This looks like a cracker Stolly, well done and thanks for the route. Could be a great prep run for the Hobble
I was out on a long variation of your Ingleborough from Clapham yesterday. What a superb day, windburned nose and cracked lips by the end. It was a real surprise just how much snow there was on top. Big grin this morning when I saw the weather - looks like getting out yesterday was the right call.
Keep the routes coming Stolly, every one so far has been an "Oh Yes" for me
I thought it was you yesterday - I was on top of whernside! I'd run up the front, using some footpints in the snow and ice - but my friends used the fence and virgin snow and needed an ice axe to get on to the top!
great pics Stolly!
Good run Stolly
It reminds me of one I did with Ady and Cantona a couple of years ago only we started and finished at Dent and only went as far south as Twisleton Scar End (about 20 miles I think?). Kingsdale is a beautiful valley
Tinyman - give it a go; its a fantastic route and pretty testing I think. Tougher than the 3 peaks for sure - I was running for just over 2 hours before I finally got to the first descent (off of Great Coum)and I'd guess that no more than 8 miles of the route was actually in the downwards direction (the 3 peaks route probably has almost double that). The bit up to Gragareth is all about taking a line too with really no paths to speak of - I went along the lane at the foot of Kingsdale for a couple of hundred yards before taking a left and going through a clear gap in the limestone cliffs and then just bashing onwards and upwards from there.
Daleside - thought it was you too. Seriously well done for hacking up the side of Whernside; I looked over the edge just below the trig where I usually aim to come up and it looked totally impossible. A walker who'd just reached the Whernside trig before me asked me how long I'd taken to get up there (thinking I'd just scooted up the walkers path) and was pretty befuddled when I said 3 hours 55
Alf - yeah I remember you doing it too as I was due to come along but cried off with the flu. I've run it before from Dent too but never before from Ingleton. Dent by the way felt like spring was in full bloom when I got down there after all the snow and ice on the tops.
Looking back into Dentdale on the way up Whernside:
Awesome ridge line pic Stolly.
Cutthroat Bridge to Snake Pass - the 'toughish' bit of the High Peak Marathon
18 miles (hah!!!) and absolutely no idea of the climb (2,500 feet maybe?)
Cutthroat Bridge --> Lost Lad (an ominous warning of what was to come?) --> Howden Edge past Cut Gate, Outer Edge and other completely inhospitable barely noticeble 'landmarks' to Swains Head --> before the fun and games really began on Bleaklow ---> followed by what should in normal times been an enjoyable scoot down the Pennine Way (yesterday invisible and unfindable under a huge whump of snow) to Snake Pass
I really can't describe the epicness of this run/arctic expedition. Un-fricking-believable maybe? Stupidly stupendous? Extreme with knobs on? The most bonkers run I have ever done in my life? To cut a long story short a blizzard was raging for pretty much our whole trog round, what is a tough enough route at the best of times; the snow was especially bad from Swains Head going up and then over Bleaklow, 2 feet deep in the places where the snow wasn't er...too bad and hugely deep in others. Needless to say navigation in what was a complete white out was testing, even for IanDP who lives and runs there all the time, and our team of 6 plus Dave, the husky for the day, were all getting very, very cold towards the end of what became a seven and a half hour romp/near death experience.
And this was just a simple 18 mile recce of the middle bit of next week's 41 mile High Peak Marathon!!!!
A great, great experience though made all the better for actually surviving it.
Emmi plus the trusty Dave on the easy bit just after Lost Lad
If we could have seen it through our snowblasted eyes later, pretty much all of the route that wasn't buried in 3 feet of snow, is as wide open and as bleak as this....
Still early doors and we are still having fun as we drop down Sheepfold Clough
After Swains Head my hands were just too cold to risk taking my by now sodden gloves off and I just diidn't want to stop moving but I did manage to take one photo of the team 'playing in' the snow.
Thanks to all my fellow arctic adventurers on the day, Emmi, Dave, Southernsoftie, IanDarkPeak, Clare and Andy. See you all next week for the second instalment!
Last edited by Stolly; 27-02-2010 at 09:16 AM.
Great write up Stolly, but ultimately, you just had to be there!
Well expressed Stolly
Went up cut gate today, no sign of our tracks, they had been oblierated by more snow. Not much wind but guess what it snowed the whole time and is still snowing now. I reckon bleaklow will colapse under the weight of it.
Looks like an epic adventureOriginally Posted by southernsoftie
Good luck to you all for next week
I didn't spot Dave straight away he was quite well camouflaged there
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