Walking - Win Hill Loop

Monday, 17 April 2017

My first outdoor activity in almost four months. This was due to two things: my knee injury and my partner's health problems which led us to spending time in hospitals rather than outdoors.

I have been to Win Hill summit number of times before but I always started from Hope. On this occasion, we parked the car in the lay-by next to The Yorkshire Bridge Inn i.e. other side o the hill. From there we walked towards Win Hill, crossed the bridge and then followed steep steps leading through the woods towards the summit.

Ascent is fairly steep and getting to the top will make you sweat but it's worth the effort.

First glimpses of Ladybower Reservoir after getting out of the forest

Despite chilly and overcast conditions, there were quite a few people at the summit but this should not be surprising keeping in mind this was a Bank Holiday Monday.

View towards Lose Hill and Kinder Scout

From the top, we followed a broad path (just visible on the above picture) along the summit ridge for about 2km and then we turned sharp left. The wide path took us down the hillside first towards Twitchill Farm and then Alston. On our way, we passed some abandoned farm buildings and clear signs of springs.

After passing Alston we chose to walk diagonally across the fields through a series of gates and stiles back towards the bridge where we started. The path became very muddy and staying on the road might have been a better choice.

We finally made it back to the bridge and after a short uphill walk back to the car. To me, this short trip felt like a relief after a few depressing months. I was wearing DonJoy FullForce brace on my right leg hoping it would prevent my knee giving way as it happened in Wales a few months earlier. I was ok but I don't think it had anything to do with the brace as such. Probably more down to me being more careful in general. At this point in time, I was still waiting for my MRI scan and did not know how poor state my knees were in.

2016 Summary

2016 wasn't too bad for me despite it started with MRI scan results arriving, which lead to my left knee ACL total rapture diagnosis. The year ended with the right knee injury. I am worried about 2017 as I won't be able to simply live in denial any more. Clearly, my knees are not strong enough for the activities I like the most.

Anyway, 2016 started with a trip to Scotland. We failed to make it to the summit via CMD Arete on the last day of 2015 but partly made up for it by walking to the top on 1st of January via tourist path. Not much snow but cold and windy. Googles were absolutely necessary. We set off late, around 11am, so we had to walk fast.

At Ben Nevis summit

Conditions shortly before reaching CMD Arete

Ben Nevis and CIC Hut

Despite living very close to Peak District I have never visited Bleaklow before. We rectified it on 30/01/2016. Cold and short day.

On Ben Nevis, I realized I would do with gaining some skills and booked basic, one-day winter skills course in the Lake District for 21/02/2016. We learned how to self arrest, walk in crampons etc. The day was very cold, windy with drizzle and wet snow. The course was run on Helvellyn but we did not climb to the top. We spent the night in Wayfarers hostel in Penrith which I recommend.

On 22/02/16 we climbed Skiddaw but sadly didn't get much chance to walk in crampons as there was not enough snow.

Last snow of 2016 in Peak District arrived on 05/03/16. Deep fresh snow. Great sunny day. We went for a circular walk from Edale via Grindslow Knoll and Jacobs Ladder.

We came back to Scotland at Easter time. In theory longer day should increase chances of completing a long walk from the hostel via CMD Arete. In practice we didn't attempt it as a friend of ours warned us about unstable snow at the end of the arete. We played it safe and climbed Stob Ban on 26/03/16 and Aonach Beag 28/03/16 instead.

View from Aonach Beag

Complete change of scenery. On Sunday 17/04/16 we grabbed our bikes and cycled from Barnsley to Leeds using Trans Pennine Trail. On this occasion, we came back by train but next time we need to cycle back home. The distance cycled was just short of 50km.

April was cold and it didn't look like spring would ever arrive. Wilderness Gully West and Wilderness Gully East are good scrambles not far from us. We did both on 24/04/16. Lesson learnt: if you are carrying a helmet in your backpack you may as well put it on.

The top part of Wilderness Gully East

April snow on Wilderness Gully West

A new bit of kit got installed in the house in May. King Kong fingerboard.

In May I booked us on a two day scrambling course in Snowdonia. On the first day (14th) we scrambled Tryfan's North Ridge and practised body belaying (short rope, single sling and a carabiner give you surprisingly many options for protecting scrambles). On the second day, we ascended the Dolmen Ridge which until now is the most challenging thing we did so far. It would be good to come back there without a guide to prove we learned something. This scramble involved using a rope and climbing rack and gave us a taste of proper mountaineering. Great route, great weather.

On Dolmem Ridge route

Just two weeks after the trip to Wales we were back there again but first, we celebrated Magda's birthday in Lake District. We camped at National Trust Great Langdale Campsite and arrived there on the 26th of May. We got lucky with the weather again as this was another weekend without a single drop of rain. On 27th we walked to the summit of Bowfell via Crinkle Crags and came down via Climbers Traverse. The following day we scrambled up Jacks Rake.

Donkey on top of one of the 'crinkles'

Approaching Jacks Rake scramble

Straight from sunny Lake District, we drove to Wales to meet our friends at a Hafod y Llan campsite. The plan was to stay for the Bank Holiday weekend but we escaped after only one night (and a walk of course). The campsite was overcrowded, with showers not working and our conclusion was simple i.e. during Bank Holidays go to remote places or...stay at home and do some gardening. Nevertheless, we had a great walk with a group of friends. We set off from Idwal Cottage, walked to Y Garn first and then across the Glyders. Visibility was great.

Looking towards Y Gar from slopes of Glyder Fawr

On 19/06/16 together with two friends, we walked the Kinder Circuit starting and ending in Edale. This is a long walk (30km) so long summer day seemed perfect for it. This was the second time I walked this route as a few years ago I did it together with Magda.

Winnie-the-Pooh and me

Just a few days later (between 22 and 27) I was in Poland in Bieszczady mountains. This should really be a separate post. Essentially every year together with a few old uni friends we do some hiking either in Beskidy or Bieszczady. These are short trips but always interesting and eventful. You need to watch out for bears and wolfs.

Early morning start from Rajskie village near the river San

Resting somewhere in the forest

View from Polonina Wetlinska

At this point, I started writing this blog so it's enough to say that for the rest of the year we wild camped, scrambled and even tried climbing. For some reason, we didn't do much cycling. The last trip of the year happened between 27 and 30 December. We stayed in Plas Curig hostel in Wales. There was no snow at all so crampons and ice axes stayed in the car. The only walk we managed to complete was the one taking you via Pen yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn. The weather was exceptionally good, it didn't feel like winter at all maybe except some frozen mud early on as we set off about 8am.

Magda with Flynnon Llugwy Reservoir in the background

Unfortunately, I twisted my right knee on an easy, grassy ground coming down from Carnedd Dafydd. Even though I know my knee is not in the best state (injured it years ago whilst playing football) I was surprised. I completed the walk including scrambling down the slabby bad step but the pain was becoming more of a problem. We stayed two more nights as planned but there was no more hill walking or scrambling for me. We drove to Anglesey but all the attractions were closed. The idea of spending New Year's Eve camping on Ben Nevis also evaporated. I am recovering quickly but being aware that there is an underlying problem with my knee I am debating as to what to do in the future. Time will show. It certainly would be very hard to give up mountains.

Climbing - Wharncliffe

Saturday, 5 and 12 November 2016

After a couple of previous climbing experiences and buying 'Eastern Grit' guide I started looking for a quiet climbing location near where we live i.e. Barnsley and decided to try Wharncliffe. Majority of the routes looked beyond our capabilities but there were a few we could have a go at. Dry, sunny, late Autumn weather encouraged us to get outside.

Even though the plan on 5th of November was to go to Black Slab Right on Puttrell's Progress I chose to park at the small, muddy lay-by at the side of Woodhead Road. This meant a longer walk but the day was so beautiful that I preferred to walk through the woods.

This was the first time I took my new Deuter Guide 35+ rucksack with me. It is very comfortable, but a bit heavy, especially when compared to my previous (admittedly smaller) trusty Wolf Gang Taternik 28. I must say that Taternik has been so reliable that I couldn't see it ever breaking and I was struggling to justify purchasing a new rucksack. The only thing is that my 20 year old Taternik is a bit too small for winter activities.

Deuter Guide 35+ on my back

There was nobody else at the crag, allowing us to rig a top rope without getting stressed about blocking the route. Since I still don't feel confident leading on anything else than scrambling routes we rigged the top rope using 10m of static rope which was just long enough. I think I will need to buy a 15m replacement.

Even though Black Slab Right is only classed as a Mod climb I deviated from the route near the top. As I was being lowered down by Magda, I dropped awkwardly into the niche and injured my shin bone. I felt really stupid but this meant the end of the day for me. In order to ease swelling, I applied cold spray but I must have overdone it as later by bruise started to look more like a burn. Anyway, I was able to walk back to the car without any problems.

We came back on 12th of November and had a go at nearby Alpha Crack on Great Buttress. Magda being Magda approached the route as a scrambling challenge and soloed it in her soft walking boots! Well, I preferred to practice rope skills and later we managed to make a two-pitch route out of this 10m Diff beginners climb (there is a nice big ledge near the top). I realized that I would do with more small screwgate carabiners and more skills in general, like how to swap leads safely for example.

Scrambling - Snowdonia

27-30 October 2016

This was our late, short holiday in Snowdonia. We were lucky enough to pick last few warm days of October for this trip. Crib Goch ridge was our main objective. I would be lying if  I said I was very keen on doing it but Magda felt quite the opposite. The reason for being a bit apprehensive was the expectation of crowded route and also probably I was just anxious (as it turned out later totally unnecessarily). How am I going to react to the famous exposure?

Somewhere on A628

We set off about 9am on Thursday, visited Go Outdoors in Stockport on our way and parked near the Ogwen Cottage at about 1pm. It was too early to drive to the campsite and too late to do anything challenging. Being aware of gusts up to 46mph waiting for us at the top of Tryfan we went for an easier south ridge approach. Initially, there was a bit of a drizzle but it soon went away. My intention was to walk to the Bwlch Tryfan first but we drifted to the left i.e. east too early and ended up on a scree slope leading to the col between the Far South Peak and the South Peak of Tryfan.

From there we scrambled on a wide ridge, trying to choose a route that would be both interesting enough for us but also within our abilities. The main difficulty was the wind. Gusts were strong enough to knock one to the ground.

The reward was in the views from the summit. Fast-moving clouds were hitting the mountain from the west revealing the Glyders from time to time and there was a lonely gliding crow above Adam and Eve.

We came down pretty much the same way, scrambled to the top of the Far South Peak this time, had a good look at Bristly Ridge which we wanted to scramble one day as well and headed back to the car park.

After a short drive, just before dark, we arrived at Llyn Gwynant campsite. As I was hoping there were only a few tents around. This is what I wanted, peace and quiet.

This evening instead of cooking we went for an excellent vegetarian (in my case) and vegan (in case of Magda) wood-fired pizzas from Jones' Pizza.

Friday was supposed to be wet but much less windy. Saturday forecast was better so the decision was made to tackle Crib Goch on that day. Of course, as soon as it briefly stopped raining on Friday morning I felt like it would be a wasted day not to do anything so we drove to the car park near Little Tryfan to see if its grade 3 ridge scramble is within our reach. Partly due to lack of confidence, partly due to the fact that the rock was wet and drizzle persisted we only ended up walking to the Heather Terrace and back. We were contemplating Bristly Ridge scramble but decided to leave it for another day. After visiting a few outdoor shops in Llanberis including Joe Brown's we spent a nice evening by the bonfire at the campsite.

On Saturday, after finding out that Pen-y-Pass car park was full (not surprising really especially we were there around 9am) we parked near Pen y Gwryd hotel and walked to the Pen-y-Pass using a much safer path, running parallel to A4086. I bet that walking on A4086 is more dangerous than walking on Crib Goch.

Low-level clouds meant one thing: no views from the ridge. At least it wasn't windy.

We walked to the start of the Crib Goch route, scrambled up the East Ridge, Main Ridge, Crib Y Ddysgl, reached Garnedd Ugain and walked to the top of Snowdon (after some hesitation, crowds again).

Due to limited visibility on Crib Goch the exposure was greatly reduced. Also, there were a few other persons in front of us dictating tempo. I think we will have to come back when the visibility is better, possibly to complete Snowdon Horshoe.

Starting from Crib Y Ddysgl the situation changed. The clouds were now...below us.

The views were absolutely stunning. For the first time ever I could see the Snowdon summit and later could see something from the Snowdon summit as well.

We experienced 'the ghost of the mountain' effect accompanied by the 'helo' like rings of a glory number of times whilst on the ridge. This was the second time this ever happened to me.

Initially, I simply wanted to walk back via the Pyg Track without visiting Snowdon but this changed and we quickly meandered through the crowds to the summit. This was one of a few last days of the Cafe being opened so we took advantage of it. Sitting outside the Cafe we admired the inversion.

Returning via the Pyg Track was a bit tedious but descending any mountain usually is, at least in my opinion. Despite this morale was high.

If you ever park near Pen y Gwryd hotel remember to pay for the car park. We saw a few cars with parking tickets behind the wipers.

We made it to the campsite after 6pm so it was already dark. I was glad that we weren't driving back home on the same day as we had a relaxing evening by the bonfire again. Packing and driving home got postponed to Sunday.

ViewRanger summary:
Start time: 09:24:11
End time: 17:56:36
Height gain: 1,253m
Height loss: 1.255m
Lenght: 14.5km
Duration: 8:32:25 (including drink at the Snowdon Cafe ;)

Climbing - Scugdale

Sunday, 23 October 2016

Shortly after my first outdoor climbing experience, I had the opportunity to practice even more under the eye of the same experienced friend. He proposed Scugdale as this location wasn't too far from where he lives, it was also suitable for me and I am always eager to discover new places.

The drive from Barnsley was no more than 1.5h. There are only a few parking spaces in muddy lay-bys near the crags. Straight away I knew that this was a quiet place, opposite to busy Stanage Popular. This day was special for Radek as he was celebrating his birthday. There were four people interested in climbing on that day and a few of Radek's friends who would come over later to join this unusual birthday party.

On our way to Scugdale

We met at 11am. There was plenty of showers during the day and I was glad that Radek brought a tarp shelter with him. This simple thing saved the day as we could protect all our kit from the rain and attempt to climb between outbursts of rain.

Magda and I practised setting up and equalizing anchors at the bottom of the crag. Later we also abseiled from the top of the 10 m wall. All very valuable exercises. If anybody is afraid of stepping over the edge of the crag when getting ready to abseil, heavy rain certainly is going to help!

Magda still has a lot to learn

There was only one actual climb Magda and I did. We set up top rope anchor at Blaeberry Crack (Diff) and despite top-roping, I needed two goes at it.

Ready for climbing. Need to remember to use rope protector next time

What's important though is that I gained confidence that I would be able to rig a top rope on my own.

Scugdale and our top rope anchor setup

Thanks to the good company and preparation (shelter) this was a great day despite the weather playing tricks. We are also glad we discovered Scugdale. It is a really beautiful valley and the place seems quiet which is a big bonus for me as I don't feel comfortable with others watching what I am doing just yet. It is also less likely we would be upsetting people by blocking routes if there is simply not many climbers around.

Climbing - Stanage Edge

Saturday-Sunday, 8-9 October 2016

My first attempt at climbing outdoors. The trip was organized by a friend who gathered twelve individuals and stationed them in The Reckoning House near Bakewell. He was kind enough to share his knowledge and experience with a few of us who wanted to get introduced to climbing outdoors in particular trad climbing. Others spent this weekend running or cycling (Monsal Cycle Trail added to my to-do list).

Apart from the lot sleeping in the Bunkhouse, there were a few people who joined us during the day on Saturday and Sunday.

The Reckoning House Bunkhouse

The weather was kind again. Maybe it was a bit chilly but remained mostly dry.

We reached the crags at about 11am and spent most of the day learning about climbing gear, knots etc.

'Pilgrims' on the way to 'Mecca'. My green, indestructible Taternik backpack is almost 20 years old.

We also practised some self-rescue techniques which involved learning how to escape the belay. This was something new for me and I must admit, at the time I did not appreciate how useful this could be. At late afternoon we reached the point we felt like climbing. Since most of us were beginners we went for top roping on route graded VDiff called Robin's Hood Staircase. I think that apart from top roping (cheat number 1) we also cheated by starting the climb further to the right than intended by the guidebook. This lowered the grade.

This is how it's done - Robin's Hood Staircase

Following day we came back to Stanage Popular, this time planning to tackle something on Mantlepiece Buttress. I top roped (again!) Mantlepiece Crack (Diff) and lead (yes!) Zip Crack (Mod). I did make a couple of mistakes in setting up a belay at the top of Zip Crack but luckily enough had somebody experienced who pointed out what I did wrong. One of the mistakes was to put a sling around a boulder which was clearly too small and could actually be moved by a single person! Well, at least I had two other anchors and will not make this mistake again. This was the whole point of doing something on my own rather than climbing using top rope set up by somebody else anyway. My intention is to be self-efficient in mountaineering at the end of the day, so yes as long as I'm learning, please criticize!

I also (unsuccessfully, despite top roping) attempted Small Crack (VDiff). My lack of technique and strength became apparent here.

There were quite a few climbers around. Shouldn't have been surprised really, given this was a dry Sunday day and we were in the most popular part of Stanage Edge.

A shower and inevitability of our instructor having to drive back home ended the adventure.

We drove to Bakewell for a coffee (or a pint in my case). I must admit that I have never been to Bakewell before despite living no more than an hour's drive from there. Can certainly recommend the place and if you're there remember to get some Bakewell Tart.