Exploring Europe's mountains
The Dolomites Sky Run is along the traditional 22 km climb up to Forcella Pordoi and Piz Boè, before heading towards the Boè Refuge, Val Lasties and Canazei… I really enjoyed the long, sharp, steep climbs. Spectacular views. It’s a different world in the mountains… 🙂❤🏔🏃♀️.
The Dolomyths Ultra yesterday was a tough 60k mountain race in the Val Badia region of the Italian Dolomites . It was very demanding covering 4 summits and over 3,500m of ascent. The sun shone all day and I found the long and steep ascents challenging. Fantastic scenery all the way with clear way markings and friendly marshals. Finish time as 12 hours, 1 minute. Leader board position: 13th female. Time to recover…
After a day of rest I took to the trails around Chamonix. I ran to the Aiguillette des Houches summit (at 2,285m) and back in just under 2 hours.
We had previously found this beautiful wild camping spot on the bank of the river. The UTMB race comes through here and we have watched it from this vantage point.
Glencoe Ski centre to Fort William. A hot day with spectacular views particularly around the Devil’s Staircase and Glen Nevis towards the Mamores.
Ben Lommond being just over an hour from Glasgow is our go-to mountain for training. We parked on the shore of Loch Lommond at Rowerdennan, the trail is well established with little need to navigate. Arriving at just after 8.00am I ran it twice before chilling with a picnic by the Loch.
The Dalmally Horseshoe above Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute is a stunning ridge of peaks particularly when viewed from the north. Reaching the heart of this wild Highland landscape involves a challenging hike.
Without a doubt the Loch Awe Munros – Also called the Ben Cruachan mountains – have retained their incredible sense of remoteness. An extremely challenging run in deep snow and ice. Crampons essential!
Wild camping the night before a long run in a very peaceful place with clear views. Very, very cold and strong winds, icy underfoot. A fantastic feeling being out in the wild.
As we drove to Rowardenan on the shores of Loch Lommond from Glasgow it started to rain. Heavily. It had eased off as we started our hike up Ben Lommond and we soon encountered snow. As we climbed higher and higher visibility worsened, snow came down and our tracks were soon obliterated. One of the amazing sites was of snow being blown at speed upwards from a gully down the side of the mountain. As we neared the summit other climbers were turning back due to the high winds and poor visibility. We decided to press on while being prepared to turn around at any point if we feel unsafe. Having made it to the cairn we took a quick selfie before heading down. On the way back we came across Father Christmas and three of his elves carting a Christmas Tree up the mountain!
A day trip from Glasgow saw David and I hike up a couple of peaks in the Buachaille Etive Mor area of Glen Coe. The views were incredible and the weather was perfect for a November hike. There was snow on the summits with a fluttering of snow coming down as we hiked and ran.
We reached a couple of summits: Stob na Broige 956m) and Stob na Doire (1010m), having climbed and scrambled up a couple of relatively steep sections. There were about a dozen other hikers on the mountain including a group of women I knew well also from Glasgow! Easy parking at the Three Sisters Car Park on the A82. A great day!
