And so it begins...

So we are nearly ready. Nearly. I have my last day at work today and we plan to set off in the morning for Font. The van is semi packed but we are going to have to make some ruthless decisions about what we can and can't take. Tonight is going to be the last night at home in my own bed! Eek. If we can manage to stay away for as long as we want to, this is going to be the longest trip I've done and a massive adventure :).

Our preparation hasn't been without it's hiccups though. A friend of mine says that bad luck always comes in three's - mine came, in the last week, in the form of a nasty cold (okay that's not so bad), my bag being stolen (really rubbish but not the end of the world) and then, oh yes, a badly sprained ankle (not cool at all). Luckily the nasty theif that took my bag didn't take my van or house keys and my phone is not trendy enough to be worth nicking. They did help themselves to my bank card, my driving license and my european health insurance card! Very annoying but I put my organised head on and have managed to get replacements in time. Phew.

The ankle however. Argh! Why is it that we always hurt ourselves in silly ways and really inconvienient times? I was tired this day last week and had postphoned my dinner to get a quick training session in at The Works. I was due to leave the next day to go to Innsbruck for five days to compete in the European Championships. So you can imagine my angst when I jumped from the wall having finished a problem (yes didn't even fall!) and  felt my ankle do some strange crack pop and go into a position it shouldn't with all my weight on it. Hmmmm. Yes not pleased about that. So I pulled out of the comp and spent the evening in the glorious A&E instead.

It has been healing really well though and I can walk fine now, still training on the fingerboard and doing lots of core training. Kook has also crafted me some rock rings and a small fingerboard to hang off trees so I can stay strong while I can't climb in Font (I think it will be another week or so 'til I get my boots on).

So all in all not a perfect start. But we are still going as planned and Kook will at least have a dedicated spotter for the first week or so. My injury has definately dented my psyche but hopefully not for long. Our plan currently is approx. three weeks in Font, two months in Ticino, then heading to Spain for Christmas and the first two and a half months of 2011 and then on to the Frankenjura!

Quite a plan I hear you say...well we shall see.

Mina's first post!

I am gonna write loads while I'm away climbing in Europe

New Team Members

Rob Napier
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
Charlie Woodburn
Tony Whitehouse
Sarah Whitehouse

We will be blogging about our climbing, trips and kit we use regularily - so watch this space....