£4 race maps now - so a Bowness pint I guess
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£4 race maps now - so a Bowness pint I guess
Less than the price of a pint down this way(outside of Wetherspoons!)
Thanks for the info and map chaps - most useful
Afternoon all,
Can anyone confirm if full FRA kit is needed for this race? I'll probably bring it all anyway given the current weather, but just wanted to confirm.
Thanks!
Why not bring full kit to every race?
Last year there was a full on blizzard on the tops for the duration of this race, you really wouldn't have wanted to be there without hat, gloves and decent waterproofs, even if you didn't wear the legging you'de certainly have wanted them if something went wrong.
Winter has returned to the high fells, and its flippin freezing even here in the valley near Ambleside just looking at the snow plastered Coniston range. Given these conditions I am not surprised the organiser has posted this message:
"The arctic blast continues, though it does seem to be easing this afternoon. I'm considering running an alternative course, after consultation with the Mountain rescue team tomorrow morning. I'll make the decision by about 11:00 am. The conditions could make it very dangerous descending from the Old Man. The Alternative would be :
Checkpoint 1 Wetherlam GR 288011
checkpoint 2 Swirl Hawse GR 278007
checkpoint 3 Levers Water Dam ( East side ) GR 282993
checkpoint 4 Windy Gap 284981
the race re joins the route at this point.
Please take time to familiarise yourselves with this route, I think it is the safest option, and you still get a summit ( most of the climbing)
I hope that you understand that I have a duty of care, and my decision will be made for the safety of all competitors and Marshals .
Sam.
Well I was in two minds about whether to head across to Coniston on Saturday once the shortened course had been confirmed, but in the end the chance to be on the tops in some interesting conditions and the prospect of a bit of adventure tipped the balance and what a cracking race it turned out to be. While part of me quite fancied the extra challenge of the full route in wintry conditions, I can definitely see why the RO made the call he did and fair play to him for doing so - it felt like it wouldn't have taken much for someone to get into a sticky situation. All my Lakes races to date have pretty much been AM or AL so it was really interesting to do one where there was a single long climb and an extended descent, sort of like a double Great Whernside, with more rocks. And snow. Having been caught out last time in a long queue up Mouldry Bank I made an effort to get further forward and had a much clearer run and all was going well unitl I was heading over Black Sails when I hit a deep drift and my calf went 'pop'. 20 yds later and I did the same again to the same calf, so the second half of the race became an exercise in fast downhill hobbling - more possible than I would have thought actually - amazing what a bit of adrenaline can do. Couldn't walk properly by the time I arrived home but having recently read 'Wild Trails' by Mike Cudahy, I tried hard as I ran/limped past Levers Water and on down the valley to channel his borderline insane tolerance for extreme discomfort and soft tissue injuries. This thread seems to have been a bit quiet so not sure how many are reading, but many thanks to the RO and all involved in organising, marshalling, support - the whole experience made my weekend.