The first time I stood on a pair of skis I was so young I can’t even remember it anymore. During the next 25-ish years I went skiing or snowboarding at least one week every winter. Nowadays I live in a tropical country so I don’t get much chance, but every once in a while I get a strong itch to hit the slopes. The only way to cure it is to go on vacation to a ski resort. At the beginning of this winter I started feeling that itch again. As I was planning were to go, the question … Read the rest
With a gentle humming the lift chair pulls me upwards towards a sky that's not quite black. The hills below me are lit up at intervals by spotlights that cast cones of an eerie pinkish glow across the landscape. Bare ground covered in withered leaves, dotted here and there by patches of snow. Naked trees with their brown spindly branches, like insectoid fingers stretching towards the darkened sky. Off to the right, across an inky chasm, is a string of lights, presumably illuminating an unseen slope; row of trees silhouetted against their brightness, the light diffusing through the tree tops forming the vague outline of a hill. Beyond that, as far as I can see, nothing but a void. With these surroundings it's strange to think that in just a few minutes, I'll be riding my snowboard down the slope that's somewhere beyond that forested peak in front of me.
A couple of years ago I hiked all five peaks of Five Finger Mountain (五指山). At the end of that hike I came to the conclusion that the ring finger and little finger peaks are only worth hiking if you have the explicit goal of doing all five fingers, but can skip them otherwise. A few weeks ago I went back to Five Finger Mountain to hike what I consider to be the optimal route. Here you can see a map of my route, click it for more details.
It starts by going through the very narrow gorge called … Read the rest
My son is turning six today. Lately I’ve been thinking about how becoming a father has changed me, and the things I have learned by taking care of my son. Here are, in no particular order, some insights and reflections that these six years have brought me.
Noticing Children
Young children are, due to their size, easy to overlook – quite literally. However, after getting used to paying attention to your own little fellow; checking that he’s not right behind you before you take a step back; making sure he’s not standing in the way of the waitress carrying a … Read the rest
I'm walking in nearly complete darkness, only able to navigate thanks to my head lamp. As I come around a bend in the road, there's a gap in line of trees along the right hand side, their black silhouettes dropping away to reveal the view. This is what I had been hoping to find when I ventured out of camp, so stop and turn off the light. In front of me lies the valley, almost not recognizable compared with its daytime self. The night sky, almost but not completely black, is studded with stars. The dark outline of a low hill in the middle distance; spots of light scattered sparsely across it, each little cluster signifying a farmhouse. Behind it, the orange glow of a town. At this distance you can't make out any shapes - it's barely visible in the daylight- but the light radiating skywards marks its location like a beacon. There are thousands of pinpricks of brightness within that diffuse radiance; each one denoting a single streetlight, a single lighted window, or the headlights of car. I don't know if it's an illusion, but from where I'm standing, they seem to be twinkling like distant fireflies. It's funny when you come to think of it, you come out here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but once you're up here, looking down at the city lights from the stillness of the mountain, it's actually quite beautiful.
A while back I wrote about going on what I called Tiny Adventures. In the last couple of years, I’ve reduced the frequency of these excursions, opting instead to turn them into proper hikes; although I would hesitate to call them real adventures, hence the title. Several of these hikes, including the one to Gaotai Shan a few months ago, have been worth writing about, but I didn’t have enough to say to make an individual post about each one. Instead I’ve decided to collect them here in one big post.
Youlou Shan (油羅山)
If you’re driving around in … Read the rest
Some time ago I was hiking along the Lion Head Mountain Historic Trail when I noticed an odd shape in the jungle a couple of meters off the side of the trail. Feeling curious I stepped off the trail to investigate and found that it was a statue…actually not just one, but hundreds of statues lined up neatly next to each other in terraced rows. Once upon a time they must have been pristine white, but time and the elements have taken their toll; they’re covered in mold and grime, several of them have pieces missing, and the jungle is … Read the rest