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Thursday 31 December 2009

Banishing the Birthday Blues...


The joys of freelancing over the Christmas period. Everybody else seems to be lulled into the wonderful sense of security by knowing when your wages will actually arrive. Anybody in a functioning office is counting the seconds till they escape again for New Year, after grudgingly dragging their hull back after Christmas. The simple question of "Why has my money not been paid?" is met with, "Well the accounts department doesn't work until the 4th of January, so call back then, oh, and have a good New Year!" I won't, I'm bloody skint because of your somewhat easy going accounts department, and I have wasted a good part of the day dealing with your non-phone answering skills your so well paid for. Sod it; it's my birthday, my heart is feeling heavy, and my plans to go climbing have gone tits up, due to a 60mph wind and more of the white stuff. At 1.00pm the car is loaded and I head north to the first possible mountain to at least get out. Lower down the wind isn't too bad, the road seems clearish, and I'm going to display all the carisma of a bedroom bound teenager if I don't get out. The road conditions slowly get worse, two lanes in the dirty snow pointing the way forward, while the car slides about. Just as I'm starting to think my day is totally doomed, the sky clears, so does the road, I gently put the car into a bend to test for ice and the wheels grip. I come over the crest of Stockiemuir Road, and laid out before in a panorama that never disappoints, is the bowl with Loch Lomond in the foreground, and the Highlands beginning at the top. The land seems to glow in her new white armour, the Kilpatricks to the left, Campsies to the right, Highlands ahead, I drop a gear and turn up the stereo as the car accelerates forward, my heart rising from the gloom and soaring with the hills. I head for Ben Lomond, thinking if I run up her I can make the summit by 3:30pm, and be back down in time for darkness, tea and medals.
I gun the car to Rowardennan, park up and start to walk up. The path is icey, but not too bad. I feel good after the hedonism of the past month and hammer on up the path, clearing the tree line in 20 minutes, the sky dark but the summits clear. I was making good time until I hit the ridge line, then the realisation of why I hadn't climbed hit me, or should I say the wind hit me. A South African bearing a snow board on his back gingerly steping down the iced path warned me I'd need googles to summit. (The South African accent is rather distinct; being Glasgwegian I am very aware of such details, this particular accent reminds Glaswegians, Scousers, Brummies and Geordies that some are more out there than others. I guessed he was South African but would happily bet all my meagre wages that he was. Clive James wonderfully described two South Africans having an arguement, stating, "I knew they were South African because A. They sat either side of me and argued across and B. They sounded like they were trying to club each other to death with speech.) Gusting at 60-70mph I struggled to breath in the onslaught of spindrift, fighting to stay upright, let alone walk uphill. I soldiered on for another 30 minutes before I had to admit defeat. The summit was in sight, but hardly Everest it was time to head back down. Any other day it would be a failure but today, my birthday, it was a triumph. I missed my kids, missed Meri painfully, but to be out in the twilight buffeted by the freezing wind seemed to help more than any pub, club or restaurant. Being born on the 30th of December is a bit of a pain in the arse on a good day; it is coveniently forgotten, after the Christmas rush, and overlooked for New Year. As a kid it hurt even more, in the 1980's materialistic grab a birthday equated to the same as Christmas: eg, to days to get proper presents, such as bikes, skateboards etc, for me it has always been just another day, no parties, no celebrations as everybody is either more concerned with New Year, or trying to forget Christmas. What I have found is that if I head into the hills in winter everyday feels like a birthday should. Anyway that evening I broke my no alcohol policy to head into the West End with an old friend, and to giggle like school kids over the distant past. Have a happy New Year. This ones going to be big.

Monday 28 December 2009

back to the Cathedral, Boxing day 2009


Dear all I hope this post finds you all well after the Christmas onslaught. I have finally decieded to get my act together and get the Website and the Blog up and running after many moons of doing anything but! The Website which is at http://www.stevengordon.eu/ will be up and live mid-January, now there are no copyright issues blocking the way. I'll keep everybody informed as to what is happening through the blog, providing links to where work is published, as well when I post new galleries. In the meantime, you'll have to put up with my rants here, where I plan to keep everybody up to date with what I'm working on, and my travels as they happen. So far I have an ambitious plan for the new year, I'll be mainly working in the highlands of Scotland till the end of January, then Kosovo, then need to start the research for my thesis with a stint in Afghanistan early Febuary, back to the Highlands, March all to plan the Alps, then once again to Cambridge. This is the plan, but as ever, it may change...

Anyway the plan at this stage is to try and get as many people following me on here, with links to my sponsors and clients websites, using facebook (steven gordon glasgow) and twitter (stevengordon72) to publisise the posts, please add me if possible, and all comments on the posts are greatly appreciated! Here is wishing you all a fantastic and productive New Year once it finally arrives. As for me I'm starting it in the hills once again! I'm staring my posts with a description and pictures from yesterday, of Kevin Shields attempting a line on the Cobbler. I really wished to start the blog with striking pictures and a success story, but the reality of photographing Scottish Winter Climbing struck home on the first day of this new season for me...



It never gets any easier. that is in particular the amount of kit you have carry to photograph in the hills. Laid out on my bed is the usual deal, about 70lbs to to drag uphill. Plus the camera that took the picture as well. We headed off for the Cobbler, at the beginning of the Southern Highlands, the car slipping on the road as the sleet turned to snow, lying on an already iced A82. Now, like most climbers, I have several walk ins to the crags that I hate. Top of the list must be the hawl up the climbers path to the actual climbs on the Cobbler, 2hrs uphill in deep snow carrying the above load, made worse by the month's hedonism of no exercise and Guiness for lunch and dinner at Cambridge and in Kosovo. Usually the Cobbler comes first in the season, hence the memory of hating the climb so much. As ever it didn't dissapoint as a frighteningly fit Kevin Shields dissapeared into the distance. Kev was joined by his work mate Christina, and Sam, having the pleasure of holding the rope while Kev hopefully hung upside down above. I slaved up behind, regretting my lack of self-control everytime somebody asked if I wanted another pint...


The route Kev was attempting is called Cathedral(graded X11), first climbed by Dave MacLeod in 2004. I've been on the line a few times now, with Kev on previous attempts, as well as with Dave on his first attempt. It is maybe the third hardest line in Scotland, possibly one of the hardest of its kind in the world. Now for any climber this is a challenge, but for Kev slightly more as he only has one fully functioning hand. He uses a prosthetic ice axe, enabling him to climb on ice and rock. When a route is good for his technique, there is no problem, however when the moves require simple tecniques such as swapping axes, he is in trouble. Unfortunately after 3hrs on the line, he had to back off due to one of the moves forcing his body weight away from the rock, making the move too risky to execute

So after the massive amount of effort to get to the route, I was reminded of the joys of photographing in Scotland. Until you actually see the route you do not know the conditions; add in the factor that the weather can change at any time, plus the unknown quantity of weather the climber will actually be able to do it, and you understand the labour of love it is. Am I dissapointed? Yes, slightly, but when I think back some of my best pictures were over a year in the making. As for me and Kev, we are back out on Wednesday so watch this space...








Wednesday 23 December 2009

First Climb of the Season...

Finally, finally, getting out into the snow after watching it fall for the past few days. Will update on our progress tomorrow night...