Do it! The retrospective glee and pleasure at completing is amazing. To be flogging up Whernside in the dark and looking up to see mars bright red in the sky will stay with me for ever.
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Do it! The retrospective glee and pleasure at completing is amazing. To be flogging up Whernside in the dark and looking up to see mars bright red in the sky will stay with me for ever.
What are people's route choices to blea Moor- do you take direct route or come down past path junction to whernside and cross the stream at the bottom and head up the path between the old breath stacks ? I did the longer route last week but seemed to be a long way around although good path. Any advice welcome cheers
Definitely direct route. Where the track swings south (GR752842ish) take a line slightly north of a direct bearing to BM summit, that way you lose slightly less height and avoid the boggiest ground. The ground's not particularly rough and it's going to be way quicker than the way you describe (don't think I've ever seen anyone go that far south, though staying on the big track until about due west of BM seems fairly popular).
Thanks Hank appreciate you sharing
Hi folks,
If anyone is interested here is my 2018 Fellsman write up. What an event!
http://www.ultra-fit.me/2018/04/30/fellsman-2018/
Here are my photos as far as Dent. They include the frontrunners descending into Grassington.
My first one,what a brute of a course, plus challenging weather. Amazing organisation, brilliant day out.
CANCELLED :eek:
"It is with great regret that the Fellsman Committee has taken the decision to cancel this year’s Fellsman, scheduled for the 25th and 26th April 2020, in light of the current situation with COVID-19. This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we are aware that many will be bitterly disappointed. We wished to make the decision ourselves, before it could be made for us, and felt it was only fair to give you our reasons for taking this action:
· The Fellsman is wholly dependent on volunteers to run the event on the weekend. With the current spread of the virus we cannot ensure that we will have enough staff available to man the event to the required levels of safety. All we need is one checkpoint team to require to self-isolate on the Friday evening and the whole event could not run.
· Whilst we are aware that at the current time the Government is not advising cancellation of outdoor sporting events, the logistics involved with running the Fellsman mean that we could not guarantee provision of sufficient facilities for maintaining increased hygiene levels out on the route. Also, there are periods where large numbers of people are confined in relatively small spaces across the event (e.g. kit check, the start, checkpoint tents, etc.) which makes the Fellsman not a normal outdoor event. In all conscience we feel we cannot put either entrants or staff in positions of increased risk.
· We are concerned that, should the unnecessary stockpiling of goods and provisions continue, we would not be in a position to provide adequate refreshments around the route.
· The event is dependent upon use of a school as our HQ. Given that school closures may well by imposed by the Government at some point over the coming weeks, it is possible that the school management/local council may not allow us access to the building for the event.
· As you are aware the Fellsman is a non-profit event run by a team of volunteers from Keighley District Scout Network. The monies paid to us in entry fees support the year’s event and we do not have a large cash buffer in place to absorb costs from a cancelled event. At the current time the outlay for this year’s event has been minimal with large payments due in the next week or so. By taking the decision to cancel now, before these payments are made, we can ensure that, after refunding entrants their entry fee, the Fellsman still has sufficient funds in reserve to allow us to run in 2021.
· Finally, and most crucially, our decision as a Committee to cancel the event has coincided with a decision from Keighley District Scouting that the event cannot be held.
The Committee would like to thank you for your patience whilst we sort out refunding entry fees, and meal and transport payments, through PayPal. Only monies relating to map orders will not be refunded.
We are aware that some entrants will have made accommodation bookings in the local hotels and B&Bs. Please consider using the weekend to still come and spend some time in our lovely countryside – without the need for a 62-mile slog through bogs and moorland.
Please contact us if you have any concerns/queries.
We will be back in April 2021. Entries open 1st Jan 2021.
The Fellsman Committee"
Sad news but sensible in view of the uncertainty. It's a good call to pull the plug now before they've bought in all their supplies.
I see that the Fellsman are appealing for more entries, as with current entry levels they are going to have to cancel the race.
This is the Yorkshire race I'm most proud to have completed. An amazing trip out! I so hope it gets enough entrants to keep going - It would be a real loss. So much more challenging than most ultra's and a feat of organisation by Keighley Scouts.
It's a bit puddled to go up against the Three Peaks though.
I know it did happen once when I race the PPP, but if entrants are an issue, a bad idea.
Not sure about that, They attract a different clientele.Quote:
Originally Posted by Witton Park
If I was to do a recce run from, say, Ribblehead, taking in Whernside, Gragareth, Great Coum and Blea Moor, does anyone know if there are any access restrictions I need to be mindful of, or is most of it open access?? Not intending to upset any landowners so wanted to check first...
That section should be OK, Dave, although be careful dropping off Whernside down to Kingsdale as there is a wall crossing there. I think the most sensitive access restrictions were always around Fleet Moss/Yockenthwaite.
Thanks Simon. I've decided to stay off the course altogether at this late stage in case I put myself off starting :D
On a separate note, do you (or anyone else) know if a buff is ok as a spare hat (i'm assuming so as a spare is 'advised' not mandatory) providing I also carry a warmer hat to meet the kit list requirements. And also, regarding the headtorch rules. The rules mention alkaline batteries and spare bulbs which seems a little outdated. So if I used a Hope headtorch, the type with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, is that sufficient or does a spare torch then need to be carried in addition?
Just looking to the groups recent experience before inundating the organisers for clarifications. I've heard the kit check is strict so don't want any added stress on race weekend, and i'm not looking to cut corners, just keep weight down as much as possible to allow for some extra layers/food to be carried.
Ta
hi Mate, a buff is ok as a second hat, but it depends which kit checker you get whether a buff is a hat if its your only one. my advice is to assume a buff is not a hat. i usually carry a buff/thin hat and a light but warmer montane hat (one of those like a synthetic down insulation cap you can compress in its bag).Quote:
Originally Posted by ChevinbyTorchlight
happy to have a chat about kit offline if you want.
you'll love it. it's my favourite event of the year but this year i've had to cancel my place as i have to go to a wedding.
Ben
Good luck Dave! I'm sure you will romp it! Easier now that you don't have to group up at night, but you now also miss the joys of Fleet Moss. The only time in a Fell race I have had to swim!
I've seen numerous references now across the web to the Fellsman having one of the toughest kit checks in the country. So what does this mean in practice? I've never failed a kit check in my life despite sometimes (MM's) cutting kit to a minimum, so is there a reason for me to start worrying now?
I appreciate lists can be open to interpretation at times, but are the Fellsman organisers particularly harsh with their interpretation? For example a survival bag could be a foil bag, or a bivvy bag, or a bothy bag. Should I be worried if I only have the foil bag version despite it being BMC rated? What issues/discussions have people had with the kit checkers over the years?
I know i'll be packing something to (in my view) address each requirement on the list, plus additional items in reality. But if my judgement is off then there won't be time to source alternatives, though i'll be taking plenty of options with me to judge against the last minute forecast.
Speak to the Fuller's. They have loads of Fellsman experience. I got through the kitcheck with no problems.
I did it last year - kit check was thorough but just followed the instruction list, I have got fairly standard kit and that got through ok. Good luck in the race, I'm back again too.
How good was that??? Had an awesome time, apart from the last 3 hours. Nav, nutrition, kit, whole event experience - good. Feet - bad!! Feet started falling apart from Fleet Moss, and really fell apart after Capplestone Gate, lost a tonne of time late on due to not being able to run on them.
Need an Ultra shoe for next year, probably Roclite or X Talon. Mudclaw 300's were definitely not the way forward but I suspect I knew that before the start. What I didn't know before the start was that i'd definitely be doing it again next year and the investment would be worthwhile :-)
Was impressed with the guy I got for kit check, talked through a coupe of layering options with him and he re-checked my kit and advised what he would consider sufficient etc, really helpful. I obviously carried a base layer,Fleece and waterproof, but replaced an extra insulated layer with a thin windproof which I ran in all day. If the forecast had been colder/wetter, i'd definitely take the insulated layer and more.
How incredible is the whole organisation? And those CP's!! Loved the guy blaring out Queen in the dark at the Hell's Gap CP.
So Glad you enjoyed it and survived! It's a very fine experience. 2/3's of team Otley AC also enjoyed it. It took a month for my feet to recover afterwards. Shame it doesn't go across Fleet moss anymore, but I understand why.
Glad you loved it, Dave. You summed up why it's one of my all-time favourites. See you there next year I hope!Quote:
Originally Posted by ChevinbyTorchlight