We Do Adventure

Today is FIS World Snow Day . Last year we were out on a very patchy piste making the most of some less than ideal conditions at the slope above Jajce. This year there isn't a ski lift working in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina! You can't even say it's been a bad winter, it's barely been winter at all. There was a snow fall in November. A few resorts got enough of a base to open up for a week or two. We managed a trip to Vlašić on 21 st December, the day before World Snowboard Day . It was squeezed into a really busy period of work but the decision to head for the hills when we did looks better and better the longer winter waits to put in a proper appearance. Since the New Year the forecast has been promising snow 'next week'. It's well known that tomorrow never comes; next week has been showing even less intention to turn up. Locals tells us tales of a town virtually besieged by snow during their childhood winters. Even allowing for a little exagge...

Today, as if we were being treated to some meteorological April Fool, we woke to a fresh fall of snow. A trip up to the castle on top of the town was already planned so it was a good opportunity to grab the camera and capture the town looking moody. By early evening we had beautiful spring sunshine; we were out at the lakes by then and they were looking lovely. However the camera stayed in its bag, so this April 1st will go down on (video) record as a gray and snowy one.

On Saturday morning I tweeted that we were “giving more young people their first snowboard experience today.” I added, “Let's hope they learn as much as the last group!” The last group was mostly girls, this group entirely boys. When we say girls and boys we're talking eleven and twelve year olds. Both groups were keen to get out on the snow with a snowboard; both groups found the first few exercises we gave them a little difficult. After an hour or two this Saturday it seemed we might be collecting strong empirical evidence that girls possess better listening skills than boys. Our boys were not progressing as fast as the girls had and were not really following instructions, even instructions of the clear and repeated kind. We broke for lunch. When we returned to the slope it seemed, instead of our previous suspicion, we had just proved boys perform better powered by a generous helping of pizza. By the end of our session all our newbies had mastered the basics and we...

As is the way with mountains, you get to the top only to see another higher peak staring down at you as if to quash your sense of achievement. Yesterday we spent a day off at Vlašić, a mountain in the very centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the view from the top of the drag lifts that serve the mountain's Babanovac resort. It's a very pretty place, and to my taste anyway, all the better without the weekend crowds. We waited for a lift once, for about a minute, the rest of the time we walked straight on. Most of the the time we could see a couple of others of the slope we were on, although a few times we had a stretch all to ourselves. Part of me would love it to always be like this but I also see there is space for others to discover the joys of snow sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It may not cater for full on adrenaline junkies but there is plenty for beginners, and those who like to take in the surroundings as they make their way down a mountain. If you need a l...

This video was filmed during the first two weeks of this year. They were two weeks that proved beyond doubt there is no gain without a sizeable portion of pain. So much pain! Going from effectively no snowboard experience to nine consecutive days of intense snowboarding, with a healthy dose of long-distance driving thrown in for good measure, was a stern test of the resolve. However, and it's a big however, the trade off is we, and a group of the young people we work with, have learned to snowboard. Not just that, we've learned enough to pass those skills on to others. We're not the only ones excited about this. It won't be long before you'll be able to watch how far this story has come in just a couple of months. This video is just the beginning. (Bosnia and Herzegovina is a beautiful country that offers some great winter sport opportunities. We'd recommend anyone in search of new adventures to check it out. All our snowboarding was on mountains in B...

Today was World Snow Day so we went snowboarding this afternoon. It was not epic conditions but I made this video anyway. Maybe it'll inspire you! (Find out more about World Snow Day .)

One of the temptations I constantly fight during much of the driving I do is the desire to enjoy the view. All too often something spectacular is trying to catch my attention, but narrow, twisty roads are notoriously unforgiving of lapses in concentration. This morning was a rare treat. I was alone in the van on a empty mountain track with the sun breaking through the clouds, bringing the snowscape to life. The view was amazing, although it made for a very stop-start decent as I kept stopping to take photographs. As usual, these fail to fully capture the beauty, but they have a good go. With the track completely covered in snow, I also took the opportunity to check how our van would handle emergency stops, the odd swerve or two and generous tugs on the handbrake. Over the next few months I'm likely to do a lot of snow driving so I figured a bit of foreknowledge about any quirks wouldn't hurt. While I don't plan to make handbrake turns a habit I'm happy the report ...

"Drop everything" was the thought that went through my mind when I saw the second round of unseasonable snow this morning. Round one came just as Manchester City wrapped up their first Premier League title on Sunday. I don't know what was more surprising: that Edin Dzeko scored or to suddenly look out of the window to see large white flakes falling from the sky! Round two happened overnight. The temptation to grab my snowboard and head for the hills was very real, but I resisted. For one thing, the kombi now has its summer tyres on, and there's no knowing what the state of the trail towards the top of the mountain would have been like. Perhaps the more pressing reason for restraint was the meetings to go to and courses to teach that were already in the diary. "Drop everything" is a romantic idea but not always a practical or responsible one. The bonus of sticking to the plan was having a cracking songwriting session this afternoon. So I'm not complaini...

This weekend we took a group of young people to Sanski Most, a town about an hour and a half north west of Jajce. As an unplanned part of the trip we ended up visiting Dabarska pećina, a large cave just outside the town. I had a torch and camera on hand to capture the adventure but YouTube has been distinctly uncooperative since returning, flat out refusing to attempt to upload my video! So this post will instead present you with the view from the view from our kitchen window! We went up to the ski centre near Jajce this morning to bid our formal farewells to this season's snow. I climbed up the slope to the point where I could get a clear view of where our house is, not that it was really visible with the naked eye. However, it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction to take the reverse of a photo I've posted far too often on Instagram. (If you want to spot Jajce it's about 3/5 of the way across the photo, looking from left to right, just above the tree line. If you want t...

Yesterday as we we walking through the slush to the supermarket to buy water I had a thought. Having survived twelve days with just one tap in the house this had been turned off at 4pm. This was to enable repairs to start on whatever it was that needed fixing so we would get water back to the rest of the house. Our urgent requirement now was enough bottled water for essential washing and teeth cleaning. But this was not what was foremost in my mind. I was suddenly struck with the similarity between an unusually heavy winter and wartime. Several local people we know who have had a hard time over the last few weeks have said it reminded them of the early nineties. I have no first-hand experience of war so I'll take their word for it. I do know that the last thirteen days have been the first time in my life I have lived in a house without working sanitation . Washing has happened with a bucket and a bottle of water and we'll not talk about the toilet situation. Two weeks ago t...

We are aware we've got off very lightly over the past couple of weeks compared to some people in the Balkans so, in the interests of keeping things light-hearted, we present this video of a minor inconvenience this afternoon. A more pressing concern is the fact the water is frozen in the side of the house that houses the shower and toilet - they've both been out of action for 7 days at the time of posting this video. Perhaps the 'avalanche' is an indication of a little thawing. We can but hope!

Despite the unquestionable inconveniences it causes there is still something wonderful about a decent snow fall. It's too easy to grow up and only view the downsides. Working with young people provides a healthy reminder to never get too detached from your childlike - perhaps even childish - side. And so it was that a Facebook post gathered a group of the young people we know for a bit of fun in the snow on Saturday morning. Our group had a collection of sledges of various vintages and a large plastic sheet to venture down the slope between apartment blocks on. Other young people from the area were out on skis, performing jumps that would have given the health and safety brigade a heart attack. As with a lot of good old fashioned fun, our couple of hours in the cold resulted in a few bruises but a whole load of happy memories...and a video or two!

Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with much of the Balkans, has made the UK news for its recent bad weather. We arrived back in Jajce yesterday after three weeks in England. Our EasyJet flight from Gatwick to Zagreb took just two hours and the onward journey from Zagreb was surprisingly clear, given the amount of snow covering everything other than the road. Jajce has had heavy snow and seriously cold temperatures in the last week, although nothing on the scale of Sarajevo or Mostar. Sarajevo is used to extreme winter weather but this year has handed freak conditions to Mostar. The combination of snow and wind, power cuts and frozen water pipes has made things particularly challenging. Half the city spent at least 36 hours without electricity or running water. Our apartment never lost its electricity however the back half of the house has frozen up - meaning no shower, no sink and, perhaps most inconveniently, no toilet! We've been assured that the fact the tap in the kitchen still wor...

I think it was in a video I made earlier this year that I mentioned how a dash of snow suited Jajce's castle. Back then I didn't take the photos to prove it but an overnight fall gave me the chance to snap this shot while walking home today. In fairness, the castle looks pretty good whatever the weather. On Monday I was sorting through some old photos to upload on our new WeDoAdventure Facebook page . If you were to head over there and click ' like ' you'd be able to see that clear blue skies and golden sunshine also compliment it nicely. But least I be accused of favouritism let me add the castle is not the only photogenic spot in Jajce. The waterfall, the mills and the lakes are all up there as great place to take a camera; something I've tried to provide a bit of evidence for on Facebook. If you do like the page I hope you like what you see!

The last couple of days it has been attempting to snow here in Jajce. This has jogged my memory, for better of for worse, reminding me of this photo from when we had snow settled everywhere earlier this year. Against the white blanket covering the ground this mystery object stood out as we studied the view from our kitchen window. Rowan declared in disgusting and I, employing a sensible look-don't-touch policy, reckoned it to be some kind of animal skin, probably removed at one of the butcher's shops near our house. Whatever its origin, and however it ended up opposite our home, it provided hours of entertainment for the local stray dogs. For the better part of a week we watched it get smaller and smaller until, with the snow, it disappeared altogether.

Today we drove from Mostar to Jajce in brilliant sunshine. Despite the fact mountains cast shadows on the roads leaving many a snowy or icy stretch of tarmac to be carefully negotiated it was a great day to be out driving. Driving north gave the dual advantages of not just being headed home but also mostly having our backs to the sun. It's easier, and safer, when your view doesn't alternate between dense shadow and dazzling sunlight. It's hard to pick a highlight from the drive although the intense double rainbow caused by one of Bosnia's hydro-electric dams gushing from all five of its gates probably takes the prize. Sadly there is no accompanying photo for that. You'll have to make do with this video where I show you one of my favourite views, from yesterday's outward journey.

Sunday afternoon is, traditionally, a good time for a stroll. And so yesterday afternoon, with the snow falling thick and fast, Rowan and I headed out to catch a glimpse of a different kind of Jajce. Such eagerness to run out and play in the snow is undoubtedly a result of our childhoods in England, where snow was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it phenomenon. All that has, of course, changed in the two years since we left. Last week my hometown had it's heaviest snow fall in fourty-three years, apparently. The snow is Jajce is unlikely to go anywhere for at least a week, accept from the roads and pavements, where a very efficient cleaning operation had everything snow-free by the time we were back from a trip to Vitez today. That's one reason I'm happy to have grabbed Sunday's video, for the full alpine effect! The photo is from about half past eight this morning, somewhere approaching the town of Travnik and the Vlašić mountain. It was a great to be out driving this morni...

Yesterday I needed to cool my head down, literally, to stave off the tiredness and kick start some clear thinking. I could have gone and sat in the spare bedroom but it was much more inspiring to head out into a snowy Saturday night. When I saw the snow swirling around the floodlights I knew I needed to make a video. The picture below is the view we woke to first thing this morning. Today ended up being all bright blue skies and mild weather, so while there's still some snow around it doesn't look exactly like this anymore. The next time it snows I need to make time to get some good photos or video of the castle and city walls as they certainly suit a bit of snijeg.

While the town we came from in the UK is in the grips of some unseasonally large snow falls, Jajce has not yet plunged into the depths of winter. No doubt it will come. Today we had enough sunshine to add a rainbow to a now familiar view. Yes, a rainbow needs a little rain and we've had a bit but nothing like what's going on back in Mostar at the moment. Rowan was looking at some pictures on Facebook earlier and said she never saw the Neretva so high in the two years we were there. Apparently the border at Metković was closed due to flooding in the town . With so many of Bosnia and Herzegovina's main roads running alongside rivers I've often thought how vulnerable this network is to rising water levels. Snow, however, it is well equipped to handle, at least in our experience. Gritters and snow ploughs operate around the clock keeping the main routes passable, if not entirely clear. The requirements to put winter tyres on every November and carry snow chains help too, ...

This was the view out of the window when I wandered, bleary eyed, into the kitchen this morning. Yesterday we had been told there was snow up in the villages above Jajce. There was speculation as to whether we'd get the same weather in the town. We didn't, but,as you can see, the high ground got quite a good dusting overnight. Today we were back in Banja Luka buying things we need to get Novi Most up and running in Jajce. Most of the way there was snow somewhere to be seen. The mix of fine fall (or autumn) colours and a dash of winter wonderland made for another very scenic drive. This time the overtaking entertainment was provided by a reckless coach driver who was powering down our side of a section of single-carriageway road as we rounded a corner. The benefit-of-the-doubt assessment would be he'd misjudged the speed of the double-length lumber truck he was struggling to pass. More likely, he was just to impatient for his own good. I halved my speed, deciding not to get ...