Slack lining across the Arve

As a prelude to the Adventure Film Festival in Chamonix this weekend two amazing ladies ‘walked on water’. Jelena Schradi and Ingrid Laillaut strutted their stuff and introduced us to slack lining.

Slack lining in the art of walking on webbing stretched between two points, in this case either side of the river running through town, attached by belay devices . As the line isn’t as taught and  stiff as a traditional tight rope, each time you move a vibration is sent through the webbing and back to the foot again, making balance even more difficult than standard tight rope walking. To add to the difficulty of this display the moving water beneath exacerbates concentration as the air moves in waves.

Fortunately the girls were attached by harnesses!

 

But the strength they need to get back onto the rope is incredible.

 

That doesn’t stop them striking other poses though.

 

Apparently the sport is great for helping with core stability and benefits other activities you might do.

High lining is another variation of this sport, but conducted much higher above the ground, proper adrenalin junky stuff.  And this is where Seb has obtained material for one of his latest films. Seb Montaz’s Send it Sistah! film was the opening to the three day festival and set things off very nicely. A trailer to which is shown here.

What’s even more impressive is that Jelena has only been doing this 2 years and Ingrid 6 months!

In terms of the film festival we particularly liked Elder and Lindsay Clarks’ Better Bones and Gardens. Sender Films’ First Ascent:Point of  No Return was moving, but unfortunately our 8 year old is now having nightmares about avalanches.

So to finish on a ‘high note’, here is a photo of Seb himself slack lining.

The Mont-Blanc kit list, no South Butt stuff included

Not a South Butt in sight.  Definitely all bona-fide North Face type chaps, these Wilmington Mountaineers.

With fitness preparations well underway, time to start thinking about the kind of things they’ll need to take with them.  I’m not sure who’s got what so far, but fortunately there are shopping lists available.  So this is what they need, some bits more obvious than others, so I hope you don’t mind my interpretation.

Your every day stuff…
Rucksack	(to carry the huge number of things you need to take with you)
Waterproof Jacket	(because ice originally started off as water)
Waterproof Trousers	(because it would be a shame to have a wet bum)
Gloves: 1 thick pair, 1 thin pair	(no point in getting frost bite)
Extra Mid Weight Layer
Thin Thermal Top
Trekking Trousers	(presumably not of the pony trekking variety)
Thermal Leggings	(who said the recent fashion trend passed blokes by?:-))
Socks: 3 pairs liner socks, 3 pairs mid weight trekking socks	(personally I can’t believe they’ll be bothered to change their socks while away from home, so1 pair is enough surely?)
Sun Hat	(got to hedge your bets with both types I suppose)
Gaiters	(the calf protection sort, not reptilian)
Sun Glasses
Water Bottle
The bits that remind you it’s going to be cold, as the temperature loses 1c every 100m ascended
Neck Warmer/Balaclava
Fleece
Ski Goggles
Warm Hat	(well, yes)
The specialist stuff
Ice Axe	(boys and their toys, hey)
Helmet	(in case the chap above you dislodges some scree)
Mountaineering Boots	(stiff soled boots, many of the older versions being in comfortable plastic in some super garish colours)
Crampons	(to fix onto your plastic boots to act as spikes to dig you into the ice.  Apparently you need to walk like a robot when you are wearing them.)
Harness	(for attaching the rope between you and your companions)
Head Torch	(for some illuminating early morning ascents)
Walking Poles	(not just for the old and infirm)
And the niceties not to forget ….
Sun cream	(to make you feel as though you’re on holiday)
Lipsalve	(well there’s no point coming back too weather beaten)
First Aid/Blisters Compeed, tape	(for the nasty things)
Painkillers
Sleeping Bag Liner	(oh, so they do get some rest then)
Duvet aka body warmer	(now this one did stand out as rather odd, because duvets aren’t known for their ability to pack up small.  It turns out they are referring to puffer body warmers.  Aha)
Ear Plugs	(is that to block out the snoring of friends or the howling winds?)
MP3 Player	(well if the ear plugs don’t cover the snoring you’ve always got your tunes)
Camera	(I know it won’t be taken by my husband but hopefully one of the others will remember it)
Change of Clothing	(ah, so that’s why North Face sells these fancy ‘base camp’ bags
Insurance	(Ok, I was fine up until the point I read this bit.  Daren’t ask exactly what might need to be covered, but a sensible thing to take out nevertheless!)

Thank you Mt Blanc Guides for this useful insight and I’m sure they’ll enjoy their shopping.

Kids’ skis turn out to be more nickable than adults

Just returned from a lovely sunny family week in La Plagne, France, but with a sour taste in the mouth.

unfortunately we are now 190Euros lighter for the cost of replacing our kids’ hire skis which were pinched at the end of the last day. Having spent much of the week keeping an eye on the adult skis we own, it took us by quite a surprise. The village we were staying in was small which made it all the more surprising.  Or maybe we are just too trusting.

Having notified our hire shop of the situation they said that kids skis are far more likely to be pinched, as they are easier to carry and kids keep growing out of last year’s.

So as inconvenient as it sometimes seems to leave the slopes and have to drive to your next destination within the Chamonix valley (as opposed to ski to your door/bar), at least it means your skis are locked away safely.

So, please be careful and keep an eye on your kids skis.  And maybe think about accepting that offer of insurance from the hire shop…!