Good morning all. Some strong winds overnight meant a stunning sunrise here in Lanjaron this morning.
Social-Feed
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:
Patagonia Image 3
One year we arrived at the Cirque de las Altares during a blizzard. We hastily made camp and tried to warm up in our tents and sleeping bags. We hadn't really appreciated the wonderful situation we were in until next morning when we woke up to reasonably clear skies and the magnificent Cerro Torre coated in a thick layer of rime ice.
Patagonia Image 2
The Southern Patagonia Ice Field is the largest expanse of ice outside the poles. It extends S for approx 350km (220 miles). In places it is up to 80km (50 miles) wide. This ice mass feeds dozens of glaciers feeding into both Chile & Argentina.
Image was taken on a cloudy day. We could hardly tell the difference between land & sky. Suddenly the mists lifted & out of the gloom a horizontal window appeared revealing some magnificent peaks.
After being inspired yesterday by Colin Haley's exploits in Patagonia I went back through some of the photos from our own efforts of the Southern Patagonian Icecap over the years. Admittedly, they are nowhere near as vertical as his 🤣
Hope you don't mind me sharing some of them over the forthcoming week.
Image shows how flat the actual Icecap is. The surrounding mountains are hidden in cloud. A surreal world, far from human habitation.
Colin Haley climbing the Supercaneleta on Mount Fitzroy (Chalten). This guy is amazing and this self shot record of his ascent shows the commitment, skill and dedication required for winter mountaineering in Patagonia, nevermind a extremely tough route such as this in the middle of winter.
View from the morning dog walk. Beautiful colors as the early morning sun hits the landscape. Looking down through the olive groves to the Rules dam. Beyond the Mediterranean.
First landscape image taken from my new Jelly Star phone
Took delivery today of a Jelly Star phone (Unihertz). Only a 3" screen but a real pocket rocket of a phone, costing just €200 & weighing only 116 grams. 48mp camera, 8mb ram & 256gb storage. Sturdy & well made it's small size means it easily fits in a pocket.
Installed a simplified launcher (Niagara) to help digital detox. Going to be my main daily driver for calls, chats & navigation. Social media & all other apps remain on my original phone.
2/2
Scrambling day on the rocky peak of Peñon de la Mata north of Granada
1/2
A day scrambling on the wonderful peak of Peñon de la Mata north of Granada. The summit is surrounded by cliffs with only one hiking route to the top. Lots of possibilities for exploration.
I love scrambling, that grey area between hiking and rock climbing. Constant concentration and risk assessment means you aren't thinking at all about the mortgage 😂
Beautiful evening sunset tonight
Good morning from a bright and sunny Lanjaron. Hope you all have a great week
The first overnight rains for a few months last night. I love the freshness after autumn rains. Cloudy today but a break in the clouds allowing the sun to shine down on the town of Lanjaron in the Alpujarras.
Have a great weekend all.
River walking with a lovely group of people from Norway today. Inside the dense, lush foliage the air was cool, was even colder in the waterfall! 😂
A classic hike for a hot Spanish day
Cerro Huenes is in the Cumbres Verdes range W of the Sierra Nevada. Start is 15 mins drive from the Granada ring road. Pleasant hiking on good trails over numerous mountains, returning through forested hillsides.
Path ascends to Pico de la Carne 1809m. Hillsides are steep, path well-graded & the summit is reached via a short easy scramble right of the summit rocks. Path continues to Cerro Gordo 1809m & reigning peak Cerro Huenes 1882m.
Moonset this morning above Lanjaron
Its Facebook Leaving Day! 🎉 🥳 Haven't been that involved for many years but have had to keep a presence for corporate reasons. No longer!
I had been using web browsers to view/post as I refused to install their app on any device. What finally broke my resilience was the fact in the last few days they made the web browser route unusable for me. Deliberately IMO. I guess to force the app on me?
Feels good. Have a great day everyone.
Just an incredible amount of snowfall throughout central Europe. This report from Austria. Unprecedented levels of snowfall for September.
https://planetski.eu/2024/09/15/austrian-alps-hammered-by-huge-autumn-snowfall/
Last week I sat for nearly an hour on the very airy summit of a peak called Puntal de la Cornisa 3316m. A fine viewpoint & wonderful place to chill out
It's good to have some time on your own once in a while. Also gives you time to really look around and appreciate the surrounding mountain landscapes. Here are a few images I took from the summit (descriptions on individual photos).
Bit sad this morning as we have decided to cancel next weeks Via Ferrata trip to the Italian Dolomites. So many reports from people about the bad weather and early season snow. Freezing my butt off and carrying winter equipment wasn't in my mind when I booked this.
Que Sera, Sera. It is what it is. Gives me something to look forward to next July.
Remembering my Leonberger, Bruno. A big dog with a big heart. 75 kilos of friendly, fun filled dog and in his element in the snow. Famous too, once appeared on BBC Children's TV.
