Patagoniacs

Ete Indien and reading books

Currently reading 2 books (see in the right column) :
Surfeuses : about our dear ladies going surfing
Very interesting, with some funny details (when you're a man), like : Guess when it is not recommended for a woman to go surfing in a shark area  ?  Hum ? Guess :-) (blood, sharks, ... you see now ? ).

Ni d'Eve ni d'Adam : Amelie Nothomb last book about her lover in Japan. I like Amelie's book. Easy to read, and have the ability to make me disconnect from the real life (may be because she is using so many words I do not know). Sometimes I am wondering if she does not create these words).

Ete Indien : Not a book, but just what it looks like in Moscow since last Monday. Sunny days, sunny people. A week-end like in Summer.  Very nice finally.

Greenland expedition - The GMHM

The elite group of climbers of the French Army (GMHM : Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne) is now experiencing the cold ice of the Greenland.
Looks like it's rather cold over there, windy, and hard to find a Mac Donald :-)
I guess that Thomas and the team will enjoy this ice everywhere and they'll find interesting places to go deep inside the Inlandsis.

Blackberry - Gmail- Russia

Last time I was in Moscow, 2 weeks ago, I saw on my Black Berry, the message : Connexion to data is not authorized.
Yesterday, I arrived at the International airport Sheremyetevo, received 2 mails, then, as I was going to the center of the city, I saw this message. And effectively, I cannot received any emails through the edge conenxion. Security restrictions from the Russian security services ? Failure of the agreement between Orange and the Russian operators ? I do not know for the moment, and I have not any time to investigate this point.
But I also noticed that in France, while trying to use google mail system installed on the blackberry, it does not work !
Does this mean that the Black berry is not safe ?

Next Challenge for this year

Well, thinking about the next challenge for 2008.
The UTMB again, but this time, the entire loop ? No, not in 2008. May be in 2009.
An Ironman ? Unfortunaltely, it requires too much time for the training, and I am afraid I'll hardly find the time in 2008.
The time. That's the challenge. Find the time, and organize it to surf more, climb more, run more, ride more, ...
Yes, definitely, that's the challenge !

Katharine Hamnett : Bio and fashion

Reading a French Newspaper (yes, newspapers are still used by some people), I read an article about Katharine Hamnett. She is a kind of Chouinard in the fashion world : Promoting organic coton, ethic business, and refusing huge money, to get less but better.
Have a look at her website. It's far from the glossy, natural image of a bio-ethic-organic-enviro brand. But it shows that even great stylists can use organic coton, and engagement to make business.
Another to help saving our planet. But, she is not a member of the 1% for the planet companies. Not yet :-)

My Patagonia orders for this winter in Russia

Here is a selection of my Patagonia orders to face the cold winter coming quickly in Russia :
- Men's Nanuq Jacket
- Men's wooligan full zip cardigan.
- Men's long sleeved 6 R's message T-shirt.

Already cold and rainy here in Moscow. Far from the warmth of the indian summer. Fall is lasting 2 weeks here, and winter, almost 6 to 7 months.

brrrr ....

Technology fails ...

Here are 2 examples that the 0 error concept, (like the 0 death of the US Army) does not work at all.

1- Feedburner / Netvibes : Looks like I have more and more problems with my feeds. Look at the attached diagram. How come I get 172 readers one day and less than 50 the next day ??? Strange isn't it ?
Analyzing the results, it is clear that it's due to a failure of Netvibes. Because mainly, my subscribers (you, dear friends), are using Netvibes.
So is Netvibes a bad system.
Well read what's next ...

2- Rss and Russia. In Russia, THE web leader is YANDEX. THE search engine in Russia. Yandex has launched lenta.yandex.ru, to read your favorite feeds. And looking at the screenshot, you'll see that, since yesterday, the sytem is not working.
  So, here again, technology fails.
Is it linked to the recent attacks from China ? :-)
Is it linked to the bad weather of this summer ?
Is it just because some days you should stay in bed ?

New Photo Album : UTMB 2007

I have inserted a new photo album on the right column. You can see it here.
Some pictures taken in the early morning of saturday the 25th of August, before arriving to Courmayeur.
In fact I did not took pictures during the night as I was too tired, concentrated on my feet, and I simply found the light was not good :-)
So, a small debrief about the UTMB 2007 :
- A lot of well prepared people.
- The start is boring, with a lot of people on the tracks, and hard to find your rhythm to walk/run/talk. Strange pictures in mind of some strange people. I especially remember an old man, absolutely not dressed like an Ultra runner (gaiters, optimized bag etc), but more like a sunday walker in the mountains. Quite strange, funny, but also remind you that this race is done for everybody  (almost). I finally saw the guy in Chamonix, he did not ended the loop but still, I am sure he did not stopped after 10 km.
- The night came fast and before running down to St Gervais, we had to switch on our lights. The loop to St Gervais was boring, even if the welcome in St Gervais was great with a lot of people.
- I will not detail every km to Courmayeur, but given one of my knee which was a little bit bad working, it became obvious that I would have problem to end the full race. So I decided to see in Courmayeur how I feel.
- When I arrived in Courmayeur at 10h30 in the morning, I was still fine, but I knew what was coming next, as I did the Courmayeur Champex Chamonix race last year. I realized that I would be able to keep going on for 30, or may be 50 km, but certainly not the 86 !! And I did not wanted to end this race totally exhausted. So I decided to stop, take time  to enjoy the nice weather, and think about how to be better prepared for the next time, most probably in 2009.
For me, Ultra trail is not about speed, or about performance. It's more about being able to know your limits, understand your body, and do something pleasant while keep smiling. In my view it's a nonsense to try to end a race without being able to run in the next 2 months, just to say I did it. It's like surfing, mountaineering. Time is your friend not your enemy. So take your time, and do things well.
I'll be back, for sure.

UTMB 2007 - small Debrief

it's hard :-)

Col Checrouit : stop, have a drink and enjoy

Have a drink and thanks to all the volunteers for the support and staying there all night long.

Courmayeur : 1h35

Picture taken not far away from Courmayeur.
Sunny day, beautiful conditions.