Five from Wrynose including a "Catch Up" and some New Un's.

[martin.h]

Another weekend spent reducing the number of "catch ups" and the mutual new ones, we're slowly but surely getting there.

Looking at the map there's a bunch of hills we both needed to do within easy reach of each other from the top of Wrynose Pass, all are accessible within the hours of daylight we get at this time of year and hopefully the Wrynose and Hardknott passes would be quieter than in the summer months therefore assuring us a parking spot.

A Travelodge weekend this time, the Kendal one on the A591.

We set off from our lodgings in reasonable time on Saturday morning to make sure we could get a spot at the top of Wrynose, we succeeded, a prime spot just on the summit where the path to Red Tarn starts, there were no other cars around so the early-ish start paid off.

There was a very chilly breeze as we readied for the off but the weather was looking promising, the sky was clearing, there were a few patches of blue and the clouds were well off the mountains.









Pike o' Blisco was our first intended, a catch up for Denise, the path from the top of Wrynose Pass is excellent and gave us the opportunity to cover the distance at a reasonable pace. We reached Red Tarn in good time and turned right just beyond on another well trodden path up Pike o' Blisco, it's steep in parts but height is gained quickly and the summit is reached without too much effort.



The views were good, even though there was a bit of cloud cover, after the obligatory photo stop we set off back to Red Tarn and the climb up Cold Pike.

Cold Pike from P o' B


Views




Langdale Pikes


Wetherlam, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Dow Crag hiding behind



Bow Fell and the Band



Crinkles


The main path to the Crinkles was the start of our ascent of Cold Pike, after a few hundred meters we went off piste and took a beeline for the summit, after a bit of stumbling around we joined a path that's well used, probably one we'd have found easier if we'd have stayed on the Crinkles path a bit longer, ah well, there's now't like a bit of adventure.

The summit was reached, a mutual new one, but there's cairns on two tops up here so we went to the other cairn to make sure.

Summit proper


Langdale



Crinks and Bowfell



P o' B


Wetherlam



Swirl How, Great Carrs


A chilly breeze kept us from staying longer on the top, a pity because it's a good viewpoint, so photo's were taken, a quick snack, then we set off back down to the car.

View from below Cold Pike on the way down


We decided not to stop at the car, the temptation to stay too long was ignored, we crossed the road and made our way up Wet Side Edge, not a name to inspire confidence in conditions underfoot, as it turned out it's a good path, pitched in places and largely dry.

Grey Friar was next, another new one for us both.

Looking back, to the Scafells, Crinkles and Bowfell


Harter Fell


Wrynose Bottom


It took longer than I was hoping to get to the summit, I'm not sure why, probably taking too many photos but we arrived at the summit, another one with two high points and two cairns so, again, we went to both of them.

Summit Views










T'other cairn, Scafells behind






Swirl How



Views





This is another great view point, well worth getting to. We decided to stop and have lunch up here, that chilly breeze was still bugging us so we spent a bit of time looking for a bit of shelter and eventually found it in the rocks near the mini Matterhorn boulder.




Lunch was welcome and consumed then we set off for Swirl How, a repeat for us both, we had thought of including Wetherlam to-day but we decided not to bother once we'd arrived on Swirl How, the distance was probably just doable in the time we had left but we wanted to take advantage of the weather and take our time without rushing about, it was 2pm so we turned our backs on Wetherlam and headed for Great Carrs.


Memorial



Views from memorial




Great Carrs was another repeat, we'd come from The Old Man the last time we were up here so the trip back to the car was on unfamiliar ground, as it turned out we both decided that our decision not to include Wetherlam was a good one.

Wetherlam


We had to go down there after Wetherlam and then back up to the car



Grey Friar


Grey Friar and Harter Fell



Cold Pike and P o' B


Towards Langdale


Panorama from Great Carrs


Eastern weather, looks a bit ominous


We arrived back at the car at 3:45, the light was lowering, I reckon we'd have struggled to get back without the use of our head torches.












We had a really good day out, Wetherlam is on the agenda soon, one of the few "catch ups" left for Denise to do that can be done on a day trip from home, as a friend of ours would say "They're not going knock those mountains down, you know, why rush 'em?" Good point, but we've got to the stage where the objective has become a bit of an obsession, the sense of achievement is growing, mountain by mountain

[yellowbelly]

Nice report and photies. The weather was much better than MWIS suggested on Saturday. I had a quick wander up High Tove and Armboth. Which fell are you saving till last?

[martin.h]

Nice report and photies. The weather was much better than MWIS suggested on Saturday. I had a quick wander up High Tove and Armboth. Which fell are you saving till last?

Hi yellowbelly,
We tend to look at both MWIS and the Met Office and average the forecasts out, not very scientific but it works, somehow they both got the chilly wind right however High Tove and Armboth are nice viewpoints for the bigger fells around, a bit on the soggy side from memory.

Catstye Cam will be our last one, starting on Birkhouse Moor and doing the horseshoe of ridges, we live close enough to pick and choose the weather, we're aiming for late spring/early summer next year
Cheers.

[johnkaysleftleg]

Some fine fells to take in there with some beautiful light on the hillsides late on. I found wet side edge a super route off the fells a few years back, sometimes names can give a very wrong Impression. You certainly seem to be homing in on your target at quite a pace, good choice of Catstyecam, it's a superb top

[trailmasher]

Well done the pair of you with another set of fine hills done You did right with leaving out Wetherlam as the Fallwalker and I chose that way a couple of years ago with a less than good descent down from Birk Fell Man and then a hard slog up to the Three Shire Stone parking area via Rough Crags and High End from Greenburn Beck on a brutally hot day Catstye Cam a good choice of hill to finish on

[martin.h]

Some fine fells to take in there with some beautiful light on the hillsides late on. I found wet side edge a super route off the fells a few years back, sometimes names can give a very wrong Impression. You certainly seem to be homing in on your target at quite a pace, good choice of Catstyecam, it's a superb top

Thankyou Anthony,
Throughout the day the light was changing the look of the hillsides, it was really quite interesting, I kept saying to Denise "hang on a mo, I'll have to get a shot of that" the colours were forever changing.
Yes, it's strange how focussed you become when the goal is in sight, just 18 to do to get us both on an even keel then the last one
Cheers

Well done the pair of you with another set of fine hills done You did right with leaving out Wetherlam as the Fallwalker and I chose that way a couple of years ago with a less than good descent down from Birk Fell Man and then a hard slog up to the Three Shire Stone parking area via Rough Crags and High End from Greenburn Beck on a brutally hot day Catstye Cam a good choice of hill to finish on

Thanks trailmasher,
I allowed about 6.5 hrs for this route, by the time we'd arrived on Swirl How we'd been going for 4.75 hrs so a trip over Wetherlam was cutting it a bit fine, we might repeat this and include Wetherlam, next summer, just to see how long it does take.
I like the look of Catstye Cam, we've been on Helvellyn loads of times and I don't know why we've missed Catstye Cam, maybe we've always been destined to do it this way, Helvellyn was my first Wainwright, it now seems fitting-----------, weird