It's a mild one

I looked out and was unable to tell whether the white stuff blowing about on the breeze was light snow or more polystyrene from the insulation used on the outside of the buildings. Sarah had set off for Luxembourg and I could still feel the tension, or I'd had way too much coffee. The staff winter party loomed and I was going to have to go alone. The air had thickened again after yesterday's brief respite and I just could not sit around waiting until it was time to prove that my suit no longer fitted me comfortably.
So checked the temperature -10c and then packed a small bag and set off for the mountain. I took the walking poles and put the ice spikes in the bag. And to quote Patagonia 'The more you know, the less you need'.  True in so many ways. The snow and ice are simply not here in the city but the hill looked a good bit whiter. Unwilling to run in the grey air I opted to hike it all (apart from a new bit of downhill into the ger camp). I am pretty certain I wouldn't have attempted this last year. I did not know the mountain so well as I do now but it was also just too cold to contemplate that amount of time out in the open. This winter is so mild.

It was a lovely hike up to the ridge.

looking back you can see the grey air hovering over the city - you cant see them but the ger district and hills to the north are completely swallowed

The ice/snow crystals were beautiful

The footing was better than I expected but I was glad of the poles.

There has been 'work' on the ridge.

looking North - four large holes 

and looking south there are similar looking 'platforms' some with big holes some without 

Having gone to check out the 'holes' I had a hard climb back up to the ridge to get back onto the trail. Needless to say as I was heading up I met some locals coming down. There was a group of young Mongolians mostly young ladies, beautifully turned out for a gentle walk to the restaurant. There were many different garbs but if I were to describe one, Ugg boots, jeans, and a fir trimmed hooded fashion parka, you get the picture. I'm sure they would have been given quite a telling off by the overly equipped trail walkers in other parts of the world. Inappropriate clothing - fool hardy in these conditions. Except that they were having a great time. Laughing, giggling, occasional shrieks of enjoyment. I felt seriously overly dressed in my 'technical' clothing and walking poles. I was having fun but not that much.

I have not used poles for years preferring not to bother with the faff and just keeping moving but as I was in no hurry I had them, and thoroughly enjoyed the extra security they provided. Maybe I should have traded my Rocklites for Ugg boots and done away with the poles.

Just over 3 hours later and I'm home, cold tired and relieved of the nervous tension for the moment. With Sarah away for the next 6 days and no news likely before her return I'm hoping the air stays relatively clear because I get the feeling I may need to get out and run or hike a bit more regularly than of late.

Details and a map here

A Mongolian Spring A Scottish Summer Neither Quite What I Expected

So a Mongolian Spring can turn from this:

to this

In a matter of hours.

I was ready for the rain when we returned to Scotland, after all the only difference between summer and winter in Edinburgh is the temperature of the rain . But 25+C day after day is not what I was expecting.

Unfortunately with Sarah ill and me injured we have not been out and about as much as we would have liked.

But we do live in a pretty place.

In the hills

I've been up in the hills a bit recently, 3 times in the last week in fact (62.5km and 2400m of ascent) but it never gets old because it is never the same.

On Wednesday I met a friend at the bottom of the hill, say hi to Bill the Bactrian

Wednesday was a really funny weather day. We never saw the sun, it was windy but it was 28c all day until about 4pm when the temperature began to drop and I went out for a run.

The climb was, well upwards, and took about 30-minutes but what greeted me when I got out of the trees and reached the views was - unexpected to say the least. Not only had the wind picked up to gale force proportions but UB had disappeared.

I was not looking forward to descending into the sandstorm, but by the time I got down it had gone and things were calm. All through the 40 minute jog back to the apartment there was a very occasional drop of rain, until I walked into the apartment grounds. Then the skies opened. I'd been out 3 hours missed the sandstorm, missed the rain and got home without incident. Result.

I did the same route on Friday with Sarah. The rain had changed everything.

Trees had suddenly gone green and flowers were everywhere.

And UB was back - go back and look at the sandstorm picture - these two were taken from similar positions.

A lovely jog hike without the sense of impending doom that had dogged Wednesday.

Saturday I did a different route.

She danced down the trail spooking the foal a bit - would we see her later at the Scotch House?

We went over the top of the hill and started dropping down the other side towards a monastery but the trail became a little indistinct.

team inov-8 roclite

Gavin couldn't find anyone who would ship to Mongolia that stocked his size

We finished the trip out with a beer in the Irish Castle - except the beer was bad and there was a children's party on so we headed for the Scotch House - where there was Scottish country dancing. Seriously! And of course the boys all sat and drank while the girls were pressed into taking part.

Earlier this week

Earlier this week a friend, now resident in Colorado, sent me a picture of her house covered in snow. It had been snowing for 3 days straight. She seemed happy, the schools were closed, the kids excited, and the the ski season seemed to be extending through April.

I had a somewhat more curmudgeonly response:

"I don't know whether to be happy for you - or not, I guess it depends on whether you view it as an opportunity to extend the ski season and have a day or two off or...

I was out running in the hills on last Sunday and the snow was gone from all but the sheltered sections that were shaded. I was in shorts and loving running on rock and dirt. 

I got up Monday and it was snowing. At it's deepest we had about 6-8 inches which is not a lot by your standards but huge here, where the snow usually comes in small amounts of dry powder. A lot has gone but the hills are white again and daytime temps have dropped back way below freezing having been as high as +10c. Enough already! I want to hit the hills with a light back pack holding food and water - not a day sack full of extra clothing in case the weather changes.

I survived the winter relatively sane - I was expecting it - I prepared for it- the cold did not bother me that much, but I'm really really ready for Spring - this is beginning to piss me off. Time for nature to turn green, for the trails to open up and for me to show more than just my nose to the sun when I run. 

Clearly I am in need of a little arctic explorer dna and need to restructure my expectations and reactions

Back to Sir Ranulf.

"My dear,

Weather is neutral. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is. What’s bad about it is how prepared you are for it.

The snow isn’t bad if you have a warm jacket or house and a cup of hot cocoa. The scorching heat isn't bad if you have an air conditioned house and a cooler filled with ice cold beer.

There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

Same goes for fortune.

There is no such thing as bad fortune. Only inappropriate expectations and reactions.

Falsely yours,
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes

Simon (who is happy for you snow bunnies but pissed off at the latest refreeze just when he was beginning to see the light at the end of winter.) "

So I took Sir Ranulf's advice re-evaluated my expectations and rethought my reactions. 

 I went back up the hill today with Sarah and a few others, it was still snowy, it was a little treacherous in places but I took a quality camera instead of my phone, and enjoyed myself immensely.

"Perspective - use it or lose it!"

Thanks Katy thanks Ranulf

5 Ovoo ridge run

Mongolians routinely build 'cairn' like structures on the tops of hills, high points or points of particular importance for them. These Ovoo also have some symbolic and religious significance. They are everywhere particularly in the hills. When coming across them you are supposed to circle them clockwise 3 times and or clap three times.

It was not particularly cold, my quick check of the weather station on the roof of school was showing -7c and it was only 10 o'clock. It was going to get warmer for sure so I packed my bag, adding windproof over trousers and a windproof jacket but set off in what is my most minimal clothing of the year so far. Hat and gloves for sure, softshell fleece hoody certainly, but 3/4 running tights and shorts were a bit of a gamble.

Turns out it was perfect, a little chilly on the run out but perfect when I hit the hills. I had been scoping out a route along a prominent ridge visible from school and while I was sure I wanted to run the ridge back towards UB, I was also sure I'd never find it from the south so up from the north I went.

Ovoo 1

Just get to the next ovoo and make a decision about where to go next was the idea. There was still a fair amount of snow and ice in places on the way up and making it to what I thought was going to be the 2nd ovoo, but in fact turned out to be the third was something of a challenge, requiring hands, feet and lunges for stability of small trees.

Up that ridge to the rocky outcrop and ovoo 2 (except it was 3)

Not sure it really counts but ovoo 2 was a surprise

I was somewhat surprised when I got to the top and found a couple of gents brewing up a cup of tea. We exchanged cameras took some photos and then I plunged on heading for the next ovoo. 

That's ovoo 4 in the distance

trail to ovoo 4 visible as a white line behind me

When I got there I would decide whether to either carry on or turn back towards a different ovoo in the next valley west. I reached the ovoo sooner than expected, feeling good and was again a little startled as realised belatedly I was not alone.

Got a bit of a shock to find myself in the company of a goat herder

Ovoo 4 looking back to UB

It was warm - maybe even above zero in the sun - and the skies were blue and the trail looked obvious, until that is it disappeared at the next rocky outcrop. A quick scramble down and round soon had me back on the right track. As I hit the trees the snow deepened but at least there was no getting lost.

Ovoo 5

A lone trail marker

I soon found the trail down to the meditation centre and decided to take it rather than head for White Circle. It was steep, snowy in places, icy in others and always slippy, it was grin inducing stuff, but occasionally a little sore as there were one or two tumbles. There were occasions when I resorted to squatting using my feet as skis, hands as steering poles and just tobogganed sections more out of control then under it. Ironically I was listening to a 'Talk Ultra' podcast at the time extolling the virtues of training to run downhill. There was little or no running down this slope, hopping from tree to tree, sliding, skating and falling were all practiced but there was little or no running until the  very end of the off road and by then it was pleasant to get back on to the rubble that forms the road and path back to Zaisan.

22km, 10km of which were relatively flat, alongside the still frozen river, 720m ascent, just under 4 hours later, tired, hungry and in need of a cold frothy beverage I  made it home, happy.

5 ovoos ridge run garmin