A Trip to Skye - Hike #4 Blaven (Bla Bheinn)

This is the point where things started to get a bit more mountain real. Having had a few test runs it was off to Skye to try a mountain. It's also the point where I decided to keep a blog so the phot's from now on will be from actual walks , not stolen ones off the web. 😀

It'll be the one in the middle under the clag then!

Having passed the correct parking spot on the way in and then again on the way back we chose an ideal 'leg warm' up spot about half a mile from the start. From there on in a pleasant walk by a babbling brook and then a steep ascent up the valley. As it starts to flatten out its then a sharp right (NNW for anyone checking) and up the ridge to the top with a spot or two of easy scrambling.

This is the turn right (NNW) point

Once at the top we were treated to ridge and mountain views around this beautiful island. Dry but a bit overcast views

After looking across at another possible 'top' we decided that death by adventuring wasn't required today and that it was definitely lower and didn't have a trig. back down and a long descent had my knees singing a little.

Distance - 6 mile
Ascent - 990m
Time - 4 hours and then back for the Waterboys

Munros 1/282

Hill Hike #3 Moel Famau

This hill is likely to appear a lot in this training blog, it's the nearest to home, it has a lot of route options and extensions and the ascent can be anywhere between 400 and 1000m. As it's still early days I'd decided to walk the hill and the ridge only without the steep descent to Moel Arthur.

A Saturday 1 pm meet up with Warren and Ellie meant an easy start to the day - not that it helped. After about 500m I realised I'd left my phone on the car roof so the ashamed trudge back to the car to start all over again. Luckily for me Warren discovered he hadn't locked his car - so we agreed that nothing more would be said about either matter.

The hike back up tot the top after returning along the ridge

Having hiked to the end of the ridge we turned back - it was at this point we both realised that after 4 months off the hills we couldn't keep up our old pace. We called it a draw and had a far more breathless wander back along the ridge over the top and down to the cars. For the record there was no extra food for Ellie.

Distance  - 8 miles
Ascent - 853m
Time - 3hours 40mins

Welsh Hills 1

Hill Hike #2 B&B's from Mungrisdale

Much to Caroline's annoyance it was back over to the easy access fells of the Lakes. A longer route from Mungrisdale via the old Victorian track to Bowcale tarn, we briefly parted company here as I fancied the treck around the tarn and up and over tarn Crags. A slight error of judgement as the path proved slightly less pathy and definitely steeper than me and my knees remembered. No harm done I caught up with Cazza on the top where she proudly displayed the book she'd 'swagged' on the hill.

I headed up the steep section - top left

From here it was on to Bannerdale Crags - then doble back to the haus and round white horse bent. And then the long treck back along the riverside to Mungrisdale and a welcome cider in the local.

Distance - 10 miles
Ascent - 670m
Time - 4 hours

Wainwrights- 2,  3/214
Munros - 0

And the fb update

I could get used to this half-day thing :). Beetled across to the lakes at lunch time in order to continue the rehabilitation of He Of The New Knees and had a very pleasant 14km on the fells, spolit only by Bonner's statement that the Loch Ness Monster is a myth (he threw it in as a curve-ball when we were engaged in our ongoing 'invigorating' debate about whether dinosaurs actually existed or not, or whether - as Bonners insists - the fossil record is just a big joke and that paleontologists ought to get themselves proper jobs. It's an argument that has raged for the last 5 years and is unlikely to run out of fuel any time in the near future. NB: he believes in zombies). Anyway, the only possible response to such an offensive and outrageous statement was to douse him with water from my platypus (he probably doesn't believe in them either because they'll look weird) pack and ban him from ever setting foot in Scotland again.
Nessie not real!!! I mean, whoever heard of such a thing?! It's an absolute scandal. Of COURSE Nessie's real

Hill Hike #1 Blencathra - 868m

I chose Blencathra as it's accessible should urgent assistant be needed when my knees collapse. It's also really annoying for Caroline to have to join me on a hill she's hiked far too often for her liking. I played the poorly card quite hard

It was a bit too wet to be risking a slip on Sharp Edge today so the tourist route around the tarn was taken. A quick visit to the top to see the new Trig point - or rather trig flat as it is these days.

Then a fair old ramble back to Scales via a new route to me behind the back of the pub. Knees performed well - edit thighs hurt like hell for 3 days afterwards.

Distance - 5 mile

Ascent - 800m
Time 3 hours 20 mins

Wainwrights 1/214

Munro's  0/282

Back From the knee operation - new mountain DFS

This is a reference for all hills climbed while training for The Dufourspitz in July 2020

4634m - and a bit of a ridge, oh and a downclimb.