Alptitude - Into the Wild
At the beginning of this year I found myself parting ways with full-time employment and beginning the search for my next challenge. The first thing I did was give myself some time, to take away the pressure of finding something else and to figure out my next move, so that what I do next matters.
A good friend of mine, over dinner, suggested that I find a coach to help me regain any lost confidence and get clear on what I wanted next. I checked out a number of coaches and after much deliberation decided to join the Happy Start-up School Vision 20/20 Programme. I know the founders of this programme and have been to their Summercamp a couple of times, but this time I wanted to throw myself into figuring out why I am not being drawn back to a corporate environment and who I want to be for the next 10 years of my working. The programme is brilliant - more on that elsewhere, but a couple of weeks ago Laurence asked me if I wanted to attend his Alptitude - Into the Wild adventure in the Alps. With a certain amount of trepidation I agreed, and last week I set off, with 7 blokes, to traverse the Alps and find myself!
It was, indeed, very hard, but massively rewarding. Its a long time since I have been in the mountains, and it was lovely to get back. My mountain climbing legs, were, however, pretty stiff and it took a while to get back into the habit of continuous ups and downs. I also was not used to carrying all my belongings on my back, something I wish I’d realised when packing my rucksack in the comfort of my own bedroom. Of course I wouldn’t need more than one change of clothes, a massive medical kit and an extra pair of trousers. Fool!
Anyway, despite the lack of fitness and the arthritis I did my best to keep up with the lads for 3 days of hiking through sun, rain and snow, finishing off with a fabulous e-biking session dropping 1000m (very quickly) and then climbing through forests to our final destination of a wonderful Chambre D’Hote for a shower, sauna and 3 course meal.
We stayed in secret hideaway refuges which were easily made warm with log burners, and our amazing host / guide Arno De Jong of AlpsAdventures prepared delicious food for us. The first one we stayed in had no electricity, so we ate dinner by candlelight. After dinner I was the first one of the group to do a Wisecrowd session. This involved me talking about where I was in life / career etc and asking the group a related question upon which I wanted advice. They then questioned me to get clarification, then I had to turn my back on them (in the dark!) while they discussed my question and possible solutions. It sounds scary, but was actually fantastic.
From this activity, and from the whole trip, I learned a number of lessons. They are:
Be present. Don’t worry about the massive hill coming up this afternoon, enjoy the views you can see right now and tackle the hill when you reach it.
Make it fun. If you can laugh while doing something hard, it doesn’t feel quite so hard.
Talk to people with vulnerability. If they are worth it, they will respond kindly and with support. If they don’t, they’re not worth it.
Be confident. You are much more capable than you think.
Skills you have that seem obvious to you can be quite unknown to other people
Don’t be a twat - if you need help ask for it. Take it if its offered. And don’t resent the fact that you need it. Accept it gracefully and enjoy things being easier.
If Laurence or Carlos from the Happy Start-Up School ask you to do anything, ever, SAY YES!
