Dave Mycroft: Mountains and Hills

More of the same

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 18:32:39 GMT

Summer's here, and the light nights are coming!

A late decision today after doing all the usual housebound routines to head off to another memory lane. Looking back at Shuttlingsloe from Shining Tor yesterday reminded me of the walk up through Macclesfield Forest to the "Matterhorn of the Peak". Flash was up for it, so 15 minutes preparation saw us heading off. The ascent through the forest is another of those fitness testers, with an unrelenting climb to the forest edge. Not so long ago it was punctuated by rest stops, but today was non stop to the open moors. As if to celebrate the newly rediscovered joy of being alone in old shared haunts the weather was perfect, and for the first time Shuttlingsloe had neither snow nor cloud.

The ascent up the final stretch was the usual killer, especially with a pulling dog, but seemed to pass much quicker and soon we were on the top. First requirement was to look back to yesterdays route, across the moors between Wildboarclough and the Cat and Fiddle to Shining Tor in the distance. A quick drink and a few photos and it was back through the trees to to the car below.

I'm starting to appreciate more and more Paddy Dillon's love of solitude in the hills, and revel in what seems l;ike a freedom I denied myself when walking with that woman. As well as ticking off new routes I can see me revisiting many more familiar haunts this year - not just to dispell memories but to make new ones of that feeling of freedom when you have no one else to think about. There's no worrying about progress rates, of when and where to stop or even when to return. You're not so much alone in the hills as comfortable in nature.

Revisiting

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:53:47 GMT

Going back to old haunts is always strange, and today was a day of revisiting.

Shining Tor's not a paticularly attactive hill, it's only fleeting claim to fame being that it's the highest point in Cheshire - a county famous for its plain rather than any heights. It marks the boundary bewtween Cheshire and Derbyshire on the road from macclesfield to Buxton, and though the countryside has undoubted beauty it's not the sort of place most peope would stop to admire anything. For me though, it's always going to be a place of memeories. When the first snows of the winter fell it'd be the number one place for Heather and I to get out - and it reached the point where the only time we ever went there it snowed on us. It was also a measure of fitness in the darkest times of illness brought on by getting fibreglass in my lungs from stripping dirty loft insulation through my recovery. So today's decision to revisit was always going to stir memories.

I must have taken that walk up from the Cat and Fiddle road over a hundred times, and never once done it on my own before. Back in the 70's and 80's it was leading groups of kids as an outdoor instructor in Buxton, then it was always with Heather, so today was totally different. For a start it was different for me to be the one driving - before heather I didn't drive and when we were together she was always driving. Just through habit I made a note of the time on leaving the car as Flash and I headed off. It's odd how everything looks different without snow, even on a route you know well. In a strange way everything looks smaller - signposts look shorter and distances don't seem half as far. The walk to the top was full of memories, but also a strange satisfaction to be doing it alone and I was amazed on arriving at the trig point to discover a bench I'd never seen before. There's no doubt it as there before, but always buried in snow! Less than 20 minutes had passed since setting off and the changes from their usual winter coat made me look at specific spots with memories. A quick coffee at the summit, where no less than a dozen late teens were taking a temporary break with their leaders, was followed by another revelation. Instead of the old track taking straight lines up and down through small groughs there's now a stone pathway winding it's way along the edge to Pym Chair. How much easier this is than sinking knee deep in snow and peat - but somehow it looks so out of place. No doubt in time it'll fade into the environment, and I felt a little guilty that it's people like me who take this walk because it's accessible that make such "conservation" necessary.

A couple of table side patches of snow sheltered on the northern side of walls, but the signs of spring were all around as I headed up to Cats Tor where the stone causeway ended. Despite the 15 minute break at Shining Tor I was still well within my time predictions so sat down in our familiar resting spot to share a pasty with Flash. The return was unenventful and somehow the memories had also been dispelled and once again I was feeling that delight in solitude that I'd thought would never return. Shining Tor came and went, with another coffee more to prolong the time on the hill than through any need for rest or sustenance. Back at the car I was 20 minutes ahead of a schedule without breaks and hit by a puzzling question. Did walking together slow progress through additional enjoyment of the surroundings and company, or do I just walk quicker when alone? Whatever the answer it's another blast from the past well and truly dismissed and as each of these mental hurdles fall I not only get stronger inside but also rediscover the joys of being alone on the hills.

Via Ferrata and new opportunities

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 17:34:28 GMT

News that England's first via ferrata is due to open in May came as a nice surprise, and an opportunity. The route up Honister Crag in Buttermere looks like a great afternoon out, with 1000ft of ascent. The Press Trip, however looks even more interesting with the promise of a helicoipter trip over the mountain for photos. In good freelance style I immediately set about seeing who else may be interested and may now be covering it for either or both of Trail and TGO.

I couldn't resist the opporyunity of a wind up either - mentioning ficticious plans for the same company to follow up with a via ferrat up Clogwyn Y person Arete once the new Snowdon cafe's finished. Of course that would mean putting chains along Crib Y Ddysgl too and the obvious impact on people doing the Snowdon Horseshoe - just waiting to see who falls for the wind up now hehe.

Coming up

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 18:55:04 GMT

With the main planning for the TGO Challenge out of the way it's time to catch up on other plans for 2007. There's still training to do, and a lot of details to work out for covering the challenge with live blogs, GPS location, video and photographs - but it's slowly getting dealt with and other priorities are coming to the front.

Wainwrights 2007:

At the start of the year I decided it was time to bag the lot in a year, and the quest is off to a reasonable start. With Sergeant Man, High Raise, Thunacar Knott, Pavey Ark, Great Gable, Harrisson Stickle, Pike O' Stickle, Rossett Pike, Allen Crags, Great End Scafell Pike, Esk Pike, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Cold Pike, Pike O' Blisco, Brandreth, Green Gable, Grey Knotts, Pillar, Red Pike (Wasdale) Scoat Fell, Steeple and Yewbarrow done there's just 184 to go. With this weekend taken up with birthdays - Chris is 17 tomorrow and his great Grandad 80 the day after, there's no chance but the following weekend should see the Coniston fells and a few loose ends around Eskdale cleared up. The weekend after it's the Kentmere Horseshoe and the length of High Street on a TGO training weekend - carrying everything I plan to take to Scotland.

Work:

Friday sees the annual pilgrimage to the inappropriately named Outdoors Show - held indoors at the NEC. I was really hoping to escape it this year but with equipment to collect and peple to see there's no chance of that - thank God for the Press Room though as I couldn't stand it as an ordinary punter. Of course having managed to get Weird Darren on our Press Pass list I'm sure to have company in escaping the masses, along with encouragement to join the "names" of the UK outdoor blogging scene. The next technology column for TGO is well under way with field testing of the Memory Map and Satmap 10 PND devices, along with a new Magellan GPS and a GPS integrated Blackberry 8800. The OS of Ireland mapping software is due for a good testing at Easter with a return to County Kerry and the main MacGillycuddys Reeks.

The big step, workwise, is the forthcoming (yes still forthcoming!) major update to the Outdoors Magic routes section. Following hot on the heels of the new monthly multi day route I should soon be starting to populate the all new singing and dancing database. This promises real OS maps of the routes instead of the painstaking to draw ones. OM members will be able to submit their routes, and all routes will be available free for download to members, complete with detailed route cards and GPS data in every conceivable format. It's a lot of work, but someone has to earn the money ;-).

Smewhere over the summer I've still got to fit in the Wicklow Way, kayaking off the Western Isles and of course the follow up to the trip last year with Jake Meyer. Hopefully if things are still going to plan I'll be joining him on part of his quest to summit the highest point in every country in Europe in a record time. Add in Morrocco - a must do this year, and work in New Zealand for 3 weeks and the year's taking shape well already.

Restart

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:54:26 GMT

I guess I'd better start with a statement that the past is gone, and there's no point looking back. I've totally restarted this space, removing the painful year as I no longer need the reminders. It's time to look forward to a great year ahead, and many challenges.

The first big challenge is the TGO Challenge. A walk across Scotland from Mallaig to Stonehaven, unsupported and wild camping along the way. This annual challenge, sponsored by TGO magazine, has become a major event in the UK's outdoor calendar and is always oversubscribed. With just 300 spaces and an application list from around the world it's a highlight in anyone's outdoor life to get on. This is my first year of the challenge, and hopefully the first of many. The last few months have been a long process of planning the route down to the smallest detail with Darren (aka Weird Darren) a friend and Outdoors Magic member. From planning the route we moved on to the essentials of making the route possible in practical terms; pack weight, postal drops, transport to the start and back from the finish, maps, equipment and communications all have to be dealt with. Now it's early March there's just two months to go before the challenge begins, and the planning stage is effectively over. It's now down to getting in some serious fitness training and hill mil;es under my feet. Over the next 2 months I've got 4 weekends out there planned, with full gear testing and carrying the same equipment we'll be lugging across Scotland.