LDMT why not more popular

[TimG]

Good luck Tim... I had all the same feelings last year... jumped straight in with the Classic, weather was awful and it was certainly intimidating heading up into the storm to the map point, and then spending the next hour completely alone, but glad I did it...

Since then had mixed fortunes... at the Mercia Trial I spent a considerable amount of time a couple of grid squares off the map for a reason best known to myself... then in the South Wales Trial had a great run and got into the top 6 (obviously it wasn’t the depth of quality of the LDMT!).

Best thing for me was to go onto the LDMT website archive section, click on the results tab for races in the last 8-10 years, click the RouteGadget tab and you can bring up the maps that were issued for each trial, then have a go at plotting routes, then bring up the routes people took on the day... really gives you an idea of some of the challenges you might face...

Good tip thanks, had a flick through some past routes and gave me a bit more idea of what to expect.

[CalFerguson]

Looking forward to my 3rd LDMT. Not too familiar with the Langdales in comparison to some other spots in the Lakes but that should make the challenge more interesting, along with doing Scafell Pike race the day before, ha!

[Travs]

First of all a massive hello to the forumites in attendance..... GeoffB and Mrs GeoffB, and Calvin, good to see you all... and DanGilbert good to see you before the start.... also Baba came steaming past me shortly after cp5 looking focused... hope you got the win...

Unfortunately didn’t work out so well for me.... was going adequately for 5hrs or so, but the wheels were starting to fall off after the huge descent from Mickledore down to Great Moss... and I was unable to locate cp7... after searching for quite a while i realised it was a lost cause, and when I relocated myself, I’d overshot by at least a km. so dropped down to Lingcove Bridge and back to Langdale via Three Tarns for a dnf...

A very tough course, loads of tough running, the fatigue and then a lapse in concentration cost me on the shorter legs, but in a confusing area...

First checkpoint at Swinsty Gill I went via the Band and contoured round the back of Crinkle Crags... didn’t see anyone else and suspect this was an error.... fought back on the next leg to Esk Pike with a good line. The next one was fairly straightforward in the col between Allen Crags and Glaramara. Then another long leg to the broken wall above Piers Gill.... went back over Allen Crags and onto the Esk Hause-Sprinkling Tarn path, and then shortcut above Skew Gill to gain the Corridor Route.

The next leg was a beast... contour over the flanks of Scafell Pike and onto Mickledore, then all the way down to Great Moss and a soul-destroying climb onto the flanks between Burnmoor Tarn and the Esk. A couple of shorter legs, the 2nd of which was my downfall.... I’m almost thankful, as the legs I then missed out back up the Great Lakes route towards Cold Pike and onto Pike O Blisco looked pretty savage...

Still a good day out. One of the hardest days out I’ve had.

Pete

[TimG]

Pete was it you i spoke to looking for checkpoint 7 and then back at the end?
It was a big day out wasn’t it! Really enjoyed it, glad weather was helpful as i would have been in trouble in clag. I followed a bit of a chain the direct route up to 1. Was going okay but made the wrong call in taking a direct line from 7 to 8, and soon realised why no one else was going that way...just managed to get in before 5pm. Fell over coming down that final grassy slope to the bridge and realised it was easier to just keep sliding on my backside.

[dangilbert]

Commiserations Pete. It's my second crack at the classic and it definitely gets harder to concentrate on the nav and make good decisions later in the day. I suppose that's one of the things that makes it such a challenging event. CP's 6 & 7 were the ones I struggled the most to find. 7 to 8 was a bit of a slog but I think the combination of knowing I was heading back towards the finish and the familiar ground of the Great Lakes route towards the end perked me up.
I have to say I usually like the added dimension of some challenging weather but I'm glad the forecast clag and rain didn't materialise today. CP's 5,6 & 7 might have been the undoing of me if it had.

[Travs]

TimG I don’t think that was me... I don’t recall speaking to anyone at the end, and a look at the results show a number of people either couldn’t locate cp7 or gave up there... so I expect it was one of them...

Cheers Dan, it was my second go, I thought it was markedly harder than last year (not that last year was easy by any stretch!)..... I guess it was the location, the terrain, and crossing of big fells which did it... well done on your result...

[PeteS]

Hard luck, Pete. Commiserations and sorry I missed you.
My daughter could not believe how tough the classic route was and I think it looked like the toughest there has been for a long while.

I enjoyed the short again though made a small error on CP1 which cost me a few minutes and then had a complete walkabout on the penultimate CP as I'd originally missed the ghyll I was aiming for by about 100m. Glad the weather was not as bad as predicted and good to see so many youngsters out today.

Top notch chilli too! 😁

[DangerMouse]

This sounds like a thousand times harder than what we did today, congratulations for even being able to attempt it, sorry it didn't quite work out as you hoped, but please take consolation in that this is clearly waaaaaaaay beyond what I am capable of and that you still did something very impressive!!

[Mike T]

Any chance of seeing the maps? The classic sounds so hard.

[PeteS]

Route gadget including the maps are here:
https://www.sportident.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#12