31/01/06 Next Underground meet!

We're currently arguing on the Underground forums about when the next meetup is going to be. Most people want it to be on Saturday, but since I'm going to be in Scotland that just won't be fair. I missed the last one and am still feeling guilty. Since several people can't make Saturday, the general consensus seems to be that another one will be planned for Tuesday.

I still owe Fitz a pint, and somehow I agreed to buying the first round of drinks, so maybe that will pursuade more people to come this time! As one of the most active members of the group I can't very well miss the next meeting. Plus there are a number of people I'd love to meet in real life. So hopefully it's on for next Tuesday.

Final trip preparations

We had a Fell meeting this evening, in which we selected harnesses, ropes and belay plates and practiced belaying techniques. It's extraodinarily easy. For ages I've been pondering whether or not to invest in a rope and harness each for my brother and I on our next trip. I think the answer is most definitely 'yes' if we're planning to do any hard scrambling. Not only do ropes provide an important safety margin, they can also be used for abseiling if you get into dodgy situations which cannot be down-climbed safely.

Turns out only seven or eight people from Fell are going on the trip. The others will all be from the climbing club. I know a few of the people already--one is even in the same computing science lab group as me.

We're leaving at 6AM on Friday morning, which is an evilly early start. We won't be back in Norwich until about 4AM on the following Monday. That means I will certainly miss my nine o'clock lecture (which I usually snore through anyway). And, depending on how tired I am, I may just decide to give myself the rest of the day off ... three consecutive hours of maths in the afternoon, the day after some of the most challenging mountains I've ever climbed, does not sound too fun.

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30/01/06 Preparation for the weekend trip

We're having a Fell meeting tomorrow evening, in which we'll go over equipment, rope techniques, and transport details. As far as I know we'll be leaving sometime on Friday morning, probably going in a minibus. It'll be a long and tiring journey to Scotland!

I'm looking forward to my very first "proper" winter mountaineering trip, but I can't shake a sense of nervousness. These are big, serious mountains, with a snowline currently at around 750 metres, and temperatures on the summits are likely to be deadly cold. The weather is predicted to stay exceptionally good for a few days yet, but there's a possibility that the high pressure zone will collapse towards the end of the week. If that is the case, we could be looking at the notorious Cairngorms gales, with winds of up to 100mph and a combined windchill of -40 C or lower. Add that to low cloud and spindrift and you have a very scary situation, in a mountain range I'm not familiar with.

Obviously I'll be with a group, and we'll be fully equipped to deal with the conditions, but I'm still very aware that I'm about to step over an invisible line into the world of "proper" mountaineering. It remains to be seen whether I will enjoy the experience or hate it. I hope it's the former!

You've probably also noticed that I've polished the site up a bit. The graphical sidebar will probably be much easier to use, and looks nicer too--apologies to folk on slower connections. I have also added the shell of the new Scotland section, but there isn't anything in it yet. I will add material and new photos after I get back on Monday!

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29/01/06 More confusion on MSN

I was updating my MSN Messenger profile to run on my gmail account this evening, so of course I had to transfer all of my contacts over to the new account. In the move, one of the addresses was apparently mis-spelled. When I came online, Emily--or at least the person who I thought was Emily--appeared in the "currently online" window. So of course I clicked on the name and said hi.

We chatted for a while, mostly about the amount of spam in our email accounts, when suddely 'Emily' said "I don't mean to be rude ... but who are you??" I stared for a moment, then burst out laughing. Instead of ADDRESS@hotmail.co.uk, I had entered ADDRESS@hotmail.com. I had just been talking to some complete stranger for about five minutes, thinking it was a friend from work!

No harm done this time, and I've now corrected the mistake. But it could have been highly embarassing!

The moral of this story: not everyone is who they seem to be on the internet, kids.

Changes on their way!

The first change, which I've already implemented, is that all current blog posts now have a "permalink" address. This means that, if you know the date of an entry, you can type it in as a six-digit number following the URL, eg. http://www.alexfellwalker.co.uk/blog.html#260106 for the entry below. This is a minor (and rather boring!) change which will only really be for my benefit.

The big change is that I'm going to Scotland next weekend, so an entire new section will be coming online soon after I get back: The Scottish Highlands. It will include info on the Cairngorms initially, with Glencoe and Torridon appearing over the course of the year as I visit these places. I hope to add Lochaber, Skye and maybe Glenshiel in 2007 - 2008.

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26/01/06 Glen Rossie + orange Lucozade = URGH

So just now I thought, "Let's try mixing Lucozade with whisky and see if it makes a yummy high-energy drink". How wrong I was. After one sip I realised I'd picked up orange flavoured Lucozade by accident ... :@

Don't try it at home, kids.

Oh, and I was amazed to find that I wasn't ID'd this morning when I bought the whisky in the UFO. They always ID me, without fail, usually when I've forgotten to bring it with me. Maybe my tangle of windswept hair made me look older than I usually do this time. Or maybe the person at the till decided to be nice to me for a change.

Glen Rossie by itself, though .... mmmmm. Expensive compared to beer, which is what I usually get, but luvverly.

(It has also come to my attention that there are several lurkers who read this blog ... please introduce yourself in the comments box and say hi!)

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25/01/06 My good deed for the day

Went into town this afternoon. I always walk back, and every single time I go through the subway at the south end of St Steven's Street there's a homeless person busking. I usually scurry past in a crowd of other people and immediately feel guilty for not putting something in his box. This was intensified over Christmas when he had a hungry-looking little dog with him.

This time he didn't have the dog, but impulsively I went over and dropped a pound coin plus a few coppers into his box, and got a smile in return. Made me feel good for the rest of the afternoon!

You never can tell about people

On an unrelated note, I made an important discovery yesterday night. For ages the Underground (and before that, the official UEA forums) were plagued by a number of "trolls", salient among them being an individual who calls himself/herself "t***" (censored!). This member was obnoxious to everyone, including myself.

When we moved over to the Underground, t*** followed. The big revelation happened about a week ago, when t*** posted something suggesting he--we'd always assumed him to be a he--was actually a girl! The thread in question immediately gained her the sympathy of all the other women on the forum. Turns out t*** was being pestered by a bloke and was being virtually kept prisoner in her room.

Later she posted a photo of herself in the "Pictures of Members" thread, complete with the trademark t*** middle finger. I was bored last night, so I added her profile to my MSN list, and immediately she came online, apparently very lonely. We chatted for about an hour ... and I was amazed at how different she was from her usual online persona. The obnoxious, irritating t*** we all know and loathe is actually a nice, intelligent and interesting person at heart! She has since stopped going out of her way to annoy me in particular on the Underground, which I appreciate greatly.

So it just goes to show, you never can tell.

I am also spending my time on MSN chatting to Fitz occasionally, and Frankie (aka Eeevie) who is going through hell at the moment with a violent and vengeful ex-boyfriend.

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24/01/06 Untitled

Can't really think of a title for this post. Have been doing pretty much nothing for most of the day. My 1C22 labs turned out not to start until next week, and the same goes for the Fell meeting, which will cover basic rope-work eg. setting up belays.

My 1A22 lab turned out to be confusing. We're using a program called NetBeans, which is more comprehensive and powerful than BlueJ but not very user-friendly. The programming assignment was also very vague, and since it involved interfaces (which I've never fully understood), I got very little work done. It's all about trying to get your head around abstract ideas like stacks and exception handlers ... not solid enough for my liking. :-(

I've been spending my time coming up with new combinations of the Underground logo. We don't need any more, but I just like designing webgraphics ... and I don't exactly need any new ones for my own site. So here's one:

Obviously the image needs a white background to work properly. The roughened texture was easy enough to do, but it took me about twenty minutes to get the semi-3D star right.

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23/01/06 *waves*

Hello and welcome to all visitors from the Underground, except a certain person in France who has already told me exactly what she thinks of the site (joke). Anyway, there's about two months' worth of entries here; all of the other ones are over at the old blog. Topics are mostly about mountaineering, general Norwich life, coursework, and the Underground, so don't expect anything dazzlingly exciting!

There's a lot of cool stuff in the rest of the site if you're into mountain scenery, so take a look around. Updates to most sections will be on their way soon.

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22/01/06 A quick look back

Occasionally I think it's important to pause, look over your shoulder and consider where you are with your life compared to where you thought you'd be. Two years ago, in my final year of the Sixth Form, I was still convinced that my ideal career would be that of a professional writer, churning out Cold Witness novels at the rate of three a year. I had already appplied for the computing science course at UEA, but that was just a standby position as far as I was concerned.

I didn't know it then, but by that time I had already passed the peak of my writing strength and had started on the Great Decline that ultimately produced the person I am today. After I finished Project Cold Witness that January, I would never again complete another novel. Sure, I made a few damn good attempts, but I had lost the manic buzz that propelled me into writing Life of a Falcon, Darkness in the Forest, The Twilight Trilogy, and PCW all in the space of a year.

I have now accepted that I will never again recover that level of commitment and motivation. I want to be writing, but I just can't make myself do it. Sometimes I miss the sense of achievement and creation, the sense of community with the other writers I had met through the Internet (I still keep in contact with some of them). But writing is no longer a driving force in my life.

Just as writing once replaced my passion for drawing, something else has now eclipsed writing. Quite simply, I have discovered the mountains, the infinite glory and beauty of our wild places. Being up there brings a far greater sense of wonder and well-being than writing novels ever did.

So I have found a new direction. I no longer hope for publication or book contracts. That's never going to happen. All I can reasonably hope for is a happy and productive life, hopefully as much of it as possible spent in the high ground. I have big plans for the next ten years. There is so much of England and Wales and Scotland that I have yet to see.

Just for a sense of perspective, here is the blog post I entered two years ago today. I have certainly changed a lot since then! ;-)

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19/01/06 I suspect conspiracy

All but three of the Underground posters I put up yesterday have vanished. The four I gave to the Union reception yesterday haven't yet appeared on the Union noticeboards in the Hive or anywhere else. And somebody managed to steal my sellotape out of my bag while I was wearing it, without me realising. There is clearly a malign presence at work here. Andy Higson's influence must extend further than I thought (although he's actually a nice enough chap if you meet him in real life).

The good news is that there are still stacks of posters left over from Socmart (lots of them ended up on the DeviantSoc stall), and I've asked anyone who still has any to help me out by distributing them around campus. Oh, and I put a few up in the CMP area today, near the PC-labs, so people will have something to read while they're waiting for lab sessions to begin. And then they can go on the Underground instead of doing work. :-)

Keeping a decent amount of posters in the Street is going to be a permanent job. But the campaign is starting to work: we're getting quite a few new members, including my friend Chris from across the hall! (That's no doubt due to the poster stuck on my door ...)

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18/01/06 YAARRR me hearties!

I ended up joining the new Pirate Society at Socmart today. I'm not entirely sure why; other than a floppy hat which could potentially have a feather in it, I have no piratical clothing of any description. Still, should be a laff, and word has it they'll be showing lots of pirate-related films and stuff over the course of the semester.

The Underground advertising campaign is going well. I dropped a stack of flyers off with Fitz and Eeevie at Socmart (they were running the Management Soc and PirateSoc stalls), and there should soon be four posters up on the official Union noticeboards. Some evil person has torn down half of my posters on the Street. I'm guessing Andy's minions are responsible for that. I'll put some more up this evening.

Now I really must do some revision for the exam in one and a half hour's time.

Update @ 16:22: Somehow, I passed the exam! I ended up with 60%, and considering I was expecting about 10% I'm rather amazed. I guess I must have learned more of the material than I'd thought ...

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17/01/06 Featuring the new blizzard-proof, high-altitude Alex

In preparation for the winter mountaineering trip to the Cairngorms in a few week's time, I bought myself a pair of ski goggles today, as you can see from the slightly ridiculous self-portrait above. I got them for the bargain price of £18 at Venturesport in Norwich. They're a hell of a lot bulkier than sunglasses, of course, but the important thing is that they'll keep spindrift out of my eyes. The 'gorms are famous for their blizzards. And in the unlikely event that we actually get sunshine, they have a fair degree of UV resistance too (no use for really high altitudes, but okay for winter walking in Britain).

I also got a Nalgene bottle with a scale in milliletres ... at last, no more guessing how much water to add to dehydrated rations. And a rather nice belt case for the goggles. That's the last of my Christmas money gone. Still, the next instalment of my student loan has come through, so for the time being I'm relatively rich. (That won't last long if I get any more bills ...)

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16/01/06 Sorry it's been a while

Things have been busy lately. For the final week of the holiday I've been alternating between working and packing up for uni. I returned to Norwich yesterday afternoon: thus begins another twelve weeks of studying at UEA!

The semester has already begun with a shock. My timetable includes three consecutive hours of Maths. Three. Not one, nor even two, but three. Last time I checked that was illegal under Human Rights legislation. I also have a Maths course test on Wednesday on a topic I don't understand. And if that isn't illegal then it should be.

On a more upbeat note, I have been appointed Promotions Officer for the UEA Underground Forums. This is largely due to the advertising campaign I'm currently organising on their behalf. I'm spending my spare time printing off copies of the Underground poster, which is being distributed around the central areas of the campus. I'll be handing out flyers at the Pirate Society stall at Socmart on Wednesday (I am not a member of this society, but two of the forum admin run Pirate Soc). I have also designed some T-shirt logos. Here's one:

We're not communists, in case you're wondering. The logo is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Russian Revolution, because the process of setting up the Underground became known as the Revolution (which happened on the Glorious Fourteenth of December). All in good humour I assure you. ;-)

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09/01/06 The 2006 line-up

I now have the final dates and details for most of the trips I have planned this year. If I get on the final list for every Fell Club trip I sign up to (there are several that I can't make), I can look forward to no fewer than nine expeditions to the mountains this year--including three to Scotland!

Providing all goes to plan, by the end of the year I will have doubled my experience and climbed some of the best and most challenging mountains in the UK. It's going to be a great year ... despite having got off to a rocky start with the failed New Year trip.

So here is the preliminary plan:

February 3rd - 5th: Winter mountaineering course in the Cairngorms, based in Aviemore. (UEA Fell Club)

February 24th - 26th: Weekend trip to the Lakes. Our base will be the hut at Dunmail Raise, within reach of both the Helvellyn and Fairfield mountain ranges. (UEA Fell Club)

March 17th - 19th: Weekend trip to Snowdonia, probably staying in Bethesda. I want to climb Crib Goch, plus of course Tryfan's North Ridge again ... I can't get enough of that mountain! (UEA Fell Club)

April 7th - 13th: Our first "big" expedition of the year, based in the Great Langdale NT Campsite. I hope to re-visit some of my favourite routes, plus try out the harder Grade 2 scrambles on the Langdale Pikes. My brother James will be accompanying me on this trip.

June 9th - 12th: A three-dayer in Glencoe, allegedly staying in a hut at the very foot of Buachaille Etive Mor itself. Attendance on this trip is subject to the dates of my final exams. (UEA Fell Club)

July 21st - 28th: A solo expedition to Glen Torridon. My mum's visiting relatives in Dingwall, so I will accompany her then make my own way to Wester Ross before returning to Dingwall for the final day. I'm hoping to stay in Torridon for three days, and climb Beinn Alligin, Liathach (complete with the Am Fasarinen Traverse, one of the most challenging routes in Britain), and Sgurr Dubh. My primary concern on this trip will be finding ways to fend off the billions of blood-sucking midges which infest the glen.

August tbc: James and I will probably spend a week in the Ogwen Valley of Snowdonia. We'll tackle Tryfan (again), the Glyderau, and possibly the main Carneddau too.

November tbc: Another weekend trip to Ogwen, and another chance to climb Tryfan! (UEA Fell Club)

December tbc: Possible winter mountaineering trip to somewhere, most likely the Lake District, despite low chances of snow.

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03/01/06 Trip report ... or lack thereof

I had intended to post a brief trip report this evening, but for a number of reasons the planned trip to Great Langdale never took place. The first glitch was the train time: we had intended to catch the 0857 train, but at that time in the morning the fare was twice as much, so we were forced to take the 1157 train instead. The 1157 was unable to leave Norwich for one and a half hours due to a broken-down train on the line, and by this time the weather had started to deteriorate.

Signalling problems plagued the entire One and Central Trains network that day, resulting in a 45-minute stop at a platform in the middle of nowhere. In the end, it took us almost eight hours to get as far as Peterborough ... and although it might have been possible to pick up a later connection from Manchester, the snow was getting quite bad by this point and we began to think that maybe we should head back.

The clincher came when we pulled into Peterborough station. The entire place was in uproar; apparently half the trains were on the wrong platforms, half were delayed or cancelled, and the platforms were crammed with angry passengers. It was a tough choice to make, but we decided to abandon the trip and catch the next train back to Norwich (which was in itself thirty-five minutes late!)

So, the trip was a total washout. I'm currently waiting for a refund on the train tickets. On the plus side, we did get to see UEA in the snow, which was nice, and at least we didn't get marooned in Manchester or even further afield for a day or more! It also seems that the weather in Langdale has been absolutely awful for the past week, so we probably wouldn't have had much in the way of quality fellwalking anyway. Thanks for yet another totally wrong forecast, Metcheck ...

We've decided to go to Langdale in April instead, instead of Wasdale Head as previously planned. I'm also starting to get interested in the Torridon area of Scotland: my mum's planning a holiday to Dingwall over the summer, and since Torridon is only forty-odd miles away (and reachable by train and bus) I thought I'd tag along. I'm currently poring over maps and boggling at the huge profiles of mountains such as Liathach, Beinn Alligin and Beinn Eighe.

I also have many other shorter trips planned with the Fell Club, including a winter mountaineering trip in the Cairngorms five weeks from now. 2006 is set to be a great year.

Historic Suffolk Terrace, where I used to live, on a lovely morning at the lakeshore.

The north side of Paston House, where I live now. Note the little Christmas tree on top of the crane.

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