Natureloverswalks

January 16, 1998August 21, 2018

Western Arthurs 1998 Mt Pegasus

Western Arthurs 1998 11-15 Jan 1998.

Reading while waiting for my family. They never mind my doing that. It’s one of the reasons I love climbing with them.

On the summit of Pegasus

view on the way down.

These photos are just from poor quality prints – sorry, but they’re all I have. We climbed Mt Hayes on the way in, and went as far as the top of Pegasus before returning home. The weather was not good, but the views were still stupendous. Can’t wait to go back.

May 18, 1997July 29, 2018

Wellington 1997 Aus Championships

Mt Wellington 17 May 1997

It’s impossible to count the number of times I have run up Mt Wellington, as I used to do it regularly for training – sometimes running all the way and sometimes turning around at Junction Cabin and coming back down again (to the brewery).

I have had many happy victories on this mount: in 1993, I won both the Tasmanian women’s and the men’s title on the mountain (causing great distress to the male who was six minutes being me but thought he deserved the medal). I also won a couple of Australian titles here, as well as a few Point to Pinnacle races. It is a mountain of happy memories, but my happiest are of training sessions, alone, in the snow, running up near the summit through a fairyland of white shapes. The rather unflattering photo here is of me winning the national titles in 1997. Well, I look fit and determined, and there are no prizes in athletics for looking pretty (fortunately).

November 5, 1990July 28, 2018

Ossa 1990, Oakleigh

Mt Ossa, Mt Oakley 3-4 Nov 1990

The 1990 summitting was the second time we’d been up Ossa. We had fabulous fun climbing in the snow on a glorious day. I am looking back on this day from a big distance (it is now 2017). I am so proud of my children for doing this climb in the snow.

summit

descending

The children took 60 mins from Pelion Gap to the summit, 50 down. The next day, on our way out, we climbed Oakley.

The third time I climbed Ossa was in 1998, when I was a runner, and for training ran up from Pelion gap in 36 mins to the top plateau; 30 mins down. Those were the days.

October 1, 1989July 28, 2018

Orienteering and Mountain Running – not walking, Part One

Louise Fairfax: Orienteering and Mountain Running. Part One

1989 World Orienteering Championships, Sweden

1989 World Champs, Sweden

1990 Asia-Pacific Champs, and World Cup events, USA and Canada (1 gold, 1 silver)

As an orienteer and mountain runner (inter alia), I have enjoyed seeing many beautiful parts of the world, and have made many very special friends. The diversity of forest and cornucopia of superlative views from an abundance of different peaks have made me very aware, not only of how extraordinarily lucky I am to have seen such things, but, and possibly more significantly, the importance of such places to the peace of our souls, as well as to the continuation of our species, and to the contribution to the happiness of those yet to come. Our world is such an amazing place – whether we are thinking of forests, rivers or the views to eternity from a mountain top. We have to fight hard to keep these dwindling places of beauty alive.

The blogsite is titled ‘walks’, and I have put in lots of those. I have always intended to add in some of our European distance walks once I had written up the Tassie ones.

Bit by bit, European sections will be added. I am not sure how to separate them from Tassie ones (and I want to keep the two facets distinct), so my first solution is to put them all as predating the walking, even though there is an overlap. Here is my first posting on European experiences, and I am beginning with some of my happiest moments as an international competitor. These photos are taken from my comp file, and not my separate training file. One thing at a time. This one is already complete, so can be posted. Perhaps these photos help contextualise some of what comes later. Who I was is an integral part of who I am still. One moves on, but never entirely away from what went on before.