Category Archives: Mountains

Canadian Rockies: the Wow! factor

Posted on January 22, 2014 by BarryH

“Wow!”  The Canadian guy in the seat next to me on the packed 15.30 bus coming back to Banff from Sunshine let out an involuntary exclamation of appreciation as we rounded a bend in the Trans Canada Highway and yet … Continue reading →

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Canadian Rockies: to the top of Tunnel Mountain

Posted on January 20, 2014 by BarryH

Tunnel Mountain used to be called ‘Sleeping Buffalo’ by the indigenous Nakoda people because from certain directions it looks like ………. a sleeping buffalo.  Knew a thing or two about naming places did the original inhabitants of North America.  Now … Continue reading →

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Canadian Rockies: to the Top of the World

Posted on January 19, 2014 by BarryH

Whichever island I visit in Greece I always aim to climb the highest mountain.  I have written about going to the ‘top of the world’ on Nisyros, Symi, Tilos, Hydra, Karpathos ……… .  Generally they are not very high in … Continue reading →

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Sunshine Coast in the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 17, 2014 by BarryH

The sleep I was looking forward to when I finally arrived in Banff wasn’t refreshing.  I had temporarily forgotten that sleeping at altitude (albeit only 1400 metres) messes with my sleeping pattern.  The lapse of memory was only short lived.  … Continue reading →

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Time plays with the mind: the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 16, 2014 by BarryH

It’s 23.30 Rocky Mountain Time, 06.30 GMT and 08.30 in Greece.  After 30 hours without sleep I’m now in Banff and ready to go to bed, the first time before midnight for years.  But then it’s another midnight not the … Continue reading →

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A grey start to the year

Posted on January 6, 2014 by BarryH

I don’t believe in omens.  The fact that the new year continues grey, wet and windy may be a sign, but if it is, it’s a sign of global climate change and of shifting ocean currents and the jet stream … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

New Year’s Day: Just a walking in the rain ………….

Posted on January 2, 2014 by BarryH

Wednesday was the wettest day of the year.  Admittedly it was the first day of the year so not a lot to compare it with but if many of the remaining 364 days match up to the amount of rainfall … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An alternative Boxing Day

Posted on December 28, 2013 by BarryH

From the top of Garn Wen on Christmas Day I could see not only a cap of snow on the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain near Abergavenny but also to the north west a snow covered ridge in the … Continue reading →

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An alternative Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2013 by BarryH

I don’t enjoy Christmas.  This year I was looking forward to it less than usual until I decided to do the unthinkable.  Spend Christmas Day on my own.  It’s a quirk of the human psyche that the things we choose … Continue reading →

Posted in Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brief gaps in the clouds: Seasons Greetings

Posted on December 24, 2013 by BarryH

With the weather largely grey and wet, expected to be an increasingly typical manifestation of climate change in northern Europe, combined with preparations for Christmas and meeting up with friends before I head off on my travels again, there has … Continue reading →

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