Sunshine and climbing...

amazingly it seems to have forgotten to rain in Cumbria for a few days :-); which meant we have actually been able to get out.... and do things - amazing.

Although Claire was in London this weekend, we took advantage of our non-working status to grab a couple of quick climbs in between her studies.
On Friday, we headed to Snail Shell Crag, which lies above the delectable hamlet of Mosedale on the side of Carrock Fell. Recess Route was our choice; graded D+, a bizarre grade and not one I 100% agree with. The walk-up is a bit of a slog, following the side of the scree run (there is a faint path); the route is a short delight. Most routes on the crag have the reputation of being a bit bold; this one was fine; gear when it was needed (in truth the route is so easy and the friction so good I only placed a couple of pieces) and amazing friction. To my delight, Claire seemed to fine the route enjoyable as well; and seconded up well. Trusting one's feet is central to climbing these kinds of routes and is something Claire managed to do well (the friction on Carrock Fell is superb). A lovely lunch at the Mill Inn in Mungrisedale followed.


Today we also escaped for a couple of hours climbing. We went back to Church Crag in Thirlmere and re-did Confidence. Quite an apt route to do, as I found it ok to lead (it is a little bold) and Claire seconded it really well....and thoroughly enjoyed herself to boot.

Meanwhile, the countdown to exams and Botswana continues apace - as does the countdown to the race in October - which I am not exactly ready for yet!! Arjuna is going in to the bike shop tomorrow to get a compact chainset fitted - basically making the climbs easier! Time to get the mountain bike out!!

Checking out the route...

yesterday; depressed whilst the rain poured down in Cumbria, I decided to enrol myself in this...

http://www.sportinaction.co.uk/index.php/sportevents/duathlon-events/72-hartside-duathlon

So, today, with a funny yellow thing in the sky and the temperature at least 10 degrees hotter; I went to ride around the bike route. Quite a few people will know the descent from 2/3 of the way up the Hartside to Renwick - some of it is done (in reverse) by those doing the C2C and using the off-road approach (which is MUCH better); whilst those who do the PCW will have climbed up what I came down today. Likewise, those who've done the Cumberland Challenge, will have climbed the way I descended today.

Descent on Arjuna is not one of my strong points - especially today with a strong cross-wind and roads I don't know well. I certainly feel better prepared for the race having ridden it - and will probably ride it once more before the race at least (we'll be in Bots for 2 1/2 weeks before the race) to get the hang of some other parts of the course as well. The actual climb up the pass went pretty well - I was able to get into a nice tempo; however the section from Kirkoswald to Langwathby was not as fast as I'd have liked.

The cycle course is pretty brutal for its 21 miles - am going to have work on fitness a LOT to do the two runs and the bike - aim for this race: Don't be the lantern rouge.

Breaking in Claire's fell shoes...

it is a measure of the chaos (mostly work related) that has surrounded our lives that Claire today finally began to break in her fell-running shoes.

What is slightly disquieting about this is that I brought them for her birthday - back in April!! This is not good....

running down High Pike I had forgotten a) how much I love fell-running and b) what a damn good workout it is...

My battered old Inov8's are still going - they got chewed up by the OMM in 2008 but have steadfastly refused to die - which is pleasing to me; although I have a new pair I got a couple of years ago in the sale ready to go when they do die.

Claire reported no real problems with her shoes - and she ran down well....which is also good.

The least said about the weather forecast for the next few days the better - Claire is at a mock exam in London next weekend and I am debating going to Scotland with Suilvan or staying here - this will depend on the weather a bit as well.

My photo's are moving...

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/3436739  is the new location where they will all be stored. In due course I am hoping to try and sell a few of these  - they can also be made into calendars etc and a whole variety of stuff - please spread the word to all those around.

The photo's will be on picasa for a little bit - can't say for sure how long though.

Braeriach

Claire and I decided to take advantage of the excellent forecast for the Saturday and delay our departure south by 1 day - another big advantage of having the van. Sure enough, the day dawned hot and sunny and we were ready for an early(ish!) start - with quite a goal in mind.

Claire descending to the Lairig Ghru

Braeriach is arguably the daddy of all the Gorms - not the biggest or the most remote, but a big top a long way from anywhere with a reputation for appalling weather and tricky navigation. It also boasts, in An Garbh Choire, arguably one of the finest of all corries in Scotland. Our plan was to park at the Sugarbowl on the ski road and traverse the hill-side to the Charlmain Gap, before descending to the Lairig Ghru - one of the two great passess that split the range. From there, we would climb the loooooong ridge of Sron na Lairig (which we'd have to ascend as it's a munro top!) and thence onto Braeriach itself. We'd be facing about a 200m re-ascent to the Gap on the way back - giving a 20km day with around 1500m of ascent.

The path to the gap has been re-made since I was there (almost 20 years ago on a trip to Corrour bothy after finishing my finals) and made for quick going to the Gap itself. The gap is actually a rocky boulder hop that Claire did not find to her liking - surprising for one so usually sure-footed. However, given the magnificence of the day this was not a massive problem and we were soon descending towards the Lairig Ghru.

Crossing the stream was easy - and gave the promise a water re-fill at the re-cross (which given the heat we'd need) - and we were soon starting the VERY long climb up the Sron. The weather was astonishing - I was seriously hot in short-sleeved wicking top and shorts! This has not been the usual weather for the summer in Cumbria at least. The ascent starts quite steeply but then eases into a bit of a drag, but there is a good path to follow which helps a lot. About 2/3 of the way up there was a brief and very violent 3 min rain/hail squall - apart from this the jackets stayed in the the rucksack.

Looking to Ben MacDui.

The path actually skirts the summit of Sron na Lairig and, fortified by a banana and a country slice, we started the final climb to the summit of Braeriach. The views were amazing - across the vast expanse of An Garbh Choire to the Angels Ridge, a superb grade II scramble/grade I winter climb which needs to be looked at, to Cairn Toul and across to Ben MacDui. The view even extended to the far east and Ben Avon. The photo's are all on the photobox gallery - link later.

Having had lunch at the top - and gazed out at the plateau and the hills of Thursday we began to descend. We went over Sron na Lairig - not too bad an ascent before dropping down the long descent to the Lairig. I then re-filled my bottle giving vital energy for the last climb - which is a bit of a drag back up to the Gap. Claire was much more sure-footed through the gap second time around and we were soon beginning the walk-out to the car.

7 1/2 hours for the round-trip was pretty good going for us and to have such an amazing day was utterly priceless.

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/3436739  is the link to the new photo storage site - they can be downloaded and brought/made into calendars etc...

Glen Feshie hills..

The Thursday morning dawned ok - it had rained heavily overnight but had stopped and the cloud was quite light on the hills. The forecast was for it to improve as the day went on as well; so Claire and I drove Suilvan round to Achlean farm and parked up. The stalkers path mentioned in the books as the way to approach these hills was a delight - it did mean we'd have about a 4km road walk at the end of the day; however a strong southerly wind precluded us using the bikes to bike up and walk back south (our original idea). This way, the wind was at our backs.

The stalkers path as superb, well drained and well graded, so we could maintain a slow but steady plod up the path towards the summit of Carn Ban Mor. This area is known for being a navigational nightmare in thick mist and it's easy to see why. Visibility was not perfect (far from it with it being limited to around 100 yards); however there was a cairn at the junction of the four paths and it enabled us to find the wind-shelter on the summit of Carn Ban Mor easily [ a word of note; the cairn is not the biggest and may well get buried in the winter snows].

Lunch was taken on top and, with no improvement in the weather, the decision was made to retreat to the van. We'd got about 100m down when suddenly the clouds started to lift and the sun began to make an appearence - so we climbed back up and continued with the traverse as planned. 5 minutes later and we'd have been too far down to re-ascend - truly a stolen day.

This picture is the next stage of our route with Claire starting the ascent of Sgor Gaoith, one of two Munro summits on the plateau, the other being at the far end which we weren't visiting today.

                                                                                                                     

This was a view looking back - showing the desolation of the Moine Mhor (or Great Moss). Using the path that we followed, you can walk across to Braeriach and to the hills of Monadh Mhor and Beinn Bhrotain. Irvine Butterfield, author of the 'High Mountains of Britain and Ireland' (pretty much the bible for me in my Munro bagging) describes this as the most "psychologically intimidating walk in Britain" and one can see why.

Sgor Gaoith had marvellous views into the great corries of Braeriach, and also marked the high point of the day's round. From there, it was a short hop onto Sgoran Dubh Mhor and onto Geal Charn, the last top of the day at 920m. From there, a steep descent took us to another lovely path, with lovely trees and heather to look at - which took us back to the road.

The 4km on the road was not good for my knees, however the lamb chops at the van did make more than amends for this - as did the sunset that night. With less wind, we were back in the high car-park - no midges!!!! - and this was our reward. A great end to a stolen day.

Journey to Aviemore....

Suilvan here again...remember how I said I was being loaded and I wondered what the humans were up to...I was right, time to get on the road again.

This time I was pretty full indeed, with a bike rack on the back and a bike in me as well....however it wasn't too bad a drive until we got to Aviemore itself. The male human starting chuntering about how the layby we were going to stay in wasn't there anymore (cycle path instead) and the female human was worried about parking in layby's with 'no overnight parking' signs - unlike the male human who wasn't worried about that at all!

They eventually took me most of the way up a very steep hill to a very windy car-park. Things didn't get much better there as the male human managed to empty most of the contents of the salt-cellar over his supper!! Luckily there was enough to go around for both. It was also very windy (I'm not talking about the humans either but the weather); so my humans decided to take me down to a car-park known as the 'Sugarbowl' which was more sheltered - but had midges...God these humans moan...at least they weren't getting rained on - unlike the bikes and me.