Hi Paul, Just seen your post. Good luck for your 2018 adventure. You have many months of planning excitement and nervousness ahead. Apologies in advance if the following sounds patronising and you are already aware of it but the document put together by the BG committee last year regarding 'ethics and traditions' is a really useful read. It can be found in a link at the bottom of this page (although it only seems to work, for me, on a PC): http://www.bobgrahamclub.org.uk/inde...page=tradition
Although it's really good to have a load of people along (I too am guilty of this both on my own round and when supporting others) I do think we have a bit of a duty to respect the wishes of the club. In particular the amount of support we have and the potential impact on the environment.
"The landscape and the environment
The post-FITC spike has made us more aware of the effects of the ever-increasing footfall of humans on the delicate Lake District landscape. We know that certain parts of the Round are under review by the National Park Authority for wear and tear. These include the descent from the fence line on Skiddaw across and over Hare Crag, the trods into and out of Dunmail, the traverse around Black Crags (Pillar) and the descent into Honister from Grey Knotts. When providing advice, we stress the need to limit footfall in terms of pacer numbers (why do you need more than 2 per leg?) and to avoid over-reccieing legs."
I do apologise again if this sounds dictatorial (it is very much the absence of rules that draws me to the mountain) and I am cringing as a type but I do think it is important as many people as possible are aware of these 'ethics and traditions' guidelines. I am particularly concerned about the trod up clough head. In the upper parts its is getting deeper and messier (although I am not sure this is the result of the BG but more the result of an 'ultra' race that takes the line and has 200+ pairs of shoes all in one day going over it). Nevertheless, most BG's do take this well-trodden line now. I'm not sure what the answer is - maybe a different line up Clough Head (it may take 2 mins longer)but does that create a different trod? maybe reducing footfall is the most obvious answer?
Last edited by Bobster; 26-01-2018 at 01:20 PM.