About Lapiaz

Born in Christchurch NZ. 43 years old. Love the mountains (both outside and inside them). Also love trains.

Apparently quite grumpy in the morning. Bah, humbug.

Currently designer for an outdoor equipment and apparell company. Worked variously in design, engineering, sales etc.

Lapiaz:
In '97 an '98 I spent a few months up on the Vercors Plateau in France. Absolutely stunning place with vast cliffs, winding roads linking tiny villages and the most unbelievable caves. First went there with a Pommy caving club (WRPC) and had a ball. Definitely one of the best times of my life. The main reason for our trip was to get to the bottom of Le Gouffre Berger, the first cave in the world to be explored below a depth of 1000m. It's still a fantastic trip, even now.

An old farmhouse near Prelles in the Vercors had been converted by a Pom living in France, into a refuge (backpackers) of the best order. It was a great hangout for foreign caverists and other such riff-raff. That was our home-away-from-home. It's name was Lapiaz, which is slang for "The Pavement" the grey, bare, tortured karst landscape where caves are found.

When I grow up I want to be Harry Potter.