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DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE

DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE


Postby susanmyatt » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:14 pm

Date walked: 19/12/2009

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Hello and best wishes for a great 2010 to you all. Having collected the photos in from the gang I thought I would show all the weekends events that culminated in us being stuck overnight and the hard work to get out :(
It all started with Alan, Steve and his son David travelling up on the friday morning and parking up at Wasdale Head from where they climbed Scafell PIke.
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View to Wastwater
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The boys at the top
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View from the top
We were all stopping at a place called The Birks near the foot of Harter Fell and the following picture shows it pre snow.
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The Birks...our hotel

On the saturday morning while Lisa and myself were travelling up the rest which now included the later arrivals set off for a circular route that took in the Hardknott Pass
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Saturday walkers
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Looking down the pass

It was on the return of this walk they met us on our descent of Harter Fell (see my last post) and we walked to the Newfields Inn at Seathwaite. After a debrief we travelled back to The Birks where it was time for our Secret Santa presents and we were lucky to have the REAL santa and his number one elf.
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Santa and elf

Everyone had a chance to sit on santa's knee but some like Commander Conroy seemed to be enjoying it a little too much :lol:
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Mr. C and Mr. C !!!

All was well till the next morning when the snow came and we realised that getting out despite having all the gear and know how was not going to be easy :(
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Snowy Birks
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Push
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Getting worse
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Chilli getting chilly!!
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The snow was getting worse as we reached the valley road
After two hours of hard slog we got all the vehicles through to the road
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Convoy
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Nice on postcards
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Birks Bridge
Although we were now on the road the snow was deper and the ups and downs made it more treachorous, sadly we were to lose a vehicle and the good news was that although bruised and shaken the ocupants were ok, it was before we reached the Newfields in that the Mountain Rescue gentleman met us and was a tremendous help.
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Through the drivers eyes
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The end of the road
We eventually reached the sanctuary of the Newfields Inn
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The barn
The landlord fixed us up with The Barn, owned by Liz, where we could spend the night and save a 3 mile hike back to The Birks, this involved a 20 minute trek through the woods where we met some fellow refugees
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Walking in the air tonight !
The barn was really nice and we were looked after well but it was bitterly cold
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Home sweet home
As I said in the last post we were out the next morning after the plough and gritter had been, even then it was very precarious.
So that was it, another ordinary weekend out with the saturday gang, here's to many more safe days on the hills in 2010, best wishes to you and your families,love Sue :D
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susanmyatt
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Re: DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE

Postby mountain tortoise » Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:02 pm

Happy new year Sue, glad you are all in one piece. I have just been to the Lakes 27-30 Dec and it still was white out. But the winter walking was good. However I am not doing the Lake District again to many people even high up. So many with no equipment or suitable clothing. People were looking at us funny cos we had rucksack and crampons etc. on High Raise. I said to Dave the annoying thing is we have carried our gear up here bliaazrd bags, first iad kit and so on but are most likely to use it on someone else. I think some people do rely on the good will of others. Any way glad you are safe .
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Re: DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE

Postby 37lumleyst » Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:36 pm

Happy New Year Sue

I read the report you posted describing the events, but its a little more sobering when you see the picture of your friends car wrapped around that tree! I'm glad there were no serious injuries, but it must have been a fright non the less.

It looks like there was some good walking over the w/e despite being snowed in!

Lets hope we all manage to get some great walks done through 2010 and chalk those Wainwrights off one my one :D
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Re: DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE

Postby susanmyatt » Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:47 pm

Thanks Paul, we still have quite a few to do, perhaps I might get half way this year, if my knee holds up, yes the good thing is that everyone is ok. :D
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Re: DUDDDON VALLEY ESCAPADE - SCAFELL PIKE

Postby mountain coward » Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:20 am

Scary stuff! Hope all are okay now... Happy New Year! :D
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