Mountains by Abby Harrison

Mountains are fantastic (in my opinion) and so is moving.

It is 7.30am mid April 2006. We get out into a beautiful clear crisp morning, well below freezing, but clear and dry so not feeling too chilly. There is snow and ice underfoot. A walk for about an hour, over moorland, past hills and by a river, gradually uphill, warming up body and lungs, brings us to our destination. A coire, that is a semicircular cliff, of rock, snow and ice, scoured out of the mountain is in front of us. Beautiful in its stillness, its grandeur, its ruggedness. Nobody else is about, and we feel so far away from cars, cities, television, and our emails.

We find the climb we want to do, take out ice axes, put on crampons, sort out the rope. I look up and see the layers of ice, snow and rock. I start up using heart and lungs, balance, agility, suppleness and some strength. I enjoy feeling my muscles work, moving and breathing. Crampons and axes bite into the terrain, finding secure placements as I work my way up the snow, rock and ice to get to the top. I stop here and there either to work out a tricky part of the climb, or to bring up my partner, or to catch my breath.

The route opens out and I can see the cornice above me, the amazing sculpture of snow, which has been whipped around over weeks by the wind to create a lip of snow at the top of the cliff wall. This needs to be cut through or climbed over. Above I see the blue sky. To the left I see more of the cliff, with more ice and snow decorating it as if someone has covered it with icing, as if it were a cake.

We carry on up, over the cornice and step into the most beautiful land imaginable. Standing on firm snow, mountains stretch out in front of us, the gentle wind picks up the loose snow and carries it racing across the surface, almost making it look like a small desert sand storm. The sky is blue and the air is clear. I feel very alive and privileged to have had such an experience.

We did not even need to get on an aeroplane to get here. We are in the UK, in Scotland to be more precise, in the Cairngorms. Even if you do not live near a mountain, you probably have parkland, woodland, or moorland near enough to get out into, to move and breathe, run, walk, dance, stretch, salute the sun, or whatever takes your fancy.

Of course not every outdoor experience is idyllic, sometimes it can rain heavily and the wind can be howling, but the sense of achievement is great, and you know that you have done yourself some good rather than scoffing cakes (raw or not!) in front of the telly. Regular exercise is only part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but it is crucial.

Abby Harrison is a qualified Mountaineering and Yoga Instructor and Massage Therapist. She runs her own health and activities business in Scotland called beallich.
For more information see www.beallich.com or telephone 01807 510242.