Time for change

 

Possibly not quite as dramatic as it may sound, but I have decided I am too sedentary and started on a road to improved fitness. Or, possibly more accurate, a trail to improved fitness. From 1991 for almost twenty years I studied and trained in the martial art of Taekwondo, including 3-4 workouts at the gym every week. I was as fit as the proverbial ‘butchers dog’. After the ‘almost twenty years’ I had to give it up due to other priorities having, by then, reached the grade of 5th Dan Master. Although I have done a fair amount of walking since my accident back in 2010, I haven’t been as fit as I had liked. I have found the hills harder work than I should have. So several months ago I began a plan to improve my hill fitness.

 

Eagle Crag: A Tough Old Bird

“How the chuffnell do I get up there?” (Marc: September 2015)

 

 

Those were my first words when I looked at Eagle Crag, not for the first time, but certainly for the first time with intent to ascend it. Having decided to start and look at new challenges, not quite so traditional, I had read about Eagle Crag in ‘Scrambles in the Lake District - North: Volume 2: Northern Lakes’. I then saw a Tweet by Alan Hinkes about his ascent of Eagle Crag, Nethermost Ridge onto Nethermost Pike. I decided that this might make a good step up onto tougher walks.

 

 

 

Oxford Crag, A Place of Learning (Grade 2 Scramble Number 3)

Located on the northern slopes of Arnison Crag, Oxford Crag is referred to as a grade 2 scramble in the Cicerone book ‘Scrambles in the Lake District - North: Volume 2: Northern Lakes’. I had a morning free during my most recent visit to the Lake District, so I called into Patterdale to check it out.

 

 

DMM Locking Carabiner Recall

There is a recall notice for particular models of DMM Locking Carabiners. I thought I had better pass this information on as I had to check one of mine that happens to be one of the models potentially affected. Fortunately mine is okay, but yours may not be.

 

Link for information from DMM:

 

http://dmmclimbing.com/documents/dmm-product-recall-14-09-2015.pdf

Liked the Crag, Loved the Pike

Have you ever had a particular summit in mind and ended up finding something better in the process? I have. I’d spotted St Sunday Crag (841m) while heading up Helvellyn earlier in the year. St Sunday Crag has a bit of reputation for the crags on its North West flanks; the Chockstone Gullies and Pinnacle Ridge. I decided I had to give it a go.

 

 

King Kong Climbing Centre: Loads of fun for all Apes

While having a conversation with an experienced climber in Needle Sports of Keswick a few weeks ago, particularly with respect to my right arms limitations (which are constantly improving, but may have a limit) I was advised to go to a climbing wall. This would allow for a safe environment where I could work with an instructor and find my current limitations. I’ve had some climbing experience, but things have changed considerably since then.

 

 

Wilderness Gully East: Grade 2 Scramble Number 2 in the bag.

It may only be around 250 feet from bottom to top, but Wilderness Gully East has the most fun packed into such a small space I have yet come across scrambling. If you look around on the Internet you will find it referred to as a classic, I have to totally agree. It is easily on par with Wildboar Clough, if considerably smaller.

 

 

High Cup Nick: If I could only do one walk…..

High Cup Nick is a glacial valley situated near the village of Dufton, in Cumbria, on the western edge of the Pennines. The Pennine Way literally passes along the edge of the valley. I’ve read that is considered a geological wonder, and I would have to totally agree. For me, it is like The Roaches, one of England’s natural wonders. The valley is an almost perfectly symmetrical ‘U’ shape that I have never seen before.

 

 

 

Ashton Clough: A C47 Dakota and A B29 Superfortress

Located in the Peak District Ashton Clough is a narrow clough that goes from the path of the old Roman Road (at the point of Doctor's Gate) up to Shelf Moor and the Lower and Higher Shelf Stones. I accessed the clough from the top end of the snake pass just over three miles east of the little town of Glossop.

 

 

Ashton Clough is not really the subject of this post, the two wrecks are. The first is a C47 Dakota Skytrain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_C-47_Skytrain). The second wreck is that of a B29 Superfortress, a huge quad engine bomber of the Second World War era (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress).

 

Black Diamond Speed 22: A Little Gem

Trying to get a spot on pack for scrambling is quite tough. Smaller packs tend to be a little short, not comfortable or not designed for the purpose. I recently reviewed the Lowe Alpine Illusion 16 that punches above its weight, but not always large enough. So I wanted a reasonably priced, narrow, comfortable pack of around 20 litres or slightly above. After a lot of research and looking around I settled on the Black Diamond Speed 22.