Melting - literally and in other ways...

god it was hot today....or maybe it wasn't just that hot (it was) - it just felt SO hot after a month of nigh on constant rain and cold temperatures. Sarah, a friend of Claire's from her uni days was here and they had a great day on High Street yesterday whilst I went out for a spin on Arjuna. I only did about 45 mins and one decent hill but felt tired at the end of the ride - with hindsight I should have seen the portent....at least riding Arjuna was not as painful as it was when I last rode him - a minor saddle adjustment seems to have sorted out the problem (touch wood).


So; we move onto today when Luke and I went climbing outside. It had been well over a month since I had last touched rock of any sort - so we rocked up at Shepherds Crag (our second choice destination but it was impossible to get parked anywhere near Black Crag..maybe the traffic Nazi's in Keswick should get their arses down the valley and look at the way that some people park their cars...Stevie Wonder after 6 pints could not have done worse). Ardus was our first choice of route - a MVS that we had both done a few times before. Luke started up the first pitch - which is a slab with not a lot of protection - although Luke managed to find more than I ever remember placing! Seconding I first got the feeling that I was not going well...this is a pitch I can usually run up - I am a good slab climber; with only the oft lack of gear being a problem, but today it seemed so much more polished than usual and I was not as sure of my foot placements as I should have been - rust perhaps?

The second pitch (mine) went up a steep corner. This is also polished - although not as horrendously so as the first pitch. I went ok on it  - although slowly - the perfect gear making even me trust it (more of which anon...). I belayed in the corner; leant off my gear, felt totally secure and waited for Luke to do the crux traverse. If this kind of thing is my cup of tea I don't think it's Luke's (more of which also anon)...however he wobbled (a bit!!) across the traverse before dispensing with the crack to the top - which has quite an arkward last move with small, polished footholds...I find the traverse easy and the crack awkward - always have and probably always will....

Having read the above - one might wonder why (after a cup of tea/coffee at the cafe) I elected to try a VS crack line called CDM. This is admittedly, a route  I had done a few times in my previous climbing life - and I remember finding it ok; steep but all being there. My memory is correct - it is steep, and it's all there...there is gear as well....regrettably the main thing that was not all there was me - at least mentally.

I had SO many wobbles on the route - placing gear that I didn't trust (wrongly for the most part) and making a total pig's ear of the moves...the heat was a factor as I was having to chalk up every single move - however that doesn't excuse the total shambles that occurred. Having downclimbed the route (considerably harder than climbing up it!!) convinced that the gear would rip if I loaded it (it didn't when I had to load it later but there we are.....) I committed to the moves above the last nut. Pulling over a bulge with one move separating me from being in balance and more gear I totally freaked out...all the up and down climbing and arsing around had drained my hands and I became nearly cragfast. I quickly through in an ok hex and (convinced it would pop; my gear would rip and I would crater from 40ft) tried to down climb the last two moves....this proved impossible and I had to lower off....heart very much in mouth.

No doubt totally psyched out by that total shambles - Luke couldn't get up it either so I had to abseil for the gear...those who know me will know that abseiling is not my favourite activity at the best of times (legacy of some 'interesting' abseils in the Dols)..but that was accomplished and soon a very chastened Simon was back at the bottom of the route..

To ask what went wrong would take a book......I am going to go climbing on Wed (hopefully outside) and will decide then whether I want to carry on climbing....much as though I love doing long classic easy routes - I also want to get back to climbing hard. All these grand designs mean absolutely nothing if I can't trust my gear and start to panic and worry like that...yes the climb is a full VS but that is a grade I should be pretty ok to without much practice...especially on a route that is ostensibly safe....food for thought I think...Bouldering is a sport I enjoy but I have far too much leg muscle and am far too fat to be any good at...and to go back to the mountains and do the routes I want to do I have to be able to run up Severe pitches without a lot of gear....something I am clearly not capable of doing yet with the summer hols 3 weeks away......

An odd day...

writing this at 15 - a cafe/gallery in Penrith where I have come for lunch...

I am actually at work today as am not part of any teaching union - as yet of course as this will need to change come Septmber...wonder if the dispute will still be going on.

So; after 3 very long days at work I am able to relax today - well in the sense of doing lots of prep work for next year; reading books; watching the 'History of Britain' DVD to see if any bits are going to be usable next year and changing some ideas I have got for active learning in RE to a history perspective...

will need a rest after all this!!

Finally getting out....

I would love to have lots of pictures of an amazing day with endless sunshine....like the round of Fairfield that Claire and I did too long ago....unfortunately I don't.

The weather has not been good for the last few weeks - to put it mildly it's been changeable; with frequent rain. The forecast today was not too good either - however yesterday was Mum's birthday so we sallied forth and decided on a gentle(ish) round from Rosthwaite. From the car-park near the Flock Inn we walked up the pass which links the Borrowdale valley with Watendlath. It was a steady ascent as the path has been 'made' (it has been a right of way and traditional route for ages). Regrettably - despite it being an ancient bridleway and drove road, the idea seems to have been to make it as least bike friendly as possible...not good.

We crested the path and dropped into Watendlath - before picking up the path which runs alongside the river for a short 2 miles. On this section of the walk we saw the first people we had seen all day - our way is the "wrong' way round (although probably the better way round) to do this walk.  The descent to Shepherds Crag was enlivened by better weather and a lovely waterfall - as seen in the picture - whilst the decision to stop at the cafe therein for lunch was CERTAINLY a good idea - huge portions and sensible prices..

The second half of the walk involved walking back via Grange to Rosthwaite - following the line of the river most of the way. The only place one can really go wrong is the section after the duckboards where one has to take a left hand path - although this is far from obvious (it's not signed/cairned which is unusual in Borrowdale).

From Grange the weather deteriorated somewhat and it was 3 somewhat damp people that made the Flock Inn...and pint mugs of tea....

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/WatendlathFromRosthwaite - are the pictures from today...

Moments in transition...

just back from a lovely nice bike ride with Claire - first time in ages either of us have been on our steeds...


however; it may turn out to be one of Marvin's last rides...over 10 years old he is starting to show his age and more and more things are starting to go wrong with him...not surprising given the work he has put in over the years. The trans-atlas; which pretty much totalled 2 bikes left him with nothing more than knackered gears and needing new bullbars (not bad for 2 of the sickest weeks work any bike will ever do) whilst he has done 2 coast to coast rides (incl 1 in a 14hr single push) as well as divers orienteering events and lots of other rides...


Hopefully I'll be able to get a full suss bike; so Marvin may retire to Mum's garage (if there is any space!) where he can still go out for rides with her on the East coast - considerably less bumpy and rocky; with the new bike over here on the west coast...


However; to do any of that I'll need to get fit, which right now I ain't. Claire and I had a great day on Fairfield 10days ago, however Claire damaged her ankle slightly and we were limited to a nice stroll along the river for the rest of this week...that coupled with the return of some more horrible weather (no drought warnings up here for sure) has limited us. The other reason I have not done much is simply the stress of school hunting for next year. That, at least, is over with confirmation that I'll be doing GTP training next year at the Richard Rose Academy in Carlisle - YIPEE. It will be hard and challenging; also a lot of fun and hopefully leading to a career in teaching....


Also this week - a BIG thanks to Mum and Peter for sacrificing their only free day this side of xmas to come and do some more work on the skylight at the flat...that at least is the good news; there are still ongoing issues with the cellar that need to be sorted out - which could be horribly expensive (possibly punitively so) -  but that is for another day...and we'll find out a lot more tomorrow...

Fairfield Horseshoe...

As can be seen from the photo it was an absolutely stunning day today in the Lakes...so much so that we ran out of water; despite having 2 litres and stopped at the pub in Patterdale for two pints of Orange Squash and a bowl of chips (on medical advice to replace lost salt!!).

So, where to start; we got up reasonably early (despite Claire not sleeping well) and had bacon butties from Bell's in Penrith. Arriving at Patterdale hotel at 8.25 it was annoying to see that the parking charges had increased by 50% in less than a year...in

fact it seems to have increased since I was there in Jan.

Anyway; we slogged up towards St. Sunday Crag stopping to gasp for air (it was VERY still and already VERY hot) and for me to take photo's. We traversed St. Sunday Crag and thence onto Fairfield. The scramble up Cofa Pike was no problem; however it needed lots of water and a sarnie to get Claire up onto Fairfield. Having seen few people all day (the classic round starts from Rydal) it was nice and gratifying to see that the summit of Fairfield was pretty quiet. A nice lunch stop was taken on the summit and yet more water drained. One of the few problems of this route is that it crosses no watercourses (or go anywhere near them) so it would be a thirsty descent to the car again.

We carried on and climbed onto Hart Crag; the descent of which onto the Gill Crag ridge was a bit of a faff...before a long and lovely descent (with superb views of Dovedale and Deepdale) took us back to the road....just in time for chips!!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/FairfieldHorseshoe#  - all the pictures are here..

Blencathra via Sharp Edge..

As can be seen from the picture - taken from the top of Sharp Edge, it was a lovely day in the Lakes today.

To celebrate this; Claire and I elected to go up Blencathra!! The original plan had been to do the Fairfield Horseshoe; however a late start to the day coupled with my total lack of energy and everything else meant a change of plan.

The fact we got parked outside what used to be the White Horse at Scales was encouraging; there were

clearly folk on the hill but it was not heaving. We climbed slowly, I suspect slower than Claire would have liked! up Mousethwaite Combe and traversed the hillside following the well worn path to Scales Tarn. There were lots of people at the tarn, however quite a few were going left up the steep path to the summit of Blencathra rather than doing the edge. Sharp Edge is supposed to be harder than Striding Edge, although given how loose the latter has become in summer I am now not so sure. We stuck mainly to the crest but ducked down before the final descent to the col. Claire bounced easily up the slab and onto the plateau of Blencathra, where a country slice was consumed.
I found the last few feet of ascent, once off the edge itself, a real struggle - the heat not helping as it was pretty hot. We therefore elected to descend over Scales Fell and back to the car - a lovely descent in a lovely early afternoon.

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/BlencathraViaSharpEdge02#

for all the pictures.

Summer in Cumbria..

 This flower was taken on the walk back from Gouther Crag where Claire and I spent a couple of hours on Tuesday...one plus about the dry spell after all the rain is that everything looks lovely and fresh..









As do this clump of trees in lower Swindale..