Real shame but at least they're all OK.
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Real shame but at least they're all OK.
Ah... Oops! Hadn't read the last few posts. Hard luck again, Stolly, but otherwise was a bloody awful night.
Bad luck Stolly, glad everyone involved are all safe and well
Great effort guys. You have my full admiration.
Oh no, hard luck stolly and gav sorry to hear weathers foiled your attempt, sounds even worse than last weeks!!! Glad alls safe and accounted for though sounds like youd have had it otherwise. look forward to hearing report, but well done on what you accomplished on a night like that cracking effort.
Absolutely proves that you can and will have a successful completion. To have come so far, to have come so close in such awful conditions is proof of that.
Respect to you and them to be out there at all in this weather.Quote:
Originally Posted by vespa
Great training session lads. Set up perfectly for a good weather day after a bit of rest and recovery. I know that wasn't the plan but that's the outcome. It'll seem piss easy with the sun out after this.
Hard lines chaps
Well said.
Not pissed off Steve - it was a bloody good and epic day out. Full on wind all the way, heavy showers leg 1and jesus the rain from just before Scafell at 5:15 yesterday all the way to Threlkeld at 5:20 this morning (apart from a brief respite at Dunmail) was absolutely hammering into us. Drowned skunk at the finish - we needed about another 45 minutes in the tank to consider continuing with leg 5Quote:
Originally Posted by stevefoster
Myself and 3 other club members from ADAC headed down to support on Leg 4 and As Vespa says it was pretty tough out there last night. The vis’ was down to 5 yards at times, I remember running on a bearing and didn’tsee the Cairn until I almost tripped over it. Here is a photo of the clag coming off Clough Head, the quality is not great as I used by BlackBerry and it was lashing it down with rain. Bad luck Brian and Gavin, when we started that leg it was all going to plan.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps34fa97bb.jpg
Glad to hear that Stolly, sounds like an epic, respect to you and Gav and all your support. A solid attempt :thumbup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Good effort Stolly. Great to know you're both safe and 'enjoyed' it!! Its a tale to tell. 45 minutes adrift in those conditions is definately creditable to say the least. Congratulations matey!
Sounds like a sterling effort gentlemen, but the circumstances were against you.:thunbdown:
Best of luck for next time. So much of it is a question of luck...
Just got in to find you had to bail, real shame Stolly... But weather is atrocious so next time, better luck, it is obvious you can do it :)
We had a complete season change over here (S Wales) in the early hours of Saturday morning from clear, warm and slightly breezy summer conditions all week to Autumn storm and rain I was hoping it wouldn't be so bad 'up North' :/
Flipping heck, just read all the pages of this thread. First I want to apologise for not updating anyone as I was doing road support for Brian and running legs 1 & 5 (and trying to organise myself, always a job!) and whenever I had time to send an update, I didn't have a blooming signal! I was hoping the tracker would keep everyone up to date but hadn't realised it had got stuck until Masham Man texted me! I feel really moved by all the support here. They were absolute stars. Despite severe doomwatching at the moot hall by a certain forumite just as we were setting off on leg 1 (DT I'm looking at you!!) I didn't need to go on suicide watch and Stolly and Gavin were positive and stoical all the way round. They were strong and looking good even when the wind was practically knocking us off our feet at Wasdale but being repeatedly soaked (they changed their sodden clothes at every checkpoint) and battered by the wind just took it's toll eventually and ate away at the minutes. They've been really philosophical about it all but I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster! Their support runners were brilliant, thank you all. The Broad Stand team tried their hardest but took the right decision not to let the guys attempt to rope up and Gavin's family are simply the best support crew you could wish for. I think I'm sharpening my act up with each attempt too and I've already got plans of how to make things smoother next time ;) (practising my sun dance might be a start!)
Brilliant attempt. I'm feeling more & more guilty about getting round on my first try. Clearly all Stolly & Gav need is a break with the weather - & Stolly's clearly as unlucky with Lakes weather as anyone could be. I'd say "better luck next time", but he's tried that before!
It is funny but the first time I ever supported a BGR was in perfect weather and the guys got round on their first attempt although I didn't complete my leg 5 support because I tore 2 ligaments in my ankle coming off Robinson! After that I had the misguided notion that all you needed to succeed was to be very fit and able to navigate! How wrong was I?! Weather conditions play a huge part in whether a person will get around or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Splatcher
ITs tough being out in that weather for so long. A Great try Brian.
Hang in there mate.
You've done the time so it will come....it WILL come....
Thanks to DT for keeping me updated.
I'm not sure it's posted any where else but 5/8 Dpers got round from the night before.
You could always go round again in awful weather as a penance, Andy! Just to appease your guilt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Splatcher
A few photos all from early doors before the rain started blasting us:
An omen of things to come - all fully waterproofed up at the start
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/8268/pq0o.jpg
A brief splash of a view from Dale Head
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5841/c9y1.jpg
Gav and Karl descending the scree gully from Kirk Fell
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/7448/05ov.jpg
Ascending Scafell moments before we were enveloped by the mother of all weather fronts
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/1293/c3sn.jpg
Ambrosia Kid in shorts! He's as daft as me ;)
Well Done the Dark Peakers :thumbup:Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
Ha Ha Ha that will take some beating.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevefoster
Ah well, lets not dwell on that.........back to the thread:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
I supported section 3 on Saturday and I take my hat off to all contenders going for it that day and getting a long way in/ doing it; the down side to well supported attempts is when the weather is against you, you often need to "man-up" and go for it - and on Saturday many certainly did that - well done to everyone giving it a go.
Haha, thanks Simon. We clearly didn't man up sufficiently ;)
Our anti-clockwise leg three started from Wasdale at about 4:20 pm and we were within 200 yards of the top of Scafell just as the rain really set in. We were in cloud, strong wind and rain all across the boulder strewn tops with the rain becoming nightmarish after Great End. And that rain, cloud and wind pretty much stayed with us from there to when we pulled the plug at Threlkeld at 5:20 on Sunday morning. Our problem at Threlkeld was that we would have had to have got around Blencathra, Great Calva and Skiddaw in 3.5 hours. No amount of manning up and going for it at that point would have got us there
Exactly, when you have lots of support in place and people all mobilised to help you around, you can't just pull the plug because it looks a bit iffy weatherwise unless everyone can change dates at the drop of a hat and that's a very rare situation. It was a case of 'go for it whatever happens' or not know when they'd be able to get another date organised. I know a few people that have managed to change their attempts due to forecasts looking really bad and they've been lucky to have then been successful on much better days but that wasn't an option for Gav and Stolly so they just manned up and got on with it. Next time we may get lucky with the weather :rolleyes:
Ahhh, time for the next batch of washing and to see if the tentipi is drying out yet :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by simon cox
Well done to those that got round and commiserations to those that didn't. They were horrendous conditions out, was not looking forward to supporting a JNC from Dunmail to Wasdale it was bad enough standing at Dunmail. Unfortunately the plug was pulled on this at Dunmail and I got the afternoon off.
I think he meant "man up" in the context of even attempting it, which you did, because people are reluctant to let down an army of supporters, when common sense might adivse giving it a miss, and on your own you would probably do something else. Actually some of those supporters instead of feeling "let down" by the cancellation ,might well have breathed a sigh of relief if it had been called off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
You clearly did that by even starting!
Respect.
You will easily do it in finer conditions. Each one of those factors, the weight of rainy gear, the wind, the tip toing down steep stuff in driving rain, probably cost you the difference. Taken together you would have made it with time to spare.
PS those trackers are a mixed blessing. When they work is great for supporters. When they stop , people seem to end up more worried than when there is no tracker! Oddly it seemed to seize up when you passed sharon coming the other way.
PS 2 - stolly.
Maybe you should do what a couple of others did on this forum. Move the attempt to a fine day, see it on the forecast before committing.
Spend a couple of weeks recovering - spot a fine day on MWIS, and I am sure you would find a band of us misfits willing to come up midweek if needed at a couple of days notice to go for it in good weather. I might volunteer, so long as you don't go too fast!
Its kind of hard to explain and I'm sure I'll say this badly but I'm not attempting the Bob Graham as a kind of bucket list 'event in my life' thing. Or badge of fell running honour. Or to be member of the BG club. In fact I positively like the pot luck of setting a date and just going for it regardless - epic outings in the hills is what its all about and me and Gav got that in spades at the weekend. Expect a re-re-reattempt shortly!
And anyway going in fine weather would leave me with one less excuse :)
No Stolly I meant you did "man up", the guy I supported stopped after section 4 and in my eyes was a legend, great sense of humour, kept going... everyone was a hero in the conditions... my Round was a doddle in comparison, I had the luxury of some flexible support that could work with my weather window, I booked myself and leg 1 support into the Queens Hotel (less than 1 minute from the start) and had about 30 mins of night before a relatively perfect day with just a bit of rain and clag on section 2... finishing before 10 30pm mid June i.e. in day light. I got a lot more out of my 25 hour round which had a lot of bad weather, getting lost, a real journey! Happy days,
One of the challenges of an a/c round leg 3 is there aren't much in the way of downhills to go down, let alone tip toe down :). We got to skid down the scree-ey top bit of Foxes Tarn, scramble down from Bowfell under Hanging Knotts, trot down to Langdale Combe under Black Crags and have a longer grassy run off of High Raise and Sergeant Man but that was it, other than a very slick and slidey descent off of Steel Fell. It feels all up hill in fact ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by alwaysinjured
Hi Stolly Sounds a real epic as ever. Perhaps you are 1 of the rare species of fell runners that would actually find a Winter attempt easier than a summer effort. Let's face it you were in the dark for the majority of the way looking at the conditions. A superb effort.. well done
I'd willingly help on your next attempt, hopefully soon.
Cheers Mark (PS. I helped (?) leg 2 Clockwise last August when we had the clag down to our ankles - again....
Agree. I reckon ACW is mostly uphill , then down unrunnable stuff. Up Pillar goes on forever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Interesting the descents you don't mention which is why I hate ACW - such as Gable and Particularly yewbarrow and fairfield.
Agree Hanging knotts is pretty dire. I have supported a few and those are what stick in my mind...
Thanks for letting me join :thumbup:. I am fairly new to fell running community and it was good to make some new friends. I am still not 100% sure who was who on Leg 4 :confused:
I really enjoyed Leg 3, didn't enjoy Leg 4 as much maybe because I was a bit low in energy by then and had the same wet socks and gloves on and was starting to feel a bit cold.
The Cofa Pike descent from Fairfield is pretty good I'd say but some of the others are a bit crap. The descent from Clough Head is brilliant but on Sunday morning having realised we'd blown our chances it wasn't quite so brilliant as it could have been. The irony is that the last leg has 3 brilliant descents back to back...........Quote:
Originally Posted by alwaysinjured
I think the correct description would be "got it in buckets":)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Would "it was raining cats and dogs" apply?