Lake District 3000s
With such a busy few weeks there's been a lack of 'blogging' on my part. Our B&B has been full most nights and I've been out working in the mountains most days, which we're super happy about.
The weather has been kind too, with lots of dry and sunny days. Happy about that too 🙂
At the weekend I was joined by Debbie and Sally who wanted to complete the Lakes 3000's challenge. There are 4 summits over the magic 3000ft contour here in the Lake District: Scafell Pike; Scafell; Skiddaw; and Helvellyn.
Split over 2 days, this is a manageable challenge for most fit walkers, but it isn't easy!
We set off early on Saturday morning as rain was predicted for later that day. We zoomed up Scafell Pike so fast I could hardly believe it. Making our way over to Scafell I wondered if the pace would slow, but oh no, the pace was always brisk and efficient, pretty perfect really. Fun was had in Foxes Rake as this involves some mild scrambling which was new for Debbie and Sally. They took to it well.
A few splashes of rain were felt around the summit of Scafell, but still the views were outstanding. Looking back to the hordes on Scafell Pike is always a bit smug too. We flew back down to Wasdale giving us a super quick time of 4 hours 21 minutes total for the day. And we even had plenty of time for photos, looking at flowers, taking in the views, and chatting.
Sunday brought along some rather more typical Lakeland weather! As we made our way up Skiddaw in lashing rain and gail force winds I'm sure we all pondered why we were here!!! But the satisfaction upon reaching the summit soon cleared that one up. The wind was so strong at the top we had to link arms to keep upright.
It was decided that a cafe stop was in order before we tackled Helvellyn, so we stopped at the fab 'Lodge in the Vale' cafe and B&B. This allowed us all to recharge and dry out, a little.
Setting off up Helvellyn the rain soon stopped and the clouds began to part, wow. With views opening up ever more and even occasional sun, this was proving to be the perfect conditions for our final summit. More gale force winds on the summit saw us loose a pair of gloves, but the feeling of that wind in the hair is breathtaking, love it!
By now we were all feeling pretty tired, but still a rapid time of 4 hours 47 minutes total for todays mountains is pretty impressive.
The wind had given us all a blow-dry during the descent, so we even returned to Ambleside in a fairly decent state considering what Skiddaw had thrown at us.
A brilliant weekend in the mountains with two lovely people. Big thanks to Debbie & Sally.
If looking for Guided walking or a Challenge Event here in the Lake District or in the Yorkshire Dales please check out these pages on our website.
Mark
