More Packing for Yakking!

Here I go again!
I'm about to fly out to Nepal, once again, to take part in The North Face Yak Attack 2013 Mountain Bike Stage Race.

Taking a bike and all the necessary paraphernalia that goes with riding in an international stage race can take a bit of creative thinking with a checked baggage weight of 30kgs! (Along with a miserly 7kgs of hand-luggage)

I might be a be a shade over my limit! Hopefully a cheery smile and a dim look on my face might help to win over the staff at Ethiad's  check-in desk, otherwise I'm gong to have to try and pull off the "I'm taking part in an event for charity" angle again. (It worked for me last year). If that fails I'm going to be crying in my latte and shelling out for the obscene excess baggage charges.

I thought it might be slightly easier this year due to only requiring kit for The Yak Attack, and not for a trekking trip too, but I was sadly mistaken!

Prologue: The North Face Yak Attack 2013

The 2013 North Face Yak Attack

YAK ATTACK

"The Showdown in The Annapurna's"

Yak attack is considered to be one of the toughest endurance races on the calendar and is the highest altitude mountain bike stage-race on Earth.

11 stages, 400kms, and 12000m of ascent over some of the most brutal terrain on the planet. Peaking at 5416m on The Thorong La, Yak Attack is racing at its most primeval; it's The Himalaya, mighty, unforgiving, and unpredictable.

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2013 looks set to cement The Yak Attack firmly into the conciousness of the endurance athlete community. With global manufacturer The North Face coming on-board as principal sponsor and the UK's Channel 5 filming it, with Richard Parks, for part of a documentary series, Yak Attack finally seems to be coming of age.

Review: Osprey Atmos 35L & 25L Packs.

Osprey Atmos 35L & 25L Packs.

Osprey Atmos 35L, 25L, and The Talon 4 Lumbar Pack.

Anyone with an interest in the outdoors will tell you that all of us have an obsession with kit, and within that obsession we usually have one particular fetish. For some it's stoves, for other's it may be accessories, boots, or whatever.  Mine, as you will gather, is packs!

I have a shameless lusting for packs.

(I also have an unhealthy addiction to training shoes; in fact I'm your regular Imelda Marcos, but that's another story).

I currently own seven backpacks, yes that's right seven! (Not including the ones I have for fishing). I wonder what a psychiatrist would make of that? :D

So I reckon that I'm in a pretty good position to review a pack or two!

Review: Climb On! Intensive Skin Care.

ClimbOn!

ClimbOn! Bar (Wonder Bar!)

Now I'm guessing that a lot of you will be wondering what this is right? Let me tell you... It's a little bar of magic!

It's the Snake Oil of the Old West! :D

As is says on the tin it's an "Intensive Skin Repair", but I think it's a lot more than that. It's an essential go-anywhere, can't-do-without, jack-of-all-trades, wonder bar (excuse the pun!).

The ClimbOn! Blurb:

Climb On! Bar is a 100% pure (chemical free), food grade, skin nourishing product.  We say "If you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin."

This one product can soothe burns, cuts, scrapes, rashes, cracked cuticles and heels, tissue nose, road rash, diaper rash, abrasions, poison ivy...any skin issue that needs deep moisturizing and nourishing. Climb On! Bar was originally formulated for rock climbers. It has crossed all barriers since it works on any skin type and any skin issue. The beeswax is the emulsifier which holds the ingredients together. It acts as a humectant, which draws moisture to the skin. It acts as a natural water resistant barrier to help skin stay protected. Anyone from babies to rock stars use this product. The essential oils of neroli and lavender work their therapeutic properties to help the body bring the skin back into balance. Our body sees Climb On! recipe as a friend not a foe!

Climb On! is for EVERYONE!

Neil says: