Bob Graham Route Choices

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Originally Posted by Pete Beer

On section 3, we struggled to find any proper trods traversing from Rosset Pike up to Bow Fell.

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Oh, it's there. I think someone posted a photo on here some time ago...there are two slanting "shelves" which you can see quite clearly from Rosset Pike. I think I went up and along the higher one and then picked up the trod. It was even cairned in places:eek: I did lose it near the top and, I think, headed up too early, came up short of the summit but it was ok.

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Originally Posted by Pete Beer

Very sad news about the gentleman falling from Broad Stand.

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When did that happen? We were heading up Wythburn and the Bog to Greenup Edge yesterday and noticed that there were a couple of helicopters seemingly very busy :(

This is the libe up Bowfell, wit minor variations...

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Originally Posted by Mr1470

Oh, it's there. I think someone posted a photo on here some time ago...there are two slanting "shelves" which you can see quite clearly from Rosset Pike. I think I went up and along the higher one and then picked up the trod. It was even cairned in places:eek: I did lose it near the top and, I think, headed up too early, came up short of the summit but it was ok.


When did that happen? We were heading up Wythburn and the Bog to Greenup Edge yesterday and noticed that there were a couple of helicopters seemingly very busy :(

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The 2 slanting shelves come up to a flat area near the top of a steep gully abot 3-4 mins short on the summit.

Local radio report today said he fell 30ft on scree, so not sure if it was Broad Stand.

All info here:

http://www.wasdale-mountain-rescue.o...louts~2008.htm

I was on scafell pike (OTC recce) on saturday not long before this but I didn't see/hear anything.

Broad stand was mostly in the shade and therefore I imagine covered in ice

Was up there at the weekend and Broad Stand was completely dry and no ice.

STEEL FELL ....direct

I have always wondered what would happen taking a direct line up steel fell.
Instead of going up on the standard line and turning left at the top.

For sure, this would be tough on a round later in the year, because of bracken

I was presently surprised.
There are a couple of bands of deep scree...but if you are willing to look around for good lines to cross, most of the way up is no worse than the ordinary route, and on average it isnt as steep.

You end up going up to the top two gullies down beyond a band of rock you can see from the road.

I reckon it saved a couple of minutes.- it should, it is a fair bit shorter.
Id hazard a guess that Billy went that way on his "wee walk"

Confirmed what I always thought was true..but never dared to try....the deep puddle near the fence part way down of steel fell. It aint got a bottom!!! ...least ways, my legs are not long enough to find it.:mad:

...

Good day out on leg3 today.

GREAT DODD DIRECT

Ive always fancied straightlining from clough head to great dodd.

It drops several hundred feet more but is a lot shorter.

Tried it today, and presently surprised....

Lovely spongy run down. and the view of great dodd is deceptive, it is not nearly as steep as it looks from clough head, and is a very easy gradient up.

Time wise? Very similar... probably not much in it... but very pleasant, and I am guessing that for someone whose strong suit is climbing not running it would be faster too.

Hi alwaysinjured ! nice name !!:D

I am planning a go at the BG either late May mid June and would appreciate any help and or advice you can throw my way, im obviously intrested in cutting time, but also any information you think relevant will be gratefully recieved. have you any recce plans over the next month/six weeks ? would welcome a hook up if you dont mind ?

Craig.:)

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Originally Posted by alwaysinjured

GREAT DODD DIRECT

Ive always fancied straightlining from clough head to great dodd.

It drops several hundred feet more but is a lot shorter.

Tried it today, and presently surprised....

Lovely spongy run down. and the view of great dodd is deceptive, it is not nearly as steep as it looks from clough head, and is a very easy gradient up.

Time wise? Very similar... probably not much in it... but very pleasant, and I am guessing that for someone whose strong suit is climbing not running it would be faster too.

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I looked at this last time i was there and wondered , hmmm should we try it
I always look at direct routes, perhaps i should mention this to marvin.
cheers

I tried this before deciding against it. You need to save your climbing legs for later. I too found that the time saving was very slight but the effort level was considerably more. I did take a course just inside the main path during my actual round but it was little more than corner cutting.

A few hundred extra feet of climb will take more out of you than the extra distance for sure

ST

Steel Fell: It is not a completely direct ascent. You go up the usual way for a while and then cross the stream and go diagonally below the first lot of crags. There are lots of boulders about and the saving is marginal. I have done it and don't think much of it. I believe Joss Naylor used to go that way. In the dark, straight up is best.
Yiannis

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Originally Posted by craig7

Hi alwaysinjured ! nice name !!:D

Craig.:)

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Trouble is...I spend most of the time injured!

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Originally Posted by craig7

Hi alwaysinjured ! nice name !!:D

I am planning a go at the BG either late May mid June and would appreciate any help and or advice you can throw my way, im obviously intrested in cutting time, but also any information you think relevant will be gratefully recieved. have you any recce plans over the next month/six weeks ? would welcome a hook up if you dont mind ?

Craig.:)

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Im up there twice a week , midweek and weekend., happy to do a few reccies.

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Originally Posted by ydt

Steel Fell: It is not a completely direct ascent. You go up the usual way for a while and then cross the stream and go diagonally below the first lot of crags. There are lots of boulders about and the saving is marginal. I have done it and don't think much of it. I believe Joss Naylor used to go that way. In the dark, straight up is best.
Yiannis

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From the way you describe it , I think My traverse took me further left...it was more than justone crag away... I hit the top at least 500 M west of the usual place.

But I was never boulder hopping

Agree about dark, and for most of the summer there is too much bracken too.

If you need someone to support you on a leg of the round, I will happily obolige

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Originally Posted by PaulH7

If you need someone to support you on a leg of the round, I will happily obolige

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If thats directed at me? I would appreciate that ! you bothered which leg ?

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Originally Posted by craig7

If thats directed at me? I would appreciate that ! you bothered which leg ?

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Is it too late to ask? Have you done your round yet? I would like to help out on a leg with you if its possible. I am planning my attempt for early september so anything i can do to help really. Any leg.

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Originally Posted by Bobert

Is it too late to ask? Have you done your round yet? I would like to help out on a leg with you if its possible. I am planning my attempt for early september so anything i can do to help really. Any leg.

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There is also the Dark Peak/Penistone attempt on the 20-21st and Pennines the week later, I'm sure there are many others if you want to do some support legs.

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Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak

There is also the Dark Peak/Penistone attempt on the 20-21st and Pennines the week later, I'm sure there are many others if you want to do some support legs.

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Do you have details and do they need help? I live in the NE lakes and keen to support any leg.

Cheers

Iain

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Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak

There is also the Dark Peak/Penistone attempt on the 20-21st and Pennines the week later, I'm sure there are many others if you want to do some support legs.

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Its going to be busy :D

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Originally Posted by Bobert

Do you have details and do they need help? I live in the NE lakes and keen to support any leg.

Cheers

Iain

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I'll PM you with details.

Hi all

If anyone fancies pacing a leg or two of our BG attempt weekend after next, kicking off at 1am on Sunday morning (22nd), just drop me an email at [email protected]. We are on a 23:30 schedule but are a few pacers short ! Into the bargin is that you will get some of my mum's superb cakes at the road breaks...:eek:

Cheers

Pete

This is an excellent thread, which I often go back to. I have a handful of route queries about which I have not made up my mind for a clockwise BGR and would be glad for your thoughts.

(i) Ascent to Kirk Fell. Gully up Kirk Fell Crags or climb up old fence post? I have tended to do the latter (which is not always the easiest going) but have seen that some of the fastest rounds (in a different league to me!) choose the gully. I am happy with a scramble, which may make this a faster route, even if it exits further East?

(ii) Scafell. Without climbing equipment, and given the state of Lord's Rake and/or the WWT, I usually go to the face of Broad Stand, down some of the scree then onto the grassy bank when it emerges. From here I pick a line diagonally upwards, which comes out about halfway between Foxes Tarn and the top of that path. I wonder if anyone has managed to take this traverse and gain even more height so as to come out nearer to or at the top (i.e. the col between Symonds Knott and the summit)? I have met a few dead ends before but wonder if there is an even better route to save height?

(iii) Sergeant Man via Codale Head. As most folk seem to do these days, I take SM before High Raise. After climbing up Mere Beck, when the path / trod seems to disappear, I have in the past gone south (left), north (right) and over Codale Head (first thinking it was SM!) but I haven't managed to recce what works out fastest. Any thoughts welcome.

Cheers,

David

Hi there,
Hope you do not mind an unsolicited message. My name is Gavin Sandford and I am a Charity Ambassador and I am the founder of an initiative ( www.icanandiwill.co.uk ) that raises donations and awareness to aid those people that need help the most.
I am a newbie in the amazing fell runners scene and love it!! I have taken the step to attempt to run the Bob Graham round this coming 10th/11th June. I am a bit overwhelmed by it but feel positive that I will give it a good effort and will succeed. I will break my back in trying.
I am contacting you in the hope that you could help. I wish to network with people familiar and so on with the round,past, present and future so that I can volunteer and help them in their efforts and vice versa hopefully get badly needed help for mine.
I have moved to the base of the Peak district and live now in a caravan on an airfield to enable me to get more time to focus and train for this and work more on my charity and as such I am fully committed to achieving a successful attempt.
Would you please help!/ Any networking, referrals and introductions you could make etc would be amazing and I would be indebted.
I would like to put a call of action and volunteer post but cant seem to work out how to put a new post out!!!

I have a Bob Graham Round Face book group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1587393767942332/

Please share to any possible interested parties and so on

I thank you for you time and energy in reading this and any help you give is appreciated.
I am more than happy to take a call anytime to chew the fat on this, my mob no is: 07956115538
Regards
Gavin Sandford

Hi Gavin, welcome to the forum

As a self-confessed 'newbie' looking for advice, support, help etc it might not be a bad idea to give potential helpers an outline of your plan in terms of training, plus your previous experience in the hills eg climbing, orienteering, hill waking, scrambling whatever so they know what might be involved

All the best!

The Strava Heat Map looks like it might be useful for seeing on a map where certain route choices go and which is most popular:
https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/

It doesn't help with figuring out the best line for you personally though...

Welcome.

There is an existing BGR FaceBook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/400297433323294/ best not to duplicate things :)

Worth posting in appropriate threads BTW rather than the first one on the page then people can find things more easily. To start a new thread there's a link just above the forum name above the listing of existing threads.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1900/...83f43c62_o.jpg

Is this the parachute?

What happens if you straight line it down that nasty looking gill?

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Originally Posted by mr brightside

What happens if you straight line it down that nasty looking gill?

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MRT get called out:rolleyes:

That's pretty much the parachute but I think it drops a bit lower to the green patches on the tongue between the two gills. I followed a description (from memory) Baggins sent me. It seems very unlikely from above but it does link up. I'm not sure if it's faster than Hall's Fell missing the top bit by starting the parachute then traversing to the ridge at about the point where the path disappears in your shot.

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Originally Posted by Bob

MRT get called out:rolleyes:

That's pretty much the parachute but I think it drops a bit lower to the green patches on the tongue between the two gills. I followed a description (from memory) Baggins sent me. It seems very unlikely from above but it does link up. I'm not sure if it's faster than Hall's Fell missing the top bit by starting the parachute then traversing to the ridge at about the point where the path disappears in your shot.

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Times aren't important really. I'm walking with a bunch from work, a corporate day out sort of. They're heading down to the Blencathra Centre so i thought i may aswell give the infamous Parachute a coat of looking at, just to make it a bit more interesting. I heard Steve Hebblethwaite can do it in 13mins.

Halls fell looks a bit boring and a bit loose underfoot. I'm looking for more danger and peril really.

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Originally Posted by mr brightside

What happens if you straight line it down that nasty looking gill?

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That 'nasty looking gill' is the parachute route as devised by ydt - I would not want to do it without him, he manages to string together a lot of grassy 'tongues' but it does get very rough once it levels out in the bottom of that gill.

But as Bob intimates; one guy who thought he could manage it on his lonesome did end up a casualty statistic.

Stood at the BG changeover point, outside Ken Hebson's yard, when Yiannis is bringing a contender down at night, it does appear that their headtorches are in vertical freefall ..... hence 'the parachute route'.

PS, new Walsh PB's or new Mudclaws are the order of the day

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

That 'nasty looking gill' is the parachute route as devised by ydt - I would not want to do it without him, he manages to string together a lot of grassy 'tongues' but it does get very rough once it levels out in the bottom of that gill.

But as Bob intimates; one guy who thought he could manage it on his lonesome did end up a casualty statistic.

Stood at the BG changeover point, outside Ken Hebson's yard, when Yiannis is bringing a contender down at night, it does appear that their headtorches are in vertical freefall ..... hence 'the parachute route'.

PS, new Walsh PB's or new Mudclaws are the order of the day

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I'm not taking Gate Gill, i'll go over the tongue. I'll be in Talons unless it's wet, then Walshes.

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

That 'nasty looking gill' is the parachute route as devised by ydt - I would not want to do it without him, he manages to string together a lot of grassy 'tongues' but it does get very rough once it levels out in the bottom of that gill.

But as Bob intimates; one guy who thought he could manage it on his lonesome did end up a casualty statistic.

Stood at the BG changeover point, outside Ken Hebson's yard, when Yiannis is bringing a contender down at night, it does appear that their headtorches are in vertical freefall ..... hence 'the parachute route'.

PS, new Walsh PB's or new Mudclaws are the order of the day

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Ian,

Just in case there's any misunderstanding, wasn't Yiannis navigating the night that Nigel had his awful accident while descending the parachute? Or perhaps you were referring to another parachute casualty - I think there have been several if I'm not mistaken.

Interestingly, the Dallam/Lonsdale guys do a different version of the Parachute: rather than coming straight off the summit they head W along the ridge before dropping down the eastern flank of middle tongue. I went this way in hammering rain on my 1st BG attempt, looking back it was a miracle I stayed on my feet :)

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Originally Posted by Martyn P

Ian,

Just in case there's any misunderstanding, wasn't Yiannis navigating the night that Nigel had his awful accident while descending the parachute? Or perhaps you were referring to another parachute casualty - I think there have been several if I'm not mistaken.

Interestingly, the Dallam/Lonsdale guys do a different version of the Parachute: rather than coming straight off the summit they head W along the ridge before dropping down the eastern flank of middle tongue. I went this way in hammering rain on my 1st BG attempt, looking back it was a miracle I stayed on my feet :)

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Martyn,

Now that you mention it, I do recall the name Nigel being associated with a casualty incident; but I think that occurred well down - in the more level section of the lower gill which is very rough and bouldery.
I used the singular as I did nor want to over dramatise the issue. The parachute route does start to the W of the summit.

First time I've been on the forum for years. Didn't know it was still going (had a tip off I'd been mentioned).Yes, as Martyn says, Yiannis was navigating that night. It was on the bouldery bit near the gill. I remember it well although not the fall itself. Just a freak accident. Probably a poor footplant.

Good news, Ian, i've found a pair of Mudclaw 300 Classics i'd forgotten i had so i'll wear those.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1900/...83f43c62_o.jpg

The Dallam/Lonsdale route is clearly a more straight forward line, but i'd like to experience the authenticity of the real(red) line, which seems to take no prisoners judging by what i've heard so far. For those lurking i'd like to reiterate that i'm not doing a round, just getting off the hill somehow. Navigation will be interesting if the clag is down.

Like I said, I've only done it the once, probably ten years ago now. Even then there was a faint trod so I'd imagine it's a bit better defined now.

In the upper part of your line there's a small "kink", at about that point you cross the upper part of the gill. There's a small crag/rock face on the true right as a landmark to aim for - you are heading down a small subsidiary tongue at that point. Once on Middle Tongue you do a contouring descent on the edge of the gill before cutting across the tongue to drop in to the next gill at about this point - http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=332...6973&A=Y&Z=115 I think I followed that gill on the wrong bank. Once you are back at Gate Gill cross the beck, there's then a very short rock step to scramble over, then once you are at the old mine workings it's easy out to the fell gate.

No parachute attempt made yesterday. The clag was down to about 600 and i'd never have been able to pick a good line. As it turned out some of our group marched on up to the summit from the tarn and stood around for 15mins in rain and gales needing navigation support, so i became the official navigator which meant i got to do some well deserved running! Got one bunch to Knowe Crags then went back to check on the rest. 7 of them did Sharp Edge, which was earlier described by a pair of strangers who'd refused it was an ice rink.

I was reminded again on the approach to the summit of Blencathra how easy you become disorientated in low visibility. I could have sworn we were off-line, but the compass delivered us right to the summit.

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Originally Posted by mr brightside

...again on the approach to the summit of Blencathra how easy you become disorientated in low visibility. I could have sworn we were off-line, but the compass delivered us right to the summit.

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Famous last words? "The compass must be wrong!" :)