With lockdown restrictions in the UK finally starting to ease from 13th April I was finally able to escape Buckinghamshire and make for the Peak District and some gritstone climbing.

As well as some very shaky climbing I was also in the area to follow Will4Adventure on their ‘Fear of Heights’ course to shadow an instructor as part of my Rock Climbing Instructor assessment due the end of May.

Will’s course helps people with acrophobia (fear of heights) to overcome their fears by coaching them through a series of mental and physical exercises with many people unbelievably able to abseil and complete a climb after two days!

I’ll be putting out an article about this soon.

With April coming to a close my eyes are firmly fixed on preparations for the upcoming expedition to the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. In case you missed my latest email, I’ve written a piece on the preparations here.

What I’m Reading

Facing the possibility of redundancy myself soon, James Altucher’s book ‘Choose Yourself’ struck a chord in me. The world is changing, often faster than we can keep up. Markets have crashed and jobs have disappeared. Everything we aspired to for “security,” everything we thought was “safe,” no longer is: College. Employment. Retirement. Government. It’s all crumbling down.

In every part of society, the middlemen are being pushed out of the picture. No longer is someone coming to hire you, to invest in your company, to sign you, to pick you. It’s on you to make the most important decision in your life, to choose and put yourself first.

The author has spent his fair share of time at the bottom and every time he found himself down there it was because he was missing one of four essential things: physical, emotional, mental or spiritual health. When he was finally able to find a way to balance and care for all four, the stars aligned.

Music I’m Diggin

Years ago a friend took me to see ‘Into the Wild’ and I thought it was a good film about a smart college kid that gave up a promising corporate career and decided to hitch hike across America.

It’s now gained somewhat of a cult following for those looking to escape the 9-5, travel and find what really matters in life.

What I enjoyed even more than the film was the score by Eddie Vedder. It has some of my favourite arrangements on acoustic guitar. Have a listen. Guaranteed is a particularly good track.

Who I’m Following

@dan.milnor

I am a self-confessed Dan Milnor fan boy. When I accidentally stumbled across one of his vlog videos on Youtube I was hooked.

Dan’s an old-style run and gun photojournalist who has worked for many of the best newspapers and media corporations in America. His views on the ethics of photojournalism, the importance of shooting on film and most importantly to create photo stories, not images in print really resonate with me. He abhors social media and the destruction it has wrought in the creative industries.

I think you’ll like him too. Find more of his work on Youtube and website.

What I’m Watching

I’ve been on a real mountaineering documentary binge this month. With ambitions to film my own short in Kyrgyzstan I’ve been watching the classics and taking notes on what makes a truly great documentary.

One of my favourites was Cold by Cory Richards. The opening line in the film is a question all mountaineers have asked themselves at one point in their climbing careers.

In February 2011, Simone Moro, Denis Urubko, and Corey Richards became the first men to climb one of Pakistan's 8,000 meter peaks in winter by summiting Gasherbrum II, surviving -50 degree temperatures and a massive avalanche. Richards captures both the glory and the pain of their adventure in this raw and moving, first-person look at modern super-alpinism.

Quote I’m Pondering

You know, I used to be that kid at school with his headphones in all the time. Drumming out tunes on the desk and playing his guitar every lunch break. Music was a big part of my life then. As I’ve gotten older however I find myself listening to less music, turning off the audiobooks and making more time to be alone with my thoughts. When your mind is being constantly bombarded with information it never really gets a chance to solve the important questions in life.

I recently did a 30-day detox free from mass media, music and social. The only allowance I made was for 30 minutes a day of an informative audiobook that would further my pursuits. All other distractions were out.

To be honest, it was hard. All that silence took me to some pretty dark places in my head that never really got the chance to surface due to all the other distractions. After a week or so I noticed a few changes beginning to happen; I felt calmer, my head was clearer (no catchy music playing on a loop), I began enjoying the sound of the wind and birdsong, but most importantly my mind began searching for answers on important issues to me like ‘how can I make photography my full-time income,’ and ‘when can I move to Chamonix?’

Give it a go. Try cutting out one distraction this month and let me know how you get on.

Get outside and have a great month,

Alex