Looking back on my partners and life lines, Richard and Robyn.

Video: come walk with me

Wall detail - kayakoy

Two images

There is a specatular cave along the lycian coast, dubbed the 'Pirate Cave'. Due to the huge number of boats that stick their noses in, it is now banned to get off the boat and swim within it.


With a 'more motivated than usual' group of guests from one of the the blue cruise boats, we swum a few hundred meters from the next bay, rock shoes in hand to session two short routes in the mouth of this beautiful void.

The rock was rotten Choss, but the setting was beautiful and the water plenty deep enough for a safe fall from many meters. Spiritual climbing perfection

getting rock shoes on underwater is a difficult affair

After another wild night, dancing ourselves silly in the heat of the Turkish night at smugglers tavern, we revisited the cave at 1:00 by local wooden boat. The full moon shone bright outside, inside the pitch blackness was only lit by bioluminescence activated by our movement in the water. The only sound the gentle waves on the rocks, our laughter and a pair of confused squeaking bats.

the girls waiting their turn

five weeks since my last climb. i feel i lost form quickly!

beats rappelling down

The Snow pulls back and exposes a dead brown valley. Within a few days, the leaves push out and the shoots rise up. The Chamonix valley returns to that unbelievable vibrant green. The once dead and ashen avalanche couloirs fill with trees and flowers blush in every conceivable flat area that catches sunlight.


In short, it looks and smells like spring.

In Perth, Western Australia, we're pretty short on seasons. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's very hot. Once there was a cloud and water fell from it. Apart from that, one day tends to look like the next



In Autumn, during the 'Tour du Mont Blanc', I passed an area called l'aiguillette d'Argentiere. It's a climbing crag up in the Aiguilles Rouge national park. Theres a short tower there with good exposure and a beautiful view over the north side of the valley. With the snow level now above 2000m, we were able to walk up to this beautiful area and finally climb it.








Well the climbing turned out to be pretty pants. The rock in this area holds the temperature from overnight. Even though we were climbing in shorts, our hands were freezing! In addition the security on the routes was somewhere between questionable and outright dangerous. I'm glad we climbed it, but i have no need to go back.



The highlight of the climb ended up being the walk back down to the car. 45 minutes of walking downhill through the regrowing forest and there was plenty to see: Chamois, Ibex and even the marmottes were out of hibernation.


















In the mountain, I've been much more aware of the passing of time. More than the fact that the season changes, i see the rise and fall of the snow, the crowds and their cars. The saisoniares come and go. The longer days and shorter nights out. wider foot paths and less light filtering between the trees.

I have become much more aware that things move and change.

Most importantly i've seen and come to terms with the fact that maybe i have changed and it might be time for me to go.

For the first time in some weeks, the snow is falling thick and building up on the ground, even at the level of town. Plenty of snow, but no visibility, so Robyn and I went for a short walk along the river.




A quick decision at a fork in the road sent us on a four hour detour. We climbed higher and higher and the snow grew deeper and deeper.  The landscape was transformed by the layer of snow and it was breathtakingly beautiful.












Two long seasons, at every opportunity spent far away from the crowds and mechanical lift systems, I'd been keeping my eye out for one of the masters of the alpine. I have to remind myself this, so as not to cheapen the experience of seeing 14 in one day.



And now it seems they're keeping an eye out for me.