What a year!

Do I feel bad for going to bed on new years eve at 00.30h? Hell no! Specially after having had a great day climbing in Montgrony with great new friends. And after all this years being hammered with the idea that we have to do something special on those dates, it certainly has the opposite effect to me. Call me rebel if you wish, haha. My recent change in life, being a full time Design Director at Construct London, has left me with a deep appreciation of a good nights sleep. So being back home, being looked after by mum, and having none of the London stress, makes me sleep like a baby. There's also a factor of nostalgia here, memories of waking up in the same bed at a million o'clock because you had been doing naughty stuff the night before sprung up this morning. 

I started digging up old memorabilia that my mum kept in my old room. Some great relics came out, what a laugh. Most of the stuff is over 10 years old, and it makes you think how quickly life goes by. I looked at this pics and I was in my 20's, and now I'm a grown up, but I still feel I'm in my 20's, but there's nothing stopping the clock. It makes you think whether the life you living is fully packed with the stuff you wanna do, whether you achieving your dreams, and most importantly, whether you are happy.

Looking back at my 2011 is certainly interesting. I am fully content where I am now, and things are looking really exciting for the future. I think that's an achievement on itself considering the ups and downs I had this year. Most of you that know me, would know that I am not one for hanging about and wasting my time. 2011 was fully packed with great adventures and kept my trajectory of chasing my dreams... and so will 2012 be carried forward! Here is the list for the good and the bad of this year

The Good
Ranking 27th Ice World Cup in Saas Fee

Climbing M10+

Flashing M10

Winning London Tooling Series
Climbing my first 8a
Climbing 10 7c's and 7c+'s
Flashing for first time 7c+

Becoming a Design Director

Climbing a bunch of hard ice & mixed routes

The Bad

Loosing Gerry Sheehy

Getting separated from my wife

So as you can see there's more good than bad, a positive outcome. I'd like to share some pictures that have nothing to do with climbing, but they are a trip down Memory Lane, and for those who know me, would find them kinda funny. I'm greatly thankful to all the people that make my life so special, so thank you guys!

10 years ago...

Greg Basdevant, aka "Freestyler", left this pic on my work desk after a good party. Greg is one of the best people France ever produce.

Good times. Manu, ex-pro climber and first spanish teenage to climb 8a. The Martin and Thomas were my party fiends in Italy

A friends impression of me and my passion for climbing

My beloved Panda, many adventures on board of that car

Looking lost in a party. That was a good night, although it got me into trouble...

Climbing road trip from Venice to Barcelona

Ries the man. He was loads of fun in the mountains

Dolomites are awesome for snowboarding

Old skool...

That night we slept in a cave in the Dolomites

Heading for another adventure in Dolomites