Sump To Summit

My first year living in Llanberis has been awesome. I’m still commuting to Sheffield weekly for work, but it’s given me the perfect balance of North Wales and the Peak District! While every weekend has been packed with climbing and running adventures, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the highlights of 2024

The year kicked off strong with the annual Cavers Ski Trip. This year, we headed to Chamrousse, Grenoble, and had the best week. I’d booked level 5 lessons, hoping a week of instruction would help sort out some bad habits I’d picked up. It was such a great week, with our guide showing us around the resort. The following weekend I went to Malaga, Torremolinos, to take the work team for a trip. We walked the Caminito Del Rey valley, which I’d visited before, but it was great to go back and see it again!

A couple of weeks later, El and I were packing the van for a winter Alps trip. We skied around smaller resorts near Annecy before heading to Chamonix for a couple of fantastic days. When the weather wasn’t on our side, we took the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy for two brilliant days of ice climbing.

As spring rolled in, I started taking on longer runs. The highlight routes included the first leg of the PB and a 60km day out.

In May, El and I traveled to Spain for Cate and Andy’s wedding. We spent a few days “climbing” in the Sierra de Gredos, then headed to Toledo for the wedding and a city break.

A few weeks later, it was time to pack the van again for a two-week van adventure in the Alps. Highlights from this trip include summiting Lagginhorn (4010m), climbing in Kandersteg, and a stunning week in Ailefroide with some great days out.

Back in the UK for a while, I enjoyed running the Lake District Tea Round. And at the end of August, I ran my first 80km race!

The day after the 80km race, Sam and I drove to Scotland for a week of exploring the Northern Highlands. What a week that was! (Despite the midges).

In September, I drove to Chamonix with Mum, Mike, and Doug for a fun-filled week of walking and running, including a Via Ferrata and a day of mountaineering above the Aiguille Du Midi.

In November, we celebrated CP and Retha’s wedding in Edale, which was an absolutely beautiful weekend and such an incredible celebration.

The following weekend, we flew to Morocco for a climbing trip – and, during that trip, we got engaged!

2024 has been a brilliant year with lots of highlights. As well as all the above I’ve managed to run a total of 1770km with 74,546m of ascent! I’ve absolutely loved living in Llanberis with El, and we’ve certainly made the most of having beautiful mountains at our door. We’ve also really enjoyed learning to Salsa Dance, and I’m writing this as we’re about to drive to Birmingham for a New Year Salsa Party with 1,000 other dancers – That’s a different way to bring in the New Year! 2025, here we come!