:: Icelandic Challenge ::

 Finally all four for the crew managed a day in the hills training. Our first since Pen-y-ghent. We had kept the walk a secret from Mark to ensure his participation and it wasn’t until he arrived in the car park that we showed him the route.

 An easy climb straight up next to the waterfalls. We also pointed out now that this wasn’t a two hour stroll. Rob, our lucky mascot, had provided sun for the third time in the lakes on our training walks.

We set off upwards from the start and Mark began to feel the effects of a night on the wine. At halfway he decided he was going to die and this type of training wasn’t helpful.

Halfway there and no snow to be seen. A bit of encouragement and Mark made it up to the top where we stopped for lunch admiring the scene across the lakes and the snow behind us.

Following lunch we decided to cut short the full walk due to the amount of snow and the time of day, it would have been too dangerous in the ice to walk the full route. We did however get a fair bit of snow training in and walked in thigh deep snow up to one of the lower summits where the view was fantastic.

The trip down was fairly straight forward and we made good time. This training was good as it gives us a good idea of what the conditions will be like in Iceland.

Mark has vowed to give up weekend drinking following this walk!!

I apologise profusely for the lack of blog entries recently but I’ve been very busy. This blog relates back to the 10th September this year and my commitment to training.

A family holiday in the Isle of Man and the chance to make it to the top of the highest peak on the Island, Snaefell. A mountain railway takes you all the way from the great Laxey Wheel up to the summit.

That would be easy. I abandoned the rest of the party (my wife, my son and in laws) and decided the twenty minute train journey wasn’t enough and I would do the two hour walk instead.

You start the walk at Laxey (see the wheel to the left) and head up a sharp hill to start the off road walk. It was a sunny day and t-shirt and shorts were essential.

Looking up to the summit

The path levelled out and there was not a soul to be seen. I made it to the two thirds way point and stopped for a drink and to wave to my family on the train making it’s way up the mountain.

I carried on and made it to the main road that traverses the tops past the summit. At this point, with the wind picking up, thick fog taking over, I was beginning to wonder why I hadn’t just driven along this road and parked four fifths of the way to the summit.

I carried on for the last half a mile in thick fog with my compass and map out knowing that whilst I was going up hill I was going the right way.

The Summit

I eventually arrived at the railway track that carried the mountain train to the summit. Ten minutes later I was at the summit.

As you can see, another summit and no view.

The joys of walking!!

On Friday 3rd of October Kevin, Rob and myself went for a short walk in the Lakes. We did the Fairfield Horseshoe. This is an 11 mile walk taking 6 hours at a leisurely pace from Ambleside.  The walk is is an arc consisting of Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield, Great Rigg, Heron Pike and Nab Scar.  We stayed on the ridge all day and the weather was incredibly clear and we could see for miles. This was Rob’s first trip to the Lakes and to get such fantastic views is very rare. The walk started out lovely and warm, but once we got on the top the temperature really dropped. The day before it had snowed and we found the remains of the snow on the top of Fairfield itself. We had a great day and we were all very stiff afterwards.

Windermere

Sweden Bridge

Ice on Fairfield

Hellvelyn

Head of the Valley

The team on the summit of Fairfield

Dow Crags

On the 17th September I decided to do something more challenging than before, so with my friend Dean we set off for Coniston. Given that the weather had been so bad it was a very pleasant surprise to find it sunny. So we left Coniston village and walked around the back of the Old Man of Coniston to go up Dow Crags. This is a nice walk which few people do, once on the summit we were rewarded with great views of the surrounding hills. So rather than coming down we walked over Goats Hawes to the summit of The Old Man of Coniston, the highest of the mountains in this group. From the summit we carried on along the ridge to Brim Fell. From here we dropped down to Levers Water and had a pleasant stroll back to Coniston. It was a long day, but a very pleasant day out. Both Dean and I were stiff at the end of the day but it was far better than being in the office.

Dean on the Summit of Dow Crag

The Old Man of Coniston

Me on the summit of The Old Man

Kevin & I at the summit

Again I have been very bad on keeping up my reports on my training. Fortunately I am better doing the walking than talking about it. So on the 31st August Kevin and I went up Whernside. We had a great walk and surprise surprise it did not rain all day, just from the summit down.

On the 5th of September I went back uo Moel Famau again for a quick walk as this hill is not too far from where I live.

On the Bank Holiday I decided to go up Ingleborough. The weather started out nice, but as I got higher the cloud got thicker, the wind got up and surprise, surprise it started to rain. When I got to Gaping Ghyll I found the local pot holers lowering the public down into the cave. I have been down before and it is spectacular but today the object was to go up and probably get wetter. As I ascended into the mist I found I was on my own, but once I reached the top, as usual there people there, maybe they live there i’m not sure. Anyway as the top is more like a field and the view was as impressive as Pen-Y-Ghent, ie when I held out my hand I could only see as far as my elbow, I did struggle to find to find the right path down. Eventually I found it and fortunately the really heavy rain did not arrive until I was back in the carpark. Oh as an aside for the rest of the team, I had no trouble with the carparking machine as it was out of order.

Limestone Gorge

Gaping Ghyll and people descending into the bowels of the earth

Another summit lost in the mist

I have been very remiss on reporting on my training. So I will start today. I have done slightly more than walk round with a child on my shoulders. On August 20th I went up Moel Famau to see the highest Superlambanana in the world. The weather was actually nice and it did not rain and I even manged to see the view from the top which has so far been a rarity.

The Weather was much improved on the 1st Peak. The closet trainspotter in us meant that the trek to the summit was delayed thirty minutes whilst we waited at the Ribblehead Viaduct with hundreds of others.

Trainspotter delight!

The walk was pleasant and we managed to stick to just t-shirts. The summit played hide and seek behind lowering cloud.

Chris surveys the scene

A great walk along the ridge to our destination.

The rain started as we broke out our lunch and we had a rainy descent to the car and the end of our trip. (Another three hour training session!)

Who needs rucksacks when you have willing volunteers to substitute for them. Chris decided that my plan for rucksack training had some merit.

However, he soon discovered that having a child sat on your shoulders whilst climbing a hill isn’t the best idea.

The dark clouds hung around all day but the local Horsforth weather center (my house) told me it was getting brighter so Mark and I decided to brave a walk on the Chevin.

Mark’s wife came to his rescue with the delivery of his walking gear to the start point.

A brisk walk to one end of the Chevin and a loop round to take in the vista over Otley.

All completed in thirty minutes at pace which we considered a good light workout.