Near death experiences 3,560 ft above sea level

Decided on an impromptu adventure into the mountains with my brother this week. Since returning from India I've developed an aversion to being inside that is manifesting in somewhat ridiculous ways including deciding to visit the second highest point in the UK when a savage storm has hit the country and submerged half of the midlands.

I learnt numerous things from the past three days, here's a short list:

1. Perhaps most importantly I learnt that weighing 140lbs makes you pretty fucking aerodynamic in a 50mph wind, easily enough to carry you across a path and pitch you 2000ft into an abyss - so don't climb mountains in high winds or, like me, get good at clinging to rocks.

2. Mountains aren't zen. Even without Storm Frank smashing the shit out of me over the past 3 days, I've learnt that it's hard to get zen up a mountain. It's cold and windy and even above the cloud line you get a faceful of wet and clouds. No meditative enlightenment up here, but....

3. You realise you don't matter. There's something great about this akin to that line in Fight Club where Tyler states "It's only when we've lost everything we're free to do anything". Nothing matters, and all the worries and problems that consume you down on terra firma become irrelevant when confronted by the magnitude of nature.

4. This country is awesome. I've always wanted to travel and see things which has been augmented by my India visit, but I didn't consider that a mere 3 hour drive away can transform the landscape to the most pristine valleys, mountains and natural springs, it's pretty great.

5. Do some homework. I do feel somewhat like I came away having cheated death. It's not just that I almost got cast off a cliff twice, but also the fact that this does happen to people. Upon returning I looked up our route and was confronted by tidbits like: "near the summit has been called the "Killer Convex"; in adverse conditions, this convex slope can send unwary walkers over the cliffs of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu. Four people died there in February 2009"   - Yeah, and we decided to visit in the middle of a storm.

6. Don't put-off the experiential. I've spent the last few years focused heavily on career progression through learning and broadening my professional skillset. Being a creative designer this consists largely of doodling, sitting for hours on end in front of design software and trying to keep abreast of the latest innovations in front-end development. I've done this, naturally, because I want to stay relevant and earning evermore dollar bills in an industry I love$$$, but with the mindset that once I have 'succeeded', I'll go do stuff then. I've realised this is a ridiculous disposition to have, it becomes an endless-cycle and while I shouldn't exactly quit my job and go buy a surfboard, a work-life-adventure balance is certainly conducive to better health, happiness and almost certainly, in the long run, better productivity.