Thanks Mossdog - dead slow unfortunately.
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Thanks Mossdog - dead slow unfortunately.
10.16 miles, 3,060 feet, 3 hours 20 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including the true top, and down - but not up - the race route to the kissing gate. Overcast, with the cloud base initially at about 900 feet; a few hundred feet higher later. No sun, no blue sky. Virtually constant drizzle/light rain. A moderately strong wind from the south west. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery. Very few people about; 1 runner seen in the valley.
Despite the precipitation it was not cold so I did not wear my waterproof top. It looks like we will soon be having some rather colder weather.
Walk from the Royal over the top to Astley Bank, Darwen to recover some left property from WPette's wedding 12 days ago.
Mrs WP joined me.
5.5 mile, 1080ft, 1:35
Mile 4, 488ft of climb in to a brick wall wind was fun :D
10.39 miles, 3,221 feet, 3 hours 9 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including to the top via the path up behind the caves, down the race route to the road at High Close, down to Grasmere shore through Deerbolts Wood, along to the bridge at White Moss, then back up through the woods and up the steps overlooking Grasmere. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet, and misty below that. Some sunshine totalling perhaps 10 minutes. Intermittent drizzle/light rain. A very strong blustery wind from the north west. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery. Not many walkers about; 2 runners seen.
Not particularly cold - yet. The wind was the main "feature" today.
14.23 miles, 2,024 feet, 3 hours 24 minutes: Ambleside - Wray Castle - Coffin Trail - Latterbarrow - High Wray - Wray Castle - Ambleside. Lots of blue sky and sunshine, some fluffy clouds above the high tops, a cold moderate breeze from the north. Terrain dry - saturated and everything in between; grip in general good. Not many walkers about; I came across the AAC Tuesday/Friday group - there were about 8 of them.
Made some soup last night so dropped off a tub at the daughters, mostly with the 8 month old granddaughter in mind, dropped off my parcels for Hermes at the Tesco Local, and then carried on for a wander of just over 6 miles through Feniscowles, Pleasington, Witton Park and then back up briefly nipping on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to get back home.
6 .1 miles, 520 ft in 1:50
Lovely morning and our first proper frost.
12.06 miles, 3,614 feet, 3 hours 56 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - Dove Crag - Pile of Stones - Hodgson Relay trod south west of Dove Crag - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule - Ambleside. Blue sky and sunshine, with some very thin high streaky clouds. A cold breeze from the north. Terrain initially frozen hard, with ice on puddles and frozen drainage areas; later sun exposed areas softened up. Grip mainly good. Quite few walkers on the fells; 2 runners seen.
15.42 miles, 3,893 feet, 4 hours 59 minutes: Ambleside to Swinescar Pike and back, going over Loughrigg top, Silver How and Lang How both ways. Overcast, with the cloud base initially at about 2,000 feet; above most of the tops later. No sunshine, no rain, a moderate breeze from the south. Some of the ground was still frozen with icy patches, but mostly it was soft and damp; slippery in places. Quite a few walkers about, and town is busy; 3 runners seen.
15Km with my son this morning traversing the Chevin to Old Pool Bank. Up Staircase Lane to Bramhope, over to Millar lane and down from Surprise View. Rained hard at the start, but cleared - cold all the way, didn't take my coat off. No runners seen, but saw 2 neighbors out walking.
10.51 miles, 3,514 feet, 3 hours 37 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, and down the other side to the top of Nanny Lane and back up again. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,200 feet. Some brief interludes of sunshine; a few minutes of drizzle/light rain. A moderately strong cold wind from the north east. The terrain is no longer hard/icy at this level - it is now soft/saturated/slippery. Not many walkers on the fell; 3 runners seen.
11.27 miles, 3,129 feet, 3 hours 46 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route from the top to the road at High Close, and back up the steps overlooking Grasmere. 50:50 blue sky and high clouds. No wind nor rain. Terrain soft/damp/wet and slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fell, apart from Loughrigg top, which was busy. 3 runners seen.
Some of the very tops had a hint of whiteness, including Fairfield, Helvellyn, and Great End.
I saw 3 aircraft: a jet at about 1,000 feet, a helicopter at about 500 feet, and a Hurricane at about 650 feet.
10.06 miles, 3,389 feet, 3 hours 32 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule - Rattle Ghyll Deli. Lots of sunshine/blue sky, some high fluffy clouds and even higher streaky clouds; most of the high tops were cloud free. No precipitation; a very cold strong wind from the north east. Terrain initially frozen hard with widespread icy patches - later some of the sun exposed ground softened up. Grip variable. Very few walkers on the fells - 1 runner seen in the valley.
I had quite a bit of kit on today - double socks, double gloves, 4 layers on my top half, 3 layers on my legs - and I would not have wished to be without any of it.
It is so nice to finish a run at Rattle Ghyll Deli for some of their homemade cakes and scones.
10.5 miles, 3,071 feet, 3 hours 34 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up again, and down the race route to the kissing gate. General conditions very similar to yesterday apart from there being much more blue sky today. Very few walkers on the fell. 1 runner seen.
I had the same kit on as yesterday - every bit earned its keep.
10.57 miles, 3,105 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, and back up to the top via the steps overlooking Loughrigg Tarn. Almost a cloudless blue sky, no precipitation, no wind. Terrain frozen hard with lots of icy patches. The ice was of course slippery but almost always easy to avoid. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
I took a couple of routes I had not been on for months as they tend to be bracken blocked and/or boggy - they were lovely today. As a playground for runners, despite its modest height, Loughrigg soundly beats Wansfell.
10.93 miles, 3,027 feet, 3 hours 50 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top, and down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 800 feet. Almost continuous light snow. No significant wind. When I set off there was perhaps half a centimetre of snow on the ground in the valley; when I returned it had increased to about 12 centimetres. Grip was terrible on any slope - so glad I had my microspikes. Quite a few walkers on the fell - some will have had trouble descending given the poor grip. 5 runners seen.
10.62 miles, 1,659 feet, 3 hours 28 minutes: Lake Road - Borrans Road - Under Loughrigg Road - Pelter Bridge - Rydal Water - White Moss - Deerbolts Wood - up the steps overlooking Grasmere to Loughrigg top - down past the old golf club - Miller Bridge - Rothay Bridge. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,000 feet. No precipitation nor wind. Ankle deep snow where not compressed by feet or tyres. Very slippery on any significant gradient, otherwise grip was OK. My microspikes stayed in my backpack. Not many walkers on the fell. 4 runners seen.
Even gentle uphills were mostly walked today - there was just too much snow.
10.07 miles, 560 feet, 1 hour 56 minutes: low level treated roads around Ambleside, Waterhead, and Clappersgate. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. A few minutes of drizzle. No significant wind. Treated roads are mainly clear; the pavements and untreated roads are a mixture of soft snow and slushy puddles. Treated road grip was excellent. Quite few low level walkers in the town. No runners seen.
I forgot to mention that yesterday I initiated a new pair of X-Talon Ultra 260 V2s as the studs on my old pair are a bit worn, and clearly grip is crucial at the moment. I have gone up a half size - so comfortable!
I noticed my X-Talon Ultra 260 (V1) have lost about half a dozen studs from the heels in about 350km. These have completely broken off rather than wearing down. Still serviceable on flatter ground but wouldn't risk a steep descent with them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
No such problems with the V2 so far (after 200k) so hopefully an issue with the V1 compound?
That has not happened on any of the pairs of V2s I have had. Another new pair arrived from PB this afternoon!Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I use the x-talon 210 v2, the graphene ones, and they are the best fell shoes for me in terms of grip... in fact i've got another unopened pair waiting for my current pair to wear out (which is imminent).
The lightweight upper generally goes before the grip wears out. But as i'm now racing a bit less than a year or two ago, i can still get a year's racing out of a pair if i'm lucky, and i just accept the trade off of longevity in exchange for lightness and superb grip.
I'd probably still recommend VJ Irocks to a newcomer to the sport, as they would certainly last longer... but for me its the graphene xtalons all the way, so hopefully they don't make any radical design changes.
10.19 miles, 3,235 feet, 4 hours 3 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up the race route from the kissing gate, down to the upper section of Nanny Lane and up to the true top, and back along the ridge to the Pike. Sunshine and high clouds; initially some of the tops were cloud encased, but that did not last long. A moderate breeze from the north east. No precipitation. Patchy slushy snow at all levels, except where sun exposed. Where not snow covered the terrain is saturated/streaming. Slippery everywhere - I wore microspikes most of the time. No many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
There was no ice today, but I suspect there will be lots tomorrow.
10.55 miles, 3,062 feet, 3 hours 50 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, down the race route to the road at High Close, down through Deerbolts Woods, along to White Moss, up Loughrigg Terrace and the steps overlooking Grasmere, and down past the old golf club. Weak sunshine through thin very high clouds. A moderate breeze from the south. No precipitation. Yesterday's slush and streaming terrain was frozen solid today - very slippery, my microspikes were worth their weight in gold. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.
The actual microspikes I wore were Nortec Nanospikes - very lightweight and amazingly effective.
10.07 miles, 2,349 feet, 3 hours 24 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Borrans Road - Stagshaw Gardens - High Skelghyll - Hundreds Road - Wansfell true top - Wansfell Pike - Hundreds Road - High Skelghyll - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,200 feet. Virtually continuous drizzle/light rain. A moderately strong wind from the south east. Yesterday's ice had mostly turned to slush below 1,000 feet; there was still frozen ground/ice above that level. Grip very dodgy in places - I chose Kahtoola microspikes today as I thought they would cope better with slush - they were excellent. I saw 9 walkers on the fell, and no runners.
11.13 miles, 3,134 feet, 3 hours 28 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, down through Deerbolts Woods to Grasmere shore, up to and along Loughrigg Terrace, and up the steps overlooking Grasmere. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 800 feet. Almost constant drizzle/light/moderate rain. A moderate breeze from the south west. Terrain saturated/streaming, though grip was surprisingly good. Virtually no snow/ice on the fell, though there are still some small patches of ice on the pavements in the town. Very few walkers about; I came across the AAC Tuesday/Friday group - there were about 10 of them.
10.21 miles, 3,083 feet, 3 hours 23 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, up to the true top, and back along the ridge to the Pike. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,000 feet. Constant drizzle/light rain. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain saturated/streaming, though grip was good except on rocks. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.
I just put the bins around the back to stop them being blown down the street. Full Kit required!
11.77 miles, 3,063 feet, 3 hours 48 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, Loughrigg top, down the race route to the road at High Close, down through Deerbolts Woods to Grasmere shore, along to White Moss, back up to the top via Loughrigg Terrace and the steps overlooking Grasmer, and down past the old golf club. Overcast, with cloud banks at multiple levels. Constant drizzle/light rain. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain saturated/streaming - slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
10.03 miles, 2,621 feet, 3 hours 9 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, along the ridge to the true top, down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, and back up to the Pike. Initially it was quite sunny; it became cloudier as the day went on. Almost all the high tops remained cloud free. No rain; no wind. Terrain saturated/streaming and slippery in places. Some small areas of frost on the grass on the ridge, but no ice. The patches of snow on the highest tops are now tiny. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
12.26 miles, 3,080 feet, 4 hours 11 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, Deerbolts Woods, White Moss, Loughrigg Terrace, and up the steps overlooking Grasmere. Overcast, with banks of cloud at multiple levels. It was drizzling when I set off, but it soon stopped. Some patches of blue sky appeared later. No significant wind. Terrain saturated/streaming and slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.
10.71 miles, 3,184 feet, 3 hours 50 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - High Bakestones - Scandale - High Sweden Bridge - back up to above and then down the rock step - Rydal Park - Ambleside. Sunshine and high clouds, the latter mainly above the high tops. A strong cold wind from the north east. There were a few minutes of drizzle, and a nice rainbow. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery in places. I saw about a dozen walkers on the fells, and 1 runner.
I went up on the west side of the wall to reduce the effect of the wind. There are still some residual snow drifts either side of the wall above 2,000 feet.
10.62 miles, 2,818 feet, 3 hours 30 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Roundhill Farm - Ambleside. Mainly overcast, with cloud banks at multiple levels; there was some sunshine/blue sky. No rain. A moderate breeze from the north west. The terrain above 2,400 feet was firm with some ice on puddles/tarns - below that it was saturated/streaming - grip was variable. I saw only 4 walkers on the fells; there was 1 runner in the valley.
Ascending Red Screes from the top of Scandale I kept the wall on my left for most of the way - it was mainly lumpy grass, and a nice change from the rocks/mud on the other side.
12.66 miles, 3,692 feet, 4 hours 18 minutes: Ambleside to Swinescar Pike and back, going over Silver How and Loughrigg top both ways, and Lang How on the return. Overcast, with the cloud base mainly above the high tops. No rain. A moderate breeze from the west. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fells; I passed the AAC Tuesday/Friday group - there were about 10 of them.
No ice today. Some small patches of snow were visible on Helvellyn.
10.02 miles, 2,694 feet, 3 hours 1 minute: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, along the ridge to the true top, down to Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike. Overcast, with the cloud base initially at about 500 feet; double that later. Intermittent drizzle. A moderately strong wind from the south. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery in places. Not many walkers on the fell. There were 2 runners descending the Wansfell steps, and I saw another 2 in the valley, as well as the tail enders doing the local parkrun.
I started out with my waterproof top on, but despite the drizzle it soon came off as it was so warm.
12.03 miles, 3,349 feet, 3 hours 47 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close, down through Deerbolts Woods to Grasmere shore, and then back up to the top via Loughrigg Terrace and the steps overlooking Grasmere. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,800 feet; misty below that. Intermittent drizzle; a very strong wind from the south west that increased dramatically with height. Terrain saturated and slippery. Not many walkers about, though there was one large group of about 15. 7 runners seen.
10.57 miles, 2,645 feet, 3 hours 22 minutes: Ambleside - Sweden Bridge Lane - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 700 feet. Constant drizzle/light rain. A strong wind from the south. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery - puddles and rivulets everywhere. I saw 2 walkers and no runners on the fell. The walkers were just leaving the road to start up the south ridge - I was tempted to advise them against ascending but decided not to - they would soon have learnt whether or not these conditions were for them.
It took me a while to work out where to cross Scandale Beck without getting water over the top of my ankle length waterproof socks - but I eventually succeeded - my feet were still dry when I got home.
10.08 miles, 3,318 feet, 3 hours 8 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, along the ridge to the true top, and back up to the Pike from the upper section of Nanny Lane. Sunshine and high clouds - most of the high tops were cloud free. No rain. A moderate wind from the south west. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery, though some of the rocks were dry. Not many walkers on the fell. I came across the AAC Tuesday/Friday group - there must have been 20 of them, but then free cake was on offer after the run. There were 2 other runners.
Another trip out of Teesdale today, and headed for Tebay to run the fell race route.
8.3 miles, 2,989 feet, 2hrs 16 mins.
It has been a while since I came this way, and all the way around today I had the dread of that final climb from the beck up to Blease fell on my mind. As it was, while causing the usual amount of huff and pain (of the good sort!), I seemed to reach the summit quicker than I remembered. Nothing to do with my speed, obviously (!), but perhaps when we magnify issues in our mind, the reality then appears so much..erm...'softer'. The run from Blease fell back to Tebay, is of course blissful, once my legs had got over the physical shock for the previous climb and remembered how to shake themselves into a running gait again.
It's a shame that for the most part of the route the roar of traffic on the M6 spoils what would otherwise be a pleasant outing. At least midway, around Black Force (the pretty part of the route) the wind was sufficiently strong as to temporary obscure traffic noise.
A friend of mine has just moved to Tebay, and we discovered that amongst its many charm it also has 5G - who'd have thought! Tebay, so well connected on all front :)
11.24 miles, 3,669 feet, 3 hours 35 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, the race descent route to the road at High Close, Deerbolts Woods, Loughrigg Terrace, and the steps overlooking Grasmere. Overcast/misty - no distinct cloud base, but the outline of the fells just became increasingly vague with height/distance before disappearing altogether between 1,500 and 2,000 feet. Constant drizzle. A strong wind from the north west. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
10.04 miles, 3,835 feet, 3 hours 26 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including Borrans Park, Stagshaw Gardens, the Champion Tree Trail, Kelsick Scar, High Skelghyll, and the race descent to the kissing gate. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet; some small transient patches of blue sky. A few minutes of drizzle. The main feature of the day was the extremely strong wind from the west - on the Pike I had to use my hands to cross the small plateau to go through the black metal gate, and then I was clutching the wire fence until starting the descent next to the steps. Terrain anything from damp to wet/saturated/streaming; slippery in places. I saw 3 runners and perhaps half a dozen walkers on the fell.
10.37 miles, 4,008 feet, 3 hours 18 minutes: Ambleside - Blue Hill Road/Lane - Wansfell Pike, via the race route both ways - Ambleside - Miller Bridge - Rothay Bridge - Clappersgate - Fishgarths Wood - Todd Crag - Lily Tarn - Loughrigg top - down past the old golf club - Miller Bridge - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet. A few minutes of sunshine. Intermittent drizzle. Like yesterday, the main feature of the day was the very strong wind from the north west. Unlike yesterday, when it caused chaos with the rubbish bins and recycling bags/boxes, today it was benign in the valley. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. I saw about a dozen walkers on the fells, and 2 runners on Wansfell.
Some of that height gain, like yesterday's, will be artifactual from the wind.