The rest of the pictures from yesterday..

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/ClimbingOnGoatCragWatendlath#


doing a few things around the flat today - hopefully back outside tomorrow and Monday....:-)

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Goat Crag in the afternoon sun

Some images from todays climbing with Luke. The original idea that we had was to go to Grey Crag in Buttermere - however by the time we left Luke's it was about 10 and we were both tired so elected to have day on Shepherds getting some mileage in. However we soon discovered that we were not alone in that thought....so we used our back up plan - Goat Crag. There are several Goat Crags in the Lakes. This one is nearly at the lovely hamlet of Watendlath and that is about all I'm going to say about it as I'd like to go there again - and we saw no-one at all day. This was probably just as well given the way that the climbing went. Luke and I were both suffering from not being out on rock too much - and I still have a massive aversion to trusting my own gear placements - although they actually are quite good!!!!

The Slab - Diff

It didn't seem like that on the first route, a lovely Diff slab that I duly ascended in nice style with two good runners. It's actually a route I soloed later in the day and is very pleasant indeed. After a bit to each I tried to do a Severe - a crack line that Luke had done on his previous visit to the crag. I will freely admit that crack climbing is not my forte at all - I am much happier on slabs and open walls. My footwork was actually ok; however I didn't seem able/willing to trust my gear placements (which we clearly good as Luke lowered off them after his attempt). The key move was a couple of high steps which seemed to be committing i.e not able to reverse; and without an obvious handhold. Looking down from the top (we had to abseil for the gear) the handhold is obvious - Luke did very well to lead this when he was last at the crag.

Luke had a gear at the other severe on the crag - which I say to was yet another crack and was probably undergraded too. An interesting sequence up a greasy pod with holds for the hands only on one side (which Luke decided to make interesting by arranging for all his runners to leap out when he was climbing it!!) brings one underneath a wide crack with an obvious jug out of the reach of all bar basketball players. He arranged so bombproof gear and set to work. On my attempt it proved really arkward; everything was there one just needed to re-arrange one's body in a variety of strange ways; two left feet would have been a distinct advantage for example!! Added to this it was seriously hot and the move was clearly a 'do or fall' and my cowardice came back to the fore - grrrrr...

It is noticeable that this crag does not have an awful lot of gear on some routes - there being a lovely E1 that I would have attempted (the reachy open face climbing being my kind of thing) were it not for the fact it was basically a solo with a revolting landing....the three climbs we did all had good gear it should be said....a very interesting crag though and a great day out. Learning to trust gear is my biggest weakness and one that I need to overcome if I am ever going to really progress in climbing again. I have not had a leader fall since my return to the sport in 2008....I have never really felt I was going to fall off on any of the routes I have done. As I noted earlier; the irony is that my gear placements are usually pretty good...quite why I have a distrust of camming devices I don't know as one did its job perfectly all those years ago on Right Unconquerable on Stanage. In the best interests of aversion therapy I will probably have to eschew some lovely open face climbs for some more cracks I expect. Back when I was going well I found Kipling Groove on Gimmer ( a hard HVS) much easier than the top pitch of Gimmer Crack ( VS)...just suits my style I guess.

Watendlath (next to the tarn)

Bouldering...

just had a nice hour playing on Carrock Fell - an hour is about all your skin can manage before it gets ripped to shreds by the rough rock!!

Went and explored the South and South Central areas today; parts of the mountain I had not been on before; largely because they have some pretty hard problems. They also have some more sensible ones; a couple of which I did and a couple more I looked at.

One of these; which is at my absolute limit at V3, seems to involve a ridiculously powerful first move and the rest is pretty easy - it's simply a case of 'are you strong enough'?, to which I must answer no - however it is something to work on.

The other one is a bit more interesting....shame it was the last problem I worked as it seems as if I could do it reasonably soon. Body-tension and how much one can use the right foot seem to be the key to it...something to work on. The holds are so sharp though...only two goes before too much skin was gone.

So; its back to work tomorrow for 3 days....however with Claire working the 4-midnight shift I'll be looking to do something after work most days....hopefully the weather will play ball.

Easter fell-run...

yet another amazing day in Cumbria, and Claire and I decided to go for a fell run to celebrate. A steep ascent of Bowscale Fell from Mungrisedale was followed by the traverse along its plateau to the col under Blencathra. From there we followed the River Glendermackin before climbing back up to the top of Mousethwaite Combe and thence over Souther Fell. The final descent to Mungrisedale dropped us off at the Mill Inn for a sandwich and a beer before staggering the last 500m to the car.

I would guess the total distance to be around 6 1/2 miles...not bad for a third day out on the trot. Not sure what tomorrow will bring  - however can't let this weather go to waste.

Backpacking in the Howgill Fells...

This is the view from just out of Ravenstonedale which is a village on the edge of the Howgills. Claire and I had parked in the village and shouldered our packs with the intention of doing a good circuit. We walked along the dead end road for a couple of miles - in lovely weather - before we started into the mountains.

Our first objective was Kensgriff, which has a lovely ridge and fell ponies grazing on it (as can be seen from the picture below). The pull up onto the ridge was heavy going with full packs and in the heat. Once the ridge was crested the majority of the

Howgills became visible; as can be seen on the picasa site ; links in earlier blogs. From the summit; we had a banana and country slice to fortify ourselves; along with some water before commencing the slog up Yarlside.

Yarlside is a mountain that is arguably the most prominent of all the Howgill Fells, despite not being the highest. This is probably because it's not on the main spine of the hills but a little away apart from the Calf/Calders plateau (which is where we were headed).

Summiting Yarlside we descended towards Bowderdale Head where we got a lovely view of Cautley Spout. The path which goes across the top of it before ascending the top of Cautley Crag to Great Dummacks appealed to us both and after lunch this is what we decided to do.

The ascent, in the heat of the day, was hard going; however the views (as usual) were superb. Once past Cautley Spout the volume of people dropped down to zero (as it'd been for most of the rest of the day - we saw one guy on Yarlside and that was it!)

The traffic increased as we climbed to Calders before traversing to the summit of the Calf (the highest point of the Howgill range). At this point we elected to shorten our original objective and traverse near the summit of White Fell Head before climbing Busk Howe and thence (over the Cobbles) to Langdale where we intended to spend the night.

This is the view from the top of the Cobbles, a small bump with many undualtions (hence its name I guess) and no summit...from which a steep descent (something the Howgills have a lot of are VERY steep climbs and descents) took us into Langdale.












 Our campsite can be seen suffice to say that it's one of the best pitches I have ever been on...lovely; grassy; flat; with water nearby and superb views....
Supper of pasta and pesto followed with cups of tea and a minature of whisky....really suffering as one can tell.


A great nights sleep followed although we had a little rain overnight and awoke this morning to a few more clouds.




Both of us were feeling a little tired after yesterdays walk and I had blisters on both of my heels - a legacy from the Cross Fell walk a couple of weeks ago. Ergo, we elected to walk along the valley for about 1km, which also gave my heel the chance to loosen up, before ascending the side of Hazelgill Knot. Emerging onto the ridge which runs parallel to Bowderdale we ploughed on over West Fell before descending to Bowderdale - and seeing a party of people ascend who where the first people we had seen since about 3pm the previous day.

The day was a bit gloomier -as can be seen by this view of (the ubiqitous) Yarlside looking up Bowderdale. Our day also got a bit gloomier when trying to cut across to Ravenstonedale...there has been a TON of new planting/seeding/whatever, even from when I rode that way in summer 2009...however a quick hitch along the road got me back to the car and thence to collect Claire....

All in all - despite aching legs - a fantastic trip

photo's from the backpacking trip...

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/BackpackingInTheHowgillFellsWithClaire#


report to come in due course - suffice to say it was amazing.

Packing....

it's supposed to be a lightweight trip; backpacking in the Howgills with an overnight stop. Which is why I am wondering if the mountain of gear strewn over the floor is really the way to go...on the other hand it will be good practice for Scotland later on in the year..


Oh - and the weather is stonking; looks set to hold and I have a new camera to try out!!

Tour of Blencathra...

well...another magical early summer day in Cumbria (and given the temperature it is early summer), and a decent nights sleep for once.

The new camera arrived at about 10.30 - super psyched to get out and use it - so by 11 Marvin was packed in the car and I was driving towards Mungrisedale. The Tour of Blencathra is a reasonable opening offering in terms of off-road mountain biking for the season - with only about 1/2 of it being off-road. Had I been a true man of course I would have parked at the Blencathra centre; thus ensuring the last part of the ride being about 1 mile of ascent which touches 25% in parts....luckily I didn't!!

I still felt pretty rough at certain parts of the ride...mountain biking (especially climbing off-road) reaches parts of the body other pursuits don't (and then inflict pain and suffering!!!). The descent from Skiddaw House to the main path round Blencathra was done quite gingerly, apart from that I rode ok actually. Hitting the road at Mosedale was quite a relief however; the downhill (mainly) run to Mungrisedale being a good way to end the ride..

What can I say about the weather - truly superb; about 20 degrees and hardly a breath of wind. I was amazed how few people I saw given that Keswick was heaving on Saturday and Sunday and even Penrith is busy...it clearly pays to get off the beaten track a bit!!

Decisions....

went climbing yesterday with Luke; did a couple of lovely Diffs in fantastic weather....

the fantastic weather carried on today; which is a shame as I am aching after the last couple of days on the hill and the fact that I have not slept especially well and feel really tired....I am hopefully going to get out on the road bike for an hour after lunch; would love to take Marvin on the Tour of Blencathra today - however I am not sure that I have the energy and I also think it will still be wet....the weather looks set for today and tomorrow and, according to the forecast, wed should be superb so may try and preserve some energy today. I can also do somethings around the flat as well.

Feel super psyched for the week ahead - looking forward to the weekend as well with a backpacking trip into the Howgills for the both of us...

1:19

no that is not some kind of Dan Brown cryptography question or statement....it's simply the time it took Claire and I to jog/walk the 5 mile Latrigg circuit from Keswick. Not only did we go faster on the first section along the old railway; we also ascended very quickly whilst walking (up in 53 mins) before a very quick descent indeed...Claire, who swears blind she has never run before, flying downhill like a total natural....

this was followed up with a trip to the Cornish Pasty shop in Keswick and then to the Square Orange for tea and cake...all thoroughly well earned I might add.....

Trail running...

the weather yesterday was not so great; with the cloud being down on the top of the hills and it being a little overcast.

Given all that; I decided to do a trail run that I know - starting from Pooley Bridge; climbing to the Cockpit (the edge of High Street) and then a lovely 2 3/4 mile descent to Howtown; from there it is back 4 miles on the road to Pooley Bridge - total distance of about 7 1/2 miles or so.

I was surprised that I was able to jog all the way, including the initial 1/2 mile uphill section - and also that I got round in 1 1/2 hours - it does show the value of pacing....something I have discussed in an earlier blog on the Latrigg circuit - and something I was notoriously bad at until recently.

Still unsure re Sunday; as to whether or not to compete in the duathlon...will decide nearer the time...Claire and I are going to try to get into the RAB mountain marathon in late Sept, held somewhere in northern england; lets hope for the best as they have a nice walkers category, which is what we are going for.

Hutch...

Next to this is a picture of my beloved cat Hutch, who had to be put to sleep yesterday. He was nearly 21 years old, which is ancient for a moggy, and all his staff will miss him lots. The picture shows Hutch in typical repose in Edinburgh, where he lived. I once brought Pat a fridge magnet that summed him up perfectly..'how nice it is to do nothing and relax afterwards'.

Hopefully he is catching the celestial mice whilst lying in front of the great fireplace in the sky.

First outdoor rock-climbing of the year...

This shot is actually taken a couple of years ago on Ardus....suffice to say that it was a bit colder today when Andy Cannon and I went to Shepherds Crag in Borrowdale to do a little rock-climbing. Easy routes were on the agenda so Andy opened up with Chamonix, a diff that I have only done once before...it was a little arkward to second actually.

Andy then sprinted up the first pitch of Little Chamonix before I ran it out to the top...although its a route I've done many times before it was good to feel so controlled and relaxed on it....



Cresecendo was next - or at least the first pitch of it. Suffice to say it does not qualify as the world's best Severe climb....the move off the platform being not only pretty bold but horrendously polished - I almost slipped off seconding and only a shooting hand catching a good hold prevented a fall. From there to the top of the pitch is much easier....not a great route in all honesty.

A violent storm then led to a cup of tea at the cafe under the crag before heading home with time to do some painting before going onto the cycle maintainence course with Claire tonight....may well be possible to get out in the next couple of days as well if the weather decides to play ball....

All in all - a good start to the rock year and nice to get some mileage under my belt.

Changeable...

is clearly the word to describe the weather today.....just after I wrote the previous post the sun came out. It is still somewhat colder than the weekend but Claire and I have just enjoyed a nice 2 mile jog by the Eden; and in less than 30 mins as well which is good....

Raining....

can it be the same town as yesterday....when Claire and I wandered by the River Eden and marvelled at how hot it was....

temperature must have dropped 10degrees and its been raining on and off most of the morning...anyone would think I am on holiday!!

pix from yesterday

https://picasaweb.google.com/home

Cross Fell and Little Dun Fell..

Two images from an amazing day yesterday; in summer like temperatures. Mum and Peter came over for the weekend and we all met at the Village Bakery, Melmerby for breakfast. A nice drive to Kirkland followed with lots of baa lambs in the fields.

From Kirkland the ascent of Cross Fell is quite an effort; a 3-4 mile uphill walk and a height gain of well over 2000'. In the conditions it was a slow and sweltering ascent; although taken at a nice steady pace. Despite a stop of drinks and cake we still got to the summit in about 2 hours; where we stopped for lunch. It was very warm on the summit - far warmer than I have ever seen it before even when I've been up in June and July. The notorious 'helm' wind was also largely absent as well, making for a very pleasant sojourn for lunch. The only drawback was the haze-  which was enough to obscure some of the views which the mountain is famous for - yet regrettably enough to see the horrible 'golf balls' on top of Great Dun Fell.

Continuing on we ascended Little Dun Fell. Peter shot off to do Great Dun Fell whilst the three of us basked in the sun. My energy levels were pretty much shot after lunch, which was a surprise as I had ascended quite well and felt quite fresh....the long, long descent was therefore not too much to my liking....although the glorious weather helped a lot. A couple of blisters on my heels didn't help too much either. However, these are minor quibbles from an amazing day out - a great start to my Easter holiday.....

Breaking up is (not) hard to do....

when we have a late Easter that co-incides with a sudden burst of spring weather....it's been seriously warm here today and the forecast is very good for tomorrow too. Claire, Mum, Peter and I are hoping to do Cross Fell which should provide some excellent views.

Hopefully the weather will hold and I can get some climbing/biking/running in the next couple of weeks as well as some painting and research for my GTP interview..

Spring has sprung..

the rain stopped suddenly mid morning and the temperature has rocketed and the sun has come out. It's suddenly got lovely - and we rewarded it with a nice run by the River Eden at Langwathby tonight - only a couple of miles of trail run but Claire and I ran 95% of it which has really pleased both of us....hoping for a good summer that lasts beyond May this year.

Spring in Cumbria...

Spring has finally sprung in Cumbria...well in the sense that we could open the windows of the flat to help dry the painting and lots of lambs are out and about.....

These shots were taken on our walk today - the original plan of Cross Fell abandoned in the face of rain and low cloud. An alternative circuit around Dufton was mooted - which involved both running and walking (including, distressingly, for Claire - some UPHILL running...). The hill in the background is Dufton Pike which our walk went behind and then finished with a nice downhill run into Dufton itself.

Its now getting light until pretty much 8pm so we are hopeful of getting out and about in the evenings for some running and/or cycling....hopefully the weather will improve as well; its getting warmer but still quite wet.