Team Photos

(Stjepan, (Race Director), Fred, Neil, Maria, Thomas)

Very proud of our medals - 4th place

A little bit of posing from Team Berghaus after a night of sleep following the race.

(Photo by Chris Radcliffe)

The last Wild Race - Wilder than Wild

At 12 midnight on the 12th Feb, we set off at speed through the night leaving from Puerto Natales heading North towards Torres Del Paine National Park. Our team strategy was to go hard for the first 2 checkpoints and as we (Team Berghaus) sped off we found oursleves as the front of the field with only the 2 clear favourites ahead, Team EastWind from Japan and Team Adidas Terrex from the UK. The 108km cycle on a very bumpy track took us 6.5hrs and as dawn broke we rolled into the first transition in 3rd place, only 10 minutes behind the Japaneese team.

We had to breakdown out bikes before putting them in their boxes and feed ourselves before setting off on the next stage, a 28km trek. This was beautiful and fairly easy going despite some steep assending. For the only time on this expedition there would be a path to follow. After 6km, however the path disapeared and the fun began. We pushed hard in order to try and catch our nearest rivals. Our first river crossing soon came into sight but i was not ready to wave goodbye to my dry feet so decided to take off my shoes and socks and cross barefoot. Looking back this was the best thing I did as I then had dry feet for the next section which was a Glacier crossing.

The trek went on and large slabs of rock began to appear out of nowhere, we climbed and descended, sometimes on very steep rock. I was delighted to be wearing my OROC inov-8´s as they quite simply loved any terrain I put them on. By now we had a swarm of photographers following us capturing our every moves. They were really nice guys from all over the world who had heard about the race and wanted to have the opporutnity to take amazing pictures in an amzing part of the world. As a photographer not only do they need to search out the best shots they also need to be very fit in order to keep up with the teams whilst carrying very heavy camera equipment. I admired them for their work.

After 6hrs of trekking, we reached Glacier Campo del Heilo and check point 2. It was the most wonderful sight I´d ever seen. Birgit and Stjepan were there also and seemed very suprised to see us come in in 3rd place.I was feeling very strong and raring to go. We put on our C1 crampons and headed off over the Glacier. At first is was flat but after only 10 minutes cracks began to appear which gradually became larger and larger turning into great big cravasses of over 40m´s deep. It was very frustrating not to be able to walk in a straightline to our next check point and instead and to weave in and out of cravass fields. At first the cravasses were small so we jumped over them, sometime helping to catch each other as they got bigger. I was preparing to leap over a particularly large cravasse and planted my poles but as my crampon landed on the near verticle slope my ankle gave way and I began to slide. I kicked out my other leg against the opposite wall to stop myself from sliding and Fred, my team mate managed to grab the hood of my jacket before I slide any further. I had sprained my ankle badly and it began to swell.

I got up immediately and carried on cravasse hopping. In the briefing we´d been told it would be a 10k crossing but ended up being 17k. Seeing check point 3 half way up the mountain was great and it was at this point that we´d learned that 1 team hadn´t made CP1 with a further 3 not making CP2. We knew cut offs were tight but this was very tight. It turned out that later that night another team missed check point 3 also. There were now only 4 teams left in the race and we were in 4th position. Another team had managed to pass up on the Glacier....route choice was very much down to luck.

It was beginning to get dark and we were now onto a 35km trek stage and this was where the definition of trekking begins to be re-defined. We were on a step mountain side in dense forest. The maps we had were very basic showing a suggested route which took us straight through this dense forest, which mean´t if we parted by more than a few meteres it would be very easy to lose each other. Our pace slowed at times to 500m per hour as we fought to get through trees, swamp, bogs and almost verticle terrain. The light had now gone and we were going up and down, up and down. We lost a little confidence and decided to put up our tent for the first time in 36hrs. We shivered for 4hrs until the light came and were on the move again.

Re-setting our bearing we then headed off, still in dense forest to check point 4. The trek went on and on and after having negotiated a river crossing by zipwire, crossed dense forest and made full use out of my trekking poles we caught up with the Gear Junkies, the American Team that passed us on the Glacier. We were now back in 3rd position. We managed to find ourselves perched yet again on very unsuitable terrain as night fell and so we all decided to set up camp for a 4hr sleep before sun rose again. Once again it was a freezing night and now my sleeping bag was soaked through. I even took to sleeping in my full waterproofs. First time for everything!

The next morning we packed up quickly and headed off for the last 6hrs to check point 4. Shortly before arriving at the check point and still early in the morning, around 7am , we came across a torent of water gushing off the mountains. At first look it was far too dangerous to cross so we walked up river for a while until we found a large flat section. Still flowing at a very fast rate, we all knew that this would be our first swim. I immediately began to strip off leaving just my pants, race vest, gaitors and trainers on. I placed my rucksack into my drybag that I was carrying and with no though jumped straight in. I swam hard to ferry glide across to the other side of the 20m river and ended up 100m´s further downstream. I´d attached my rucksack with a strap around my arm and neck but somehow had managed to swim out of it. Luckily, Neil, my team mate had seen this and caught up with it before it was too late and the bag would be no more. After yet more early morning bush wacking we finally arrived at the edge of a lake and Check Point 4. Just across the otherside we could see the Gear Junkies having just made the crossing.


At first I didn´t even register but when I finally opened up my eyes and looked around, I saw that the lake was at the based of the Glacier that we have crossed earlier in the trek and there were massive icebergs floating around. I couldn´t quite believe what I was seeing. Admiration for the surrounding was quickly interputed as our next task was now to get to the otherside of the lake and to catch the Gear Junkies up. The organisation had provided blow up inflatable kayaks for us to cross safely to the other side and as I paddle with the great Glacier towering down into the water on my left and the large icebergs floating comfortably in the water on my right, I had a moment of amazement. It was almost too much to take in all at once. We each paddled across , one by one and having the Gear Junkies only about 20 minutes ahead of us at this stage we were determined to catch them up.

We began a very long ascent to reach check point 5 and the temperature was now right down to freezing point. The terrain was very tough going with a combination of turba (soft spongy like bog) and dense forest. Fred has slowed right up due to blisters on his feet. I was still feeling strong. Nearing the top of Mt xxx the wind was gale force and I had to focus to stay on my feet. We were now turely in a place were humans do not go. At the top of the mountain I could see a huge long valley disaperaing off to the South which we would now be negotiating. I could see valley after valley and mountain after mountain with absolutely no civerlisation for days. It was exciting and scarey and all I had in my bag was a wet sleeping bag and some very meagre rations. I was wearing all of my clothes so had no spares left.

Check point 5 was a virtual check point. meaning it was not manned and hence once we found the flags we stamped our card and began immediately the descent. The large valley opened up to our right as we traversed, initally at speed but soon slowing up as the terrain became steeper and far more technical. We´d been descending for over 5hrs when we once again hit dense forest. The ground began to fall away steeply to our left and soon we were balancing on trees branches on near verticle ground. To make things worse the light was fading and having now spent 3hrs covering 1km we were fully committed. All of a sudden we hit a cliff edge and began to panic. As our headtorches hurridly scoured out the options, we feared for the worst and even began to discuss calling in helicopter rescue. We knew we needed to get down but it was now far too dangerous to carry out without roping up. We quickly pulled the rope out of Neil´s bag and slung it around a tree. Neal then absailed first and after 5minutes of desending into the unknow, his foot hit horizonal ground, only 2m´s short of the end of the rope. He yelled up to us and Thomas went next, followed by myself and then Fred. We´d been very lucky on this occasion and as soon as we found a flat spot to erect our tent we settled in for the hours of darkness.

In the morning, after still not much sleep, I found myself lying in a stream! We had managed to pitch the tent on a low laying patch which after the overnight rain had become a stream. I was drenched, freezing and very raring to get moving. Our camp routine by now had slipped and we were spending far to much time sorting things out. I knew that I could get packed up and ready to go in less than 5 minutes but I didn´t want to be standing around waiting for the others so it was frustrating to be sitting in the tent every morning waiting for my moment to begin to pack up when I figured the others were about 5mins away for being ready to move. For me the stopping was the worst thing.

We trekked on and soon got to lower ground. My feet were beginning to freeze as the water was Glacial melt water and in parts thigh deep.

We soon reached check point 7, on day 5, and had completed the 118km foot stage which turned out to be more like 150km. As we arrived at the check point we were informed that we'd missed the cut off. We were one of 4 teams left on the course and in the end every team has to take a short course just in order to finish the race.

After a day of rest we headed back out on the course to check point 15 and 16 to climb Mt Tarn and were greated by the most wonderful views I have ever seen. The top of the mountain has deep in snow but my cold toes were now beginning to complain....I had mild forstbite!

On the 22nd Feb we attended the prize giving and we were delighted to be awarded 4th price. We were one of only 4 teams to stay on the course, which turns out to be the toughest race ever run.

Oh, and here'e my bad hair picture (compulsory part of every expedition I do!)

Arrived and organised

Once I got to Santiago I soon realised that the connection time I had was just no way do-able becuase I had to collect my luggage and re-check in for my final flight to Punta Arenas. As expected and despite running at full speed through the airport I missed the 11.10am flight and was very annoyed by the news that the next 3 flights were also full. I ended up having to wait for 12hrs, with all of my luggage, at the airport until I could get onto the 1.20am flight heading South. I adopted the technique of people watching to help the hours pass.

I finally arrived at the youth hostel where my team mates kindly rolled out of their beds to greet me. It was now almost 6am. (That was the third night with little or no sleep). I got almost immediately into bed but because of the new surrounding and some very squeeky floorboards, I could not sleep! At 7.30 I got up, when the others did, and the day of preperation began.

Hoping everything would go to plan was not quite on the cards today. Thomas and Fred helped me with assembling my bike but we soon realised that the values for the tubeless tyres I had were the wrong size and this was a major problem! We spend the day trying different solutions such as cutting up inner tube to try and form a good enough seal, we wondered around Punta Arenas asking at local mechanics shops if they had anything that could help but unfortunatley this didn´t work out. On our way back we stumbled across a small back street bike shop (that no one seemed to know about). Unbeliveably they even had the right size valves and the tape we needed so after parting with far too much money, our problem was solved!

Next stop was to head to the local supermarket and stock up on snacks for the race and this was follwed with 2hrs of bagging all of my new purchases.

After a delicious fish dinner, some herbal sleeping tablets and a shower I dived into bed.

Today, Friday, we´ve got media interviews and kit checks and I´ve just returned from a quick spin around town on my bike. Everything seems to be coming together finally.

We´ve just been told that we will be starting the race from Puerto Natales at the edge of the Torres Del Paine National Park...how exciting!

https://maps.google.cl/maps?q=puerto+natales&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-beta&ie=UTF-8&ei=Iu8UUbeTE8fO2QXCoIG4Ag&ved=0CAsQ_AUoAA

Stuck in Madrid

I arrived at Heathrow in plenty of time for my flight at 7pm. Everything went downhill from there. A fuel pump fault in the plane caused a 3hr delay at London and in spite of running for the connection in Madrid my bags did not make it and hence I missed my flight. Team mates are now very nervous and not convinced that I am planning on coming at all!

I am now stuck in Madrid for 24hrs!!

Packing is not going too well

It's always the most difficult part of an expedition...to get to the start line!

Having now packed, not only am I 6kgs over-weight, I also managed to crack my bike lights which is a vital piece of equipment. I sense I'm going to have a busy afternoon getting everything sorted. I'm also still waiting for a box to arrive from Berghaus with yet more vital pieces of clothing such as softshell trousers and waterproof trousers. I leave tomorrow morning at 11am so hopefully the post will arrive in time. Maybe if I wear some more clothes to travel in and fill my pockets I might meet the weight standards, besides passengers aren't weighed and I'm probably less than the average person!

The race website is http://www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com/ although the organisers have said that tracking will be intermittent and possibly not updated for a few days.

Anyway, a slight diversion from Patagonia, this morning I took the opportunity to get some shooting practice in whilst Kris, the Deer Park's marksman was on hand to give me some vital training.

We used a 44 Mag under-lever rifle which seems like just the job for what I've got planned next. I can't yet say what the training is for but all will be revealed when I get back from Patagonia!

What's in my bag?

So if you've ever wondered what I've got in my bag when I'm training, today I packed it with 6 large rolls of plastic bags and took it for a 2 hour run followed by a 1hr bike....I really need to find a new hobby!

It was good training though as it ended up weighing 8 kilos which is the likely weight I'II be carrying in Patagonia.

Sleeping bag and mat - 1.5kg

Spare clothes - 1kg

Food - 2kg

Climbing harness, carabinas and crampons - 1.5kg

Team kit - 2kg (although I'm hoping the boys will carry this for me!)

Training goes on

Given all this rain, it's nice to look back and remember how fun the training was when it was snowing. I was running with a 6kg pack here in training for my long trek across Patagonia's dense forests and mountains. I'II probably be carrying a 10kg pack during the race including tent, sleeping bag, food and much needed foot treatments.

This picture below was taken right in the middle of Cardiff Bay (a good 200m swim to land!) last Saturday when Neal and I were out training for the DW. The thing about K2 paddling is that the number one rule is not to fall out because if this happens the only way to get back into the boat is to swim/drag the boat to shore, empty it out and start again. Neither of us spoke much during this crossing despite the conditions being perfect!

Totally unexpected - a slight diversion from my plan!

I was supposed to be spending every hour available to me in a kayak, training for the Devises to Westminster canoe race in March, however last week I received a call from the Germany Adventure Racing team sponsored by Berghaus, asking if I'd be up for a 10 day expedition race in Patagonia. Unfortunately their female team member fell whilst out skiing and broke her leg.

http://www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com/

Funny thing about it is, is that it starts in 2 weeks time. I'm always pretty laid back about my training programme but this is a little too close for comfort.

(Last minute training with some weight in the snow!)

This is a totally 'wild' race where we are out of reach of civilisation for 10 whole days. We have to carry everything with us whilst we cover the 700km race route. Our team plan is to move for 21 hours per day, leaving only 3hrs for sleeping. As always, this may need to be adapted en route.

Ordinarily, I'm confident about the kayaking stages and I'm hoping my Lake Baikal cycle training can be uncovered fairly quickly but I've not done anything like 72hrs of trekking non stop with a 10kg pack on for a long time. I'm just hoping my feet can cope.

I'm stocking up of all sorts of herbal supplements now to try and really build up my immune system and I'm eating as much as I can manage. I've been advise to put on weight, because apparently I'II need it.

As always, one call to Qoroz Titanium bikes and I'm getting my beloved Mountain Won back that I used to cycle over Lake Baikal in Siberia. I've also invested in a super duper new saddle which I'm trying to get used to on my Turbo trainer every morning at 7am for a good few hours.

(On my Turbo, at dawn, on the Balcony of our flat in Cardiff Bay....my boyfriend thinks I've gone mad!)

DW training goes on and on

Our last paddle on Saturday was freezing, wet and wild. Dipping down to 2 degrees, it's the coldest we've paddled in so far and the gusting winds made for a lot of support strokes.

We are still trying to work out who should go in the front seat and hence be in charge of steering....I guess it all comes down to who wants to cross the finish line first!

We're still having lots of fun, which is the most important part.

A right pain in the bum!

After 6 weeks of agony and suspected Sciatica believed to be cause by cycling up steep hills, I've now found out that all I have is a weak piriformis and I need to do more squats!

Following an hour of having my physios elbow in my right buttock...all seems to be feeling much better - thanks!

DW training updates

We both survived our first endurance training session on the canal section of the Devises to Westminster Canoe Race over the school holidays week.

Over a period of 5hrs we got in and out of the boat 32 times, we paddled in driving rain, had to negotiate the dark and ate far too many flapjacks!

It was probably as bad as it could get in terms of the weather, both rain and wind so made for a perfect training session.

Later on this evening,  I'II be heading out for our wednesday training session on the Ely River is Cardiff (not so pleasant) and as the temperature plummets it makes the training all the more challenging.

Devise to Westminster Canoe Race

It's official, my next major challenge is to complete the 120 mile Devizes to Westminster Canoe race that starts on the morning of the 30th March 2013 and finishes (hopefully) 22hrs late as we paddle under Westminster bridge.

Neal, my race partner, and I have been out in the K2 now most weeks for the last few months and things are beginning to flow.

This weekend we head up for our first taste of the real thing as we intend to paddle the first 25 mile section of the race.

It's getting harder as the weather is turning and I know that between now and the race most of my training will be in the dark, in the rain and in the cold. I'm already suffering with cold fingers, following my lake Baikal expedition, so it's going to be a real challenge.

Lots of updates to come!

Oscars of Adventure

I was more surprised that anyone to find myself standing up on the stand receiving an award for completing the Siberian Black Ice Race in March 2012.

Cardiff Aspire Double Marathon

After 9hrs and 29 minutes of non-stop running, I finally managed to complete my long journey from Brecon to Cardiff as part of the Cardiff Aspire Ultra Marathon Race.

Having not run further than 12km in training I was pleased with the way my body was able to continue.

Subdued by ibuprofen and paracetamols my mind was able to keep me going through the pain of pounding on tarmac. Two days on and I still can't walk properly!

I was delighted to come 54th overall out of over 130 starters.

My first Surfski Race

On Sunday 6th, I headed down to Rhoose lifeguards to take part in 2012 Surfski Race, a race that has been running for 30 years.

The conditions were perfect and it was great to get out on my ski so close to home. The course was an 8km loop along the coast and back.

Having not had much practise lately in my ski, I had fears of capsizing so decided to wear my wetsuit. Lucikly it was not needed, but this meant that I was sweltering hot.

It was great training for my Devises to Westminster bid next year!

2 day Adventure Race

The best thing about Adventure Races is that they are never cancelled due to bad weather, so this weekend was a wet and windy one. Some great mountain biking, trail running and kayaking on Exmoor in and around Sydenham Country Park.

Great to have won too, makes coming home and having to deal with wet and dirty kit totally worth it!

Results now up.

I'm still checking the weather

So this is the latest from Lake Baikal! If the ice hasn't melted by now, it won't be long. Given it was only a month ago I was riding a bike over that lake, makes me rather nervous. This race really needs to be held in Jan or Feb when it is properly cold.

I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone at the EWR Awards ceremony in June to hear all the stories now it has sunk in for everyone.

The bike has been given back, but I've got a new one to play with.

It was sad to have to hand back the fabulous Qoroz Mountain Won that had taken me over  Lake Baikal....

however I've now been given something to ride around on which I can only describe as a supersonic machine...The Race Won

Having my first outing on it today, it felt like the bike needed no rider as it seemed to fly at top speed perfectly well on it's own! It's such an aerodynamic position that the perceived wind has far less impact than on other road bikes. I'm just trying to figure out if Qoroz had actual built an engine into this one! I seemed to put very little effort into my 40km ride today.

Luckily my tendonitis in my left knee was only a minor problem today so I'm going to try and get back on the bike most day's now.

Jamie & Louise

Here is my next interview with Jaime on BBC Radio Wales. Scroll to 43mins 22 secs.

A hair disaster

I've just been sent a very attractive picture of me post expedition. I recommend for any woman who is concerned about bad hair day's not to do the Lake Baikal race!

Or any expedition for that matter. Here is my Marathon Des Sables hair disaster picture. It's a slightly blonder version!

There seems to be a common theme taking shape here...