What follows are all my opinions and I’m sure a lot of folk on this forum (knowledge based on the hundreds of posts I’ve digested over the years) will disagree. On the other hand, I know of plenty of folk that will agree.
The serious injury that was sustained to an individual supporting a Bob Graham attempt descending Blencathra at the weekend was a terrible accident waiting to happen. Whilst my best wishes are with him for a speedy recovery, and I acknowledge it was an accident, it could have been avoided. The incident was a result of bad planning, poor mountaincraft and lack of collective and individual responsibility.
I have accounts of the accident from two of the contenders’ support party who were there at the time of the accident, both of whom I know very well. Whist I discuss this particular Bob Graham attempt, I don’t want to single it out as being a one off. The fact is that there are far far too many of these thrown together attempts and it just happened to be this attempt that ended (it ended at the time of the accident as far as I’m concerned) badly. Don’t forget, the incident could have been a whole lot worse with the weather as it was; exposure couldn’t have been far off.
It seems the contender, at very short notice, enlisted the help of volunteers to pace and navigate her round the route. These volunteers, from all parts of the country, were generally strangers to each other. Many did not know the route, few knew each others mountain-craft ability, weaknesses, strengths, navigational ability etc etc. Many were relying on others to navigate for them and act as carriers and pacers. Going into the fells at night, in horrendous weather with strangers is asking for trouble. Why would anyone do it? Think about it. Only one of the group on Leg 1 (including the contender) knew the intricacies of the ‘Parachute route’. That’s fine, but that navigator should ensure the group stays together, especially in weather conditions such as those. A decision to follow the straight forward path down the Hallsfell ridge should have been made. Hindsight doesn’t even come into it. I’ve never tried the route myself as Hallsfell can be dropped plenty quickly anyway, but having heard accounts of pals who have done it and are expertly capable of descending rough lake district hill sides at speed, it sounds awful.
The past couple of weekends have seen some bad forecast weather. OK, perhaps the weather last weekend was worse than forecasted but surely common sense must prevail? Peoples safety is of far more importance than completing a Bob Graham. Pull out, come back another day and don’t put people (strangers) at risk. I’ve made the decision for people before to abandon in poor conditions – its not worth it. Hard lines if you’re from far flung parts of the country and have all the cost incursions to deal with. There are other weekends.
I’m continually surprised by the number of contenders who turn up at Moot Hall without intimate knowledge of the route. They seemingly rely on others to navigate. Folk say the physical completion of the route is enough of a challenge. I completely disagree. Physically dragging yourself around the route is only part of the challenge. Self-navigation forms another large part. You’re not telling me Bob Graham himself needed a pal to point him in the right direction off Great Calva, or a quick nudge to set him on track for Watsons Dodd? You must be able to navigate yourself around the route. You must be able to extricate yourself from tricky situations whatever the weather. Isn’t a requirement for membership of the Bob Graham Club to have someone with you to ratify the summit visit and encourage safety? I’m all for supporting friends on their attempts, friends with whom I’ve spent countless hours in the fells with. Friends I trust, friends I know can navigate and friends I know well enough to know when they are having a bad patch.
You may think this is an elitist approach. Maybe so as I am an elite runner, I have won races and I have completed the Bob Graham, albeit solo, so I won’t be on that list. There are plenty of others like me who have done it solo (I’ve met them, one particular person I met on my solo round who started in Wasdale, did it on-sight and completely self-supported; a mountain-man of great competence and navigational ability). Comments suggesting that only a handful of people are capable of soloing round the Bob Graham are completely wrong. There are plenty of people, but they are most probably the sorts that don’t post on here. Self-navigation should be a pre-requisite of the round. Its hard, its mentally draining, but that’s the challenge! Don’t get me wrong, I respect anyone who can complete a Bob Graham, but I will only respect them if I know they have navigated themselves round and that the only reason they do it with others, is for them to carry their stuff and act as mobile morale boosters. Soloing it isn’t for everyone. Also, does one person really need upwards of 8 people to act as carriers and morale boosters? Carrying one jelly baby each is it?
Marking the route also shouldn’t be considered. Its not part of the club ethos for a start but my main concern is that marking routes highlights peoples inability to navigate. You shouldn’t be heading into the fells unless you can navigate. You shouldn’t need cairns marking turning points or canes leading you off Great Calva (it was me and a few pals who pulled out the ridiculous amount of canes leading off from the summit towards the Caldew a few weeks ago if you want to know). Get your map and compass out, or better still, keep your map and compass in your bag and navigate based on your intimate knowledge of the route, lie of the land, natural features etc etc etc
In my opinion, aspirant Bob Graham completers who feel they can call upon strangers to navigate them around the route in order to increase the credibility of their CV should be rethinking their approach. Risking peoples safety is not an option. Planning a Bob Graham round properly very much is.
I hope you recover quickly Nigel.