Reach For The Stars!

Saturday & Sunday 25th & 26th June.

Last weekend I returned to the Lake District to climb with Gavin Kellett and tick a couple of classic Lakeland routes off.

Saturday - there was a time when the first thing I would do after an evening working on the doors of Leeds would be to go annoy door staff at another venue with my drunken behaviour, so to head straight up to Langdale to catch a few hours sleeping in the car before climbing marks a bit of a change of lifestyle!

After a few hours shut eye in the car park at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel I woke in time to meet Gavin as he arrived from Scotland. I had met Gavin a couple of years ago on International Mountain Leader training so was looking forward to a catch up as well as a climb or two.

 I have probably been bit guilty of overlooking a lot of quality climbing as I have looked to push my grade up this year and whilst it has been good to improve my climbing grade it's not always the best time to improve the core skills when concentrating on just stating on the rock! We would spend the day at Raven Crag in Langdale as it offered us a number of routes and has a short walk in as rain was forecast.

 As the day panned out their were many climbers at the crag so route choice was a matter of getting on what was free at the time.

We climbed 'Centipede' (S 4a**), 'The Origional Route' (S 4a***) and 'Evening Wall' (S 4a*). Good climbing on good routes and gave me a chance to concentrate on making good gear placements, building solid belays and slick(ish) rope work!

Sunday - We had driven around to Borrowdale Saturday evening and after a 'couple' of social drinks catching up and generally putting the world to rights spent the night sleeping in our respective vehicles. Rising at an unheard of 7:30am for myself we made our way to 'Shepherds Crag' and were the first ones on the crag.

 Gavin has a lot of previous climbing experience in the Lakes and recommended 'Little Chamonix' for our first route. What a great route! Graded at VD*** the route offers great climbing and exposure whilst offering good protection, this will be a definite route I will take people up in the future.

 

With the crag getting busier we opted to do 'Ardus', with the option of a direct VS 4C finish it would be a little more challenging. A 'thrutchy' corner is how I would describe it and though it meant topping out into undergrowth and scrambling around to find a suitable, solid belay I was happy to get another Lakeland VS4C multi pitch route under my belt.

Summary - another quality couple of days in the magnificent Lake District. Good climbing, good routes and a chance to catch up with Gavin too. Only 2 routes on the Sunday due to the rain moving in but a great weekend!

Summer In The Lake District.

 This week I have been fortunate enough to spend a few days enjoying the fine weather in the English Lake District working for Lupine Adventure with young adults on the National Citizen Service scheme.

 Based at Langdale YHA I have been working with Ben, Siobhan and Matt (Trekking Skills) as well as instructors from Carnegie Outdoor.
 Taking groups of 12-14 plus 2 team leaders we made the best of the summer weather and headed out from the YHA onto the surrounding hills.
 Tuesday and Wednesday we made our way around Loughrigg Fell to look at the caves that had been formed when miners had dug out the clay stone, quite a sight when considering the fact the mining had mainly done by hand!

From the caves we made our way up the steep incline of Nab Scar and onto Heron Pike, standing at 612m above sea level this was the first time most of the group had stood on top of an official mountain and had views of the surrounding fells and Grasmere too!

 Thursday and with the skies bright and the temperature set to be higher we set out on a route with less up hill but with a little scrambling to spice things up and give the group a sense of achievement. Heading for Silver Howe we gave the group the lead by letting them choose the route before dropping back down into Grasmere for well earned ice cream, all very Enid Blyton!

 A

Scafell Pike - My Mountain Nemesis?

Nem.e.sis
Something that a person cannot conquer, achieve etc.

 Found in in the Lake District National Park Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England, with the summit standing at a height of 978 metres (3,209 ft) above sea level. It has a stony summit which can be reached via a number of routes, the most commonly used routes begin at Wasdale from the West and Seathwaite from the North East as these are the the common starting points used during the National 3 Peaks Challenge.

 It is at this point that I should confess Scafell Pike has never been my favourite mountain and in fact I was beginning to believe that the mountain had a grudge with me, or I had upset the spirits of the hills in some way! During 5 previous outings on which I have crossed the summit of Scafell Pike it has been with head down and compass out due to little or no visibility, sliding about over the slippery rock strewn summit with nothing to hang around for - my mountain nemesis!
 To add insult to injury it wasn't just myself that the views from the summit were reluctant to reveal themselves to! Undertaking the National 3 Peaks for charity over the first weekend of July 2012 with Ellie, Chrissy, Jodie & Richard we thought we may of had half a chance of a rewarding view but we were met with a heavy mist & constant rain from the start, which were joined by strong winds on the summit!

 With a high pressure system loitering over the UK I decided to beat the mountain spirits and headed for the Lake District to ascend Scafell Pike in the clear, still, winter conditions of mid February.

 Setting off at approx 7am from Seathwaite I made my way 'quietly' through the farmyard towards Stockley Bridge where I stopped for a 'kit faff' to take a layer off.
 Beginning a route from a cold valley floor can make kit selection a slight dilemma as though the air temperature may be very cold, and the ice and snow on the ground suggests it is very cold, you may begin to warm up very quickly whilst walking. This is where a layering system made up of a number of  layers that can be reduced to prevent overheating or added to for insulation is important.

  During my 'kit faff' I decided to take the route following 'Grains Gill' & 'Ruddy Gill' rather than via 'Styhead Pass' as I was now enjoying bright winter morning sunshine.

Following the route along 'Grains Gill' towards 'Ruddy Gill'.

 I was soon above the snow line as I made my up to the foot of  'Great End' which I skirted around and onward to 'Broad Crag',whilst all the time soaking in the endless views of the Lakeland Fells.

Col from 'Broad Crag' to 'Scafell Pike'

  Although revelling in finally beating the mountain spirits and with a summit view finally within my grasp it was whilst crossing the small 'col' between 'Broad Crag' & 'Scafell Pike' that I came across a worrying sight. A couple of people struggling to make their way up to the summit over the bullet proof neve (snow which has compacted/frozen to ice) without crampons or ice axe between them! Whilst the gentleman was encouraging to his walking partner she seemed extremely nervous and even more so as I approached with crampons fitted to boots & ice axe in hand!
If only more women gave me that 'I want your equipment look'!
Entering into a conversation whilst gently enquiring if all was well I was further alarmed to hear that an ice axe had been left back at the car in the thought it wouldn't be needed.
N.B winter conditions in the mountains should never be underestimated!
I was relieved to hear that they would be taking a less hazardous route of descent.

The reward for a winter ascent & beating the mountain spirits!

Rocking horse shit views from Scafell Pike.

Scafell Pike to Scafell.

  Taking my time on the summit to take it all in, enjoy the mountain and reconsider the label of mountain nemesis, it occurred to me that the mountain spirits may of been holding back on the views during my previous visits so I could enjoy them in the full splendour of a rare day like this? Though as I retraced my steps back to Seathwaite it did cross my mind that a more likely explanation was that it tends to p*ss it down more often than not in the Lake District!

Approaching Scafell Pike summit on a summers day July 12!

 

January & Winter Returns to the Scottish Highlands - Winter Mountaineering.

 As I mentioned in my previous blog (http://wearyourboots.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/december-scottish-winter-mountains.html) the hills & mountains become a new and much more serious proposition under winter conditions requiring an additional level of pre planning, awareness, equipment & skills. So it was with some disappointment that I set off on my journey to the West Highlands for my long planned 10 days of Scottish winter routes & Winter Mountaineering course (http://www.expeditionguide.com/snowandice.php) after a Christmas & New Year period that had seen mild temperatures and very little snow fall! As fate would have it it took me 36hrs or so to complete the journey to Fort William due my long suffering work horse vehicle suffering a couple of mechanical breakdowns (unbelievable - only has enough miles on the clock to have circled the globe 8 times!).

 Arriving in Fort William on Tuesday after my much prolonged journey I set to work researching routes that would be under winter conditions for the upcoming days using guide books, maps, mountain area weather forecasts (http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/loutdoor/mountainsafety/), avalanche forecasts (http://www.sais.gov.uk/) & information taken from blogs reporting which areas instructors had been using recently (http://www.expeditionguide.com/blog.php).
 After considering all this information and provisionally deciding on a suitable route I then went over all the information again at least once. I would in no way suggest this was due to my meticulous preparation but very much down to the 'more than slightly twitchy arse sphincter factor' involved when planning solo winter mountaineering routes. Though looking to increase and build on previously gained experience and skills, the knowledge that a simple mistake involving an unsafe snow pack or a slip thru not fitting crampons at the right time could prove somewhat 'problomatic' was a constant thought - especially as I'd paid for a hotel and wouldn't want to spend a night on the mountain with no refund!

 I started with a solo route on Bidean nam Bian in Glencoe followed by a day shadowing Rob Johnson to look at teaching skills before a solo trip up Ben Nevis via 3 Gully. The weekend brought fresh snow and I took the chance to cross the Carn Mor Dearg Arete to again reach Ben Nevis summit. Sunday saw heavy snow falling and I took a trip to Aonach Mor via Easy Gully which in retrospect was a bit 'dodgy'!
 Monday I again joined Rob Johnson for a Winter Mountaineering Course to look at movement over snow terrain, avalanche risk assessment & winter rope work. My week of Winter Mountaineering culminated in an outstanding day when we traversed the Aonach Eagach ridge where we enjoyed exceptional winter conditions!

  Overall I managed to complete 4 quality Winter Mountaineering log book routes, reach 5 new Munro tops for myself , complete 4 Grade I winter climbs + be on Ben Nevis summit in a clear spell which is rarer than rocking horse sh*t!

Wind blown col across before the climb to Bidean nam Bian summit.

Approach to Ben Nevis from CIC Hut. Number 3 Gully right of center.

View down from top of Number 3 Gully.

Looking back from the route up to Carn Mor Dearg

Clouds break around Ben Nevis (Rare!)

Towards the Mamores from Ben Nevis summit.

Aonach Mor East Face - Coire An Lochan

A snow filled 'Easy Gully' on Aonach Mor.

Aonach Nid

Making our way down after a days Winter Skills.

 The Aonach Eagach Ridge - Outstanding!!

 

Video from Rob Johnson/ expeditionguide.com

 After returning from Scotland I met up with AL & James who had been on a 5 Day Winter Skills course in Scotland, we took advantage of the winter conditions in the Lake District with a crossing of Striding Edge to Helvellyn.
 An air temperature of around -5C added to a 30-35mph wind gave us a wind chill of around -17C which added to the days adventure!

AL & James make their way towards Striding Edge.

On Striding Edge.