A day out in Wales

22nd March 2012

Today Chris A and i went to Wales to do an "out & back" run of the Llanberis to Ogwen leg of the Paddy Buckley round, we did the traditional route out to Ogwen and came back via the "Devils stair case". A fairly rocky route with plenty of ascent which made sure we had an interesting day. 

Cloudy view from Elidir Fach (plus finger)

Looking back through the fog, at Llanberis from the quarry  

In the quarry above Llanberis

Elidir Fach

Elidir Fawr

Foel Goch - From Mynydd Perfedd

Y Garn

Glyder Fach

Ogwen coffee stop

 

Tryfan - From Ogwen

Devils Staircase

Devils Staircase again

View from the Devils Staircase

Top of Devils Staircase - Looking at Y Garn

Mynydd Perfedd - From Foel Goch

Elidir Fawr - From Foel Goch 


The route - Llanberis, Elidir Fach, Elidir fawr, Mynydd Perfedd, Foel Goch, Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Glyder Fach, Tryfan, Ogwen coffee stop. Devils straircase, Y Garn, Foel Goch, Elidir Fawr, Elidir Fach, Llanberis.

The days totals, 18.5 miles, 10,300 ft ascent, 7hrs 15 minutes.

Cumbrian Traverse Pt 2 (& a bit)

Sunday 18 March 2012


Cumbrian Traverse Reccie, the sequel - It was a great day for a run out, although quite cold on the tops it was warm enough in the valleys.


I waved good by to Debbie from the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park having arranged to meet up at Honister at 2pm, setting off down the valley and up towards Cold Pike.

Old Dungeon Ghyll Car park

Langdale Valley

Cold Pike - Looking towards Bow Fell

The sea in the distance (from Crinkle Crags?)

Great Gable - From Great End

Rocks (and fingers)

Sprinkling Tarn - From Great End

Stretcher Box at the bottom of Great Gable, looking back at Great End i can see a better descent to the right of the gully, maybe next time.

Kirk Fell from Great Gable - The top doesn't feel so flat when you are on it.

 Kirk Fell from Green Gable ? 

Can't remember where this was but i like the picture anyway

Honister slate mines car park, i arrived on time but had managed to twist an ankle on the run in, i decided to ignore this and carry on as these kinds of injury usually feel worse than they are. I arranged to meet Debbie in Keswick at 4pm where i would re-fuel and collect my head torch.

High Spy

Robinson - From Maiden Moor

Cat Bells - From Maiden Moor

From Cat Bells i ran down into Keswick, arriving early at 4pm, i refilled my water bottle and decided to carry on and get Skiddaw done before dark

 

Little Man (Skiddaw)

Skiddaw - From Little Man

Skiddaw Summit - The sun is getting low in the sky so time to head to Keswick and food.

The days totals were, 9 1/2 hours, 31 miles & 12,900 ft of ascent, a great day out and although Skiddaw is not in the Cumbrian Traverse i added it on the end for some extra climb. April 14th i hope to do the full traverse and expect it to take about 12 hours.

 

Salomon XR Crossmax trail running shoes

Most fell runner seem to like their fell shoes to be paper thin so they can feel the ground under their feet, not me, i like to have the comfort of plenty of padding and know my poor old knees are getting some protection from my over weight body bouncing around on them.

So when i came to buy a new pair of running shoes i did some research and decide the neutral XR Crossmax trail shoes were just what i needed (wanted). I like Salomon shoes as they work well for me, deep enough for my orthotics and plenty of cushioning in the sole, great lace system that's easy to use and until now – durable.

These shoes are advertised as a long distance shoe with on and off road capability, ideal for me because invariably the run home from work is part road, part trails and a couple of miles of messy single track.

Unfortunately i’ve only had 3 months of use from them and they are “falling to bits”, quite disappointing for a Salomon product. The material around the front looks like it has rotted away, i’m assuming they are designed to get wet and dirty and they get used most days, so they are usually wet or stuffed with news paper to dry them out ready for their next outing.

Rotten shoes - Salomon XRCrossmax

The excellent lace system has proven unreliable this time as well and both laces have failed, its not hard to repair them but again quite disappointing on such an expensive product.

So – despite good all round trail performance i’m really not impressed with these shoes and i certainly won’t be buying another pair, neither will i waste any more time trying to contact Salomon, their web site says to contact your local dealers....unfortunately i bought them from eBay and as you would expect – they are not interested. 

They really are past it :-(

I will chalk this up to experience and in-spite of these problems with a Salomon product, i have ordered a pair of Speedcross 3 trail shoes, this time i have spent the extra and bought them from an online shop with a reputation for looking after their customers - http://www.wiggle.co.uk

More appropriate (and more expensive) for training on the fells so they had better last a little longer. 

Old County Tops Reccie

Its unusual for us to visit the Lake district on a Saturday but Mark had e-mailed to see if Ronnie and i wanted to join him for a Reccie of an awkward section of the old county tops race. The O.C.T race is 37 miles with 10,000 ft of ascent, however i have a feeling that the ascent may be more as we managed only 17 miles and 6,700ft of ascent.

Mark and Ronnie on Pike O Blisco

Ronnie and i on Pike O Blisco

We sent off from the Old Dungeon Gyhll car park just after 9am, it was cold and raining with some very low cloud, the first decision was route choice in getting to the O.C.T race route. We decided on the slog up and over Pike O Blisco as this would get us warmed up, we could then carry on past Cold Pike to Crinkle Crags and head south over to Cockley Beck.

Mark and Ronnie on Swirl How

The weather on Pike O Blisco was surprisingly brisk, thick fog and a strong breeze to drive the cold home, we all added extra layers here. The descent off Blisco was easy enough and we were soon on our way up past Cold Pike on to Crinkle Craggs where we turned south towards Cockley Beck. Using my brilliant navigation skills i managed to take us down the wrong valley so we had a little detour to get back on course to Cockley Beck. 

After the Hail stones

That done we headed up towards Grey Friars, detouring to the east, avoiding the summit and on to Swirl How. Just about here the weather decided to make its presence felt and the wind picked up bringing with it some rain. We pressed on towards Old Man of Coniston and got to within a quarter mile when the heavens opened and soaked us with hail stones, add some high winds and we were soon huddled together try to avoid the stinging pain in our legs from the hail stones. Eventually the weather won and we headed back past Swirl How, down to the Wrynose pass and the relative safety of the 3 Shires stone.

Heading away from the weather

Three Shires Stone

After pausing for a quick photo shoot we set of on the last 3 miles back to the car, at which point the weather improved and the sun put in an appearance. The day was not a complete wash out as we managed some worth while training and it was good to catch up with Mark again.

Skiddaw, wind and rain

23rd Feb 2012

After my successful outing at the end of the previous week and the obvious progress of my injury recovery, i decided a little more training was in order. My friend Ronnie and i thought that as the weather was forecast for low cloud and storm force winds, it would be prudent to stick to safe trails with plenty of ascent. Skiddaw in the northern Lake District at 931 metres fits this profile just nicely so Skiddaw reps it was.

Now i’m not a big fan of reps up any hills and i find the idea positively boring but needs must. We set off on the first climb and i was soon lagging behind Ronnie, no change there then. By the time we got half way up i had already decided this was a stupid idea. However i was committed to at least one repartition as failing to reach the summit is really not an option. By 600 metres we were getting into the cloud and the wind was beginning to pick up a little, the temperature was dropping so waterproof jackets went on. On reaching Skiddaw little man the wind has risen to storm force and the rain was driving sideways across the summit, walking was “fun”, running was out of the question. We pushed on over little man and up to Skiddaw summit at 931 metres and decided to hide in the shelter for a break from the wind. 30 seconds later we were on our way down again.

It is quite surreal emerging from the fog, behind us the summit of Skiddaw was covered in a dense cold fog, heavy winds and driving rain, below the sky was clear and Keswick opened out before us.. The descent down to Keswick is genuinely dreadful, a punishment for those who have been bad and by the time we reached the bottom my knee was hurting and i felt sick. I was definitely no going back up again.

A quick bite to eat, some ibuprofen and we were in the mood again, more punishment was in order, the second repartition felt a good deal easier and i was getting into the mood. Ronnie pushed on ahead a little leaving me with my thoughts and in no time we were putting the waterproof jackets on again ready for the wind and rain of the summit. Even the descent was easier the second time around. Although we were both out of fluids by the time we reached the bottom we decided a third repartition was necessary.

It was a long drag up to the clouds for the third time and the wind was very unforgiving on the summit but we found time for a 20 second video. Ronnie had to cling to a rock to avoid getting blown away in the strong gusts so we headed back across to Skiddaw little man and back down the drag to Keswick.

It took us 6hrs and 50 minutes to do 26 miles and 10,600ft of ascent, a great day out and some good climbing in the legs. Sleep comes easy when you have had a good day.

Cumbrian traverse reccie pt1

18th March 20012

I decided that some walking would be a good test of progress with my injured knee so took a trip to the Lake district with a view to walking the first half of the cumbian traverse.

The Cumbrian Traverse is a south to north, high-level traverse of 21 Lakeland peaks involving some 35 miles and 12,000 feet of ascent. It starts at Broughton mills in Dunnerdale and finishes at the Moot hall in Keswick, taking in some of the finest views in the country.

Great Stickle - 305m

I set off in good spirits at 9.30am and soon got into my stride, Great stickle is easy at only 305 metres.

Stickle Pike - 375m

I then pressed on to Stickle pike, Caw and white maiden, gradually gaining height along the way, the ground was getting harder and the paths were covered with ice, at this time my phone decided to die so no more pictures. Next was Brown pike and Dow crag, looking south from here i could see Old Man of Coniston with a thin covering of snow and a thick covering of walkers.

It was really quite busy for such a cold day and i was glad to get on my way and distance myself from the crowd. 

Caw - 529m

I pressed on to Swirl How, the highest in this half at 802 metres, Great Carrs was next followed by a steady jog to the ridge overlooking the Wrynose Pass, i stopped here for a quick coffee and watched the world go by, across the pass i could see Cold Pike and Pike O Blisco in the distance, the sky was clear and the air clean and crisp. It doesn’t take long to get cold when you stop so i pressed on down to the pass and chose my line for the climb up the other side to Cold Pike.

Looking towards Old man of Coniston from Caw.

It looked a long haul but i was soon on the summit trying to decide which cairn was highest, there is only a metre in it so i touched both. The final descent of the day down into Langdale Valley was covered with ice but sticking to the grass was an easy and safe option.

Old Man of Coniston (not my image)

My partner met me at the Old Dungeon Ghyll with hot coffee and a sandwich, 5hrs & 40 mins – 17 miles and approx 7,000ft of climb. A good day out and the knee was ok.

Don't stop me know i'm having such a good time....

Stop a runner from running and some thing has to give so despite still suffering with a patellar injury i went for a short run today, its been 2 weeks since i last ran. 3 miles and i felt very strong on the only climb, it was great to get out in the fresh air. 

The moors look great in the snow and a recent rain shower soon froze to leave a layer of ice over everything. The grass crunches under my feet and the rocks glisten in the sun light, the cold hurts my cheeks and my fingers went numb but it was still good to be out there running. 

The trails have frozen foot prints from a brief defrost which makes them treacherous but fun, it takes a great deal of focus (and luck) to stay upright and it feels more like "fell mincing" than fell running but this just adds to the pleasure. Today i would have paid good money to have been able to run further.

A days training amounts to a 3 mile run, an hour on the bike and an hours yoga, my only solace. Perhaps i will sit on the swiss ball and watch a film, the rest will do me some good and save my old limbs from further torture. Kay sera sera.

And that dogs staying in his kennel.