Sitting in the Giants Seat

For the last couple of years it has always been my intention to get a walk in at the start of British Summer Time. This has has seen me on Great Gable in the Snow and Blencathra in a howling gale in previous years, so I was relieved that the forecast was better for our walk up Cadair Idris known as the "Chair of Idris" a Mythical Welsh Giant. Strictly speaking, I was a day late for the first day of BST, but my trusty Sherpa wanted an afternoon on Barmouth Beach, so deferred to her for this day. Fuelled by a cooked breakfast we made slowish progress progress up the Minffordd Path, which I chose as it gave the best options photographically. This is a well made path that has seen some work in regards to steps etc placed. Whilst this makes the walk easier, it does take some of the "wild" nature away. The panorama was taken from one of the several roche moutannee that fringe the llyn. The more over processed image was taken much closer to Llyn Cau. Gaining our second wind after the breakfast had worn off, we move on and over the ridge at the back of the pictures to the summit trig point and success. Another Trail 100 hill (59 in total) bagged, plus a couple of Nuttalls.

A typical scree filled descent (Are they anything else) saw us stop for a few pictures for my photobook project and then the decision of which pub to drink at in the evening.

Great Borne Supremacy

Sunday was probably the first day this year where you saw the weather forecast and thought, "I will have some of that". low winds, no rain forecast and the prospect of some good views. Mrs Vic and I loaded the car and drove out the far west of the Lake District, to explore the hills overlooking Buttermere. At this time of year this part of the lakes is relatively quite and the the first three hours saw no one else except a few geese near the water. We approached Great Borne, our first Wainwright of the day , before we met anyone else. We then gently meandered across the tops, taking in Starling Dodd (Where Mrs W above can be seen drinking in the view over Ennerdale), Red Pike, High Stile and High Crag, before a knee crushing scree descent and refreshments (A pint of Jennings in my case and some Fish and Chips) before loading up and heading home. One last stop to catch the colourful sky over Crummock Water saw us spend 10 hours in total out and about and one can only hope we get more Sundays like this in the coming weeks.

Two weeks of White Powder and Beer!!

This time last year, Paul and I had undertaken a one week winter skills course with Rob Johnson of Expeditionguide.com. This year we intended to put those skills into practice in Glencoe. The Trusty Sherpa Mrs W was also going for a weekend winter skills course this year.

The first week was all that you would expect from a Scottish winter, Rain, Snow and winds in excess of 100mph. The highest we got was the Pap of Glencoe at a tiny 752M. A few low level walks and a days ice climbing at the ice factor helped break the monotony of drinking real ale. It was only on the Saturday I got my Munro count off and running for the year with Aonach Mor. The second week saw an improvement in the weather, but the avalanche risk was high, so care had to be taken in regards to route choice, with most Northern approaches out of bounds, making walking in Glencoe, where nearly all the approaches are from the North, difficult. We managed to summit Buachaille Etive Beag and a knee deep wade through unconsolidated powder to Beinn an Dothaidh a couple of days later. The best day was the last Thursday where we thought we be able to summit Bidean Nam Bian, but loose snow and a slightly more adventurous ascent route than we had planned (I was very pleased I had my Ice Axe) saw us reluctantly forgo the narrow ridge and had to be content with the excellent views we had. Overall an excellent couple of weeks and the bad days allowed me to practice some of my photographic skills, with varying degrees of success.

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The pictures are representative of the couple of weeks we had.

The "forbidden" Wainwright and a trip around the Old Man

I was joined this weekend by my friend Paul for some much needed walking, especially with a trip to Scotland in the future. The forecast was for sunny skies and frozen ground so planned a couple of routes that would take advantage. Parking early on the Friday, we strolled up to Rest Dodd and then the "Forbidden" Wainwright of The Nab. The frozen ground making the normally boggy ground a pleasure to walk on. We walked back down via Angle Tarn via Brock Crags where the second shot taken above was taken. A quick journey over Angletarn Pikes saw us down and getting ready to visit the watermill pub for a light refreshment stop.

The second day saw us park up in Coniston (The only place I know where the pay and display machines take credit cards) We ambled up to Levers water and strode up the Prison Band to Swirl How, pausing briefly to pay respects to my old camera's last battleground (I dropped it down a waterfall last year) We then went across to Great Carrs, Grey Friar and finally to Dow Crag, where the first shot of the Scafell Massif was taken. Another quick refreshment stop, this time at the Sun Inn (Notice how there is a theme to these walks) 11 miles in all and two days walking in a row for the first time this year. I also managed to get some pictures for my Walking Photobook project so all in all a good time was had.

A Gentle Start to the Year

A combination of poor weather (couldn't get the car off the drive) and poor health (Flu and stomach bugs) and Christmas left December a barren month for walking.
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With 2011 being a new start for many. myself and the Sherpa, Mrs Vic decided a gentle low level walk would be nice. It would also give a chance to take some nice photos as the wind chill is less at tarn level. We elected to repeat one of our first ever walks with a circuit of Grasmere and Rydal Water, following on to Ambleside for a butchers at the outdoors shops. The forecast wall to wall sunshine did not materialise, but it stayed dry. We travelled light, banking on a pub lunch, which we duly had. all in all, the route is around 10-11 miles, so was still a good New Year stroll and I did manage to get a couple of nice pictures for my walking photobook project. The image here is Mrs W wending her way to Rydal Hall from Ambleside.

Winter Wonderland

"...as long as you let me know, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow".. For some, the onset of winter is met with groans and a retreat into the home, for me, it means it time to sort out the crampons, take the ice axe off the wall and hit the hills. A winter skills course earlier this year has allowed me to go out in some of the most beautiful conditions the hills have to offer.

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Mrs W and I are off to Scotland in the New Year and some winter skills refreshing for me and introduction for my trusty Sherpa were in order. An early start saw us in the Ogwen Valley for a day walking across the Glyders. An Initial navigational error early on saw us miss the Griben ridge, which was our intended route. We instead opted for the Devils Kitchen as our way onto the Plateau. This holds water at the best of times, so was frozen over nicely. Strapping the crampons on we made steady progress, passing some nice looking ice climbs (Although not quite in season yet) we marched on to Glyder Fawr in brilliant sunshine and traversed across to Glyder Fach. A picture of the Castle of the winds and the obligatory shot on the cantilever stone, which was covered in ice, saw us looking for the route down. The descent, sporty during the summer, was further complicated by the snow and ice and a slow, delicate, descent was called for. This pushed Claire's ability and confidence to its limit. Cheered on by several fellow walkers who thought she was "game" for following the loony ahead down the slope, we found the car 8 hours later. After getting a push out of the car park, we went to the Tyn Y Coed for a sherbet and to reflect on a wonderful and in some parts challenging day. The first picture is Tryfan from Llyn Idwal. The second is the same shot with me trying out the remote release on my camera and finally the Castle of the Winds on top of Glyder Fach.

Nice day (Shame about the camera)

Fells climbed: Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friar and Dow Crag

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The forecast was set fair for Sunday, so loaded up the car with all the essentials, (Food, camera, trusty Sherpa Mrs W) and headed to Coniston. As the weather was so grand, we took a detour up to Tarn Hows. Sadly my early start worked against me and the sun was barely up when we arrived. The waterfall scene at the bottom was the only image worth salvaging from the detour. We arrived in Coniston and began the trek up to Levers Water. Spotting a waterfall in full spate, I thought another shot would look nice. I set up the tripod and then noticed a camera bag like mine in a pool bel.......oh. I now know that cameras don't like water much. To say this took the "jam out of my doughnut" (and potentially £400 out of my wallet) was a mild understatement. However, we plodded on up to Swirl How, where the summit pose was shot using a camera phone. (The exercise regime looks like it working) There was a faint smattering of snow and ice on top which hopefully augers well for Winter. We then proceeded to "bang out" the other hills on our itinerary, leaving us close to sunset when we arrived at the Sun hotel for a hard earned pint of Bluebird. The last picture is the Scafell range from Great Carrs, A testament to the quality of the weather