outdoors The running, biking, hiking, camping forum

[Essegi]

I've been very immobile on august-september for knee problems..., I managed to go to Sicily in Etna and yesterday some climbing (lucckily with no issues).
 
Photos of Sicily:

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of central crater ar around 3300m... Too fog, not much to see. Also there was violent wind and started to rain.
 
 
 
 

 
Those has been 3 nice days, Etna is unique and cool to see and neighborhood offers plenty of stuff to visit. Ascension is very easy (providing you have working legs).
Also, there were ladybugs at over 3000m.
Also, there, i've had my fair shares of granita and arancini. Cakes in Silicy are unparalleled.
 
Yesterday some real climbing, nothing difficult, but for me it was challenging on a couple of points since it was some time i haven't climb. But i went with some really expert guys so all was fine (even my knees).
It wasn't much long, 5 pitches.

Not the hardest point, just the best shot i took of the ascension.
 

Boss going down with a nealry 30m rappel.
 

Some friends going on an harder route.
 
Not much panorama due to fog, stll we were lucky because it hasn't rained. By the way there's something cool being surrounded by fog on the peak!
 
 

 

[geeme]

Wow Essegi - Sorry to hear about your knee problems but glad to see you haven't let that stop you. Love the scenery, fog and all. 
 
But really, my favorite line in that post: "Also, there were ladybugs at over 3000m." How cool is that??? 
 
Ok, you don't know about the time I let hundreds of ladybugs loose inside my house. The aphid population on my over-winters was wiped out FAST! But somehow... somehow... my son did not find it amusing at all. It still makes me laugh to remember the look on his face when he realized what I had done. Ha! 
 
 
 
After injuring a hamstring earlier this summer, I pretty much laid low to let it heal. I decided to go for a 5k to keep running but not strain the hammy with sprinting. Did that last weekend and managed to severely cramp a calf, which finally stopped being a problem today. And today, I decided to finally get back out on a track and just rip out some sprints. Holee molee, that felt so good!

 

[karoo]

Just finished the Dryland Traverse for the 3rd year . 4 days of Mountain Trail running . Beautiful scenery and single track running on the paths used for the mountain hikes. Overnight each night at Base camp , where we are housed in tents and fed , and then transported to a new starting point every day , to run back over or through the mountains , back to Base camp.
 
4 days, that feels like a 2 week holiday.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

[Voodoo 6]

Sicman says you shall not pass lol: Cheers!
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvmibwafGXc&feature=youtu.be
 

 

[Essegi]

At last, after 5 months i managed to have some good hikes... I wanted to take advanced mountaineering course but i didn't even tried for some problems...So i have to make my own hikes.
 
I returned to Sasso di Bosconero, the saturday before the last one ,because it's such a fine and uncrowded place...
 
Scree is steep and with a bit of snow is maybe easier on some parts...

After so much effort i managed to go to the peak... 5 months without running and haviing barely some easy hikes have taken their toll.
It was an 8 hour hike but, with some digressions, it took nearly 11. We stared with headlamp and finished with headlamp.I was so near having cramps in all my legs like never before and i had doms for 3 days... Also, poles here would have been much better than icepick, and i had icepick.   But the satisfaction was huge.
Also, i managed to wake up at 3:30 am and after finishig the hike i went to my friends to a pub till 1am (wich isn't impressive, but not a small feat after a day like that  ).
 
Then last saturday a small hike to chek Piccole Dolomiti after a snow, it looked good!

We also took a trip to Ossario del Pasubio, a WW1 mausoleum.
 

 
Then on, sunday, we went to have some serious fun. Not as long as Sasso di Bosconero scree but steeper.
 

Now that was some good sight.
 

Also, lake of clouds is always good to see.
 

This is a vajo (vajo Delle Frane). The idea is to climb with losts of hard snow. Here it was fresh and just a bit.
 

Here a friend that was in Ethiopia with me.
Now things were a bit nasty, it was so steep (i think nealy 60°) and snow was just an hassle, luckily it was short.
 
Then we decied to change vajo since we knew that there was a traverse to climb and with crampons and those conditions, well, it was better to avoid.
Probably we passed on just a random passage instead the planned one.
Not that it was difficult, but required care.
 

My other Ethiopian friend that went first.
 

Ok, it wasn't an huge jump, but we had a small "path" narrow than 1 meter and long less than 3 then a slope of at least 45°.
Also, it was pretty cold.
 
Then we went up to vajo Del Cengio. Since there was little snow there were 2 easy climb passages, hard enough for me (at some point i used my icepick to grab the rock like mixed climbing to make things easier, nothing special, but it was the first time i did that).
 

At the end some Sun, it was really welcome!
Now it was a bit hard and we weren't even sure where we were going on vajo Delle Frane, but (probably because of that) it was really funny!

 

[CaneDog]

Wow!  Thanks for posting the pics Essegi.  Looks like great times and what incredible views.  Really awesome stuff! 
 
Shames me a bit that I'm within an hour of the mountains and I haven't taken advantage of it yet this winter.

 

[sicman]

Awesome stuff!

 

[Ebony]

Last year my husband and I went on the classic version of the Danube Bike Path tour. Tomorrow I will look for photos, it was very impressive. I recommend to all!
 
 
Have you heard all the fuss about driverless bikes and cars and what not (here they promise self-driving vehicles will be introduced to the market by 2020 which is pretty soon) but does it make sense to you? Can't imagine what the world will be like. And anyway who wants driverless bikes?

 

[stc3248]

Very cool thread...haven't done any running in a bit, but once upon a time I could really rack up some miles. Will be checking in on y'all's adventures.

 

[Voodoo 6]

The p5x: Its got a storage compartment for churros...nice...12000 Dolla... :/
 
 

 

[CaneDog]

You still racking up the miles and wrecking cassettes Voodoo?

 

[Voodoo 6]

just about everyday unless the wind is crazy. We have a big bike swap on the 28th, hopefully I can find a road bike. Cheers!

 

[Voodoo 6]

Narly lol
 

 

[CaneDog]

Narly lol

 
Damned if that isn't Voodoo.  Hope it's on the mend.  You heal a lot faster and better when you're in good physical shape, so all those miles under your wheels are your friends right now.
 
How's your elbow extension?

 

[Voodoo 6]

Almost have full range of motion except for the shoulder, guess I shattered that also hehe. I am giving myself 6 weeks and then its back on the bike. I really liked the feel of a road bike with the tri bars. The Raleigh I crashed on dint seem to have much damage. I have notified the owner that I will be stealing this bike, I claim her in the name of King Ludd. 

 

[karoo]

Damnn...
I hope you heal well and get back in the saddle. I will stay closer to the ground.

 

[Voodoo 6]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QFBzA4RLE
 
They are always looking back because they know the reaper is 3 inches from their tires lol

 

[Shorerider]

That looks nasty Voodoo.......   But hey, chicks dig scars right. 
 
Here are a few pics from my ride last Sunday, all in all, it was an awesome day.

Some may recognise the boulder on the LHS middle of this pic from one of my earlier posts. The gesture was to the gods of "eating dirt". 

 

And of course the carnage......I did this very early on in the ride. Needless to say I got some fairly interesting looks from a few people throughout the rest of the ride. 

 
SR.

 

[Voodoo 6]

Your knee looks like it was attacked by a piranha. Perhaps we should take up knitting. It's safe I think. With my luck it would be like hand me that knitting needle grandma, ahhh crap my eye!!!! LOL Cheers! Set that rock on fire!

 

[CaneDog]

That highway in Oman looks like a burner, Voodoo. Great surface on much of it and those soft rolls after the main descent.  Would love to ride that fast on a hot day with a little tail wind.
 
The rock garden looks more like a crash and burner though SR.  Nothing wrong with sporting a little blood on the trails every now and then though, you know, just to show you're serious   as long as it's mostly superficial anyway.