Over half of last year's new Marilyns were in England and some extra-curricular bagging included three new Ultras, each with their tale to tell.
In Russia, Mount Elbrus (5642m) was climbed from the north, as the south side has been closed. This side has a strong military presence and the squaddies are quite keen on playing chess. It is a bit unnerving playing chess with someone who has a Kalashnikov across their knees and it is tempting to let them win. However, despite winning several games, we all lived to tell the tale. The summit was achieved as well, although 1900m ascent on the summit day was a bit tough. In New Zealand, after leading a holiday for 22 days in glorious weather, North Island decided to have record-breaking rainfall when it came to my free time. Ruapehu was summitted in a brief dry spell. Two days later, careful scrutiny of the Met Centre's rain forecast revealed another short window of dry weather for 12 hours from 8pm. Sure enough, at 8pm the rain stopped, and at 2am, Taranaki was completely clear and a wonderful array of stars were shining through. So, off at 2.30am, back at 9.30am, and it was raining again by 10.
