It’s not all about NZ mountains…
The glory without the sweat, blood or tears
November 2007
By Lou Thornley
Sick of lugging a huge pack crammed with heavy climbing gear? Finding freeze-dried food just a little tiresome? But you still want to climb a high peak? Drawing on a recent jaunt to the Pyrenees, here are ten tips for summiting a 3000 metre peak without the weight, desperation or substandard food.
Leave your climbing gear and ice tools in the cupboard
Don’t buy any packet food
Pay a large amount of money to book a flight to Europe and feel lots of guilt about your contribution to climate change
Turn up at the airport and check in your 10kg pack
Get off in France and head for the hills to do a circuit criss-crossing the French-Spanish border, taking in the world famous Cirque de Gavarnie and Breche de Roland
Eat local meals every night and buy gourmet cheese and fresh bread as you walk
Meet and walk with language teachers fluent in English, French and Spanish so that you experience less confusion and misunderstandings
Drink lots of cheap Spanish beer
Climb Le Taillon, 3144 metres, bearing a day pack with next to nothing in it
Savour the moment of being higher than Mt Aspiring, sweat-free and hardly puffing