First Zherpa blog

Why is it that whenever I’m faced with a blank sheet of paper, the inspiration and finely tuned phrases recently echoing in my inner monologue just disappear into thin air?

So it is that I start this, my first blog post/mailing/op-ed piece for Zherpa… and I hope that 2010 is truly good to you and yours. I started writing a part of this post back in early January, intending it to be a happy New Year message, although perhaps now happy Chinese New Year would be more appropriate….

January here was cold, and so I had a couple of weeks of true winter hibernation, deep in thought in the deep snow.  When I moved to the French Alps with my significant other six years ago it was for the fun, the excitement of living in the shadow of real mountains.  We were young(er),  footloose, and cashrich ( although I hasten to add, not rich) from steady London jobs, and life was indeed very good.

This year the snow has been cold and hard, not especially deep, and not particularly fun. Since I resigned myself to being made redundant in December, the harsh winter realities kicked snow in my face, and laughed at my last season’s threadbare ski attire.

Because although I’d like to pretend otherwise,  I’ve not spent the last six years exclusively riding my bike/skiing/climbing, I’ve been the busy little bee sitting at the bottom of the mountains,  banging away on my well used Apple keypad in order to feed the hungry mouth of a simply gorgeous 3 year old adrenaline junkie.

But the Alps have made me feel the same reality as countless mountain men before me;  you can be there, and you can preen yourself in their beauty, but only They can tell you if you truly deserve to be there. Then it’s up to you,  hopefully just in time, to turn around and head home.  Tea and biscuits, and a great story of how you almost made it. As we all know given a little time the warming glow makes the journey all the more memorable.

So I enjoyed Christmas, as Christmases should be enjoyed; quality time with the family, good food well imbibed.  Then I dusted off and revamped my CV (which through sheer fortune I’ve not needed for the past 10 years as I’ve never truly “applied for a job”) and started looking and thinking about my next move.

So times they are a changing, so the decision has been reached, with a sad heart, to head back to the UK.  Viewed from the perspective of an ex-pat Brit, the French job market is in a complete mess, even more so here since Rossignol dumped a half of their staff onto the local job market.  While over in the UK business is booming, and companies are desperate to good people who can do great things.

It’s given me a great opportunity to look afresh at my role in the action sports and bicycle industries, as for once, it’s not me globetrotting (currently it seems like almost everybody is out in Asia before CNY).  So I’ve taken the time to investigate the right opportunities, and with the season fast approaching, this is no time for slouching.  The truck is booked, the new house is organised, it’s time to get on the road.
Sitting drinking wine at his Chamonix retreat a month or two back Ransu kindly invited me to become one of the regular contributors to this interesting (and very useful) collection of websites and newsfeeds. I’ve always appreciated this vision of the action sports world online, and am really interested to see where this Zherpa site goes next.

My recent woes  meant I wasn’t quite ready to start sharing with the world, but the experience seems to have some similarity with my fellow Zherpee Sovijarvi in his  story of Office days now gone, and I also  felt a certain resonance with Ali in her lovely I Love Winter?! post.

What part my voice will play in this, I’m not yet sure, but I’m sure we will find it out together, and I’m looking forward to having you along for company.