Monster BG reccie tues am.

[alwaysinjured]

Probably too late to interest anyone, but am intending a reccie leg part 3 . 4 . part 5 tommorrow tues 5am from seatoller national trust car park dropping down from honister or dale head at the end to the CP a mile downhill at the end.

Am setting off from the CP at 5am to make the most of the light, and hopefully get up yewbarrow before it gets too hot!

Haven't decided between stonewaite to high raise up green up edge , or shorter up grainsgill and esk hause down to rosset in order to get up yewbarrow a little quicker by midday heat. Both walks in are almost exactly five miles and a couple 2 thousand feet from seatoller CP. Various drop off points can shorten. So 9-11 hours intended on the route plus a walk in. Am planning to go up early and sleep a couple of hours before setting off at 5 assuming the CP is open to ensure day light all the way round.
If not will park up the road to seathwaite.

I know the route inside out , done many times, it is just about time on feet at standard pace. May do broadstand or WWT depending on how I feel.

PM if interested.

[Tahr]

Would have loved to have done this with you Mike, but I am at work on Tues'.

Have a good day out.

Tahr

[bigfella]

Would have loved to have done this with you Mike, but I am at work on Tues'.

Don't tell him your name, Mike (Pike)

[vespa]

I am curious bigfella WHY?

[alwaysinjured]

It went OK - it was hot even at 5.30 am, and I feared the worst. When the cloud cover disappeared it was steaming. Hot enough to slow the descent to wasdale 5 mins slower than I did a couple of weeks ago, and it was a sauna climbing yewbarrow so despite a respite of cloud cover from pillar to gable I still ended half an hour down for leg 4. Since it was so far from the car, I added a lot of "might be usefuls" mosquito repellant the works! and ended up packing the kitchen sink, including my gear for broadstand (OK a wuss...) at 500g it still adds up, and discovered only on getting back I had been carrying almost 6Kg on the sections where I had over a litre of water. Even an Iphone in an IDRY case weighs in at 350gm. So taking my little clamshell phone next time at only 100g! Getting a lightweight stick to replace my 650gm brute of a thing. Not good for speed.

Reminded myself why I don't like Lord's rake. It isn't the getting up it. I *hate* the getting down to it - the top of the scree from mickledore is no fun and it is easy to waste 5 mins or more just shufling to the bottom of lords rake on all fours here and there , so IMHO broad stand wins hands down. I still would not like to be the last man in a queue up WWT, getting clouted with falling rocks from higher up is a real danger.
It maybe paranoia. But who else senses that leaning block is watching,laughing,waiting for the right victim. It could be you! So stayed on the left of the rake where it could not see me, I hoped!, and said "phew" when I could turn off left onto WWT!
Route Discovery of the day was finding a much easier way onto broad crag than I knew about. No boulder hopping from ill crag to broad crag at all. My least favourite peak on the entire BG

Next weeks monster BG reccie - The first half. From Keswick round to the pikes then down to borrowdale, leaving drop bags at threlkeld and dunmail. Probably mon.

Avoiding the 5Kg in a pack above this time!
Two possibilities. Leave a car at borrowdale, taking a bike, and riding it up to keswick for an early start. Even with an early start, the bus times are too close to be certain of getting round to borrowdale in time to catch a bus from there if things do not pan out well/ knee problems whatever. Pick up the bike chained in keswick on the way back. Or doing the first leg as a night leg, then catching the borrowdale hopper back to keswick since it would be midday arriving back at borrowdale.

Anyone interested PM. May call off if weather too hot.
With two cars we don't need a bike. Can leave one either end of the route.

Route choices...probably using the sheepfold route off Calva ( I prefer to the fenceline), Yianni has given me detailed instructions for the parachute of Middle tongue so I may try to follow it ( I hated the last couple of times I tried middle tongue, but did not have the official route guide then!) . Ring the changes at fairfield over the usual ways and probably use the straight up reentrant which is not the easiest under foot, but from experience maybe just be a little quicker.
No intention of going quick, just bare minimum schedule, say 90 skiddaw 45 calva 75 blencathra, 35 down, or even a little slower if hot.

If anyone is wondering why do this rather than sign up for supports?

Easy answer - it is not antisocial! I used to do a lot of supports and navs before the last injuries and ops that have meant out of the last 10 years I have probably only been running for 3 out of 10. As a result I am not convinced I can do a long reccie at better than standard pace now, and don't want to mess up a contenders day out if I fall off pace on the reccie. and I still want to finish.. My objective is simply to get round, even if an hour over. And whilst I intend to go between the tops on time, every couple of hours, sit down and have a 5 minute picnick! Look at the scenery for a while. Things that fellrunners never do.

Time on feet is what matters to me.

[Tahr]

That’s a great write up.

When running in the winter I was thinking roll on the summer when I can get some of this weight out of the rucksack, less clothes crampons ect.Now the summer is here I find I have replaced the extra clothes with extra fluids. In a way I don’t worry about it too much when on a training or recce run, in fact if I am running with other runners that I know are not as quite as strong as me I make sure I have a little extra weight so I still am working hard. On the flip side if I am with faster runners I am more careful in what I carry so as not to slow them down.

ATB

Tahr

[vespa]

you are right there tahr you and andy were like pack horse,s for me on saturday i know i will be repaying in not so distance future i hope
mike good right up wheres the pictures we hav,nt got any this week

[Martyn P]

....route Discovery of the day was finding a much easier way onto broad crag than I knew about. No boulder hopping from ill crag to broad crag at all. My least favourite peak on the entire BG

Interesting. Simon showed me a "new" and infinitely preferable route up onto Broad Crag on Monday, so simple that I really can't believe I haven't noticed or used it before. I wonder if your route was the same? I'm guessing so.

[alwaysinjured]

Interesting. , so simple that I really can't believe I haven't noticed or used it before. I wonder if your route was the same? I'm guessing so.

likewise surprised, and it probably is the same: a short shale/scree shute right around 100m short of the col high point, and it is all small stuff to the top after that. I have tried a variety before and after that, none of them pleasant, which is why it was my least favourite top!

[Corniceman]

likewise surprised, and it probably is the same: a short shale/scree shute right around 100m short of the col high point, and it is all small stuff to the top after that. I have tried a variety before and after that, none of them pleasant, which is why it was my least favourite top!

Did you descend the same way? as I think the down climb is worse than the normal route of ascent?