The mountains are calling and I must go

Hello and welcome back to Tobias Talks

I am writing this on the eve of an adventure that I have been planning for months. I am going to Norway, to kayak down the UNESCO Nærøyfjord and then climb 1500m upwards to the summit of Breiskrednosi, before climbing back down and kayaking back.

I have been thinking about this day for a long time and as the time draws nearer I feel underprepared. I have a kit list written out, my bergen packed with everything I could need and I’ve checked-in on the Norwegian Air app.

So why the self-doubt? I am not sure I have physically prepared myself as well as I could have. I have spent most weekends doing some form of hiking and climbing, including the tallest mountain in England, Scafell Pike, but this sits a full 300m lower than Breiskrednosi. Maybe i'm still too big to do this, every pound of excess weight on my body is another pound I have to lug up a mountain. I know I can do it. It’s going to hurt. There will be blood, sweat and likely some tears but I know I'll get to the top.

My fear is that I will let myself down, that I will need more frequent breaks than anyone else in my group, a group of complete strangers I might add, I fear that I will be the only one wheezing or struggling with every step. I am really hoping there is at least one other overweight or older person to help shoulder the burden of being the slowest in the group. But there is every chance that the rest of the group is made up of Nordic alpine specialists or the ludicrously fit people that run marathons just for the fun of it. There is just no way to know, until I'm there.

This blog has always been about honesty and authenticity, so I will be authentic, I will be honest. I know I could have done more. I know there were more opportunities to exercise, and opportunities to push harder when I did. I ate too many chocolate bars and drank too many pints of beer. I fear that I could have done better, and I will never know how easy this could have been with the proper preparation. But now is the time of reckoning and what is done is done. I am as prepared as I am going to be and now all that is left is to do.

So I leave you with a quote from one of the most famous mountaineers that has ever lived, John Muir.

Your Friend, Tobias