You Ought To Recall, If Ye Be Not Goldfish
That Conrad did a long Intro about the Italian 'bivouac' in the Aosta Valley, which sits at 2,800 metres elevation. It is, essentially, a small hostel with sleeping and cooking accommodation for up to twelve people, sitting on a narrow rock ledge, powered by solar panels and airlifted into position. Art!
It really is as bleak and isolated as it seems, and what might look like water in the background is actually a glacier. You get those at 2,800 metres elevation.
If you have been following BOOJUM! for any length of time then you will recall that we occasionally cover mountaineering, not because we like it or would ever (EVER!) want to participate, more along the lines of horrified fascination as to what Hom. Sap. will endure to achieve. Well, I did notice in passing that there was another Youtube vlog about spending the night in a refuge at height. Art!
Or, if you want to put it in proper measurements, over two and three-quarters miles high.
This is another Roman site, going back to all of 1893, when it received the royal seal of approval, because Queen Margaret of Savoy overnighted there. I'm not going to get into the history of the Roman aristocracy and monarchy as we have a 1,200 word count here, not 120,000.
My next question was, obviously - of course! - how on earth did it get built?
The answer is refreshingly simple: on the back of mules and men. They are the ones who transported supplies and equipment up Punta Gnifetti, to hammer and nail the lodge together. Art!
This looks Dog Buns! dangerous. The bloke to port is hanging over a drop where it would take him whole minutes to hit the bottom, and he doesn't seem to have any retaining harness or rope. Art!
This looks pretty formal, so I'm guessing one of those ladies is Queenie. Note the modest scale of the Capanna. Conrad is guessing that this is the Latinate equivalent of the Hispanic 'Cabana'. Cabin, to you uncultured louts.
Here enter Bruno Pisani. Ol' Brew is an Italian mountaineer, one of that breed of people who endure drawn-out desperate discomfort to beat the elements or Nature or both. Art!
Brew
He speaks excellent English with only a slight accent, and there are people here in This Sceptred Isle who are less couth than he.
Brew and a couple of mates decided that they were going to ascend the Punta Gnifetti, overnight in the Capanna, wake with the sunrise and take pictures, then head back home.
There were one or two problems. One, the Capanna was closed for winter season. This means you don't have access to: "HALF BOARD ACCOMMODATION INCLUDES: dinner (2 first courses, 1 second course with side dish, bread and dessert), overnight stay, sweet & salty breakfast buffet, tea thermos, tourist tax. Free wi-fi access.
BED & BREAKFAST ACCOMODATION INCLUDES: overnight stay, sweet & salty breakfast buffet, tea thermos, tourist tax. Free wi-fi access."
TUTTAVIA - which is 'HOWEVER' in Italian - their 'Winter Room' is available all year round, so Brew and crew knew they'd be able to shelter there.
Two, they were going to ascend the mountain in one go. To reach such a height without any acclimatisation along the way means suffering minor health problems. Art!
There's no transition from green and pleasant to grey and icy in this vlog because Brew and crew kind of cheated, and caught the cable car up to 3,200 metres elevation. Their intent was to ski their way to Regina Margherita, taking a shorter route than most parties, who walk their way there. Art!
They arrived well after nightfall, at about midnight. What you see from here on in are the 'winter rooms' which are open to all regardless of season. As Brew admitted, all three were tired, thirsty and hungry. Art!
We've encountered these provisions before. The trio melted snow on the gas hob to boil water, then added that to these dried ration packs, and then undoubtedly enjoyed them as if they were the finest of fine dining. Yomping across snow for six hours will do that to your appetite. Art!
This is a stunning beauty shot Brew got at 03:00, before he went to sleep. You can see clouds below the Capanna, and the moon, and an electrical storm in the distance. Conrad can understand remembering an event like this, you don't get too many in one lifetime. Art!
Pre-dawn drone footage. No, that's not mist; the refuge is sitting inside a cloud. Note the guard-rails, because as mentioned about the artisan creating this building in 1893, if you fall off it's a long way down. Art!
Daylight drone depiction
Having spent the night and got their dawn photographs, Brew and crew headed down the mountainside. This is where skis come in, as they made it in a fraction of the time that humble clod-hoppers would have done.
Overnight in the Highest Hut of the Alps | CAPANNA MARGHERITA 4556m (youtube.com)
Bruno's full video if you want to experience it.
Wow Conrad The Verbose strikes again, bring on a few picture-heavy items.
Currency
I shall make this as short and painless as poss. You may be dimly aware that the Ruffian economy is not in the best of health, thanks to sanctions, Ukrainian drone attacks, their blue-collar workers all being dead (or maintaining infrastructure) in Ukraine, and enormous incompetence and corruption. Yes well. Art!
From this you can see that the ₽ is not looking too healthy, and has been on a slide for the past three weeks. In 2023 it had bounced back to ₽88 to the dollar, nothing like that now.
Why is this significant? Well, because a weak ruble means migrant workers see Ruffia as a less attractive destination. Thus there exists a significant deficit between the number of blue collar workers wanting to work in Ruffia, and the ones actually working there.
Yes, there is a whole sub-tranche here about the recent Crocus City Hall attacks and the fallout from same, which we may cover. Art!
Ruffia the worker's paradise
Here's A Cleanse For The Mind
In "Wayne's World" they described it as a 'sorbet', and we have a Wayne's World comic in the archives somewhere ab
ANYWAY let us now illustrate <coughs deferentially> 'Popradska Okruzne' because life goes on. And on. Art!
"Crossroad ERFNERF FNERFNERF" or somesuch. From the map it seems to be a road from Slovenia to Croatia. And you're welcome.
"City In The Sky"
The alien 'squatters' are frothing with rage at Hom. Sap. not being either dead or disobedient.
Arkan 22 had his own concerns. The panic meeting had been an unseemingly quick resolution to their problems, only eight hours long. Against that, nothing in the way of missiles or launch systems could be deployed outside until the plain had dried sufficiently because the low-caste workers would suffer terminal shock if they had to manoeuvre on ground that visibly contained water. Then there was the mysterious asteroid impact itself. It had occurred hundreds of kilometres south of them, nowhere near the base, so he felt right at having dismissed it as a natural occurrence, despite what Miskan 54 might think.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: Take A Chance With Me
The Doctor made his way back across the plains to New Eucla, with the
dingo trotting behind him, seemingly now his best friend after he’d tossed it a
couple of jelly babies, which had been devoured with a great deal of slobbering
and chewing. Away to either side,
occasionally visible in the gathering dark, a couple of other dingoes kept up
with them. The Timelord reasoned he’d
have trouble with this distant escort if his accomplice weren’t present to warn
them off.
Doctor and dingo. Classic double-act.
Finally -
Your Humble Scribe had recourse to take a trot into Lesser Sodom this afternoon, since I shall be nailed to The Mansion's greensward on Saturday, thanks to the new washing machine arriving. We have no idea when. Art!
Brand new livery, all-new signage, they still didn't turn up for 50 minutes in Lesser Sodom this afternoon. As reliable as ever.
Once again, how the Dog Buns! did we ever create an international empire?
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