Rock Addict Corsica Dispatch #2

Restonica skylines

Daniela laying away from the offwidth

Veronica starting up Linea d’Ombra

After the rain…

Limpid skies, perfect rock

Rock Addict Corsica Dispatch #1

Rock Addict Corsica Dispatch #1

Sunrise

Sea of granit

Col de Bavella

Restonica, the storm is coming

You guys should join

Sea to Sky

The Mountain Academy headquarters asked me to contribute a short story to this blog. Well, my story is simple enough: I travel and I climb. Participation in the TMAc2 program actually is only a small part of what I currently do. But of course it does provide a regular rendezvous with the whole cool crew.

In between seasonal stages I just lead that gipsy, dirt bag kind of lifestyle.

Gear and apparel review

Mountain Hardwear Tarvos Pant

Patryk W. looking fresh on the summit of Dent Blanche, Valais

One of the favorite pieces of clothing I got, as a participant in the Mountain Academy program, definitely is the MHW Tarvos Pant. Obviously, it wasn’t designed for tropical summer or severe winter conditions. But for anything else in between,

A very busy rest day…

Wednesday, rest day. With 3 climbing days in the bag and still 2 climbing days to go, it’s perhaps not such a bad idea to have a rest day. It turns out to be a windy, rather cold day. Some of the mountain guides go out, though, for a reconnaissance of the ice lines for the next days. All of the young participants stay inside to dedicate time to the communication part of the programme. Also, there is a small workshop about how to sharpen your ice axes and crampons. But in the late afternoon we really need to get out, get some fresh air; we go for a walk around the village or a run in the snow. After all, we don’t feel that tired yet…  When we get back to the albergo, it’s pretty busy with MHW staff and athletes, and journalists. What’s our pick for tomorrow? [by Sang]

Candidates speaking on day 2

This time we’ve prepared something special for you! On Monday the whole gang drove to Valsavarenche where they ascended a route called Cascade Rovenaud. Even though they followed the same line their impressions and feelings about it are soooo different Read their own words ‘decorated’ with nice pictures from David Ravanel…

Perfect lines – Dent Blanche

The only problem with the Mountain Academy is that it is too short and the time flies… Our amazing week passed really quickly and soon the second stage was over. We had a great time with lots of joy, positive energy and laughter. Happy days:) In spite of all the good moments together with Sang we felt like doing something more. Besides, a weather window like this doesn’t happen that often so we wanted to make a good use of it!

Valais : Sang’s interview

Sang, given your alpine experience, did you have any “fears” about the second stage of The Mountain Academy 2 ?

Coming directly from sea level, I was afraid the hike in would feel like running half a marathon. Also I thought poor weather could sink our mountaineering plans.

Sang’s presentation

My name is Sang, born in Korea, brought to Belgium, and proud to be the first Belgian participant in the Mountain Academy programme.

Rainbow Ecrins : Aude & Sang’s pics’

Day 1 : Dibona

A nice rainbow always starts with some humidity…