There’s a unique thrill that accompanies planning a hiking trip, especially when it involves conquering bucket list mountains and exploring awe-inspiring routes. As you dive into the world of trip preparation, the anticipation builds, particularly when you find yourself glued to webcams, almost daily tracking the snow as it recedes from the mountains. The hope of timely snowmelt, opening up trails for your adventure, adds an extra layer of excitement. In this blog post, I’m introducing Project quite likely.
The allure of bucket list mountains and routes:
Everyone who loves climbing, hiking and everything in between has a list of dream mountains and routes that beckon them, tempting us to embark on epic adventures. Whether it’s the rugged peaks of the Himalayas, or more local destinations, each carries its own unique charm. The very thought of getting out there fuels our imagination and ignites our sense of adventure.
For me, I have my own list of ideas, projects and in some cases, pipe dreams, but this year I decided to tackle one of the larger ones. There are some, in fact many areas of the Tatra mountains I really want to visit/summit and fueled by a few different reasons I decided to plan a trip with a few friends which I named ‘project quite likely’ (more on the name later).
As the trip is not far away, we’ve gone over just about every possible route/plan, but the reality is, the mountain conditiosns will ultimately dictate the plan. This year it’s been cold later than normal, and until very recently it’s been very much in winter conditions high up.
Fortunately, in the digital age, webcams have become a window to the world, granting us glimpses of remote and inaccessible places. While planning adventures, webcams are an invaluable resource. As I’ve prepared for your trip, I have found myself mesmerized by these live feeds, watching the snow-cloaked mountains in all their glory, while eagerly awaiting the melting of snow.
The anticipation of witnessing the snow recede from the mountains is a rollercoaster of emotions. I have been checking the webcams each day, observing the gradual transformation as the sun’s warms the icy peaks. With the trip so close, I can only hope the trails start to open up. And it’s for this reason I haven’t discussed a specific peak/trail in any detail, as it could change, yes, I know where I’d like to go, but as with anything in the mountains, you need to adapt, remembering that the mountain will still be there another day.
Which brings me back to the drivers fuelling the trip and the choice of name. Some life events have really been behind some of the planning, milestone birthday years being a good motivator some some self-indulgent travel, a job change providing some good timing plus what is probably the biggest is health. For a long time I’ve had problems with my back, which I attributed to a lifting injury, but after a lengthy process (and things not lining up with symptoms of a lifting injury) I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. I still don’t really know exactly what impact this will have, from the reading I’ve done it varies a lot depending on the individual. However, it won’t go away, and I think the best thing is to beat it through exercise, and what better way than pushing myself to see what I can do. And so born out of the uncertainity of the mountains and my condition, I thought the name was fitting, and represents a nod to project possible, something which undoubtbly inspires me and many others.
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