Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain
Since Dec 2022 we have been running our own Mastodon & GoToSocial servers. What a breath of fresh air the Fediverse has been. We have made many hundreds of new friends from around the world, mostly related to our mountain, tech and nature interests.
Connect with me/us on the Fediverse at:
The trail to the mountain!
Walking yesterday along the GR7 long distance path from Juviles to the town of Trevélez in the Sierra Nevada. Although the summits are out of view the mountain ahead is that of Mulhacén, highest mountain in mainland Spain 3482m
I'm a technology tinkerer. Not great at it, certainly not an expert, but I enjoy it. Time now to separate my adventures from my mountain/real life ones. The two don't really go together.
To that end I'm delighted to have set up a small instance for tech posts and related advances towards more dead ends 😀 !
All my tech ramblings from now on are at @dunc
New lithium batteries for our solar installation. Thanks to my mate Pepe for putting it all together. Need a few more solar panels now!
There are many ways the pilgrims made the journey to Santiago de Compostela. The most well known one is through northern Spain. However there are more. The Camino Mozarabe at 1450km is the longest. This runs from Almeria in the SE to Santiago in the NW of Spain.
Yesterday we did a short 15km section between the village of Dudar to Granada, ending up at the Alhambra Palace.
Expansive views to the Sierra de Huetor, Granada & of course the Sierra Nevada.
How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar
As immigration has increased, GDP has surged and unemployment has fallen to lowest level since 2008
As an immigrant since 2002 I have always been made to feel very welcome here. Thank you Spain.
My new boots have arrived & I'm like a little kid with a new toy!
I wanted a lightweight boot for late spring, early summer multi day treks. Had to be stiff enough to take a C1 crampon as I didn't want to rely on micro-spikes over the terrain I intend to travel (High Pyrenees & Dolomites)
Came across these "La Sportiva Trango Trk GTX's". Very lightweight, only 115 grams/boot more than my summer approach shoes with a semi stiff sole
A superb view of the main Sierra Nevada mountain range from the Sierra de Huetor to the north.
I've never had an Instagram account. Ever. So imagine my surprise when someone who has, sent me this link from the BBC iPlayer account. It's me! Taking Alan Carr on a via ferrata 😀
Maybe I should open an account? Nah, I like it here!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF-qbvLoJCp/?igsh=MWlrYzA5dTUzcG8wYw==
More "enshittification". This time from Amazon. Amazon is pulling a Google, killing off popular services. Evidently, I have until 25th February to download my 708 books that I have purchased from them. After the 25th you can no longer download YOUR books for backup or transfer via USB
Good job I did this 2 years ago eh? Buy the books from elsewhere.
https://goodereader.com/blog/kindle/amazon-is-not-to-be-trusted-anymore-with-their-kindle-e-reader
So, last May, the BBC contacted us and asked us if we would be interested in leading UK "celebrity" Alan Carr on a Via Ferrata route outside of the town of Moclin. Of course, we said yes, although to be honest after 23 years outside the UK, I wasn't quite sure who indeed, Alan Carr was!
This short article describes our experiences working with Alan Carr and the BBC during the filming of "Amanda and Alan's Spanish job" (Episode 3) ... https://spanishhighs.com/articles/alan-carr-via-ferrata-spanish-job/
Whilst in the UK I took the opportunity to attend the Cicerone Press "Authors Day".
For those who don't know, Cicerone produce a series of the best to be found anywhere. Worldwide.
It was good to chat with fellow authors but there was a series of very interesting talks about demographic changes to the userbase, the new guide, what makes a good guidebook photo and also the future direction of the company regarding digitalization.
Quick trip back to UK saw me in the lovely Kentmere Valley on a bitterly cold and blustery day with extensive hill mists. Instead of the intended Kentmere Horseshoe we wisely opted for the lowly Yoke and Sallows instead. Kept below the cloud line. It was enough, a good day with my two daughters
The clouds had come in as we headed back down to the cars from Morrón Hornillo. Suddenly the mists cleared and a strange horizontal window opened up below the vast expanse of grey skies
As Internet enshittification marches on, here are some of the worst offenders
A 90 minute early morning drive saw us sipping coffee in a small cafe bar in Fondón. The mountains we had come to climb were clagged in, the approach difficult under fresh snow. An impromptu vote had us heading for the blue skies and sunshine of the Sierra Nevada to the north, another 45 minute journey. Needless to say, we had a great day out hiking above the Puerto de la Ragua. Moral of the story is .. it's ok to change plans. Be flexible!
Today we've been breaking trail through fresh powder!
Erm.... the Moon
I love this time of year, a time for fireside planning of forthcoming adventures, whilst I am in good health and reasonably fit. Main trips this year hoping to be to the Pyrenees in June (backpacking 100km+, 3000 "Ibones" Lakes), Dolomites in July (Via Ferrata, Pale di San Martino) and all of November in El Chalten, Patagonia (peaks, passes and glaciers).
The Moon and Venus above my town of Lanjarón near Granada yesterday evening.
Not the best of shots as no time to set up tripod so had to be hand held unfortunately.
Today, for the first time I have had to complete a certificate (witnessed) for the DWP in the UK stating and proving that I am indeed alive and breathing 😂