2015 Cheapskate Adventures

I've got a bit of a mission for 2015. Cheapskate Adventures

A big part of my life has been getting outside and going on adventures. In the new year I want to focus on encouraging people to give the outdoors a go.

Here's three good reasons.

Get Fit
For the price of a gym membership for a couple of months you can get a second-hand push bike and start exploring!  Why sit on a fake bike watching crap telly when you could be on a real adventure?  If you have "a few extra pounds" you should do something about it.

Go somewhere beautiful
Britain is a beautiful country full of rivers, woods, hills, mountains, lakes, craggy coastlines, sandy beaches and islands.  I live in Newcastle, a big city, and within an hour of cycling you are out into some fantastic scenery.

It doesn't have to be expensive
If you want to do something a lot then it's best if you can keep costs down.  Getting away on a weekend adventure doesn't necessarily require a lot of expensive stuff.

So the plan for 2015 is to write about a short trip each month. I will write two articles. One telling the story of a cheap trip I've been on and a more practical article giving a route description, map, information and tips on how to get out there and how to do it.

If you'd like to join me on a trip through the year or you have an idea for a Cheapskate Adventure please get in touch. I think the fun to be had in the mountains or on the water should be accessible for everyone. So I'd be especially keen to hear from you if you want to be a bit more adventurous but feel there's something that's stopping you. 

Sleep in a cave

"What do we do if it's full?"

Conrad laughed. And I had meant it as a joke. Who else would choose to walk off rainy day to spend the night in a cave?  We were genuinely surprised when we met a family group of eight already snuggled up playing a game of cards, and taking up most of the cave.

We'd spent the day climbing in the lakes and parked the car by the Brothers Water Inn and walked straight through a perfectly good campsite.  A perfectly good campsite next to a pub.  We carried on walking in the rain and followed the Dovedale valley.

With the light fading and the misty conditions it required a bit of careful navigation to get to the right spot. Priest's Hole is marked on the map but when were sure we were in the right spot we still couldn't find it.  We looked up and down the bottom of the crag and then found a path leading up. After a short scramble we found it.

The family were nice enough to let us budge up and give us a narrow corner of the Hole to kip down.

In the morning, the mist had lifted and we were treated to a beautifully framed view of the hills around.  We were also treated to a mug of tea and a bowl of porridge by the much better equipped family. Thanks!

A Decidedly Damp Italy Part 2

We had one route in mind: the Nordkante on Piz Badile. A 1000m long line of immaculate granite.  It's the sort of route that gets people saying "the finest route in the Alps" and that sort of thing.

The only trouble was that it was raining.

Another trouble was that the route starts in Switzerland and finishes in Italy.  So while it rained we sat in the colourful Kandaluna cafe in San Martino in the Val de Mello and discussed logistics.  We stared at the guidebook. It was in German, so the staring didn't help that much.  We looked at the walk around to Switzerland. It was a long walk, had two high passes and might need crampons. We looked at the trip around via public transport. It looked like a ball-ache.

The next morning we woke up to sunshine and decided to hire a bouldering mat. According to a plaque, bouldering was invented here. It must be tricky to pin down when a climber first started training/messing around on boulders. We had a fun morning in a meadow by a river trying our hand at bouldering. The hard routes were too scary and hard. The easy routes were too scary and hard.  But we got used to the granite.

In the afternoon we decided to go and climb something proper. A four pitch route called Tunnel Diagonal. The hardest bit was finding it as our German guidebook had drawn a lake in the wrong place on a map. The climb was great and whet our appetites for more.

But the rain returned.

Rather than mope about in the rain we walked up to the Omio hut and spent the night there. It was a good move. Getting up high gave us a boost. This is what we'd come for: Mountains!

In the morning it was still raining. We had a leisurely breakfast, read our books, felt frustrated by the rain, and then walked down to the valley again.

After a night in a swanky mountaineering centre accommodation, we felt frustrated, so we walked back up. This time we took our climbing stuff and planned to stay in the Giannetti hut for a few days and see what we could get done.

We arrived in rain, had a beer in the hut, and then decided to go and look at the first pass on the route around to Switzerland.  Without our packs it was fun walking up to the gully and then tramping up the snow and climbing up the gap where the snow met the rock wall.  It was fairly precarious stuff without crampons but doable. The Swiss side , when we reached it, looked unpleasant.  Without crampons it would be a long, nerve-racking descent.  We went back for dinner. The forecast for the next day was reasonable. We decided to get up early and have a go at the descent route for the Nordkante. The Via Normale up the South ridge of Piz Badile.

In the morning it was windy but with clear skies. We stood outside in the wind. It really was windy.  We set off.  Getting off the ground was the most difficult route finding, but from there there was a set of abseil rings, painted arrows and red blobs to follow and we climbed the route quickly.  At the top the wind had disappeared and the cloud was gone. We had fantastic views across the Alps. Monte Disgrazia was especially impressive.  We had our lunch, took photos, had a look at the orange bivouac and saw people climbing the ridge.

We were a bit disappointed. Perhaps that should have been us. We'd missed our weather window.

We couldn't feel to bad because we were on top of an amazing mountain, with incredible scenery, in brilliant weather.  We set off down. It would have been easy to down climb the route, but we decided to get some practise of multi-pitch abseiling. This was surprisingly good fun and we were pretty satisfied with our improving slickness.  We were back down at the hut mid-morning and had a beer.

Two British mountain guides showed up a few hours later, they'd climbed the Nordkante and we chatted to them asking about the route and getting information for "next time".

The next day the rain, as predicted, returned. We set off for a walk over a pass to the Omio hut and then back down.

Again, weather had forced us to make a decision and we just hadn't felt confident to attempt the route while it was unsettled.  We made a good decision and when we go back, we know a lot more and will be well prepared.  We've got unfinished business.

A decidedly damp Italy Part 1

"Check mate."

Jo had beaten me at chess for the first time. She didn't look as smug as I might have thought.  We'd been killing time in the Refugio Tosa mountain hut all morning. It was still raining.

Two days before we had arrived in a baking hot thirty-three degrees Italy and been cooped up in public transport to get to Molveno. We immediately went for a swim in the gorgeous lake. We'd eaten a great big pizza sat in a touristy restaurant with nice views of the Brenta range and gone for a lakeside stroll.  Then there'd been a day of walking uphill. It started raining just as we stopped for lunch at a Refugio half way.  It had then rained solidly over night and all morning.

The hut warden told us that the forecast was for the weather to improve in the afternoon. So following a break in the weather after lunch, we set off for our first Via Ferrata of the holiday.

We were now in high mountains equipped mentally (lakeside memories) and physically (trainers on our feet) for the sun drenched Alps. Instead we got drenched. And a bit terrified.

Huge limestone towers loomed out of the mist we tottered along connected safely to the fixed cables of the via ferrata. The path way seemed to be gauged out of the side of the cliff. As we rounded a corner the cable disappeared through a patch of snow that lingered in a gully. The only way to continue was to unclip and walk across the hard snow, kicking steps as well as possible in trainers.  A rope would have been lovely, crampons and an axe even better.

After more ledges and ladders, more scary snow and with the rain now returned, we reached the Alimonta hut.  We met some blokes from Yorkshire who taught us a card game (called Bonk, a bit like 7 card Whist but you have to make a bid on how many tricks you'll win).

The next day the weather was improved and we did the Ferrata Sosat. With sunshine and scenery out in force this was a big improvement.  We reached Rif. Tuckett and had to make a decision.

The Brenta range is incredibly beautiful, but in the conditions we were finding them in, the via errata routes were much more of a serious, mountaineering effort than we were prepared for.  We decided to head down to the valley and get a bus to Riva del Garda.

Riva proved to be a good base for several via ferratas. One, which started directly opposite our B&B, took in fantastic views of the lake and the city below.  Being in the town also gave us far more flexibility with the weather.  So we swam in the lake, went to watch a gypsy jazz band and ate in an amazing restaurants.

On Jo's last day before getting a flight home, and starting work as a doctor, we hired a car and had a packed day.  We started on an unusual canyon via ferrata near Drenna. The route was formed by stemples that were bolted into the sculpted canyon walls.  The effect was a climb with lots of cool waterfalls and with some interesting strenuous overhanging bits that were really fun.  The route continued following the river, across some wobbly wire bridges up to Drena Castle.

Back to the car, we realised we had loads of time to fit in another via ferrata. So we sped to Arco and set off up another one.  This was all a bit too easy but the views were terrific and at the top there was an incredible limestone pavement, a big iron cross and a fantastic view of Lago Garda.

Unfortunately there was also a great view of a big storm cloud coming our way accompanied with thunder and lightning.  Being stood by a big iron cross on the top of a mountain in a lightning storm didn't appeal so we descended quick.

Jo carefully explained that after a hot day, getting sweaty, climbing via ferratas, wouldn't it be a good idea to have a quick dip in the lake before we had to drive for hours? I knew she just wanted to go for one last swim.  All we saw of Torbole was the car park and the beach. We swam out, swam in, towelled off and got back in the car to drive to the airport.

We both were torn over that decision in the Tuckett hut, but it worked out well for us. Within a week we packed in two very different via ferrata holidays: a serene high mountain hut-to-hut walk and a lakeside luxury culture fest.

As Jo left, Conrad arrived.  And in the next week we had only one objective: Climb the Piz Badile.  Find out how we got on in Part 2.