The TRIBE community are fearless, bold and push their limits. We go further and faster - together - as a tribe. Our four new TRIBE Ambassadors embody these values; they are ordinary people who have achieved truly extraordinary things. We hope they will help and inspire the TRIBE community to explore the everyday and be the very best versions of themselves.
Since we formed The Tempest Two, we have sought adventure in the most remote corners of the globe. We have found ourselves in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles from land. On the summits of mountains in the Patagonian wilderness, and in the depths of the dry, stifling deserts of Africa. However, you don’t need to look to far to find true adventure.
In 2018, we are passionate about showing what lies on our doorstep here in the UK. Our small island often gets overlooked as a destination, but hiding within it, lies some treasures to rival any place on Earth.
For many, jobs, families and professional commitments prevent them from taking on adventures that may be too costly, both in terms of finance and time. What we want to show through a series of trips this year, is that not only can you take on some epic challenges over a weekend, you can also do it on a budget.
At the end of February, we left London and travelled North, across the border and into the Scottish highlands. Neither of us had ever visited the area before, and we wanted to explore what the infamous Cairgorms had to offer. We were not left disappointed.
We would spend two days winter climbing on the famous Corrie an t-Sneachda crag in the Northern Corries. The crag is made up of a series of varying mixed winter climbs, suiting all skill levels. We entered the fray having no real climbing experience to count on, and the days that followed would push us far outside our comfort zone. We were to be lead by a mountain guide, Dave, who would act as our teacher, protector, hand-holder(!) throughout the trip, and who we hoped would keep us from falling off a mountain.
Day one was a crash course in winter climbing, and we set off in perfect conditions to climb a route named, Aladdin’s Couloir, a narrow strip of snow and ice from the base to the summit. This was a perfect introduction, not too steep, nothing too technical, and a day of rope-work which gave us the basics of safety and technique. We would belay each-other, and often use the breaks from climbing to grab a Tribe bar and replenish the energy levels. We have learnt the hard way when training for our summit of Mont Blanc in 2016, that poor nutrition management is a recipe for disaster. We were climbing a mountain called Gran Paradiso on the Italian side of Month Blanc, and were spending a night at altitude to let our bodies acclimatise, and on our summit day left our lunch in the refuge hut. Thinking little of it, we ploughed on through the climb, and on the descent, hit a wall, hard! Our bodies ran out of fuel, and we were plagued with crippling headaches, and a general lack of bodily function! From that day on, we take nutrition on adventures very seriously, and as a rule of thumb, never let ourselves reach a point of hunger, as it’s too late by that point.
After a few hours of scrambling with ice-axes and crampons, and with a better understanding of how to set up a belay point, using specific climbing gear (nuts and cams etc) we reached the summit elated, and exhausted.
Day two arrived and brought with it some infamous Scottish weather. The forecast showed a moderate wind, with some stronger gusts, but as we approached the crag, we soon realised this had been a significant understatement. We climbed regardless, and set off to conquer Goat Path Gully, a more technical and challenging route. Over the next few hours, we were pummelled by wind, whipping ice and snow into our faces, and freezing us to the core. The climbing was on the limits of our abilities, and we are not ashamed to say, it was bloody scary at points! We scaled a frozen waterfall, hauling ourselves up using our axes, and tried to avoid looking down at all costs. The conditions and terrain made this a day to remember. We often find that second-degree fun is a key ingredient for true adventure. In the moment, when you are clinging to a suspended piece of ice, with your beard frozen into icicles, and your hands numb to any feeling, its easy to question why the hell you would put yourself in such a position. But once we had summited, and were cheers-ing a beer next to an open fire in our hotel, the true sense of fun reveals itself. It is moments like this, which everyone should strive for. Those times when you are truly outside the comfort zone, asking serious questions of yourself. It is at this time, that you progress and learn at an astonishing rate. You begin to realise what you are truly capable of.
What we hope to show from these series of adventures, is you can accomplish a huge amount over a weekend here in the UK. For the cost of a couple of boozy nights out in London, you can genuinely achieve something with a group of mates or even on your own, and walk into the office on Monday with some stories to tell.
We truly hope that over the year, we can inspire yourselves to get out there and push yourselves in this amazing place we call home. We would love to hear from you all, with any tips on places to visit, and likewise if anyone is looking for advice when planning their own escape, we are happy to help!
Tom & James (The Tempest Two)
@thetempesttwo