13
It has long been acknowledged that there is a link between exercise and physical and mental well-being (MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANA). During these lockdown times we desperately need both – but January weather is not conducive to taking exercise (if it isn’t cold and wet, it’s cold and slippy). Some may be tuning in to Joe Wicks, or one of his colleagues, on a regular basis. Others of us may feel that that type of exercise is a bit beyond us. If you have stairs and are fit enough to go up and down them without recourse to a stairlift, they can help us keep fit. In a modern house with 13 stairs the rise from ground to first floor is about 2.7m (if you have an older house with more stairs, each extra one adds about 20cms to the rise). So every time you walk upstairs you have climbed 2.7m. Let’s translate this into hill-walking terms, looking at climbing them once, twice, five times and ten times a day:
|
Mountain/hill |
Starting on 1 January the date by which you climbed it |
|||
|
1xday |
2xday |
5xday |
10xday |
|
|
Dumbarton Rock |
27 January |
13 January |
5 January |
2 January |
|
Ben Lomond |
26 December |
29 June |
13 March |
5 February |
|
Conic Hill |
25 February |
28 January |
11 January |
5 January |
|
Cobbler |
23 November |
12 June |
6 March |
1 February |
|
Goat Fell |
19 November |
10 June |
5 March |
1 February |
|
Arthur’s Seat |
2 April |
15 February |
18 January |
9 January |
|
Tinto |
20 September |
11 May |
21 February |
26 January |
|
Ben Venue |
27 September |
15 May |
23 February |
27 January |
|
Ben Nevis |
13 May 2022 |
6 September |
9 April |
18 February |
|
Everest |
21 December 2029 |
26 June 2024 |
26 December 2022 |
21 November |
|
Mount Sinai |
26 April 2023 |
27 February 2022 |
18 June |
25 March |
|
Mount Kenya |
10 April 2026 |
20 August 2023 |
20 January 2022 |
11 July |
|
Kilimanjaro |
24 December 2026 |
27 December 2023 |
12 March 2022 |
6 August |
|
Vesuvius |
19 April 2022 |
25 August |
4 April |
16 February |
Before you get too excited by your prowess, remember that when climbing some of them you don’t start at sea level! (And you might want to check my arithmetic!)
Lord, given that the journey from Jericho to Jerusalem involves a climb something like Ben Lomond, Jesus, Mary and the disciples must have been pretty fit! Help them to inspire us by their example
