Scafell Pike

As anybody that knows the drive in and out of Wasdale is long and slow along narrow twisty lanes, there is also no mobile reception at all so no chance for a ‘live’ update to livejournal. We struggled to find a toilet stop as we approached Wasdale (which has no facilites), picking a service station without a toilet for our final stop! Fortunately we came across a public toilet as we were about to stop at a pub for a cheeky but necessary visit. We were only just over an hour ahead of the last start time for Scafell which showed that were lucky to be amongst the earlier starters for the event and that we were falling behind the pace quite badly. The weather front had definitely arrived in the lake district and showers were frequent but we were lucky with the rain considering, we started in the sun shine had a shower part way up and a bad thunderstorm with lightening and hail as we descended. The path was very slippy and there were numerous falls in our team and others near to us. There is a stream that has to be forded after a couple of hundred meters of ascent and I was worried about this given the leakiness of my boots, and reports from the practice walk that others did in bad weather a few weeks ago that reported a raging torrent, however I was relieved that the stream was low enough for me to pick my way across on boulders without getting wet socks or suffering the embarrassment of wading across with bin backs round my feet. Last time I was here it was my second walk in the lake district and even after 2 days of recovery time I was suffering from that 1st walk and I was getting blisters from my new boots, this time however I felt good and fresh with the principle difficulty coming from switching between waterproof trousers and shorts (waterproofs were too hot and sweaty on the climb but necessary when it rained). It was as pleasing as ever to get to the top and we were treated to a good view over the lake district and might have lingered for few minutes but the marshals warned us about the thunderstorm coming in an we decided to press on as quickly as possible. When the rain did hit it was on our backs which made it much better, the faces of people still climbing illustrated a certain amount of unhappiness of the conditions. My efforts to ensure my coat was waterproof with washing waterproofing did not seem effective, and the damp soon crept although my boots stayed reasonably dry. As we left the valley it was almost 10pm and the light was only just fading, and the task of getting some sleep seemed as daunting as the next climb. I wasn’t looking forward to Snowdon as I expected it to be a long and tedious climb and that I would finally start to feel the effects from the previous two mountains. Some hot pasta, chocolate cakes and a mars bar certainly hit the spot.

Snowdon.

I did manage to sleep quite well, I must have had a good couple of hours after we finally got to better roads and the Van stopped feeling like a ride at Alton Towers. I don’t remember much between the M6 and the final couple of roundabouts into Llanberis. At this point I didn’t feel particlaly enthused about the Snowdon ascent, it was more a case of finishing the job. My mood was not helped by team two arriving back at the carpark at the end of their challenge (they started one minute a head of us), it was also apparent that we were well of the 24 hour pace, and going to finish amongst the last few teams. We were the middle of the three Elsevier teams for most of the challenge but somehow the last team managed to arrive at the Llanberis car park only a short time after us, so we agreed to go up together, which I think turned out well since the additional company and social aspect livened everybody up and both teams were operating at a similar pace. The 1st hour and a half were in the dark, with head torches on (I managed to break the switch on mine somehow, but it still worked even if it was difficult to turn on and off). Everybody moans about the start of the Llanbersis path which has a steep section of road, but I found the stream of teams coming in the other direction to be more of a drag, we were not expecting a fast time so it would be a good few hours before we were at the same point. We met the lead Elsevier team about an hour in and shortly afterwards we reached the halfway hut. The 2nd half of Snowdon was the bit I was looking forward to least, fortunately we were directed to take the railway track for part of the 2nd half (presumably because the path itself is quite tricky at that point and falls could occur easily). The route was still steep but not quite as loose. By this time I am definitely starting to feel the pain, although it must have been a lot less than some of my team members that had probably reached this point of tiredness considerably earlier in the challenge. The cloud base was low, and it was damp and drizzly and I was starting to feel damp and cold with coat, hat and gloves all soaked by now and the pace not fast enough to generate a lot of heat. At one point we were passed by a lad in a t-shirt and jeans carrying only a water bottle. (I wonder what he had been up to the night before that made him want to climb Snowdon in the drizzle and early hours of the morning!)
The final part of the ascent was a pure slog, and the steps to the summit a real pain. After a quick stop for food at the top and some photo’s we soon started our decent and a slow but steady pace saw us gradually edge closer to the finish arriving as a loose band of tired stragglers rather than triumphant hero’s we still got a round of applause when we trooped into the finish marquee which we found a little embarrassing even if the applause was thin on the ground since most people had obviously been and gone already. Breakfast was more than welcome and our timing could have been a lot worse because it began raining very heavily not five minutes after we sat down. A couple of other teams arrived as we ate so we applauded them in turn (it was pretty much just us and the organisers by then) and we got our tacky finishers medals. We finished in 29 hours and 14 minutes and looking at the chart of team times it looks like we will be in the low 50’s of the ranking (out of 61 teams) which is a bit disappointing. The fastest team took a little over 19 hours (last year it was 17 and the record for all three peaks events is about 15 hours – they must have been fell runners).

I managed to sleep on the trip home, I don’t remember anything between Llangollen and the services on the M6, where we bumped into another team that had finished the event a little before us. They gave us a cheery wave as they departed. We were all pleased that we had achieved our goal of doing all three peaks, some because it meant they didn’t have to try again next year (they also plan never to see Ben Nevis again) although talk did drift to the possibility of trying again next year with the aim of doing it within 24 hours. We could do it, with a bit more hustle. Time will tell….

Tags: 3 peaks

Ben Nevis
Estimated 20 mins to wake up, get dressed and have instant porridge, but it turnout that porridge had to wait. Arrived Glen Nevis visitor centre about 15 mins before start, to find that the organisers were not quite ready, so we then faffed and almost missed our start time. The first two teams ran from the start line, which was a little intimidating but it was actually a good hour before we were overtaken by anybody. There were plenty of otherpeople on the mountain, and we started overtaking groups from another event, which felt good until we realised they were on the last mountain of a four peaks challenge.(why is it that there is always somebody going faster/higher/stronger can't even claim we were doing the toughest challenge today). After that we started to get overtaken more often by teams charging up or running down but we set a good pace with only short breaks rather than long stops The Elsevier B team passed us during one our stops. The weather was pretty good, with sun and mild wind most of the way. There were still patches of snow near the summit which presented an interesting change of path surface and could easily have had us off our feet. The summit was clear so we got views but the wind had picked up and it was very cold so we didn't linger. We met the Elsevier B team leaving the summit plateau just as we arrived, and in turn the Elsevier C team arrived just as we left. B finished first with 5:15 then us with 5:36 and C was about 20 mins behind us. We had a picic by van before setting off so we have fallen further back behind A, and I,m not sure if C left before us or not. We are on the right pace to complete in 24 hours but the next mountain may well be tough as we will already be tired and the prospect is for wet and windy weather.

Tags: 3 peaks

On our way

Vans, loaded. Photo's taken. Breakfast consumed. Now just a long slog up to Fort William' some 450 plus miles from our start and finish point. All being well we will be back some time Sunday pm. The weather forecast is better than yesterday's, it is certainly going to be windy (possibly gale force) but the rain is due over Ben Nevis after we should be gone, and may clear from Scafell and Snowden by the time we arrive. I don't expect to stay dry.

Tags: 3 peaks

Busy busy busy, that has been me lately. I'm off to Glastonbury in the next 24 hours and 3P is the following weekend so it's time for a quick catchup.

My last 3P training was the weekend before last in Snowdonia. I camped at the forestry commission campsite in Beddgelert and got eaten alive my midges. It looked like I had chicken Pox, the plaque and teenage acne all at the same time. Not at good look, and a drag on the camping experience. I still managed to enjoy myself, but by getting away from the campsite rather than sitting out and enjoying the sunset. I managed two ascents of Snowdon, and wimped out of a planned third which turned out to be sensible given I was definitely running a temperature Sunday night. Saturdays route was up over Mount Eilo, Foel Gron and Foel Goch and then up to the summit of Snowdon - this route was about 1500m of ascent so counts as 'Ben Nevis'. Sunday we went up the Llanberis path following the route we will take for the event, which is about 1000m of ascent. Progress was relatively slow and we decided that we were not ready to go down the other side and do a 2nd ascent. We would have ended up leaving very late, and as it was I didn't get back to Banbury until early evening. I felt terrible on the drive back, and slunk straight off to bed so I have an excuse for my slow pace on the second day but with no further practice until the real event there is still an unanswered question as to my fitness level. I'm confident that I can do three mountains, and certain that two is not a problem but I am concerned about my pace. I also got bad blisters again, and have abandoned plans to use my new boots for the 3P and will go with my old 'not so waterproof' boots which I'm confident will not present me with any issues. A few plastic bags and judicious use of waterproofing should cope with any water events.

Last weekend featured a trip to Alton Towers for a friend’s birthday. It's been about 10 years since I was there last, and I have mixed feelings about the rides. I decided to give everything a go, and in general this worked well. Either I'm getting older or the rides are getting more extreme though, and the old rides that were there during my last visit seemed to be the tame ones. Only 'Air' made me feel nauseous, and luck was with me on Rita - queen of speed as it broke down just as I got off. I did a few of the kiddie rides with Alex, which he enjoyed immensely, asking for more, and before we knew it the park was closed and we were forced to go hunting for a Pizza Hut for tea. A mix-up when placing my order mean I had a large pizza to myself, which I couldn't let go to waste! I think we all managed to get home late. All in all a very enjoyable day, good company, good thrills and good food. Whilst I was doing this fellow 3 peakers were getting wet and lost on Scafell Pike, with the first rain for weeks in the area. Apparently the tiny stream that presented no problems to me on my ascent a few weeks ago was a raging torrent and even the most adventurous of the group failed to make it to the top due the weather and navigational difficulties. We had better pray for good weather in two weeks time, or all of our fitness training will count for naught.

Meanwhile, the tent is packed, food purchased, clothes selected and tickets found. Everything needs to be squeezed into rucksacks tonight and then we are off to the grand parents (who are looking after Alex for the weekend). The Gates to Glastonbury are already open, and tomorrow we shall be going though them.

Tags: 3 peaks, alton towers, glastonbury

After a week of internet withdrawal symptoms I am back online, and faced with an update on all of my 3 peaks training. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) my GPS was playing up all week so I have no route tracks to share with you, and my camera phone took it’s photo’s at the lowest resolution possible (why oh why!) which means no decent photos to share either.

The weather though was fantastic. I was concerned that it might be too hot, but in the event this was not a problem. Anyway we stayed near Hawkshead and Coniston, in a cottage and I managed to get three walking days into the week thanks to the decision to drive up Friday night and stay overnight in a travel lodge.

Day 1 was Skiddaw, up the tourist motorway on the south east ridge to Skiddaw little Man (865) and then Skiddaw (931) before a hair raising scree decent (I’m not keen on scree) over Carl side (746) past the white stones (the name says it all) and through the village back to the car. 11km 900m. The climb was exhausting being the most intensive since Helvelyn last year, and my legs knew about it. The view and feeling of satisfaction as I ate my lunch on the top was well worth it.

After failing to get in touch with everybody else and deciding to push my luck, and find out how hard it would be to climb another mountain I found my way to the Walna Scar car park near Coniston and started up Coniston old Man (803). I didn’t intend to go all the way per say, but once I got started it felt like it would be a failure to turn round, especially as it was nearly killing me. The last 100m I had to stop every 10 paces and sit down. Fortunately the car park was already part way up the hill so the 6km walk was only 600m of ascents. The old mine works and low water Tarn were fantastic to see. No time to linger though, I had to make it back down double quick because I was now pretty late.

Day 2 included a visit to Ambleside where I invested in a new pair of boots (It almost required a mortgage), but I like it. My old leaking and squeaking boots will hopefully be relegated to reserve status. A small climb up Latterbarrow (244m) was a small start for my new boots.

Day 3, and I was joined by my brother in law for an ascent of the Scafells which we started late morning after a slow but interesting drive over the Wrynose and Hard Knott passes and other delays. It was perfect climbing weather with the sun bright in the sky and temperatures soaring. I had not recovered from day one, and the steep climb was hard work. We followed the route that we will take on the 3 peaks from Wasthead and I wore my new boots and I knew I was taking a risk, and sure enough blisters started to develop halfway up. After some running repairs we made it the top of Scafell pike (977) which was packed with walkers. We then left the crowd behind to walk over to Scafell, which as anybody who knows the area will know is not a simple as it sounds. The appropriate path down the scree slopes of broad strand, with the paths on the ground taking different routes to the rights of way marked on the map. We found the gully to climb up to Foxes Tarn, which was a surprisingly nice climb. Steep yes, but I’d rather climb up firm rocks than steep scree. I’m not sure I would have liked going down though. Foxes tarn was nothing more than a muddy puddle and then there was a steep scree ascent to the summit ridge and Scafell itself (964). The decent was west and steep scree again, and a grassy slope and then the path disappeared and the slope got very steep and hard work for 100’s of meters of decent. I would not recommend this way down. 11Km 1025m ascents and one stonking blister.

Day 6, and my legs were finally starting to feel better. I reverted to my old boots to try and protect the blister, which sort of worked. Langdale was in the top 10 things to do in our guide book so we walked up Oxendale to Red Tarn, Great Knott (696) and Crinkle Crags (859). Reading Wainwright and other guides we approached the Crinkles not knowing exactly what to expect but Steve who is into Bouldering laughed at the Bad Step and said it would probably have been to easy the easiest bouldering grade. Spurred on I climbed it also, Crinkle crags was certainly interesting. We had a long rest at Three Tarns and then ascended Bowfell (902) then down to Ore Gap, Angle Tarn Rossett Gill and a long walk back along the Cumbrian way in the sun. I realised too late that I should have put suntan cream on earlier, and the back of my legs and neck were bright red. 15Km 1100m

So four walks, over 6 days 43km 3625m, which is marginally more than the 3 Peaks total. I just have to compress it into 24 hours. But as Steve pointed out you don’t train for a marathon my doing marathons.

Camping in the Forest of Dean next weekend, plenty of hills near there so I just need to get that blister healed.

Tags: walking
Current Mood: accomplished

So how far and how high is it actually?

Mountain --- Ascent -- Suggested time
Ben Nevis -- 1320 --- 4:30
Scafell pike 900 ---- 4:00
Snowdon ---- 1000 -- 4:30

Thats 3220 m or 10500ft, in 13 hours (Everest is 29029 ft High)

With minimum travel time between the mountains at 5:30 and 4:30 or 10 hours,

That's a whole hour spare!

mmm, I shall be pleased to make it never mind the 24 hour element of the challenge.

Tags: 3 peaks
Current Mood: pensive

On Sat I had time for a decent walk, my initial thoughts were to go up Snowdon, but with travel time about 3:40 hours one way, and the need to be there and back in a day ruled this out. I flirted with the Brecon Beacons at 2:30 hours each way but eventually and somewhat reluctantly decided on the Malverns with travel time of 1:30 each way. My reluctance was due to the lower height of the highest top, which at 425m didn’t seem much to brag about. However it was a lovely day and I plotted a route that zig zagged all over the Malverns with the intention of increasing total ascent and decent achieved, and timing my arrival in Great Malvern for lunch time to visit the bakeries and sandwich shops.

Started car park at Wynds point (236m)
Herefordshire Beacon (338)
Perseverance Hill (357)
Summer Hill (382m)
Worcester Beacon (425M)
Sugar Loaf Hill (368)
Table Hill (373)
North Hill (397)
Lunch in Malvern (<100m)
Worcester Beacon again
Summer Hill again
Perseverance hill again
Jubilee Hill (345)
Black Hill (308)

13.5miles 21Km 5 hours 1230m of ascents and descents

Tags: 3 peaks, walk

I have expanded my collection of solar battery stuff for My GPS by getting a 2nd Freeloader, a Freeloader AA charger and a clip on 150mA 1.5w solar panel also from Solar Technology called the Globetrotter. The idea is the solar panel clips onto my rucksack and charges a freeloader that in turn will charge my GPS, whilst the AA charger is there for the really big days out (such as a three peaks challenge). The AA adapter can be charged by the freeloader solar panels or can charge a depleted freeloader, and AA batteries have good storage capacities. It can also charge from USB, and I have the option of putting disposable batteries in for an emergency. I’m not sure which combination will turn out to be the most practical yet but the increase in storage capacity should see power worries become a thing of the past. My GPS has a 1100mAa battery, each freeloader has a 1000mAh capacity and the batteries I have put in the AA adapter are 2000mAh (replacing the supplied 1300 mAh). A full charge on my GPS will give me about 4 hours use with the screen off about 2/3’s of the time, one freeloader extends this by about 3 hours. (So I’ve been damn close to running out of Juice on some of my previous walks and made it back to camp with 3% battery remaining and an empty freeloader after my long Snowdon walk last summer)

I will trial solar panel, charging a freeloader battery with the AA adapter as backup. From full this should give me 4000mAh and a top up rate of about 75mAh (assuming that light conditions support 50% of maximum capability on the solar panel). As you can see the Solar contribution is minimal but I like the sustainability aspect, and I can try and be green and use the panel to keep the batteries topped up between uses rather than relying on USB.

I could also trial connecting the solar panel directly to my GPS (which you are not supposed to do but seems to work fine).

Now, I just need a walk and some Sun.

http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/solar-technology/freeloader-globetrotter/

Tags: solar, walk

So I have signed up to do a three peaks challenge in July for Action Medical Research. The challenge is to walk up the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales and fits in with my recent enthusiasm for walking up hill.

Elsevier entered a couple of teams last year to a similar event and encountered several injuries so I think I’d better take training seriously and I could do with loosing some weight after piling on the pounds over the winter.

Finding mountains to walk up is somewhat difficult given that there are none nearby but so far I’ve done three training walks to start my preparation and I’m desperately looking at the calendar for free weekends to go where the mountains are. Roll on our family holiday in the Lake district, my first aim is to be fit enough to do some serious walking in the lakes without having to ‘recover’ after each one.

Walk 1
Chiltern Hills - Fingest near Stokenchurch
This was an after work walk, and is one of the closer hilly areas to where I work in Oxford, drive time during rush hour was 50mins which left me about two hours before sunset. Lindsey and Alex were in Leicester so I had the evening free and it was sunny, windy (and thus cold) and quiet. I spent a few hour pouring over maps the night before to try and get the maximum ascent and decent into a short a route as possible. There were plenty of red kites swooping low and I startled a pheasant, several dear and a load of lambs so got quite close to nature. The area is quite picturesque although the narrow lanes made for slow driving for the last couple of miles getting there.
Ascent/Decent: 350m
Duration: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Distance: 5.1 Miles.
Steps: 7500

Walk 2
Dovedale
Another windy day, and very cold in the wind I was accompanied on this walk by Lindsey whilst Alex was with granny and granddad. Dovedale is a top walking destination in the south peak district, and you can see why it would be on a sunny day. Less so on a cold and damp day although the car park was still pretty full. We separated for the last leg as I climbed a ridiculously steep path up the side of the dale and came back into the carpark via Ilam and got stuck in congestion… Yes a large wedding party returning from the church in Ilam caused queue at all the stiles.

Ascent/Decent: 550m
Duration: 3 hours and 40 minutes
Distance: 8 Miles.

Walk 3
Leicester three peaks
The route for this was discovered on the internet, so many thanks to Sheila
http://peacockmedia.blogspot.com/2006/11/shielas-leicestershire-3-peaks.html
There’s not much in the way of climbs in this walk but I couldn’t miss the synchronicity in the name since I was in the area anyway and these are the first peaks of my training ‘program’. The day was overcast and foggy, with occasional drizzle and sodden ground which made for muddy fields and slow going in places. My feet got soaked which has made me question the wisdom of using my old, trust and not entirely waterproof old boots for the 3P challenge. Perhaps I should invest in some new boots and hope to wear them in before July.
An overcast Leicestershire does not compete with the Chilterns or Dovedale but the 12 miles were taxing enough to leave my legs stiff at the end. My boots are dry again now, but don’t smell so good!

Ascent/Decent: 300m
Duration: 4 hours and 11 minutes
Distance: 12.6 Miles.
Steps: 24400
Tops: Billa Barra Hill x2 (235), Bardon Hill (278m) and Beacon Hill (248m)

Tags: 3 peaks, walk
Current Mood: accomplished

This was my sister’s hen weekend, with Alex an honouree invitee so I had time to myself, and Steve invited me up to Sheffield to do some walking in the Peak Distict.

Driving up Friday night was more enjoyable than I expected as it’s been a while since I’ve driven off for a weekend somewhere on my own, no real traffic problems and listening to Pete Tong was fun. The evening was rounded off with a couple of pints in the local pub then the weekend consisted of two walks, from which I am slightly stiff. Steve chose two nice routes, and we did about 20 miles in total, and I calculated about 1100m of ascents including Mam Tor and Win Hill. The Weather was fantastic, with clear skys and bright sun, although each summit was very windy.

Tags: walking
Current Location: Back home
Current Mood: accomplished