Great Lakes - where did I go ?

[fozzy]

We’re not being so specific. We’re talking about issues generally – you said if you don’t have the skills, you shouldn’t enter the race.

The guy comes on here asking a simple, friendly question about his experience and he gets some pompous crap in reply.

You don’t have to be a navigation expert to enter these races and he got into a bad situation, but dealt with it. Could’ve happened to anybody. Maybe he should’ve done some things differently, but once he was disorientated, with bad weather and not much landscape to refer to, it’s not surprising he ended up a bit lost.

As I said, well done for having the courage to give it a go. A proper fell running challenge.

I give up, you're obviously being pig-headed and ignorant for your own "special" reasons. And I don't have the time or energy to deal with idiots.

I will leave it at the following - I never said that you had to be a "navigation expert" - but being able to navigate should be (is?) part of the necessary set of skills (even in poor weather) for a race such as this. It worries me when people are so blasé about these sort of things, especially after what happened at Buttermere Sailbeck.

Right, I will cease my comments and observations (or "pompous crap" if you prefer) and get on with some work.

[L.F.F.]

I give up, you're obviously being pig-headed and ignorant for your own "special" reasons. And I don't have the time or energy to deal with idiots.

I will leave it at the following - I never said that you had to be a "navigation expert" - but being able to navigate should be (is?) part of the necessary set of skills (even in poor weather) for a race such as this. It worries me when people are so blasé about these sort of things, especially after what happened at Buttermere Sailbeck.

Right, I will cease my comments and observations (or "pompous crap" if you prefer) and get on with some work.

You didn't say explicitly that you have to be a navigation expert, but you did say Dan shouldn't have been there. What the minimum standards of navigation ability are, you didn't say, but it's beyond the traffic light system clearly.

I applaud Dan and the rest for going out there and facing the conditions, not judging others from the security of their bedroom.

[DrPatrickBarry]

showing how much of an amateur I am - but what is the "traffic light system"?

[Mole]

Was thinking the same Dr PB!

[IainR]

Like a lot of nav strategies, just common sense and things most people do without knowing they have a name, like tick offs, hand railing, aiming off.. but its good to actually think about them..

http://www.solwayorienteers.co.uk/Solus/traffic.htm

Its sort of similar to rough nav fine nav... so do most of your leg as rough nav to an obvious feature nearby.. then slow down and fine nav in..

[DrPatrickBarry]

Brilliant - thanks Iain.

[LissaJous]

then slow down and fine nav in..

And hope No map, no compass isn't right behind you to accuse you of being lost! LOL (from other Gt Lakes thread) (No offence intended)

[No map, no compass]

And hope No map, no compass isn't right behind you to accuse you of being lost! LOL (from other Gt Lakes thread) (No offence intended)

That runner was lost, he must have been coz he followed me down a really crap route off Slight Side. If he'd known where he was or where he was going he wouldn'tve followed someone who was clearly making it up as I went along.

[dantodman]

From the splits, a whole load of people at Slight Side at about the same time as Dan have had a whole load of trouble getting to Blisco, with Dan not the only one to DNF as a result. We were also under safety instructions to stay in groups, remember. Dan, what was the visibility like when you crossed the Esk? When I was there you could actually see a few hundred metres.

visibility was good at both river crossings only bad again once we went up again

[mr brightside]

Hi all,

I got totally lost and am trying to work out where I went. I crossed the esk after the corner and then followed a path for some time to another river crossing. From there I went over a boggy section then up and left into the mist following some other runners. Near the top of the very rocky climb I lost them and believe I went too far right and off track, I followed east (but feel I may have drifted too far south) for some time avoiding various rocky outcrops. Some point later i thought i had gone too high and decided to descend and to see if i could find any other runners. Once I came out of the cloud I had reached the edge of a valley. There was a wall which had a Sheep gate on and there was a ruin not too far away. I then decided I was too low and turned back uphill following the wall. I went through 2 gates and then left over a stile (the sort that cross over at the top) and followed a path upwards back into the mist. After reaching the top of this hill and being unable to find anyone or anything I went right and ended up near some very steep looking cliffs. After climbing back up away from these and having been out for almost 6 hours I made a decision to follow a stream/river down and get out of the mountains. I ended up a couple of miles down the road from Wrynose where I blagged a lift from.

It is highly possible i was near hardknott when i first came out of the mist but im not sure.

Any Ideas


Dan

Dan; ignore the patronising comments, you did the right thing by posting, and it looks like you had a proper boys own adventure there! Here's what i think you did...

After dibbing at Slight Side you would probably have made your way to the Esk and crossed below Scar Lathing, then picking up the trod made your way to Lingcove Beck and crossed at the base of Swinsty Gill. From there you took the trod towards Black Crag over the boggy stuff to the base of Stonesty Gill where you followed the others up into the cloud. I should imagine the cloudbase that day was below 2000' meaning you lost them before reaching the little tarn at the top of the beck from where you could have recovered your situation. From there you probably headed SE and to the edge of Gaitscale Gill, where you found the ruin 'Gaitscale' at NY255022. You then headed west over 2 walls through Gaitscale Close and to the junction of your original wall with the bridleway at NY247024 which you followed and reascended Little Stand. You then got lost in a load of crags on Little Stand and finally threw the towell in and took a SE line off the mountain into Wrynose Bottom via the beck in Gaitscale Gill.

If it were me in your situation i would have continued up Stonesty Gill (if that is in fact where you were!) to the tarn, then contoured around the bottom of the crags on Cold Pike to pick up Red Tarn. This would heve left a simple straight line climb of Blisco. This is the long route, but visibility would have been inproving all the time as you dropped out of the clouds and you would only have had to take one compass bearing to set yourself off in the right direction to skirt Cold Pike; Red Tarn should have hopefully been below the cloudbase.