Langdale Horseshoe - a weather window - sort of
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:32 am
It's rare to meet hardly anyone on the main routes in the Lakes, but Saturday was one of those days. MWIS gave one of those ambigous forecast that is fatal for those optimists among us. And after many months of enforced inactivity following quite a serious accident in September last, I was desperate to get out in them thar hills.
Notwithstanding that my last excursion into the lakes was done on the back of a similarly reasonable MWIS forecast, to do a Wasdale horseshoe, from Yewbarrow, to Scafell; and dense clag reigned for the whole 10 hours, with visibility rarely greater than 50m.....
I hadn't been to Langdale for 40 years or so, and it's nearer than Scotland, so I thought....
So not much else to say really, except perhaps for a couple of worthwhile lessons:
1. You can have some great days when no-one else wants to be out there; and there were some reasonable views from time to time. So the pics are rather bitty, taken only when the cloud cleared.
2. If you can't see anything at all, don't trust to your instincts - trust to your compass, and use it every 5 minutes or so. I wandered around Harrison Stickle with visibility down to about 50m for a couple of hours, trusting to my instincts. It was only when I saw some footprints that looked suspiciously like those made by the shoes I was wearing that I got a bit more disciplined and sorted out where I was going!
3. There's a very interesting drop off the East end of Bowfell, that I'd rate as a G3 scramble/climb, especially when it's covered in snow etc. In the pub later I talked to a guy who'd passed on the top, and he told me it's avoidable, but many footprints led there. I imagine a few must have turned back.
After a 04.00am start, I got to Langdale at about 7.30am. No cars in the car park. A good sign.
I'm really quite cream crackered at the end. The lack of fitness after 6 months of inactivity following quite a serious accident in autumn really shows. But a thoroughly enjoyable day. I probably met 10 people all day. In Langdale. Honestly!
Notwithstanding that my last excursion into the lakes was done on the back of a similarly reasonable MWIS forecast, to do a Wasdale horseshoe, from Yewbarrow, to Scafell; and dense clag reigned for the whole 10 hours, with visibility rarely greater than 50m.....
I hadn't been to Langdale for 40 years or so, and it's nearer than Scotland, so I thought....
So not much else to say really, except perhaps for a couple of worthwhile lessons:
1. You can have some great days when no-one else wants to be out there; and there were some reasonable views from time to time. So the pics are rather bitty, taken only when the cloud cleared.
2. If you can't see anything at all, don't trust to your instincts - trust to your compass, and use it every 5 minutes or so. I wandered around Harrison Stickle with visibility down to about 50m for a couple of hours, trusting to my instincts. It was only when I saw some footprints that looked suspiciously like those made by the shoes I was wearing that I got a bit more disciplined and sorted out where I was going!
3. There's a very interesting drop off the East end of Bowfell, that I'd rate as a G3 scramble/climb, especially when it's covered in snow etc. In the pub later I talked to a guy who'd passed on the top, and he told me it's avoidable, but many footprints led there. I imagine a few must have turned back.
After a 04.00am start, I got to Langdale at about 7.30am. No cars in the car park. A good sign.
I'm really quite cream crackered at the end. The lack of fitness after 6 months of inactivity following quite a serious accident in autumn really shows. But a thoroughly enjoyable day. I probably met 10 people all day. In Langdale. Honestly!