Not looking so great now: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/...ate=2019-01-13
Not looking so great now: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/...ate=2019-01-13
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
Can't comment too much on the parking, I'll be getting dropped off at the cricket club. There's a bit of roadside parking on the road to the club. Otherwise the streets in Marsden then half a mile uphill walk to the club.
Orval it's comparatively straightforward from there around Kinder Edge, but even so, can still be slightly confusing if you're on your own. There's a sharp turn at Kinder Downfall and the path isn't obvious in poor visibility. Also take care to take the path to Kinder Low trig (I know personally one or two people who've missed the trig and ended up down at Kinderlow End).
It's also worth knowing in advance where you're heading after Kinder Low trig, as people will quite literally be heading off in all directions. Pennine Way is probably the safest bet, but there are quicker ways. Also be wary once you get down off Kinder it's still a fair way back to the finish, and there's a bit of a climb before hitting Edale. This is a killer at that stage of the race.
Last edited by Travs; 11-01-2019 at 05:59 PM.
there is a turn on the pennine way in the valley that can be easily missed so keep you eyes peeled if you go that way
Nic Barber. Downhill Dandy
Could someone remind me how you pick up the route up to Lawrence Edge? As i recall, you cross above the reservoir, hit the small road/track, but is it left or right to find the gap through the wall up to L Edge?
Don't forget to say Hi to the Spiners heading north, 8.00 am start from Edale.
After dishing out the advice on here to Orval, like some kind of self-proclaimed expert, I should probably refer myself back to tip number 3.... "look at the map"..... and perhaps I wouldn't have dnf'd today...
Despite feeling incredibly stiff after XC yesterday I was running quite well. Due to the weather conditions I'd been toying with sticking to the Pennine Way after Black Hill, all the way back to Crowden... probably at least a km longer than the route down Little Crowden Brook, but surely better running... however on the way up Black Hill I was in a decent group which contained Nicky Spinks, so I wasn't about to head off in a different direction from these lot.
They'd dropped me by Crowden, and I found myself in another group who seemed to be doing a lot of dithering on the way up Lawrence Edge... I didn't fancy having them on my tail over Bleaklow, so after setting the compass I sprinted off and left them floundering.... spot on across to Bleaklow, one lady who was moving very quickly actually passed me twice, so I must have got a good line.
Unfortunately on reaching Bleaklow top I had a lapse in concentration... in fact it was worse than that, more like a moment of stupidity... I won't delve too deeply into the details of what I did for fear of being mocked, but suffice to say I should have had the map out, I knew things weren't correct, but I ploughed on following the shadowy figures in front... ended up probably about a mile too far west, and from there it was a thankless task to get back on track...
By now was getting alarmingly cold due to the slowed progress due to constant checking of the map, and I was soaked to the bone (I probably don't need to mention that conditions were absolutely shocking... it's Bleaklow Moor, in January). I was actually just about to set the compass south and just aim for the Snake Road and get off the hill, when I hit a path and managed to relocate myself back on the way to Higher Shelf Stones.
Conditions at Higher Shelf were desperate and it was hard to make progress into the wind, and it was a relief to find the way to Snake Pass was a little more sheltered. This didn't last long and when we hit the Pennine Way again the wind was pretty fearsome.
I felt good mentally, but I was still quite cold, not moving with much spring in the step, and soaked through... I took the decision to retire, fearing that if I headed off towards Kinder and things went wrong again, I might not have the body temperature left to extract myself from trouble.
Although I paint a pretty desperate picture of the conditions, they were certainly manageable, and had I not had to slow down I'd have been fine and got to the finish. I wasn't exactly floundering at the back of the race either, I still got to Snake Pass in 3:15 so was on for a top 33% finish, but wasn't worth the risk.
Hard decision to make after 3 hours of hard work, and possibly only an hour and a half from the end, but live to fight another day.
MRT marshalls at the checkpoints and other locations were superb, on a busy day for them, with the Spine coming in the other direction. It's a fine race, and I'd recommend to anyone with the qualifying races behind them, to have a go. It'll put hairs on your chest!
Pete
Last edited by Travs; 13-01-2019 at 07:23 PM.
I got to snake top in 3:33 after, what I would consider a well run race to that stage. The conditions on the kinder plateau, were horrific, espically after Kinder Downfall. If you were cold at snake top, you would have been in very serious situaiton 90 minutes later, very good call.
My only mistake was leaving the snake path too early, while the way I went was shorter it was much slower going over the rough ground.
I was 5:34, at Upper Booth and had to race back to get back in under six but alas 6:02.
I was expecting to be near the back of the field, and wasn't disappointed, but paced things quite well. To the P" option from Crowden - I assume this is unusual given that I passed 2 separate people who told me I was going the wrong way! But seemed sensible as it was on a good path and I had the wind behind me for the ascent.
Navigation on Bleaklow went well, and I was on course to beat the Snake Pass cut-off by a few minutes - until I stopped concentrating (as nav was now "easy"), turned right instead of left, and added an extra 1.5 miles/150m ascent by the time I noticed and backtracked, so was timed out by 20 minutes, my first ever DNF.
So I'll have to try again next year!
On the plus side, Paramo is brilliant for these conditions, I stayed warm and dry throughout :-)