Adventure Base - Rhiannon unexpectedly skiing chamonix powder in august!!

There are many reasons to love life in Chamonix, but my favourite has to be its unpredictability.

Many may well throw their arms up in the air and cry global warming when it hits 25 degrees in mid Feb, or, as was the case this week, it snows down to 2500m mid August. They may well be right, and they are legitimate concerns.

I, however, couldn’t help but smile when the clouds parted to reveal a snow coated mountain, a snippet of winter. The skis were dug out, the troops were rounded up, and 7h30 AM we were at the Grand Montet car park, being laughed at whole heartedly by a bunch of crampon clad alpinists.

OK, the snow was a little heavy, and yes, every turn down was an extra step back up, but hey, it felt good!

Thanks to Susie from Mountain Tracks for the photos! )

august powder 2

august powder 3

august powder 4

Last week I completed stage one of the challenge, the Zurich Iron Man, my time across the finish line was 11.28.37 – over half an hour better than I had hope for, exhaustion doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel today!

The day started early with an alarm at 4.30am, a big breakfast and then down to the race village for 6.00, last minute preparations before being in the water and ready to go at 7.00.  The swim start was as manic as you’d suspect with 2,200 people starting at the same time, after a few minutes of punches, swimming over people, being swan over and generally not having much fun I found myself in some open water and got into a rhythm.  Note to anyone else who fancies trying this, if you find yourself in this position you are going the wrong way.  A few minutes later I was back in the thick of things and back on course.  My first lap was completed in 33.13 and the second which was 200m longer in 38.46 meaning I came out the water in a time of 1.11.59.  I actually quite enjoyed the swim albeit I was pleased to be taking the wetsuit  off and moving on.

I took my time in transition, changed into my cycling kit and hit the road.  The bike was always going to be my strongest discipline so I was determined to take things steady and save some energy for the run.  I got into a steady rhythm from the off and kept my heart rate low, the first lap in particular was about eating and drinking (both of which I am very good at).  At the end of each lap was an ascent of ‘heartbreak hill’ it was great fun, the closest you’ll ever get to being in the Tour de France with spectators parting the road in front of you, Charlotte even got a smile at the top of the climb.  I completed the first lap in 2.38 and set out for more of the same, the second lap being completed in 2.48 to give me a total bike time of 5.27.  No smile for Charlotte at the top of the climb second time round, just a grumble that I didn’t want my spare drink she had patiently been carrying for me all morning.  I was really pleased with the bike, a good time and I hadn’t pushed myself too hard, on top of that I managed to consume an energy bar, 14 energy gels and 2 litres of sports drink!!

Back into transition and ‘just the marathon to go’.  How hard can it be.  Well I set off again keeping a very close eye on the heart rate, my aim was to run a negative split marathon which means the second half is quicker than the first.  All great in theory but in reality I was nowhere near!  I slowed from 58 mins for the first 10.5k to 1.18 for the last.  I can’t explain how I felt during the second half of the run, there was just genuinely nothing left in the tank, no amount of energy gel, drinks, food could muster up the energy I needed to run faster.  I was fighting cramp from the halfway mark to the end and was about as miserable as you can get!  I saw Charlotte on the third and forth lap, on the third she offered to open me a gel to which I responded by shouting at her and on the fourth I just threw my spare food at her and didn’t say a word.

As I crossed the finish line after the 4 hours 39 marathon, I collapsed, a complete physical, emotional and mental wreck.  I did however manage to muster up some energy for steak and chips with my first beer in five weeks later in the evening – neither of which were finished, I really must have been tired.  A huge thanks to Charlotte who was on her feet from 5am to 11pm and who must have covered a marathon distance on foot to offer words of encouragement and carry my spare food/drink and later in the day carry me!

Today is slightly better than expected, I just can’t walk.  Still 23 days to recover before I head to the Himalayas for stage two!

A huge thanks to everyone who has sponsored to date, so far we have raised £3,955, I’m sure £5,000 can be reached before I leave for the Himalayas.  A reminder that all the funds raised go to the hospice LOROS.  The link to my fundraising page (which has more details on the charity and the second stage of my challenge) is:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndyEggleston

Cheers!

Andy

150 km from Chamonix to Zermatt

10,000m ascent

4 people

3 days

… Over 100 energy bars and gels, 50 litres of electrolyte drinks, 3 bottles of suncream, 2 wrong turns, 1 twisted ankle, 1 bottle of champagne and 8 very tired legs …

Chamonix to Zermatt on foot is known as the walkers’ Haute Route: an iconic high mountain journey linking Mont Blanc in France with the Matterhorn in Switzerland. In the winter, it’s probably the most famous ski tour in the world. In the summer, it would normally it’d be a 2 week walking holiday.

So as part of our summer of trail running, we decided to do it in 3 days.

Covering 35-55km per day, the days were long, hot, high and tiring, but stunningly beautiful. We ran as much of the route as we could – mainly the flats and downhills, and walked the uphilll and highest sections.

We were incredibly lucky to have fabulous weather for the entire journey (wouldn’t want to get stuck on a couple of the high passes in a white out), and managed to complete an amazing journey almost to the minute of our time plan! (spreadsheet geekiness rules).

Day 1:

La Tour to Prafleuri Hut, via Champex and Verbier

Day 2:

Prafleuri hut to Zinal, via Arolla and Barrage du Moiry

Day 3:

Zinal to Zermatt, via Gruben and St Niklaus

Big thanks to:

Josie – endurance queen and soon to be UTMB –er

Tom – ‘man up’ and run 60km on a sprained ankle

Neil – mountain goat supreme

Anne – fresh legs and new chat

Monica – great to see you again!

… and especially

Jules – supermum to be – who, while most normal women at 8 months pregnant are putting their feet up and chilling out, spent 2 days driving around the Alps, ferrying extra food, moral support, champagne, and then driving a car full of knackered, stinky runners home.

 For more info on Adventure Base Trail running holidays, have a look here:  http://www.adventurebase.com/sun/adventures/trail-running

Or give us a call on UK: 0845 527 5812.

The race is done either solo, or in laps in groups of 5. I never found out the distance of each lap, this crucial piece of information was not provided to me when I agreed to the carnage, but judging on my exhaustion each lap must have been approximately 15k of fairly technical riding with a large proportion of uphill. This went on from 14h00 on the Saturday to 14h00 on the Sunday, during which we managed to squeeze in 17 laps. The winner of the event squeezed in 24 laps solo!

Our team of highly tuned athletes included our partners from Detailed Events Dorota and Jim Mee, our Iron Man director Andy, and our good friend Charlie, personal trainer, yet mountain bike virgin- what an introduction to technical terrain! After a quick lesson in tire changing, we set off for 24hrs of Mountain Mayhem!

Our Adventure Base stall provided us with a base camp for the event, and a 24hr cook up of tartiflette made us the most popular folk around, as hungry competitors swarmed to our camp to sample our Alpine delicacies and find out all about the fun that is to be had over the pond.

We finished a respectful 75^th, with the fastest lap of 01hr01 set by the Iron man himself. To celebrate our strength and prowess, we continued the 24hr challenges with a night time drive back to Chamonix, luckily with the help of our Buff support, and back in time to start the festivities of the Fete de la Music, an all night street  music festival that takes place throughout France.

It took us about 3 weeks to recover from those 3 nights, just in time for the next Rat Race, this time set in Edinburg’s beautiful Prince Street Gardens. The teams set off Saturday evening for a 2.5hr orientation run of the beautiful city, and then tackled a 90km cycles into the countryside around Edinburg on the Sunday, with challenges to test their nerves along the way. Adventure Bases participation was somewhat curbed due to the hospitality of the local bars, and a slightly over excitement of nightlife in a rocking city. I now remember why I moved to a small village in the middle of nowhere, just not grown up enough to say NO!

Adventure Base will be touring the UKs summer sporting events promoting summer and winter accommodation and courses in Chamonix Mont Blanc. Come and check out our great deals at the events or get in touch for more information at info@adventurebase.com.

Tour de France 2010 - the Sky Team working hard!

Here at Adventure Base HQ, the ladies in the office really didn’t need too much persuasion to leave our desks for the day to check out 200 of the world’s fittest men, clad in skin-tight lycra, working up a sweat in the mountains. On any other day, that could sound altogether wrong, but when it’s TOUR DE FRANCE time, all normal laws of physics fly out of the window!

The Adventure Base Team setting up for some high speed Tour action

So, early on Sunday morning, our convoy of Chamonix riders and spectators left home dressed in our best biking kit for a day in Morzine to watch our cycling heroes do their thing. With closed roads, we parked up in Tanninges, and rode the 13km route up to Morzine and then on to the finish line at Avoriaz – for a little taster of what the riders would have in store for them later in the day.

Nicky & Kate show the boys how it's done

The road as far as Morzine is a gentle climb, meandering nicely through the beautiful alpine countryside. Easy – at our pace anyway! But then the real work begins. From Morzine to Avoriaz, it just gets steeper and steeper. Brutal in the blazing sunshine at 11am, but NOTHING compared to what the teams would have to endure when they hit it late in the afternoon, at twice the speed, and after a full day going flat out in 34 degree heat.

1km from the top of Avoriaz

So while the Tour boys fought it out in the early part of the stage, we indulged in a long lunch, a little rose, and lot of relaxing …

… Before taking our posts on a hairpin above Morzine, from where we could see back across the valley as the riders approached, then up close (and sweaty) as they flew past us on the last few kms to the finish. It was unbearably hot! We cowered in the tiny shadow of a hedge, glugged down water, and waited.

Fighting small children for the free T shirts and sweets!

The choppers flew overhead, the tour cars started to come through, and the tension (as well as the temperature) mounted. The caravan of sponsor floats provided a welcome distraction as we fought small children for t shirts, caps, sweeties, and washing powder (?), thrown from the passing lorries. Then silence.

Someone with the Tour Iphone app was filling us in. ‘Lance has fallen twice’, ‘There’s a breakaway group’, ‘Contador’s looking strong’, ‘They’re 10 minutes away …’

And eventually, there they were. A lead group flew past, up on their pedals and fighting for the honour of finishing first. Then the first chase group, visibly quicker, going uphill at a pace we normal mortals would hardly be able to sustain on the flat, and with barely a sign of stress on their faces. Incredible. Then the second group came through – Contador’s team. Then a long pause before the group with Lance Armstrong passed by.

The rest of the Tour ‘cruised’ past us in two main groups several minutes later, looking much more relaxed. It’s all part of their training, I’m sure, to maintain a chilled out expression no matter how much they’re suffering, but it’s just amazing to see in real life. These guys just don’t even seem to be sweating or breathing hard. It takes fitness to a whole other level. One rider pedalled past, both hands off his handlebars, drinking a can of coke. Whether a ‘domestique’ who’d already done his job, or a sprinter who was taking it easy, it was a defining moment of Tour de France cool!

The team cars come through ...

For die hard cycling fans who know their favourite riders’ bikes, colours, sunglasses, I’m sure it’s easy to spot who’s who. For those of us who know the names and not much more, it’s pretty hard to tell, as the groups approach, pass and then disappear in a split second. It took watching the day’s highlights later in the evening to work out we’d been witness to such an exciting stage: Lance missing his last opportunity to make his mark as a contendor in this year’s tour, the fierce pace throughout the race, and the amazing performances of the Sky & Astana riders, Andy Schlek’s first stage win …

... And then the real riders!

But it really doesn’t matter. It’s all about the atmosphere and the experience of supporting such an incredible event. The efforts of all the riders competing for 3 solid weeks is mind blowing enough when you watch it on TV, but totally awe inspiring when you see it all up so close. You don’t even have to like biking to appreciate the physical effort, team work, training, and sheer volume of organisation that makes it all happen.

So, there we have it: A bit of cycling, a spot of lunch, and the famous Tour de France up close and personal … altogether a great day out!

Adventure Base provide Chamonix based accommodation and driving support for Tour de France holidays each summer. Bring your bike and ride some of the famous Alpine cols, or simply enjoy the viewing and the stunning mountain scenery. Get in touch: info@adventurebase.com