The excitement is starting to build as we are about to pick up the SWOOSH Snowsailer from the shippers and head up to the Langjokull Glacier in Iceland.
If you would like to follow our progress please click onto the TRACK US Tab of the SWOOSH Snowsailer website or follow us on the outer Edge Mag Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/outeredgeblade
We look forward to updating you over the next 4 days.
Yours in adventure.
Charles, Adrian and John.
After 2 weeks of easing into my training it was time to take it up a notch over the weekend.
12 weeks until TOKE and now the real hard work needs to be put in.
3 sessions, one day after another , Friday, Saturday and Sunday, on the beach pulling my sled weighing 30kg.
Legs are certainly feeling it today so standard weight session at the gym.
Well The SWOOSH snowsailer is going to be a part of the ISPO awards.
We have exactly 6 weeks to get our complete SWOOSH snowsailer to Munich in time for judging.
Over the next 5 weeks I will take you through the design, build and shipping process as well as the judging and European launch in January.
Stay tuned to follow this exciting development.
The crew at Joe Bradley fibreglass are certainly pulling out all the stops to ensure we can be ready to ship to ISPO on the 5 January 2018.
The plug has been completed, outer mould has been completed. They are currently working on the release flange and inner skin today and tomorrow.
Don’t forget to check out the fantastic work these guys do at www.jbf.com.au
So a full week of training behind me and decided that a BIG day was needed to really see where we are at whilst puling the sled.
Really felt it afterwards but the results are certainly starting to show.
Plugs and moulds completed.
Final product coming out of the moulds this week.
Only 4 weeks until we ship to Europe.
The last 2 weeks have been extremely trying as my left knee has been playing up. Scans have revealed that the ACL graft has gone and with no meniscus its just bone on bone causing no end of swelling. There goes my running as part of the training regime…………………….
Back to wearing a brace and doing lots of gym work to strengthen the knee over the next 8 weeks.
I seem to be able to pull the weighted sled OK, its just turning that is difficult under stress.
Plans for Russia continue apace, but I’m fortunate to have a couple of adventures dialed-in prior to then, that will assist in getting my mind and body ready for what’s to come.
Tomorrow I head off to Nepal for a month. Firstly to spend two weeks with Engineering students from the University of the Sunshine Coast, examining earthquake affected structures in greater Kathmandu; then I’m off to the Annapurna Sanctuary where I’ll be using a home-made ‘coffee-can’ radar to see if it can be used to detect slope instability in the region.
I was last in this area in 2001 on an acclimatisation trek as we prepared for a Mountain Designs supported expedition to Mt Everest.
Fortunately a bit of time at altitude, humping a heavy pack, will be just what I need to start getting the body toughened-up for Russia.
Upon returning from Nepal I’ve then got a few weeks holidaying/climbing/researching in New Zealand; more pack time which is great.
But I’ll tell you a bit more about that down the track…
Best wishes to you all.
Adrian.
For the past few days we’ve been speaking with people in the Kathmandu Valley and visiting numerous sites, investigating post-earthquake housing construction techniques. This will keep us busy for another week or so.
After that I bid adieu to my University of the Sunshine Coast colleagues and head onwards and upwards to the Annapurna Sanctuary to start investigating how to measure snow and ice movement using a home-made slope stability radar.
This is where I’ll start to get some decent training in for Russia; traipsing up hill all day, at altitude, with a ~20 kg pack is a great way to build some aerobic fitness and condition the body for what’s to come.
With the help of Mountain Designs, Charles, John and I have the opportunity to train, and then ‘play’ as hard as we can…
Well, it’s been a terrific week or so in the mountains, culminating in a day spent working in the Annapurna Sanctuary. It’s my 3rd time to the Sanctuary, and every time that I visit, I remember how inspirational the mountain environment is for me, and for so many others.
There’s something about the high mountain environment, that stirs the spirit, and makes you believe that anything is possible, as long as you put your mind to it… It’s been a great time in Nepal but tomorrow I’m homeward bound. I’m looking forward to dragging some tyres with my boys, in solid preparation for Russia, before spending some more time training in the hills, in NZ, come January; best Christmas wishes to you all…
