CURRENT MISSION

Probably it should be find a flat and find a job and stop procrastinating like my life depended on it..... but also I kind of want to learn to ski tour, and also I'd like to start climbing 7a/12's, and maybe also travel around Canada and the US a bit more.

ABOUT ME

I guess I'm a pretty interesting person, born in South Africa to chinese parents, moved to Hong Kong, went to an american school, did my undergrad and masters in the UK in aerospace engineering and materials science respectively. I was part of an expedition in an area where the closest person who had been anywhere outside their village was a weeks walk away, where I almost died and had to walk 5 days solo without a map to get out. I work on my own car, a hilariously impractical long wheelbase landrover, I work on and service my own scuba gear, I build bicycles and I love rock climbing and alpinism. And I probably have like ADHD or something, because I've been bouncing around and obsessing and forgetting about things for as long as I can remember, but well functioning enough to get by... mostly....

PHILOSOPHY

I actually just read my old bio from when I wrote it maybe a decade ago, and holy cringe..... anyways I think these days I'm pretty much for trying to be as happy as possible without or at least minimally impacting other peoples wellbeing, pretty basic, and feels kind of cringe to write it out really, oh well!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Honestly, I actually ended up using hostels mostly after creating this account a while back, largely it was just more straightforward and covered most of my needs as a usually solo traveler. Alas this is not europe and while I still love the sort of no frills living combined with the social aspect of hostel life, they are shockingly expensive and also they just feel somewhat dull compared to when I hostel hopped my way through europe.... of course it's also possible I've changed as a person over time, who can say though! Anyways couchsurfing seems like a good alternative, although the site seems to have seen better days...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've never actually used this site, I always end up either just getting a hostel while waiting for a response or finding a friend of a friend who has a place to stay

Interests

So I think these days I mainly identify as a climber and alpinist, it's the main sport I participate in, train for, and where my circle of friends come from. I've done a decent variety of things within the sport, although I wouldn't say I really train seriously, and have probably plateaued a bit. Still love it to bits though, and I'm also happy to take new people out!

I used to do a lot of scuba diving, and I actually still own maybe 9 sets of regs, a couple bp and wings, and probably 8 or 9 cylinders, but they're all sitting in the UK for the most part, as the stuff is very heavy to move around, and also not the easiest sport to participate in if you're moving around. Also not very compatible with climbing, since long periods of time with your fingers wet leads to poor skin quality for climbing.

• diy
• coffee
• cycling
• mountaineering
• skiing
• rock climbing
• hillwalking
• scuba

Music, Movies, and Books

I mostly listen to classic rock, and a bit of other stuff here and there that's catchy.

I'd say my favorite bands are The Kinks, The Cars, Creedance Clearwater Revival, maybe Jethro Tull a bit? I don't know, don't look too hard into music, although I do like how music sounds through some good quality cans though, and I've dropped a perhaps shocking amount of money on audio for someone who seems to care so little about music. I think I just like experiencing things in their best form....

My hands down favorite film is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I kind of hate that it's a Jim Carey film, with him being an antivax moron, but what can i say Kaufman mad a fantastically good film, and Carey is good in it. Also a big fan of Nolan, but mainly because he's keeping 15/70 IMAX alive, and a 15/70 screening is just something to die for whatever is being shot.

I honestly haven't found the attention span to read much that isn't articles under say.... 20 odd pages these days, something to work on I suppose.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Perhaps not something I've "done" per se, but I have been in close vicinity (within 100m) of perhaps a couple dozen avalanches, including at least 2 that demolished where I had just walked a half hour before. I've also walked maybe a dozen kilometers over avalanche debris.... fun stuff

During this same trip, I also navigated some 50km by memory in the wilderness over 5 days or so, during wintertime without a tent, choose your expedition partners wisely my peeps!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to take just about anyone out climbing, whether they've done it or not. I've got decent experience teaching the subject.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I think I'm a generally personable person, with rather good ability to chat about a wide variety of subjects. I'm also happy to share an espresso or two, and or make not half bad bread if they happen to have an oven, flour, water and yeast.

I don't know this is still to me a somewhat odd prompt

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, England, Hong Kong, Scotland, South Africa