2023 Timmus Vanishing Act

Good afternoon, A2 World. Greetings from the shores of Lake Iseo, where I’m currently living for a few days.

I’ve had a good number of incoming messages over the last few weeks, so thought it would be beneficial to bump this thread to let more people know of my disappearance.

timmus said:
When I first planned this trip, the major targets were Ortler, Cima Presanella and Cima Brenta.
Click to expand...

Anna, my sister, flew home on Sunday evening after 10 days with me. On her 8th day with me, after a period of poorer weather, we reached the summit of Presanella, at the centre of one of the great untouched wildernesses of the Alps. Anna flew home exhausted but delighted…

IMG_9098.jpeg

IMG_9113.jpeg

IMG_9115.jpeg

IMG_9130.jpeg


I’ve reduced the image quality in an effort to get these to upload over a somewhat dodgy connection, but you get the idea.

Best wishes to all,

Tom
 
Last edited:
Beautiful photos Tom, glad you're having a good break revelling in what you love. Rather you than me, though! Enjoy!
 
timmus said:
Good afternoon, A2 World. Greetings from the shores of Lake Iseo, where I’m currently living for a few days.

I’ve had a good number of incoming messages over the last few weeks, so thought it would be beneficial to bump this thread to let more people know of my disappearance.



Anna, my sister, flew home on Sunday evening after 10 days with me. On her 8th day with me, after a period of poorer weather, we reached the summit of Presanella, at the centre of one of the great untouched wildernesses of the Alps. Anna flew home exhausted but delighted…

View attachment 112899
View attachment 112900
View attachment 112901
View attachment 112902

I’ve reduced the image quality in an effort to get these to upload over a somewhat dodgy connection, but you get the idea.

Best wishes to all,

Tom
Click to expand...
Wonderful photos, Tom - any of Lake Iseo?!
 
Good afternoon, fellow A2 enthusiasts.

I just about remember starting this thread, sat in the same seat as I am now. I've been back at home for a short period now and have started to reply to all the messages that arrived whilst I was away. It's going to take me a while to get through them all, so I thank you for your patience.

Over 8 weeks, the Yeti did 4958 miles and visited the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. It averaged 55.3mpg. Considering that it has the aerodynamics of a house brick, a Haldex 4x4 system, a double bed on the roof, a tonne of stuff in the boot and was repeatedly asked to drive high alpine passes and gravel hairpin tracks, I think that's quite remarkable.

timmus said:
When I first planned this trip, the major targets were Ortler, Cima Presanella and Cima Brenta.
Click to expand...
I summited another 5 mountains on my must-climb list. Of those, only one (Presanella) was a target when I left the UK, but various circumstances meant I had to look towards other mountains. Ortler and Cima Brenta will have to wait until another year; let's face it, they're not going anywhere! All other days were spent having an awful lot of fun living in the wilds.

I'll post some more photos as I sort through them, but here's a nice view of the Adamello wilderness from the summit of Presanella...

1698682642002.jpeg


I hope you're all well,

Tom (who's struggling to adapt back to normal life)
 
Last edited:
timmus said:
Good afternoon, fellow A2 enthusiasts.

I just about remember starting this thread, sat in the same seat as I am now. I've been back at home for a short period now and have started to reply to all the messages that arrived whilst I was away. It's going to take me a while to get through them all, so I thank you for your patience.

Over 8 weeks, the Yeti did 4958 miles and visited the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. It averaged 55.3mpg. Considering that it has the aerodynamics of a house brick, a Haldex 4x4 system, a double bed on the roof, a tonnne of stuff in the boot and was repeatedly asked to drive high alpine passes and gravel hairpin tracks, I think that's quite remarkable.


I summited another 5 mountains on my must-climb list. Of those, only one (Presanella) was a target when I left the UK, but various circumstances meant I had to look towards other mountains. Ortler and Cima Brenta will have to wait until another year; let's face it, they're not going anywhere! All other days were spent having an awful lot of fun living in the wilds.

I'll post some more photos as I sort through them, but here's a nice view of the Adamello wilderness from the summit of Presanella...

View attachment 114823

I hope you're all well,

Tom (who's struggling to adapt back to normal life)
Click to expand...
Welcome home!
 
Wow. I didn't know you were a mountain man. I do love the Alps. My visits tend to all be involving Downhill Mountain bikes.
Furthest into Europe I have driven is Lake Menagio in Italy.
 
timmus said:
Good afternoon, fellow A2 enthusiasts.

I just about remember starting this thread, sat in the same seat as I am now. I've been back at home for a short period now and have started to reply to all the messages that arrived whilst I was away. It's going to take me a while to get through them all, so I thank you for your patience.

Over 8 weeks, the Yeti did 4958 miles and visited the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. It averaged 55.3mpg. Considering that it has the aerodynamics of a house brick, a Haldex 4x4 system, a double bed on the roof, a tonne of stuff in the boot and was repeatedly asked to drive high alpine passes and gravel hairpin tracks, I think that's quite remarkable.


I summited another 5 mountains on my must-climb list. Of those, only one (Presanella) was a target when I left the UK, but various circumstances meant I had to look towards other mountains. Ortler and Cima Brenta will have to wait until another year; let's face it, they're not going anywhere! All other days were spent having an awful lot of fun living in the wilds.

I'll post some more photos as I sort through them, but here's a nice view of the Adamello wilderness from the summit of Presanella...

View attachment 114823

I hope you're all well,

Tom (who's struggling to adapt back to normal life)
Click to expand...
Brilliant photo, fantastic journey and enviable mpg, Tom.
 
That's a fantastic mpg from a brick. I think the Yeti shares a lot of the qualities of the A2, especially the Tardis like interior in a compact exterior.
 
Love your trip Tom, Im still wishing to be a part of so called "rust2rome" ride thru Swiss or French alps they are organising reguralry, had it planned for my 40s but thats long gone now so maybe maybe next year, problem is they require teams of 2 as minimum.... and my dog doesn't count.
 
Last edited:
Great trip Tom, nice pics.
Hope to see you in the near future in the Netherlands. Sure you can do some upgrade of this or that:)
 
A2Steve said:
That's a fantastic mpg from a brick. I think the Yeti shares a lot of the qualities of the A2, especially the Tardis like interior in a compact exterior.
Click to expand...
The Yeti is excellent. From an engineering perspective, it doesn't hold a candle to the A2. Whilst the A2 uses a unique aluminium spaceframe, the Yeti is a PQ35 platform vehicle like so many other VAG vehicles of the era. However, in use, it does indeed have many of the A2's qualities: a deceptively capacious interior considering its external dimensions, rear seats that can be easily removed to reveal a flat load space, etc. It has quite a high driving position, is very comfortable, has all the important gadgets and none of the needless ones, etc, etc.

When in 'adventure mode', our Yeti has its rear seats removed and is fitted with a collection of wooden items of 'furniture' that divide the space into functional areas. There's a kitchenette behind the tailgate, and the rear doors provide access to storage for personal gear, mountaineering kit, etc, and dedicated slots for the camping table, chairs, the collapsible ladder for the rooftop tent, etc. Jessica and I experimented with design ideas whilst on weekend breaks in the Lake District before eventually settling on the current arrangement. The principle is that nothing slides around, you always know where everything is, and you never have to remove certain items in order to access others. It works really well; even I manage to keep it tidy whilst living in it for a few months.

None of the current VAG SUV offerings would work for us as well as the Yeti does. It shouldn't have been discontinued.
 
Phil_B said:
Wow. I didn't know you were a mountain man. I do love the Alps. My visits tend to all be involving Downhill Mountain bikes.
Furthest into Europe I have driven is Lake Menagio in Italy.
Click to expand...
Oh yes! What is it about piles of rock with some frozen water that's so alluring!? Mountains are just so life-affirming.
I aim to keep a vast majority of my posts on A2OC about A2s, but there is nevertheless a selection of my mountain photos scattered throughout this forum.

timmus said:
View attachment 113396
Click to expand...
This photo is from Lake Iseo, one of the great post-glacial lakes of the southern Alps, near to your deepest foray into continental Europe. The westerly ones - Lago Maggiore, Lago d'Orta and Lago Lugano - are the ones that I've never properly visited, but the others - Como, Iseo, Idro and Garda - are very familiar to me. Post mountaineering, they're great for swimming, washing, relaxing and recovery. Their reliably good weather coupled with Italy's liberal attitude towards camping wild makes them a magnet for me.
 
A few photos from Ellmauer Halt, the highest summit of the Wilder Kaiser massif. This is on the northern edge of the Alps, in Austria. In alpine terms, this isn't that big; it's only 1000m higher than Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of the British Isles. However, what it lacks in height it makes up in steepness.

IMG_9805.jpeg


IMG_9870.jpeg


IMG_9894.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Louis said:
Great trip Tom, nice pics.
Hope to see you in the near future in the Netherlands. Sure you can do some upgrade of this or that:)
Click to expand...
Nice to hear from you, Louis.

At the end of my time in southern Europe, I drove to Den Haag to help my friend - Martin - move house. He was moving from Bezuidenhout to Benoordenhout - a distance of maybe 3km - but we nevertheless had to pack and unpack everything. I didn't post on A2 Club NL primarily because I had a car full of outdoor equipment rather than A2 parts and tools. However, another period of time working on Dutch A2s would, of course, be fun.

For a few days, Martin was busy with business meetings, so I went for a solo explore of Texel. I really enjoyed camping amongst the massive sand dunes; these are possibly the most impressive 'mountains' in the Netherlands. :)

IMG_0370.jpeg


IMG_0372.jpeg


Met hartelijke groeten,

Tom
 
gangitano85 said:
Is that where they found Ötzi? 😉
Click to expand...
Yes. :)

For those with an interest in such things, this is indeed the mountain massif where Ötzi was found (he is named after the Ötztal Alps).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ötzi

Ötzi is Europe's oldest known natural human mummy. His discovery, alongside an array of personal belongings, provided an unprecedented insight into human life in the Alps around 5000 years ago.

Cheers,

Tom
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top