze his hands to the steel rail at the top by the cafe, Dave to be sick in the car park and Mark to say it's bloody cold up here, before all three of us jumped into the shower!

 

With our rhetoric restored it was down to the bar in "The Heights". Absolutely packed it was! Couldn't move as can be seen below. A nice burger and chips and a few beers before the sexual gymnastics of the un-mixed dorm (who wrote this?). Only kidding. We did have second wind though and manage to down a few.

Early Saturday we were off to Caernarfon in the morning and suitably attired we set off. We saw the castle that the Greek's eldest hasn't come back to for ages, we nearly got swept into the sea and got invited to an all-day session by two friendly locals. The local barber couldn't fit me in for a trim so we moved on to Dolgellau.

Dolgellau - The Quickening ... if ever there was a "one horse town" where the horse galloped away then this was it! Not even Mark could score! (not that we were trying or anything) Martyn did, Idris was unavailable for comment though.

If you ever go to Dolgellau on a Saturday night be sure to go to Barmouth on the bus (everyone else did).

Brecon - We won't mention going to The Old Cognac for a cup of tea like three old farts. OK.

 

 

 

 

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