THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO, CANADA!!! =]

Ok, in the last few mins, ive experianced every kind of emotion possible, having innocently logged onto my webmail, and recieved an e-mail saying 'Dear Emma, I’m pleased to offer you a place at the University of Western Ontario...' woah!

At first, i didnt understand, then i was so excited and happy, i ran into the kitchen to tell everyone. then i text my friends (still excited and happy here!) then my mum rang and i got slightly destressed is i hadnt got Colerado, hung up as i could't speak for holding back tears, composed myself and was happy and excited again when she rang back less than two mins later! i then felt worried, sick, excited (still!) very hot, extreamly hungay etc etc ...

Im not looking at stuff on the internet! ooooooo The Blue Mountains, huge lakes, New York, Western Mustangs (there sports team) and snow snow snow and sun sun sun in the summer! Gosh im a lucky girl ... thanks God. Im thinking this is the reason i ended up at Lancaster and just the other day i randomly met a girl whoes from there! hmmmmm it looks pretty!

SKIING IN CHAMONIX WITH THE PROS! YEEAAAHHHH 180 JUMP TURNS!!!

Flew back from Ireland and packed for going skiing!!! There were meant to be 6 of us going on the annual trip. Me, Dad, and dad’s friends, Neil, Ian, Debbie and Aiden. Due to ‘a series of unfortunate events’ it ended up just me and Neil (my Godfather) going and Ian was flying out to join us after two days.
Dad drove me to the airport, and we picked up Neil on the way. Had a bit of a wait in Genera airport as there were communication issues with ATS. Finally got picked up and arrived in Argentiere, Chamonix, at la Boerne around midnight.
The first day we stopped off in Argentiere at Stamos sports for my skis, boots and poles, Le Tour was closed due to windy conditions so we headed for Les Grands Montets which is THE place for skiing and free riding in Chamonix. Did a few blue runs to get back into the flow of things again, and Neil gave me some good pointers about the position of my shoulders, where the weight should be over my skis etc ... it wasn’t long before my feet were killing as I have problems with my arches. So I had to stop and take my boots off to take the pressure off the bottom of my feet. This kept happening through the whole of the trip, but got slightly better as the days went on and from mornings to afternoons. Had a bit of lunch then took the lift up the Bochard (2765m) for my first red run of the season.
Got back to the gite in time for tea, before stopping off for some tea and buiscet supplies in Argentiere. The lady cooked us tea and we had a good conversation about skiing and climbing for about 3 hours.
On the second and third days we went to Le Tour and did a mix of blue and red runs again as Brevent – Flegere was closed. Neil taught me how to carve and was impressed by my sepecatulat 180 degree jump turns. I only manage a few as its hard to do it on sloped less than 30 degrees and the slopes at Le Tour weren’t that steep for long sections. Ian joined us on the third day but got all got mixed up as to where one another were and ended up at slightly different ski resorts for a while.
On the last day, we went back to Les Grands Montets for some extreme skiing! Took the Herse lift up to 2595m and skied the red run with all my improved skills put into practice. We then went off-piste for a bit and worked on small jump turns over the lumps and bumps (I only ended up hugging a tree once this time!). Neil and Ian had to leave soon after lunch as they were off to Samoen (I’ve been there!) for a few weeks of ski touring. I stayed for a few more hours and did a few more runs and wet off piste for a bit too. Ended the trip in style by coming down the valley run right from the highest point on the mountain (2765m) down the Bochard and then the valley run its self, keeping speed all the way (apart from stopping for my feet hurting like crazy a few times) with some pretty nice carving, well finished turns and a huge grin on my face =]
Returned my skis in Argentiere, back to the gite where it was full!! Nice to meet a few more people! Met three guys who were planning on a good three weeks of ice climbing. I was able to give them some advice about snow conditions etc, and we got chatting over tea about all things mountains. Up early (again) the next morning and took the bus in to Chamonix and had a wander around and bought a few bits and bobs. ATS picked my up at about 2:00 and took me to Genera airport. Spent the journey chatting with Joe and practically exchanged life stories about dancing, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, surfing ... and figure skating (although thats a secret). Anyway got back to Liverpool airport at 7ish, got home, had tea, and back to Lancaster!!
I’m very proud of what I achieved although next time I plan to be insured for off-piste to I can ski the Vallee Blanche (had a play around with some crevasse rescue toys I may need), and I only had one minor accident where I got taken out at high speeds and it all ended in broken skis ... my leg is now black.
I think a big thank you is due to Neil and Ian too.
(Pics up soon ... seems to be some problems with that at the moment)

christmas going's on =]

I am happy to say i didn’t do that much over Christmas and having time to do nothing for a week or so certainly was nice for a change. I had so many baths i think ive reversed sea leval rise, watched a few films, saw my friends alot and went to the Envisage gig!!! The band has really come on and im proud to have been a part of it before i cane to Lancaster. Secret sants was a huge success, including me and Rachel learning how to waltz, improving my cooking skills, and everyone getting really good presents this year that really ment something.
I had the option to go up to Glen Coe on boxing day, but thought i needed to spent Christmas with my family. Christmas day was ... christmasy ...and i spent the next few days visiting family. Went to Ireland to see some family too. Was great to see everyone and id forgotten how fun making snowflakes and dens, and playing hide and seek was before Georgie and Hamish rememded me! Cameron showed me their new hourse, and it was good to see Elyse and Suzanne and Howerd too!

GLEN LEITCH AND THE MYSTARY OF THE LOST CRAMPON ... DUN DUN DUUUNNN!!!

Had my last exam before Christmas ... which I’ve now got the results and did rubbish (more on this later), printed our poster for the 3rd time in the library, made a business deal with Mark involving some new shiny GHD straightens, rushed home, finished packing, ate allot of pancakes, and went to Matt’s to meet for our adventure to go see Carrington in St Andrews and to go further up in Scotland for some mountaineering (oh gosh that’s a long over run sentence).
We had a 6minuet connection to make in Edinburgh and I was rather worried to find that our train was exactly 6 minuets delayed at Lancaster. Anyhow ... after a long train journey we arrived in St Andrews where my Cousin Mike picked us up and Carrington met us at the bus station. Made our way up to Pitlochary in the mini bus and stopped off for some chips, arrived in Glen Leitch, just north of Inverness late. After a long and gruelling walk into the hut, we unpacked and hit the deck.
Up at 8ish the next morning and I can say all were rather annoyed as it took about an hour to get any form of fire due to the lack of matches and lighters. Everyone went off there own way, some went to do the 5 sisters and me Carrington and Matt started out for a gully climb. I can certainly say my feet were causing some bother that day and didn’t make things easier (more on this later too). Reached the snowline, geared up, had a bite to eat, and wondered about the snow conditions as it looked like there had been a small avalanche, considered digging am avalanche pit. Moved up the snow slope with Matt leading, then me, then Carrington using two ropes because I tied onto the end by accident (thinking ‘oh bother, this would have been a great opportunity to show off my newly learnt alpine butterfly). The snow was mighty powerdry with little ice, when we topped out Matt realised where the avalanche had come from ... as the cornice was missing. Bumped into the group doing the 5 sisters, and then nipped to the top. Took a couple of pics, and then headed down. The snow was fairly deep, covering gaps in-between rocks which I fell down a few times. On reaching grassy terrain again, I went to take my crampons off only to realise they were not there ... odd. (I found one but there is still a crampon buried in the mountainside up there somewhere).

Had a bit of a lazy but scenic day the next day, headed up the valley to see some waterfalls, then walked back, picked up our stuff and walked out. Picked up Matt, Carrington and Andy on the way back, although it took about an hour to locate them when they were 200m down the road waiting for us. I ran down to find them ... and all was well. Stopped off at the co-op on the way back just as they were closing, and raided the shop. Crashed at Carrington’s academic Dad’s on the way back, then navigated around St Andrews and jumped on the train and promptly fell asleep.