A restful morning in Hawes

I went to check on the girls early and, to my surprise, they had got up and left super early. Pleased with this, I headed back to Hawes for a spot of grub and a coffee before heading back to Mossdale Head to collect their route card and to check that they were on track.

As this was a rather easy last day, I was keen to leave them alone and trust them a bit more. I felt it was important for them to experience a little freedom and sense of achievement by being on their own a little more. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but be a little concerned so I parked up and waited for them to appear on the minor road near Thorney Mire House.

Despite their eagerness of earlier, they had once again slowed to a plod and were now behind schedule. With some final words of encouragement, I sent them on their way at a slightly quicker pace. Knowing this was their final leg, I headed back to Hawes to buy them all a can of coke and a cream egg - well, it was easter after all!

Eventually, the shattered group of girls arrived in the main coach car park where they were very relieved to be parted with their bags for a while. After the debrief, I didn't hang around for long and hit the road for the drive North back to Edinburgh. They had been a challenging group, but I was pleased with how they had coped and come through the challenge very much as a group. I wish them all the very best with the remainder of their Silver Award.

A slow plod over Great Shunner Fell and a few tears

I was away early and checked on the girls just after 7:30am. I wanted to make sure they were up sharp and ready to go, as I knew they had their biggest day ahead of them and were bound to find it tough. From the look of the sky, I could tell it was going to be a scorcher - not a cloud in the sky.

After helping the group get sorted a bit, I left them to pack up camp and headed back Hawes to grab some breakfast. After a bacon roll and a couple of coffees, I managed to blag a lift up to Butter Tubs. Because I knew that the girls were going to find it a tough day, my plan was to walk with them as much as possible today so hitching a lift meant that I could leave the car in Hawes. Before heading up the initially steep slopes and out onto Thwaite Common, I paused to peer into the massive sinkhole - an amazing sight.

Peering into the Butter Tubs sinkhole, Yorkshire Dales

It was a stunning day and I had great views in every direction. I was soon on the summit and chilled for a while, as I waited for the girls to appear. To my delight, I had plenty of company; a few other assessors and their respective groups were passing over the same top at various points that lunchtime. Looking Northeast through my binoculars back down the Pennine Way, I spotted group after group approaching. Unfortunately none met the description of my girls.

Looking Northeast from the summit of Great Shunner Fell, Yorkshire Dales

Eventually, looking rather knackered, the girls arrived at the summit and slumped down to eat their lunch. They said they had found the path out of Thwaite quite steep and very hard going. I tried to cheer them up by telling them that the climbing was over for the day, but it this statement didn't seem to bring them any obvious comfort.

The group walking across the summit of Great Shunner Fell, Yorkshire Dales

The next leg of their route was following the flat plateau to the Northwest and along to the boundary line running along Hugh Seat and Little Fell. This leg wasn't on a path so it was perfect to practice the art of walking on a bearing. Unfortunately visibility could not have been much better, so I had to get the girls to imagine that they were walking in the mist and try to look at their compass as much as possible. At this point however, I could sense very quickly that they were far too tired to care about my ramblings and a lesson in navigation. Progress was painfully slow; so in the interest of hoping to reach camp before dark, I quickly took up the lead. As if things weren't already slow, the next hinderance was the horrible peat hag that we had to negotiate for the next 4km! It was some of the most complex terrain I had come across and we had numerous short steep sections of ascent and descent - but not quite enough to warrant a contour on the 1:50k map. This unpleasantness proved a little too much for a couple of the group and they sat down at one point sobbing to each other. A brief respite and some words of encouragement from the others soon saw them back on their feet again.

The girls were totally wiped by the time we reached the path that lead the way to their campsite at Moorcock. They were also running low on water so I told them to get the purification tablets out and fill up from the stream. It was the home stretch now but it was a real struggle to motivate them and push them on towards camp - it was almost 7pm when we began pitching tents.

Jamie arrived shortly in the minibus and we headed back to Hawes for some grub. An excellent day on The Fells - the girls had done well and will hopefully sleep well knowing that they've got an easy final day tomorrow.

Grinton, Feetham, Gunnerside, Muker and a slow group

The girls had a relatively straightforward route from Grinton to Muker today. There were some light showers in the morning but it turned into a cracking afternoon when the sun came out. As I expected, they struggled with their heavy bags on their first expedition and walked at around 2kmph. This resulted in a rather lazy day for myself and a lot of waiting around. Because this was their first exped, I didn't want to leave them alone or out of sight for too long - just in case they went too far wrong. To my surprise, they still managed to take the wrong track a couple of times and I spied them sitting aimlessly at the side of the road looking rather sorry for themselves.

Looking across the River Swale from Ramps Holme towards Muker, Yorkshire Dales

Keeping a close eye on them, I managed to get them to walk a little faster and eventually they arrived at their first camp in Muker. The look on their faces, as the rain started while they were putting up tents, was priceless to say the least!

Looking across the River Swale from Ramps Holme towards Muker, Yorkshire Dales

After taking through tomorrow's route, making sure they didn't set fire to anything, and seeing them all eat something hot, I headed over the hill to Hawes for the night. Hopefully the girls will be faster tomorrow.

The Dales, Hawes, Grinton and D of E

This evening I drove down to The Dales to assess a group of fifth year girls from George Watson's College on their D of E silver practice expedition. James and I drove down the M6 in convoy and were in Hawes for a spot of afternoon tea by mid afternoon. It was a gloriously hot sunny day and we had made good time driving down from Edinburgh.

Eventually the coach arrived in Hawes and half of the groups got settled into Hawes Hostel. After helping to unload all the gear, I headed over the hills to Grinton Lodge to get the others settled in. On the way there I had a fantastic view over the fells and, looking at the forecast, it was looking like it was going to hold for the next few days.

After sorting out rooms, kit, tents etc, it was time for the traditional English hostel three course meal - magic. I then sat down with the girls and talked them through the next few days. They all seemed a bit unsure about everything. As it turns out, none of them had done bronze before and this was to be their first expedition. It's certainly going to be an interesting few days...

Sport Climbing - North Berwick Law Quarry

It was a very clear blue-sky day and we were keen to make the most of it. Without any planning, we took the easy option and headed for North Berwick Law Quarry.

Down safely after leading Wild Iris F5+**, North Berwick Law Quarry

It was after lunch before we were at the car park and gearing up. It was a fantastic day - not a cloud in the sky. As we headed round to the Quarry, we saw many folk out on The Law and making the most of the good weather. When The Red Wall came into, to my surprise, there were a number of folk already on a number of the climbs.

Lots of gorse on route, North Berwick Law Quarry

Down safely after leading Wild Iris F5+**, North Berwick Law Quarry

I decided that I would warm up by leading Wild Iris F5+**. It was a little tricky about halfway due to the gorse bushes being in full bloom! Safely down, it was Emily's turn to follow on the bottom-rope. It was at this point that a fellow climber, a middle-aged gentleman who had been climbing just next to us, came over and asked me how the route was. I grinned at him and told him that it was a little "gorsey" and dirty. He smiled back at me and then proceeded to quiz me about what I had done at the top of the route. He asked me if I had placed two quick draws through the lower-offs and I told him that I hadn't; I had just threaded the lower-offs in the usual textbook fashion. For some reason he didn't seem like he was too convinced by what I had done and asked me if I had my SPA. "No", I replied, "But I climb regularly and have climbed here a few times before". He then left us alone to climb. I'm not sure what his problem was, but Emily followed up the climb in no time.

Bottom-roping Old Law Breaker F6b**, North Berwick Law Quarry

Looking up The Red Wall, North Berwick Law Quarry

Leaving the rope up, I bottom-roped Old Lawbreaker F6b** and tried to work out the sequence. The climb has a couple of hard and committing moves to better holds higher up, but having worked it out I didn't fancy the lead - perhaps next time.

Having a look at the rather bold-looking Darkness Falling F6a+*, North Berwick Law Quarry

Shiny stuff, North Berwick Law Quarry

Taking down our rope, we now had the Quarry all to ourselves. I had a long hard look at Darkness Falling F6a+* but the move to the first bolt still looked terrifying. Feeling a tired and far from brave enough, we called it day. Fish and chips on the shore in North Berwick were calling. A great day.

Looking up The Red Wall, North Berwick Law Quarry

Emily enjoying the sun, North Berwick Law Quarry

Edinburgh Spring - The Pentlands

It was a very mild and sunny Sunday morning in Edinburgh today and I had come down with a dose of cabin fever so I really wanted to get out and do something today. As I hadn't planned anything, I decided to opt for the simple option and head into The Pentlands. Also, Emily needed the car so I simply jumped on the number 15 bus and got off at Hillend Ski Centre.

Looking up below Caerketton Craigs, Pentland Hills

Hillend and Lothianburn Golf Club from Caerketton Craigs, Pentlands

After the steep ascent along the East of the ski runs, I decided not to head directly for the top of Caerketton Hill. Instead, I took the path that traverses the foot of the steeper North slopes. The main reason for this was to check out the crags that sit at the very top of the North slopes. I see these craggy slopes regularly when driving around Edinburgh but had never been up here specifically to check them out for climbing or scrambling potential. Indeed, just a few weeks ago I had been browsing through the SMC Lowland Outcrops guidebook and found a couple of routes listed but they were far from recommended. Also, UKC has some winter routes listed for Caerketton Craigs so I was keen to see for myself what potential there was for climbing.

Looking North towards Edinburgh from Caerketton Craigs, Pentlands

Looking North towards Edinburgh from Caerketton Craigs, Pentlands

As I got higher and found myself at the bottom of the crag, the rocks were heavily vegetated and over-grown. Looking up, I could clearly see 3 'mini' gullies that would be 'do-able' given the right conditions in winter. I continued on up the steepest section of rock I could find, over green and patchy rock. I would say that there was a very short section of Moderate to Difficult but nothing more and very very short at that. All the same, still enjoyable and a far more interesting approach to the summit. A I stepped up onto the top, a large walking group got a bit of a surprise as I appeared out of nowhere to spoil a couple of their Edinburgh city panoramas. I grinned at them and pushed on towards Allermuir.

Climbing up Caerketton Craigs, Pentlands

Castlelaw Hill and Scald Law from Caerketton Hill, Pentlands

It was marvellous weather - extremely mild with only a very slight breeze. The ground was quite dry and the grass was scorched and golden in the sun, as I headed over the top of Capelaw Hill. I had fantastic views of Edinburgh and South towards the Scald Law ridge. Stunning.

Edinburgh from Caerketton Hill, Pentlands

Looking back across to Caerketton Craigs, Pentlands

Pushing on, I safely negotiated the dreaded 'blue bog' in the 'drainage basin' between Bell's Hill and Black Hill, before heading up the latter's steep, heather-clad slopes. From Black Hill I had a tremendous vista all around as dusk began. The dramatic clouds in the sky coupled with the falling sun made for a stunning backdrop to East Kip and West Kip.

Caerketton from Byerside Hill above Windy Door Nick, Pentlands

Scald Law ridge from Capelaw Hill, Pentlands

I nipped over to my final top of the day: Hare Hill and then quickly on towards Bavelaw Castle. Emily kindly came and picked me up from Bonaly to save me the long walk back to Hillend in the dark!

Heading up Capelaw Hill, Pentlands

Looking towards Edinburgh from Capelaw Hill, Pentlands

Scald Law ridge from Capelaw Hill, Pentlands

Dusk from Hare Hill, Pentlands

East Kip and West Kip at dusk from Hare Hill, Pentlands

Dusk at Bavelaw Castle, Pentlands

A great day out in the Pentlands and well worth checking out Caerketton Craigs - worth remembering for possible winter fun.

The Cobbler and the return of winter

Looking down on Arrochar from Ardgartan Forest

Looking down on Arrochar from Ardgartan Forest

After a distinct lack of winter in Glen Clova, I had been keeping a close eye on the weather and the amount of snow in the highlands. It seemed that there had been a sizeable dump of snow recently and the avalanche risk was high as a result. However, after a quick chat, James and I agreed that a Traverse of The Cobbler would be a pretty safe bet.

Heading up the path from Arrochar through Ardgartan Forest

Looking down Loch Long from above Ardgartan Forest

We left Edinburgh early and James drove in the dark to Arrochar. We had soon geared up and were leaving the shore car park, next to the turning for Succoth. We crossed the A83 and headed straight up the hill into the woods. We followed the old, wet mine track upwards until we met the main path that traverses the foot of Creag an Fhithich. We were still below the clouds and there wasn't much wind - more importantly, it wasn't raining - but it was hard going in our big boots and with our heavy packs. As we reached the main path, things around us were beginning to look quite wintery, and we had a great view down to Arrochar (still very green looking) below.

Looking along the Allt a' Bhalachain to The Cobbler

A rather wintery-looking Cobbler

We carried on and followed the path around to meet the Allt a' Bhalachain and into the full on Scottish winter weather. The cloud was low in front of us, but as we headed up the North banks of the river towards Coire a' Bhalachain, the mighty Cobbler emerged occasionally to greet us. As we got closer, we realised that we were going to need to head West sometime very soon... so we did... and we soon started swimming through waist-deep powder. Needless to say, it was tough going and as we approached the base of the 'ramp' at the bottom of the South Peak, the wind came rushing through from the West and things got rather 'chilly'.

A rather wintery-looking Cobbler

The 'swimming' approach the The Cobbler's South Peak

We got our gear on and managed to find a sheltered spot for the first belay. With a solid wire and a good cam firmly in place, I headed up the first pitch. We had thought about moving together, but the first part of the 'ramp' looked quite steep and a few tricky sections. Nonetheless, the worst was soon successfully negotiated and I was at the top of the steepest section. With the help of a half-buried axe belay on the other side of a big ledge, I brought James up safely. He then raced up to the summit of the South Peak and I simply followed behind, as the slope angle wasn't particularly steep. There was plenty of ice underneath the fresh powder, so progress was relatively swift.

A rather wintery-looking Cobbler

Our route ahead on the South Peak of The Cobbler

James found a good block and threw down the rope ready for the abseil. James went first; down to a wide ledge 30 metres below - then I followed. Unfortunately, we then discovered that the rope had jammed around the block above us and no amount of brute force made any difference. We couldn't go down from the ledge, as below us was a further vertical drop for 20 metres. We couldn't retrieve the rope so our only option was to attempt to climb up the rope - well... James did!

James on the ridge on the South Peak of The Cobbler

Looking towards the summit of The Brack from the South Peak of The Cobbler

I didn't envy him one bit. He fixed two Prusiks and made his way up the rope. We had a chat about how jammed the rope actually was, and whether it was a good idea or not to weight it. We figured that it was probably best avoided, as the ground was a little less steep to the left; but to the right were the rope ran was a sheer face. James made great progress up the crag but suddenly he slipped off on the final steep section. There was a horrible sound of metal against rock and I saw James pendulum from left to right as the Prusiks took hold of the rope... thankfully the rope held fast. He then traversed left again and this time reached the top safely - much to my relief, as all I could do was watch helplessly from below. Time was now pressing on, and we realised that it would soon be dark. After some shouting back and forth we agreed that it would be quicker (and the most sensible) for me to climb back up to join him and we could retreat down the way we came... or rather: we THOUGHT it would be quicker!

Looking back Southeast from the South Peak of The Cobbler

Arthur's Seat (South Peak) Summit on The Cobbler

It turned out that I took a similar whipper to James but I ended up hanging down the blank vertical wall and all I could do was make use of a couple of tiny edges to slowly pull myself higher and rely on James to take in more rope - slowly I got higher. I was totally wiped when I eventually pulled over the top and collapsed in a wreck in the snow. There was only one place we were going now: down.

James on the South Peak of The Cobbler

On the summit of the South Peak of The Cobbler

We wasted to time in descending down the ramp. The weather had closed in a little and the light was fading fast. James rigged an abseil from a lonely small tree and we had soon cleared all major difficulties. In our haste to retreat, we had veered off down the slope to the right, below An t-Sron. Instead of wasting time and contouring round to the Allt a' Bhalachain, we headed straight for the edge of the Ardgartan Forest. In front of me, I saw James' lower half vanish as he disappeared into a hidden stream below the snow. As I approached him to offer assistance, I promptly disappeared beside him - much to my surprise - soaked!

South Peak summit on The Cobbler

James abseiling down the South Peak of The Cobbler

James abseiling down the South Peak of The Cobbler

After slowly crossing the complex terrain, we reached the trees but found them extremely dense and hard to penetrate. With time ticking on, we had no option but to force our way through the trees and down the steep banks of the forest. Eventually we reached a forestry track heading Northwest; that we quickly followed back to the car park. It was late when we got back to the car - weary and soaked to the skin. We now had the long drive back to Edinburgh to reflect on a pretty full-on adventure with many experiences thrown in.

James retrieving our rope from the South Peak of The Cobbler

James abseiling down the South Peak of The Cobbler