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A great day above Grasmere following the ridge from Steel Fell to Helm Crag, taking in the summits of Calf Crag and Gibson Knott. A wonderful sunny walk.
July 26, 2013
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Helm Crag & Steel Fell
A wonderful day above Grasmere following the ridges above the Greenburn Valley, climbing Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag.
June 30, 2013
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Helm Crag & Steel Fell
A horseshoe of Greenburn takes us up Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag in a squally but great day out with some fine views.
June 23, 2013
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77 Peak Challenge Day 7: The End is in Sight
A glorious day to round off our 77 Peak Challenge, today we walked from Grasmere over Helm Crag to High Raise and the Langdale Pikes descending to Langdale.
May 31, 2013
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Steel Fell to Helm Crag
A good day above Grasmere today following the ridge from Steel Fell to Helm Crag.
We set off from Grasmere just after 10am and followed the lane to Helmside, climbing up ridge by Cogra Breast. It didn't take long before we were in thick mist, this lasted until we were well on our way down from Helm Crag.
We climbed to the summit of Steel Fell in good time, unfortunately there were no views from the summit today, so after a short break by the summit cairn we pressed on, descending a little by Griffin Tarn and crossing the boggy section of ridge to climb to the summit of Calf Crag.
We stopped just below the summit of Calf Crag to eat our sandwiches before pressing on, turning south east and following the fine ridge towards Gibson Knott.
The path along the ridge has got very muddy this year, even more than usual, but we made good progress and were soon on the summit of Gibson Knott.
From Gibson Knott we crossed to the summit of Helm Crag and descended the new path south dropping down into Easdale and following the lane back to Grasmere.
November 16, 2012
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Steel Fell to Helm Crag
A good day above Grasmere today climbing the ridge from Steel Fell to Helm Crag.
We set off from Grasmere at 10am and followed the lane to Helmside and up the Cotra Breast ridge onto Steel Fell. We made good progress up the ridge and were soon on the summit of Steel Fell, there were great views over Thirlmere from the summit.
We pressed on following the ridge west, crossing the usually very boggy section and climbing to the summit of Calf Crag. We took some shelter out of the cool breeze just below the summit cairn to eat our packed lunches before continuing along the ridge, descending to the summits of Gibson Knott and Helm Crag before dropping down to the Far Easdale Valley and following the lane back to Grasmere.
October 24, 2012
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The Bob Graham Round Backpacking Expedition Part 2
Day 4:
After a slightly later start than on previous mornings we set off from Wasdale Head just after 8am, our numbers slightly depleted, but with bad weather forecast for tonight our packs were a little lighter as we had decided it wise to spend the night at Honister Hause YHA instead of camping out in gale force winds and rain, this meant that we could walk the final two days with day packs!
We made good time climbing the steep southern end of Yewbarrow, reaching the top at about 10am and after a short photo stop on the summit we continued, dropping down over Stirrup Crag and climbing the long slope to the summit of Red Pike.
The ridge then lad us up towards Scoat Fell, we dropped our packs off behind a rock just short of the summit of Scoat Fell and crossed the top descnding to the wonderful summit of Steeple, returning over Scoat Fell to pick our bags up and continued crossing Black Crag and climbing to the summit of Pillar, stopping to eat our lunches in the wind shelter above Pillar Rock.
After lunch we continued, descending to Black Sail Pass where after a short detour to pick up some water we made good time scrambling up the steep slopes onto the summit plateau of Kirk Fell.
A slight detour from the main path took us around the lower eastern summit before we rejoined the main path and dropped down to Beck Head, by now the clouds were starting to build and we were wondering whether we would make it to the hostel before the rain started, but we reached the summit of Great Gable in good time and as we turned north it felt like we were on the home strait!
From the summit of Great Gable we estimated that we would reach Honister Pass at about 7pm, but we made good time crossing Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts and were walking through the front door of the hostel at 6.20! Just in time to order dinner at 7!
Day 5:
As we sat at breakfast at the Hostel watching the wind and rain outside the window we agreed that we had made a wise decision not to camp out last night, although none of us were looking forward to stepping out of the door into the rain this morning we knew that the hard work was done, and this final leg was the easiest of the five.
As we made the final preparations to leave the hostel though the rain and wind eased, and although there was still plenty of could hugging the fells we climbed the slope onto Dale Head in the dry!
From Dale Head we made good progress, crossing to the summit of Hindscarth and across to Robinson, with occasional glimpses of views down into the valleys on either side.
We descended north from Robinson over High Snab Bank and down by Newlands Church, opting to follow the lanes rather than the paths back to Keswick as the rain was now back. We made great time on this final leg arriving in Keswick in about 4 hours, having to wait for everyone else to meet us as we were much earlier than expected!
After a quick drink of champagne outside the Moot Hall and some photographs we retired to the Dog and Gun for a well deserved drink!
Well done to all participants over the week, especially Colin and Mark who competed all 5 days.
June 15, 2012
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The Bob Graham Round Backpacking Expedition
This week is the week, the week our long awaited 5 day backpacking trip of the Bob Graham Round was to start. The Bob Graham round is traditionally a fell running challenge, which takes in 42 peaks over 72 miles. The fellrunners aim to complete it in under just 24 hours, we were to take it a bit more gently and cover the 5 legs in 5 days.
Monday 11th June- Day 1:
The challenge was to start outside the usual starting point, the Moot Hall. We met Clive, Colin, Nicola, Sasha (The yellow Lab) and Mark with their kit and after loading the expedition kit into the back of the car, we took our daysacks and got on our way. Our first objective was only to be the 4th highest mountain in England, Skiddaw. We left Keswick and joined the good track that traversed up the side of Latrigg. As we reached its northern side we joined the track that climbed Skiddaw's long southern face. At about 700m we found ourselves in a cold mist. We kept on plodding up this monotonous track to the windswept summit. We didn't stay long and we left the summit to the north, carefully pacing out 600m. We wanted to try and stick to the runners line as much as possible. We crossed the fence and started to descend the long grassy slope on Skiddaw's eastern face, and after not too long we were again under the mist. It seemed it was clearing and we could see summit number 2, Great Calva. As we reached the valley bottom we crossed the track and started to make our way directly to the summit of Great Calva. This track also seemed to go on for a while, so when we reached the summit we were relieved.
We left this summit to the east and made our way over some heathery ground to the beck. Our next official objective was Blencathra, but we opted to also 'bag' Mungrisdale Common as the runners line passed within just a few metred of the summit. After crossed the river we plodded up the long grassy slope once more. After reaching the rather flat and dull summit of Mungrisdale Common we headed for the far more interesting Blencathra. After walking over Atkinson's Pike another short ascent brought us onto the summit of Blencathra. Our aim was to now descend into Threlkeld and meet John with our expedition kit, and what better way to go about it than to descend Halls Fell Ridge. We enjoyed the scramble down the ridge which was by far the most interesting bit of this first leg.
We reached Threlkeld at 5pm, and as there was no chance of watching the England game as the pub with the TV was shut, we grabbed our expedition kit, and by 6pm we were back on the trail again. This was mentally and physically very hard. After 8 hours of walking we had just added about 10-12kg's of weight to our backs and were heading away from civilisation to camp on the hills. After crossing the A66 we started to make way for Clough Head, behind which we would camp for the night. We crossed the boggy ground and reached the foot of the fell. We started to traverse its base while climbing slightly before reaching a steep track up its eastern flank. We all dug in here and eventually we made it onto the flatter ridge. We found ourselves in the mist once again, but as it was flat, we didnt care much. After reaching the summit of Clough Head, and feeling suitably tired we were now aiming for our campsite. We descended a short way towards Calf How Pike, behind which we found some flat ground to pitch up. Camping, let alone Wild Camping was a new experience for 3 out of 4 of the challengers, so this first night was to be interesting for them. It seemed we had one last treat, as the sun was breaking through the clouds casting amazing lights across Keswick below. After eating our dinners we were soon all in slightly wind blasted tents to try get some sleep.
Tuesday 12th June - Day 2:
At about 5.30am we all stirred from our sleeping bags, some of us having enjoyed the night more than others. We all got on with our own personal admin such as eating breakfast and sorting out kit before taking down our tents. The morning had started clear and bright, but some clouds were also rolling through which cooled us down from time to time. By 6.50am we got on our way towards Great Dodd. This climb up helped to warm us up, and we were soon stripping off the extra layers. From Great Dodd a short descent brought us to Watson's Dodd, and then another short climb completed the Dodd's as we reached Stybarrow Dodd. The three summits in quick succession was a great morale booster. The day was warming up and we were getting some great views through some of the cloud. We left this summit to Stick's Pass from where we climbed up to Raise. We had a short break on this summit and then another small undulation brought us to White Side. We were all doing really well and getting into the flow of the day. A slightly steeper climb now brought us up to the summit of Helvellyn Lower Man, from which a short walk brought us to the highest of the day, Helvellyn. We enjoyed a stop in the shelter and admired the good views.We quickly crossed the next two summits of Neterhmost Pike and Dollywagon Pike before having to descend to Grisedale Tarn. The next part of the day was what we thought would be the hardest. We had to do two 'there and back' ascents of Fairfield and Seat Sandal. We dumped our kit between the two fells and climbed the loose path up onto the flat top of Fairfield. With half the job done we descended back down to our kit. Keen to have some lunch we moved our kit to the northern slope of Seat Sandal and made way to its summit. We descended back to our kit where we enjoyed a long 45 minute break, and a well deserved one at that.
After lunch we descended to Dunmail Raise via Raise Beck where we met John to sort out our kit and get supplies. Much like the previous day we had planned to climb and camp up on the fellside. We left the car and joined the southern slope of Steel Fell, and with now heavier packs again, plodded up slowly. We were again relieved to reach the summit and now had a much flatter walk across the top of the Greenburn Valley to Calf Crag. We had originally intended to camp somewhere here, but as we had a good few hours of daylight left we thought it would be beneficial to climb up onto the ridge by Sergeant Man, which would mean the start of day 3 would be far easier. We chose to follow a route up next to Mire Beck. This track weaved around buttresses and we had to contend with numerous false summits. I could tell the team wanted to stop as soon as possible, and I was worried that if I kept them walking for too much longer there would be a mutiny! By 8pm, the time I was hoping we would reach a camp spot by, we did. We had managed to ascend the extra few hundred metres and found and incredible campspot right next to Sergeant Man. The view from the campsite was great, and again the late evening sun was beautiful as it lit up the fells. Now more versed at camping the the camp was set up much quicker, and everyone was soon tucking into their evening meals. We all knew we had to pile in some calories as Day 3 was going to be mega!
Wednesday 13th June- Day 3:
We again stirred at about 5.30am and we had all had a much better night sleep. The morning was very clear to start with, but we could see there was potential for a bit of mist/ rain later on. We left camp at 6.50am again, and after just 5 minutes we were on top of Sergeant Man. We left this summit and headed over the very gentle slope up to High Raise. Now turning back to the south we crossed Thunacar Knott and then summited Harisson's Stickle. After just a couple of hours we had again got a handful of summits under our belt. After scrambling up and bagging Pike 'O Stickle we crossed Martcrag Moor and bagged Rosset Pike. It was around this time it started to rain, so after donning our waterproofs we descended to Angle Tarn. We could not take the runners line up Bowfell as it was well, steep! We followed the track to Ore Gap where we were again going to leave our kit. We plodded up this easier side of Bowfell and reached its rocky summit, from which we enjoyed slightly misty views of our route ahead. We walked back to our kit and climbed over Esk Pike, where we opted to have some lunch.
From Esk Pike we descended into Esk Hause and started to make our way to Calf Cove, and on the way bumped into John with a group! We once again dumped our kit and dashed off to the side to summit Great End. The next two tops, Ill Crag and Broad Crag also went by very quickly. We descnded to Broad Crag Col and then climbed the steep and loose track up onto the bouldery summit of Scafell Pike. This was a great point to reach, one that had seemed so far away (and looked it) earlier in the day. However, our day was not over yet, we had to negotiate one last mountain, Scafell. There are many routes up Scafell, but with exped kit you are limited to one, Fox's Tarn. This route meant we had to descend about 200m before being able to climb back up to the summit, which was just 14m lower.
We descended to Mickledore, and then down to the start of the gully that makes way to the tarn. Everyone scrambled up the gully very well. From the tarn a very steep, and again loose slope takes us onto the summit plateau. Once again everyone dug in deep, with the idea of staying at the Wasdale Head Inn keeping them going. We made it onto the plateau and after leaving our kit bagged the final summit of the day. We descnded off of the summit via the top of Lord's Rake. This descent was a real knee cruncher, especially the last bit which is down a steep grassy slope. We finally reached the roadside, which we followed along to the Inn where John was waiting for us. After not too long we found ourselves in the Inn munching on some fine food.
Unfortunately the 3 days had been just a little too much on Sasha's paws, and although she had been incredible Nicola felt she had to pull out of the walk. The team lost another walker on Thursday morning as Clive got up to go but felt awful. It seemed although his brain said yes, his body was saying no.
So today John took over the leading and they will have walked the Pillar Horseshoe above Wasdale, over Great Gable and down to Honister. Tomorrow they will finish the expedition over Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson and then back to the Moot Hall in Keswick. Good Luck!
June 14, 2012
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Helm Crag Etc..
A lovely scenic day on The Greenburn Round (Helm Crag Etc.)
From the lovely little village of Grasmere we set out towards Steel Fell up the Easdale Road. We walked past the fields and farm houses to the start of the greenburn Valley track. From here we started our ascent of Steel Fell up its long grassy southern slope. We made great progress up the slope, and shortly before midday we were on its windy summit. From the summit of Steel Fell we enjoyed the amazing view down the full length of Thirlmere before descending down its western shoulder. We walked across the top end of the Greenburn Valley to the slightly smaller summit of Calf Crag. We found some shelter behind a rocky buttress to have a spot of lunch and enjoy the view.
Now at the apex of the route we were on our way back towards Grasmere. We walked along the wide grassy spur, around and over outcrops to our next summi of Gibson Knott. We left this summit, and after a short climb we were up onto the summit of Helm Crag. After soaking up the views one last time we descended off of Helm Crag back to the Easdale Road, and shortly after we were back in Grasmere.
May 14, 2012
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Steel Fell to Helm Crag
A good day above Grasmere today climbing the fells above the Greenburn Valley.
We set of from Grasmere at 10am and followed the lane to Helmside climbing the southern shoulder of Steel Fell.
As we reached the summit of Steel Fell we entered the cloud, although we did get a short glimpse of the view down towards Thirlmere.
From Steel Fell we followed the ridge west crossing by Griffin Tarn before climbing to the summit of Calf Crag.
After a short lunch stop at the summit of Calf Crag we followed the ridge south, descending to the summit of Gibson Knott and along the ridge to Helm Crag, by now we were back out of the cloud and were rewarded with some great views.
From Helm Crag we descended down to the Easdale Valley following the Easdale Road back to Grasmere.
March 9, 2012
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