When time flies...

{For one minute, walk outside, stand there in silence, look up at the sky and contemplate how amazing life is}

Photo credit: Petr Holub

It's been a month since I've published my last post.. a month! Can you believe that? I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. A little shy of four months I boarded an airplane to Canada not knowing what was ahead of me...excited, but scared shitless. Today I'm still super excited, but no longer scared. Being in this beautiful environment, surrounded by mountains, always there but never the same, and having met so many amazing people really makes you realise how freakin' amazing life is. 

The past few weeks have been filled with some fun and/or active adventures! I guess I would be really pushing it if I tried to catch up on the entire month, so I'll stick to the highlights. Obviously I'll leave out the parts where I'm doing groceries, laundry or cleaning, because that would make me, and this post for that matter ;), a whole lot less interesting. 

Highlight of the highlights was an early AM hike up Ha Ling last week. On Saturday morning at 5.15 AM Petr, Petr, Eva and I went up the mountain to see the sunrise. #czechparty Headlamp on! Pancho, Jorge's beautiful black Lab, joined us on our adventure and we had a blast. Conditions were amazing, if you take the short slippery icy part of the trail out of the equation, and the sunrise was just plain beauty. Besides.. I cannot think of a better excuse to eat chocolate at 08.30 am than hiking up a mountain. What has been your favourite adventure lately? 

Photo credits: Petr Holub

The hiking in the greater Canmore area is just so good. Besides Ha Ling I also went up the Centennial Ridge Trail with Annie. Super steep, but amazing views! We didn't quite make it to the summit of Mount Allan due to sketchy, slippery and snowy conditions, but we had fun nonetheless and let's be honest there's not a whole lot in life that beats eating your lunch on top of a mountain! Our way down was far from graceful though.. oops..bum sliding! 

For those whom have seen The Revenant, that award winning movie with Leo, these surroundings might seem familiar, because part of the movie was shot in Canmore.. although..I just recently saw the movie and did not recognise a single peak. I didn't like the movie in general I guess.. haha.. so violent! Way, way, way funnier is the movie "A line across the sky" about the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia by Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold. Eva, Lada, Romca and I made our way to the Banff centre to see this movie as part of a re-screening of Banff Film Festival 2015 movies. #czechparty The night featured three mountain movies all well worth your time watching them; K2 - touching the sky, Operation Moffat and A line across the sky. And even though I'd already seen the latter on the Reel Rock 10 tour I was happy to see it again. Alex never disappoints you, because they don't sponsor failure. This movie makes me more and more eager to make it out to Patagonia one day! One day...

Also super stoked that I've been able to go climbing more the past few weeks. I've been hitting the gym a couple of times with Annie and Jorge, my buddy in crime, and we are really making some progress here. Recently climbed my first 6a without takes and my first 6b with a couple of takes on top rope. Yay! Spring has definitely sprung in Alberta and many climbing areas are good to go. Really excited to go outdoors soon and get back into climbing on real rock and some leading. Also a big shout out to the incredible India for her first climbing experience! Hope to see you more of you out there soon, sweetie :). 

Climbing the Incredible India!

Besides climbing I've been keeping myself busy riding my bike to Banff on the Legacy Trail and hiking Tunnel Mountain with Jana, slacklining in the park with Eva & Jennifer and running the trails of Canmore with or without Pancho. I can tell you one thing.. slacklining is hard! Me and that fine tree in Riverside Park are real besties now, that's for sure. #highfive 

 Run Pancho, run!

On a more cultural note I went to a concert, played Settlers of Catan and partied the night away with real good tequila at Jorge's birthday party (flip cup is never a good idea no matter what they tell you ;)). 

Jordan Klassen performed at Communitea Cafe last week and I really enjoyed the fairy folk music paired with a warm cozy cup of tea. Good vibe, good tunes, good tea. #lifeisgood 

Megan, Jenn and I teamed up for a Canmore Uncorked experience at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and a game of Settlers of Catan. Canmore Uncorked is a food festival; 12 days of special set-price menus, culinary events, progressive dinners & cooking classes. RMF offered a $20 set-price menu and I really enjoyed my smoked salmon flatbread pizza. Yummy!! The game of Catan was so much fun that we'll have another games night this Friday. Add tea, wine and some Taylor Swift and we've got ourselves a good good night. #lifeisgoodpart2

At mountain Mercato we also participated in the Canmore Uncorked festival. We offered a set-price lunch featuring an amazing grilled cheese sandwich with homemade ketchup and a small butterleaf salad. A real treat..especially that ketchup ;).. a real piece of art from a Czech-Dutch collaboration and lots of love! Mountain Mercato also had the pleasure of welcoming the guests of the Lady MacDonald Progressive Dinner tour in her cafe.
For a short impression of the progressive dinners click here (extra kudos for those spotting me in the clip ;))

Recently all staff at Mountain Mercato went on a little road trip into the city (red. Calgary) for some coffee training at Phil & Sebastian and a delicious lunch at SideWalk Citizen. Aimee, head of training at P&S and 2014 Soy Latte Art Champion, showed us the ropes! We got some refreshers on grinding and brewing espressos, steaming milk and the baby steps of latte art. Be aware: the best coffee in town has become even better and definitely prettier! Come by to say hi and experience it yourself.

That's it for now cuties! I'll try really hard not to have you wait yet another month for a new update on life in the Rockies.

<3 Talk soon!

p.s. Did you know that Mountain Mercato is active on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. I'm giving our social media a little boost and would love for you to follow us on either, or all for that matter, of these social media platforms. I'll keep you updated on our featured products, events & menu options or advise to kick off your day:

Stoky-Stoky-Wack-Wack!

"The expert in anything was once a beginner"
  
Whenever I get intimidated by knowledge or skills I have myself recall this saying and try to embrace the opportunity to learn and grow. 

I'm fairly easily intimidated when it comes to climbing, because there's simply so many amazing climbs, climbers and skills. A little over a year ago I got introduced to indoor climbing at Mountain Network Nieuwegein. I remember being scared shit and questioning my decision to go and climb Mont Blanc. Step-by-step and with the help of various experts I learned and grew. And like Chris Sharma, once a beginner now very much an expert in climbing, expresses in his interview with Siked climbing has changed my life in a profound manner too. Not only did it very much contribute to choosing Canmore, Alberta, Canada as my home-far-away-from-home, it also brought me new friends, friends for life <3, it boosted my confidence and motivated me to challenge myself beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone. #gratitude

Something I did not ever consider seeing myself doing and therefore far outside of my comfort zone, but like really really far, was ice climbing. I'm talking past tense here, because last weekend I went ice climbing with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. I enrolled for a basic ice course where the main focus is on climbing efficiently and getting on the ice as much as possible. 

At 07.30 am on Saturday morning  I found myself sitting in the classroom at Yamnuska's office in downtown Canmore. With me 10 fellow ice-climbing-rookies, an interesting mix of people. From guys whom had never climbed before to avid, skilled rock climbers and everything in between. Slightly nervous I signed the waiver and accepted the personal climbing gear: crampons and an ice axe. So far, so good! We headed for the ice and it happened to be that the guides took us to Lower Grassi a.k.a. The JunkYards, a leisurely 40 minute walk form my house. A few weeks ago Jana and I spotted some ice climbers at this location during our hike and wondered whether or not this was beginner ice or not.. I guess we now know the answer. The guides, Nick & Brad, placed the anchors, gave us a short demonstration of axe and crampon placement and told those with previous belay experience to get going. Oink! Noora, the only other female participant, and I paired up for some girl power and started climbing. Nervously and awkward at first, but after a few routes we got more and more excited and Noora confessed: "Shit, I wasn't supposed to like this! I was supposed to be scared shit and never wanting to be ice climbing ever again!". I could have not agreed more! One of the other participants was super stoked about being outside, learning how to climb ice and made sure we all new how stoked (like so so stoked!). However, his enthusiasm was very much contagious and soon we were all "so stoked!". After about 5 hours of climbing, we all had a hard time lifting our arms above our head and called it a day. 

On Sunday we headed for Wedge Smears in K-country. Snowy and cold, but the slightly slippery hike up to the falls gave us a nice warm-up. The routes at this site were a little harder compared to the JunkYards and the ice "felt" different. I was more nervous and anxious than the day before, induced by the brittle ice that was falling down and risk awareness, but nevertheless retained a high level of stokiness! The axe placements with my right hand were far better compared to those with my left hand. At one point I placed my right axe, climbed up and tried to release the axe. When it didn't come loose I started pulling it more forcefully.. one of those poor life decisions, because it suddenly popped out and I wacked myself in the forehead with the back of the axe. Like, for real! Guide Nick had seen it happen and I could hear the grinning from the ground, followed by a "Are you okay?". Luckily there was enough ice around to keep the swelling to a minimum ;). Noora became the trooper of the day by trying the hardest route at the site as the first client after the guides did some demo-ing. She nearly made it and I was so super proud of her perseverance, gut and stokiness! Mike was the only client making it through the crux with a forceful locked off one arm pull up, super impressive!  

Weekend-fun-fact 1: On our way back to Canmore we had a little moment of panic..'How come?' you ask?? Well, on our way into K-country Dustin, also a participant and my ride for the day, told us he needed to get gas, but we got "lost" and we didn't. I think all four of us sort of ignored the question "Do we have enough gas to get back?", because none of us mentioned it again. I even ignored the "beep" from the engine 1/3rd into our way back, because I could tell form Dustin's face he was getting slightly nervous.. haha. When we passed Dead Man's (By that time I had fallen asleep.. obvi..car+me=sleep) he saw a gas station, but it was too late to take the exit and he, kinda desperately because we literally had no gas left, drove his car up the entrance against traffic. Haha. Epic! Fun fact 2: Dustin was crowned "best dressed ice climber of the year" since he showed up in three dress-shirts (it's all about layers), chinos and his parka for the second day of ice climbing. 'Why?' you ask? Well, because he went partying in Lake Louise the night before, missed the exit to Banff on his way to Canmore and therefore didn't have the time to get changed and be on time for the course. "Luckily" he had a couple of dress-shirts in the back of his car so he could layer up and claimed he wasn't cold at all. Epic^2. The weekend definitely wouldn't have been the same without you, Dustin! E

There really isn't a whole lot more to tell about these two days other than the fact that I had an amazing time, reaching a high level of stokiness with a fun group of people. I'm definitely keen on trying some more ice in the future and would recommend the course to anyone interested in learning the basics of ice climbing. Some pica's to make you all very enthusiastic (red. jealous):  

 

I had the next Monday and Tuesday off from work as well and so did Jana. Therefore her and I teamed up for some adventuring. We spent all of Monday XC skiing (16k) and climbing at Elevation place. Since we both don't have a car we also walked about 15k back and forth between my house, the Nordic Centre and the climbing gym. By the time we got home we had a much deserved meal and watched a movie on Netflix. We slept like babies! On Tuesday I could not move my leg in front of the other..so sore..and I had to skip on skiing. While Jana was doing a few laps on the Banff trail I sat in front of the fire at the day lodge reading my book.. Four days of exciting outdoor activities (did I mention my 10k trail run on Friday ;)) got me wiped! Hahaha. 

In the evening the Mountain Mercato cuties+ came over to my place for a little Mexican party. I made a big pot of chilli (yum! With cinnamon and dark chocolate!) and added some guac to the mix, while the others brought toppings and booze (apple-cucumber-tequilla-cocktail for the win!). We ate, drank and laughed :). Cheers to making new friends <3.   

After being off for 5 days in a row I was ready to get back to work; the world of good coffee, latte-art, panini's, the dish pit, cheese, preserves, dulce and manjari chocolate. The benefit of this non-office job and working in shifts is that you get to sleep in on days other than Sat/Sunday. I "took advantage" of this benefit on Friday, because, well, Thursday was St. Paddy's Day. Although none of us was dressed in green, nor were we drinking green beer, I celebrated this day with a few gemmies at Tavern. Such a fun night drinking and chatting. Money well spent on a cab home.. don't think Kona (red. my bike), nor me, would have had much fun riding back home ;). Cheers to making new friends - part II <3.   

The book I've been reading recently is "Where the mountain casts its shadow" by Maria Coffey. The subtitle "The dark side of extreme adventure" caught my attention when browsing through my roommates' book collection. This book describes the consequences of loving those whom pursue extreme adventure..the separations, the stress and the accidents. I definitely shed a few tears while reading the book.. for the climbers whom lost their lives doing what they loved most, for the partners always in second place "competing" with the mountains, for the kids growing up without their parents whom disappeared at high altitude and for the always hovering presence of death. The book got to me. Inspiring and motivating, because although tragic and grueling those climbing accidents had one thing in common: the passion, dedication and intensity of the climbers in them. Maria ends the book with the legacy of her once partner Joe Tasker, whom disappeared on the North Face of Everest, that jolted her to life: experience life to the fullest, shape it to your dreams and anything is possible. I closed the book with a smile and renewed energy..not to go and climb Everest, but to grab life by the balls.

Besides all the climbing, hiking and skiing I've been doing lately I also picked up on yoga and running. Amanda and I have been hitting the trails twice now and it's been really great. The spring like weather made conditions kinda sketchy..super slippery icy patches at some parts, ankle deep mud at other parts resulting in these muddy running shoes with cleats. Nonetheless I really enjoy running outdoors and hope to hit the trails more often. We have to be careful though now the bears are out! #noshit

I've been trying various yoga classes and studios. So far I find that Restorative Yoga and Yin Yoga suit me best. The latter targets the connective tissue, joints and ligaments and I feel it will complement my active lifestyle. After a class a few weeks ago the teacher told me "You need more yoga!" referring to my limited flexibility. Although at first I thought she was just being blunt, I acknowledged the possibility she might be right. And she was.. after a class of Hot Yin Yoga last Thursday I found myself saying: "I need more yoga!". This class is challenging due to the duration of every pose. Unfortunately I am nowhere near the intended positions and am forced to embrace variations to the practice. Hillary told me all I need is more yoga-time and this will change. I'm eager to learn, inspired to make progress and curious to determine the effect on my other activities. More yoga-updates to come. I even have my own yoga mat now..Thanks, Jen!!

I've also been decorating my bedroom! Besides beautiful pictures of friends & family, my Agnes in August mountain frame and the "Dream, Travel, Discover"-bag my walls are decorated with these beautiful drawings by Emi & Miya. After hiking Johnston Canyon we had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and while "the grownups" chatted the girls made me these. Happy memories! Hope to get some more adventuring in soon with these cuties and their lovely mum! <3 I really need to get myself a car asap so I can go visit them in Calgary (or meet them halfway form some hiking ;)). I'm gonna squeeze ya!!
 

Last but not least.. I've been enjoying the Q-music Top 500 form the 90's for the last week. So good! So many songs I forgot about! I'm glad they've made this Spotify playlist so I can listen to them a little longer.. what's you favorite 90's song? I'm indecisive between "As long as you love me" by the Backstreet Boys #teenagecrush or "Hardcore vibes". Haha, the latter brings back some good memories of LowLands 2006.. remember, James ;)?? 

It's a wrap. Talk soon!
<3! Squeeezeeee ya!