TR: Langdale 3-day backpack

GeoffC <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

All,

Langdale 3-day backpack report and photos uploaded from Friday to Sunday - a great circuit of the
Langdale mountains from Grasmere, mainly in very good weather.

The superb clear conditions of Friday and early Saturday enabled us to get 3 panoramas, including
one from a deserted Bow Fell, a rarity indeed.

There was some amusement at the bad step on Crinkle Crags, where a man was trying to persuade his
dog to climb it (who stayed put and wouldn't budge), while fell runners in a race were were
careering down towards it and shouting warnings in advance!.

http://v-g.me.uk

Regards

-- GeoffC

Nice! Good photos.

I was up around Wasdale, Grasmere and Langdale last week. The weather
on Thursday was beautiful, and I got some great pics. Friday was also
very good. A major difference to Monday, when our tent got flooded
(as did much of the Gt Langdale valley) in the constant torrential
rain, and the soaking we got up Scafell Pike/Great Gable on Wednesday.

Incidentally, there were some threads recently where some folk were
criticising the performance of 'designer' waterproofs. I don't want
to divert this thread, but I thought I'd mention that while climbing
Scafell Pike/Great Gable etc. we got *utterly* drenched. We were in
heavy, driving rain for about 5.5 hours. My girlfriend and I were
both wearing Lowe Alpine triple point ceramic coats, and both had
'cheap' waterproof overtrousers. Anyway, when we reached the Wasdale
Head Inn and stripped off, our normal trousers were soaked through
(the cheap waterproof overtrousers were useless). However, our upper
halves were totally bone dry. We had got so wet that the coats felt
about 3 times heavier, and while walking puddles were forming in our
inside-elbow areas (due to the way our arms were held while using
poles). But absolutely NONE of the water had got through. Even the
contents of the coat pockets were bone dry.

But, getting back OT, nice TR Geoff, and congratulations again on a
fantastic site.

Regards,

Michael S

In message <[email hidden]>, GeoffC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

All,

Langdale 3-day backpack report and photos uploaded from Friday to
Sunday - a great circuit of the
Langdale mountains from Grasmere, mainly in very good weather.

The superb clear conditions of Friday and early Saturday enabled us to
get 3 panoramas, including
one from a deserted Bow Fell, a rarity indeed.

There was some amusement at the bad step on Crinkle Crags, where a man
was trying to persuade his
dog to climb it (who stayed put and wouldn't budge), while fell runners
in a race were were
careering down towards it and shouting warnings in advance!.

I take grave exception to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My son has never before been described as a dog. [Actually, that's not
quite true: in 1997/8 one Gavin Whittaker, then a denizen of this
newsgroup, asked me if Timothy was a dog since I kept on talking about
him without saying who he was].

Anyway, getting back to the bad step. He DID budge. He is only 8 and
it was a big reach for him. OK so he needed a bit of aid, a shove on
the bottom and a pull-up from a descending fell runner - but he did it.
Dog indeed!!!

But actually, getting slightly more serious, I wonder if we passed each
other. We started from the ODG on Saturday at about 11.30 am, ascending
up Browney Gill and taking the ridge route to Crinkle Crags from just
before Red Tarn. Queued at the Bad Step: all the runners kept asking
if they could just come down before us. One can understand why, but
there were apparently about 250 of them all told. Reached the summit of
Crinkle Crags around 2 and descended leisurely to Three Tarns and down
the Band back to the car.

One splendid by-product of the fell race was that a Great Langdale
farmer had opened a field for extra parking: tons of room and at £1 a
day quite a bargain compared with the NT usual price. His costs
consisted of prevailing on his young teenage son to stand at the
entrance collecting the dosh for a morning (I suspect they didn't bother
in the afternoon). Why doesn't he do it every week? Ummm.. Might be a
tenant of the NT perhaps..

--
Michael Farthing
Aardvark Ltd

Michael Farthing said:

One splendid by-product of the fell race was that a Great Langdale
farmer had opened a field for extra parking: tons of room and at £1 a
day quite a bargain compared with the NT usual price. His costs
consisted of prevailing on his young teenage son to stand at the
entrance collecting the dosh for a morning (I suspect they didn't bother
in the afternoon). Why doesn't he do it every week? Ummm.. Might be a
tenant of the NT perhaps..

I imagine you probably need some sort of permission to operate a car park.
Certainly this seems to be at the centre of the issue about parking in
Kentmere where there is practically none (and dire warnings about parking
anywhere on the road in for a good mile or so), yet a local farmer does keep
trying to have a field open.

Btw, the NT "usual price" is zero if you are a member :-) And if our local
beauty spot car park is anything to go by, their response to non-payment is
a polite note on the windscreen instead of a clamp and a huge fine. Their
charging structure tends to be simple, too. Unlike the council...

--
It takes years to get used to how old you are.

Mail john rather than nospam...

Michael Farthing said:

I take grave exception to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My son has never before been described as a dog. [Actually, that's not
quite true: in 1997/8 one Gavin Whittaker, then a denizen of this
newsgroup, asked me if Timothy was a dog since I kept on talking about
him without saying who he was].

A lead would have been useful for him on the bad step, you could have hauled him up!.

Quoted message said:

But actually, getting slightly more serious, I wonder if we passed each
other. We started from the ODG on Saturday at about 11.30 am, ascending
up Browney Gill and taking the ridge route to Crinkle Crags from just
before Red Tarn.... Reached the summit of
Crinkle Crags around 2 and descended leisurely to Three Tarns and down
the Band back to the car.

Looking at the timestamps on our pictures, we arrived at Great Knott (by the tarn at its foot)
around 1.30, then descended to Red Tarn, so we may well have seen each other.

For interest, the race checkpoint people had a neat windshelter set up on the summit of Pike o'
Blisco, like a very small tent with the long side open - rather them than me in that cold wind all
day!.

Regards

-- GeoffC

(Michael S) said:

Nice! Good photos.

But, getting back OT, nice TR Geoff, and congratulations again on a
fantastic site.

Thanks for the encouraging comments Michael.

Quoted message said:

I was up around Wasdale, Grasmere and Langdale last week. The weather
on Thursday was beautiful, and I got some great pics. Friday was also
very good. A major difference to Monday, when our tent got flooded
(as did much of the Gt Langdale valley) in the constant torrential
rain, and the soaking we got up Scafell Pike/Great Gable on Wednesday.

I gathered that the Lakes had received quite a pasting that week, it was really squelchy in many
places when we went. I didn't realise it was that bad though, that's one problem with camping in the
valley - try up on the fells!. Walks in those conditions can be very worthwhile with thunderous
foaming becks to add interest.

Quoted message said:

Incidentally, there were some threads recently where some folk were
criticising the performance of 'designer' waterproofs. I don't want
to divert this thread, but I thought I'd mention that while climbing
Scafell Pike/Great Gable etc. we got *utterly* drenched. We were in
heavy, driving rain for about 5.5 hours. My girlfriend and I were
both wearing Lowe Alpine triple point ceramic coats, and both had
'cheap' waterproof overtrousers. Anyway, when we reached the Wasdale
Head Inn and stripped off, our normal trousers were soaked through
(the cheap waterproof overtrousers were useless). However, our upper
halves were totally bone dry. We had got so wet that the coats felt
about 3 times heavier, and while walking puddles were forming in our
inside-elbow areas (due to the way our arms were held while using
poles). But absolutely NONE of the water had got through. Even the
contents of the coat pockets were bone dry.

We haven't had the misfortune to be in heavy rain for that long, and we wonder if our 10-year old
North face Goretex jackets would stand up to it, one day we'll find out no doubt!. The same applies
to our ME Drilite overtrousers, superbly light and comfortable but never tested in real anger.

Quoted message said:

Regards,

Michael S

-- GeoffC