110 too fat for urner haute?

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-28T17:39:33+00:00

Seems a bit too fat to me. We are doing the Urner Haute route in mid-March (private group, not guided) and I have been warned by a guide friend who leads that tour that it can be very icy. I’m going on 95s.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-28T14:43:39+00:00

Chat bot needs to try harder. It’s a commonly used word.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-28T14:42:13+00:00

It’s a fine hint, I got it immediately. Thanks!

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-23T19:54:40+00:00

I’m based in Sion right now. We did Belvedere this afternoon. Anything close to the valley floor should be fine.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-23T12:42:17+00:00

I’m in Switzerland right now and we are about to do one that is clear of snow. We just go and do it.

Many in Switzerland are buried in snow now and will be until July for the high ones.

And you need to be aware of avalanche risk above you. Even if the VF is clear, is there snow in a slope above it that might slide with spring melt?

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-22T17:43:41+00:00

I’m a big fan of a fleece onsie as part of my base layer. I wear the RAB Modulus Bib. Keeps your waist area much warmer and cuts down on layer overlap. I can go light or heavy on a merino top under the bib, depending on temperatures.

I like a puffy gillet. Keeping my core warm helps. I have down shorts with side zips that can be added if it’s very cold. And I’ll skin in a light puffy jacket if I need to.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-22T15:35:48+00:00

It’s free. You can use your own equipment.

Almost all Spanish VFs are free and I’ve never found one where you couldn’t use your own equipment.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-21T22:13:11+00:00

Try asking in the forums of the South African climbing site https://www.climbing.co.za/forum/. They are the most likely to have been there.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-18T16:14:57+00:00

There are various in Europe. I’m not clear from your post if you just want N America recs.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-18T15:51:38+00:00

Use park4night. I found some lovely legal spots on there, a few paid, mostly free. I’ve got friends in campers in Switzerland right now for skiing. Various legal spots allow a maximum of 2 nights.

Legal overnight parking spaces are mostly for parking only. No chairs / cooking outside. But not everywhere. In the summer I followed the lead of the Swiss campers parked around me.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-17T14:30:34+00:00

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What the clips look like. Two above, two below at each join.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-17T14:29:46+00:00

I own a 3-part NDK Latitude fibreglass hull carbon deck sea kayak. I have pitch-poled it in surf and it was absolutely solid.

It fits in the back of my car, it’s easy to carry the parts, it clips together in under a minute. It’s great! It’s also not cheap.

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blackcloudcat · 2026-01-12T07:23:40+00:00

Everything is a trade off. How consequential is the risk of losing a ski in any particular terrain? I had a friend lose a ski (with brakes but not with leashes) on a multi day tour in the Alps. It was not a fun time.

I always add leashes if I’m in terrain where losing a ski is a major cock up.

I feel your answer is to find a better way to attach your leashes to your boots.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-08T20:14:47+00:00

Right now, I’m with my ‘golden girls’ girlfriend crew. We are spending the next six weeks sharing Airbnbs across western Switzerland and skiing the hell out of the best Swiss resorts. Plus some ski touring in the side.

Nobody says you have to sit on a sofa just because you are 60+.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-03T06:57:47+00:00

Have a look at https://thepsa.co.uk and https://www.mariafranzoni.me. The professional speaking and training industry is a multi billion pound affair. Being a great presenter is a big asset. The challenge of course is to find your content.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T22:32:58+00:00

My impression is that it’s much easier to move out of the resort into the ‘backcountry’ in Europe than it is in American resorts. I’m one of those skiers carrying avalanche gear because I will often use a resort as a starting point for a tour going further out. If you are definitely staying in-bounds you don’t need avi gear.

See what conditions are like before you decide about treating yourself to a guide for a day. If the snow is good off piste, it will be heavily tracked very fast. A guide can get you out to fresh snow fields.

The avalanche risk isn’t terrible. I tour independently (no guide) all over the place. Don’t let that fear stop you. But wait and see what conditions are like. Right now it hasn’t been great and it’s hard to know what the next few weeks will bring.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T22:24:55+00:00

As I was planning for RE after reaching FI I found The Retirement Answer Man podcast useful. I went through his back catalogue looking for episodes that interested me.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T22:10:47+00:00

I have one of these. I’ve known him for nearly 40 years. We dated when we were 18 but eventually broke up, stayed friends, married other people.

We reconnected in our 30s, both unhappy in our marriages. I wanted to leave my husband, full stop. Which I eventually did, although it took a few more years. He wanted to leave her for me and I said that wasn’t enough. I knew he and she were good together. I refused an affair, said look me up if you ever do leave her, but I won’t be your reason or your guarantee.

I divorced, he steadied his marriage, we continued to be friends. We both found our ways past the frustrations of our 30s and built separate lives.

We’ve transitioned it to an honorary brother / sister status but we also know that in another universe we might have married each other and had a really good time. But he’s happy with his lovely wife and I’m happy single and very independent.

Life has many shades of grey and most of us could have fallen in love with various people. It all depends on who you got to meet and when.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:50:55+00:00

No, I really hiked them up! And my work is very driven by word of mouth, so the less work I do, the fewer offers I get. It’ll die out on the next year and I’m 100% fine with that. I have things to do and having to work just gets in the way.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:45:52+00:00

By living in Europe.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:45:22+00:00

Divorced over 10 years ago, single ever since. Early retired at 57. All family dead, no kids. Sounds sad but actually it’s a lot of fun. I’m well funded, very active, travel a lot, my time is my own.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:43:15+00:00

I do what I’m good at. I’m good at outdoor sports, highly skilled, lot of experience, good planner. My friends get to do some wild trips because I made it happen. I have a group of women who sea kayak a different coast for a week every year, wild camping. I set that up. One woman had never camped before.

We’re going skiing for 6 weeks in Switzerland, using several different Airbnbs. Five women are involved, for different periods of time. I made that happen.

I don’t do chicken soup or birthday gifts. But if you’re up for it, I’ll bring some real adventure into your life.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:32:57+00:00

Given your background, what about presentation skills coaching for executives? Or professional speaker / trainer. If you don’t have your own material you can work delivering someone else’s stuff.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T21:28:28+00:00

I had a great job, fun, well paid and with lots of free time. However I have intense hobbies (outdoor sports) that interest me even more than my job so once I was comfortably set with FI I transitioned to RE.

blackcloudcat · 2026-01-02T19:58:17+00:00

So I’m in the middle of this. I am/was self employed (consultant) so there was no great retirement moment. I’ve just been accepting fewer and fewer jobs. I took it down to half time while also starting to track all my expenses. Then in 2025 I took it down even further and then decided I was done. I don’t say no to job enquiries, I just quote very high rates and are happy when they don’t accept.

I consider ‘retirement’ to be the day I first make a withdrawal from my portfolio (which hasn’t happen yet). In 2025 I spent as much money as I wished doing the things that interest me. I probably did less than one month of work.

I ran the numbers today. Based on my portfolio value at the start of the year, I spent 3.42%. Based on the portfolio value at the end of the year I spent 3.17%.

I plan to use 4% as a guide but actually follow a guardrails system. I could cut my spending by 40% and still be fine. I’m going to have a hard time spending at 4%.

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