Snowy Corsica - April 2015

I’d flown out with only hand luggage as a friend was driving most of my kit down for a kayaking trip. As I had a couple of days spare I decided to head out for some exploring.

I was in the Mediterranean, it was sunny and warm, and I was looking forward to a relaxed jaunt in the mountains. Then suddenly the road was blocked by a large snow mound.

Not to be put off I packed my bag and started walking. I soon passed the snow and concluded that my equipment (trainers, a thin sleeping bag and no roll matt being some of the problems) would probably be fine after all.

However soon the unmade road turned to a snow covered mountain path. I pushed on, my trainers sinking in the soft snow, until I reached a small mountain lake a few hundred metres below the summit I’d been aiming for.

I ‘made’ camp here, curling up in between and on some large boulders so that I could get out the snow. The night was cold; I woke up regularly and would nibble some food to temporarily warm me and lull me back to sleep before the cold chill once again woke me shivering in my sleeping bag.

I abandoned the climb early in the morning. I’d eaten most of my food, my phone wasn’t working and no-one knew where I was. Tail between my legs I beat a hasty retreat back down to beneath the snowline and the Mediterannean’s warming sun.