The upshot of this is, that what could be loosely termed my New Year resolutions, have already gone to pot. I've barely made more than a couple of trips to the gym and my walking boots have seen precious little action, never mind a hill, so far this year.
Which is probably just as well as my eldest daughter's wedding is now just three weeks away. Which means my number one priory, writing wise at least, is the father of the brides speech. It should be a very special day and provide a suitable kick-start to what promises to be another memorable year for all the right reasons.
The speech aside I'm currently 20,000 words into my next writing project 'Planetfall' which, assuming I can curb my addiction to Minecraft, should see the light of day at some point this year.
I'm also hoping to once again complete the 1,000 mile challenge. It's going to be hard to top last year's total, 1,175 miles and 86,000ft of ascent, without a major challenge like the National Three Peaks to focus on and train for this year. The focus is going to be on quality rather than quantity this time around, with a concerted effort to tick off things on my bucket list and visit new places.
One of the highlights of which is going to be a family holiday on the Isle of Skye later in the year. Which I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time blogging/writing about as the year progresses.
Another one from the bucket list that is likely to feature prominently this year is Snowdon's Crib Goch. An exhilarating ridge walk/scramble considered to be the one of the finest grade 1 scrambles in Britain. While not exceptionally technical, I did a scrambling course a couple of years ago and my instructor reckoned its well within my capabilities to solo it, it's not for the feint hearted. A knife-edged arête with significant exposure and drops on either side, it's likely to exhilarate and terrify in equal measure. I may have to invest in a helmet and camera if I find the cajones to do it this year. This video will give you a flavour of what its about.
The above description probably explains why I've never got around to doing it (yet). The North ridge of Tryfan (another classic grade 1 scramble) being my personal high-light. Although with at least one of my fellow three-peaker's wanting to tick it off their bucket list as well its looks like I might finally get around to doing it. The only proviso being I get some dedicated hill-walking/scrambling insurance first.