Breathtaking stunning photographs Stolly.
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Breathtaking stunning photographs Stolly.
18. Whernside ridgeline north to south followed by Gragareth and Great Coum south to north starting from Dent (aka Le Tour de Kingsdale)
Date: 15th March 2009
Distance: 19.5 to 20 miles
Ascent/descent: Maybe 3,550 ft
Route
Time: 3 hours 45 mins
And at long last I've got around to doing this humdinger of a run. I'd planned to run this with Ady and a couple of others at the end of December but flu buggered that up; mind you on what was a lovely spring morning I'm kind of glad I didn't run it before today.
Starting from Dent football pitch it was a case of following the southern most road east until I could get on the track up Whernside, following last September's Whernside Fell Race route. The climb is all runnable but reasonably tough, especially lower down. Dentdale as viewed from the track towards the Whernside ridge line:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7213/p3150296.jpg
After reaching the Whernside ridge it was really just a case of running Whernside top to bottom...... which takes a little while believe me. There's a steady jaunt up to and beyond some small tarns before picking up the main walkers route from Ribblehead to the Whernside trig - the view looking down towards Ribblehead just as I'd hit this main drag:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/1597/p3150298.jpg
Following at least 5 miles of following the same never frigging ending wall that splits Whernside along its spine and I at long last popped out below Ewes Top with a stunning view of Ingleborough in the cloud:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8869/p3150302.jpg
Then I dropped into the southern end of Kingsdale and spent a good while climbing to the top of the Gragareth~Great Coum ridge heading back north towards Dent again. Kingsdale as viewed from the little bridge right at the southern tip:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7722/p3150305r.jpg
The climb, apart from a small limestone boulder field at the start, was all wading through untracked tussocks, cotton grass, rocks and boggy sedge with one or two walls to hop over en route. Once on the top though there was a steady trod to follow, adjacent to another never ending wall splitting the ridge line perfectly.
The cloud now closed in on me for a while and didn't really disappear until I was dropping off Great Coum towards Dent. I didn't follow the descent here of the Whernside fell race but to be honest the route I took down was no quicker or easier to run. Given that the Fellsman in May comes this way I thought I'd try another way down anyway, not having a clue if the Fellsman asks you to take a certain route down here. Finally on now laggy legs I returned to civilisation in Dent.
Anyway an absolutely brilliant run.
Where exactly did you go up to Gragareth? (It sounds like you were further down than the Fellsman route.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly;206454The climb, apart from a small limestone boulder field at the start, was all wading through untracked tussocks, cotton grass, rocks and boggy sedge with one or two walls to hop over en route. Once on the top though there was a steady trod to follow, adjacent to another never ending wall splitting the ridge line perfectly.
The cloud now closed in on me for a while and didn't really disappear until I was dropping off Great Coum towards Dent. I didn't follow the descent here of the Whernside fell race but to be honest the route I took down was no quicker or easier to run. [B
On the Fellsman you go ~330 from Gt Coum summit to Flintergill and then follow the path into Dent.
I went up right at the bottom end. I followed the track from the top of the waterfall walk and then picked up a small footpath going up straight west. This led me to another trail that contours north but I soon had to leave this to hack to the top of the ridge. The Fellsman takes a straight line from Whernside trig down into Kingsdale doesn't it and presumably takes a straight line straight up the other side? I went up miles :) lower down than that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pilgrim
From Whernside you run down the ridge to the Kink in the wall approx 2-3k from the trig and then head to KingsdaleQuote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Thanks Ian. I was puzzling about that as Gragareth is quite a bit lower than the Whernside trig. I think I know exactly the kink you're on about.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
Do you go up Gragareth from Yordas Cave on the Fellsman? I can vaguely remember my mum telling me about that.
That looks about right on the map - I'm awaiting my fellsman manual (assuming I got in) which I'm sure will explain all.
OK... I've found last years manual.
"On leaving the Whernside checkpoint, do not take the direct route down Blackside Pasture, but stay on the east side of the ridge wall until it can be crossed using the stile at NGR 724789. Proceed down High Brown Hill Pasture, using the marked gateway at NGR 714791."
Kingsdale CP is 706790 which if Yordas Cave. From there it's flagged across the fields until you join the wall running up the hill to a stile at 691795. Turn left towards the CP.
19. Edale Skyline Fell Race
Date: 29th March 2009
Distance: 21 miles
Ascent/descent: 4,500ft or so
Route
Time: 4 hours 7 mins
Route profile:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/993...ofilesmall.png
Well I think I made a complete balls up of this race. My (with the benefit of hind sight) completely stupid game plan was to get up Ringing Roger quickly and then hold my place come hell or high water for the first 6 miles all the way to Win Hill, zoom down to Hope and then ‘recover’ on the climb up Lose Hill and try and run at my standard trot for the final…. erm 12 or 13 miles. You can tell that I wasn’t thinking about pain, the ‘somewhat testing’ terrain (especially on the last 9 mile stretch) or the potential for wheels falling off when I dreamt this fricking idea up!
The race for the stile at the off:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7769/dmctz51692.jpg
To begin with though, things went surprisingly to plan. I started near to the front of the herd on purpose, got through the potential bottleneck at the stile without any trouble and wasn’t passed by too many runners on the climb up Ringing Roger. I then held my own all the way along that long ridgeline east, around the corner at Jagger’s Clough and out down to the path beside the woods at the start of the gradual climb towards Win Hill. This wasn’t done at all comfortably though with me running at full on ramming speed and painfully short of oxygen all the way. Warning bells should have been ringing but I didn’t hear them.
I reached the checkpoint on Win Hill at 59 minutes, perhaps having lost no more than a net 4 places since Ringing Roger, but my legs were now starting to hurt, which wasn’t a good sign. I had a fast descent down to Hope, albeit with one very loud expletive that would have echoed around the valley when I turned my right ankle painfully, and took a welcome drink from Manhar at the Hope checkpoint.
I now found myself 7 miles in and already in bad shape. My legs hurt more at this point that they did at any time on our reccee a few weeks ago, more than at the finish of the full tour of Pendle last November and more that at any time when I did the High Peak Marathon. Quite simply I had shot my bolt! By necessity I took it steady going up Lose Hill and managed to trot the ridge line, from there all the way to Mam Nick, to get there at the 2 hour mark.
After a brief stop for a drink, I then remarkably didn’t feel too bad getting to Lord’s Seat and for a while I thought that my plan would now kick in and I’d find some running power from somewhere. Unfortunately the bogs from Lord’s Seat to and beyond Brown Knoll well and truly took their toll and I was staggering badly come Jacob’s Ladder, and being unremittingly overtaken by all and sundry.
I then decided to cut the corner, instead of following main track up past the white bags of paving flags, and I’m certain this did me no favours either. All the runners up to my left seemed to be…. well, running along a path while I was staggering through tussocks and boulders. Anyway having finally hit the main path again I picked up a bit, but at no drop to my 'grimace-ometer', all the way to Grindslow Knoll. I was now not in ‘prime condition’ and the final running around and along the ridge line from here back to Ringing Roger was dreadful with loads of runners passing me as I shuffled, stumbled and tripped along.
The marshalls at Ringing Roger though cheered me up with their ‘fantastic sense of humour’ (albeit fantastic humour very much at my expense) and I managed to keep running down to the finish, crossing the line somewhere around the 4:07 or 4:08 mark. Stolly romping home:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3083/dmctz53301.jpg
I could tell immediately that I hadn’t exactly paced this race very well with my legs now completely shutting down and cramping up. To pour fuel on the fire, my right ankle, which I turned again just after Grindslow Knoll, now forced me to limp like a complete cripple. It was great to lie flat out in the sunshine at the end there but, that said, getting back up again was nire on impossible and I think it must have then taken me a good 30 minutes to walk back through Edale village to my car. I would have gone to the village hall for a cup of tea after had I been able to do it… but I couldn’t face the huge ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ 200 yard walk!
On the positive side what a fantastic training exercise – race yourself into the ground for the first 7 miles and then try and see if you can survive the following 14! A truly brilliant route in fabulous weather with marvelous organization and marshalling….. but with me being far from brilliant, fabulous or marvelous at getting frigging round it.
Pictures kindly borrowed from the Dark Peak web site