Sunday 19th April, Raven Crag and Shepherds Crag

I was back out on the hills again today with Jo for an introduction into rock climbing. Some wonderful sunshine and almost no wind continued to be in the Lakes today as we set off for our first climb of the day. We choose the classic route of Corvus in the Borrowdale valley for Jo's introduction to multi-pitch climbing. The route has a long walk in but has a nice mountain top finish high on Glaramara.



The route was in good condition with the rock being dry and warm. We made good progress working our way up to the classic pitch which route involves a "hand traverse" along the line of a horizontal crack in the rocks and this provided an opportunity for some good pictures as Jo made her way across to the belay. After topping out on this route we enjoyed lunch and some stunning views down the Borrowdale valley.




We then set off for Shepherds Crag further down the valley to climb some shorter routes on Brown Slabs. Jo seemed to enjoy this crag and quickly climbed the two routes we had chosen. The rock was catching the afternoon sun and we enjoyed climbing in the warmth with views over Derwentwater.

Saturday 18th April, Night Navigation

It was a lovely cold but clear night and I went out with Jo to improve her night navigation skills on the hills above Kendal. We set off just before dark to allow Jo the chance to practice her pacing and navigating accurately before it was completely dark. We stayed on the hills till late doing fine navigation techniques. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to show but it was an amazing night for stars. We got back to town just in time for last orders.

Saturday 18th April, Pillar and Great Gable

I decided to go for a walk over to the far western fells today. Conditions were good with clear blue skies, little wind and good visibility. My starting point was the Youth Hostel near the old mines at Honnister. From there I headed out over Moses trod towards the remote Black Sail YH in Ennerdale valley. It was very quiet in Ennerdale and after a short break by the river A long pull back up took me to Black Sail Pass. My route then headed toward Pillar but via the climbers high route to Robinsons Cairn. The views over to Pillar Rock were very clear and I made my way up the ramp to the balcony overlooking Pillar Rock to watch some climbers. Another steep pull up the ridge soon put me on the summit of Pillar with views over to Scotland.

From here I headed back toward Black Sail Pass before starting the rocky ascent up onto Kirk Fell. A short walk from here and I was at the foot of Great Gable and another rough rocky ascent. The route from here back to Honister invovled picking off a few more tops in Green Gable, Brandeth and Grey Knotts before dropping down to the old mines at Honnister YH.

A nice little walk, a good warm up for tonights navigation session with Jo.

Sunday 12th April, Night Walking Orrest Head

It was a lovely evening and I decided to take a short walk up onto Orrest Head, above Windermere, to watch the sunset over Crinkle Crags. I arrived about 15mins before the sun went down behind the hills and stayed on the top for over an hour watching the wonderful display of colours over the lakeland fells.

Sunday 12th April, Ullswater

Today I am in Ullswater with Myra on a walk round part of the Lake. Our route started at Patterdale and we followed the path round the lake and under Place Fell towards Howtown. Conditions were perfect again and we enjoyed a pleasant walk with some stunning views across the lake towards the Helvellyn Massif. Our plan had been to get the steamer from Howtown back to Glenridding but unfortunately we both "forgot" to bring money with us so had a slightly longer walk than was originally planned.

Saturday 11th April, Winter Skills and Striding Edge

Today I am working with Marta who is on holiday in the Lakes for Easter, we set off from Glenridding in perfect conditions with clear blue skies and no wind. Our plan was to climb up onto Raise in search of some snow patches to practice winter skills in preparation for Marta's trip to the Alps during the summer. Fortunately we found a number of large patches of snow and were able to cover the basic winter skills.

We stopped on the summit of Raise for lunch and were able to enjoy views over the Solway Firth and into Scotland. From here we went over White Side before ascending Helvellyn Little Man to the summit cairn of Helvellyn. The remaining snow on the Red Tarn side of Helvellyn was still in good condition so we walked down to the lowest point and climbed back up on the summit ridge to get some more snow skills pratice for Marta.

Helvellyn was extremely busy with and we decided not to stay for long on the summit and to cross over Striding Edge to get back down to Glenridding. This is a nice Grade 1 scramble and is good fun and it was also useful training for the alpine ascents Marta has planned.

After we finished the ridge we enjoyed a pleasant walk down off the hills in the evening sunshine.

Sunday 5th April, Cairngorm Plateau

Today I am in the Cairngorms enjoying the spring snow and sunshine, unfortunately I forgot the camera today so no pictures. The coire floor is now clear of snow but the gully lines looked in good condition with very few folks about today. Up on the plateau there is still good snow and ice cover all the way across to Ben MacDui. Large drifts of snow still exist in some area and around Ciste Mhearad I was able to measure over 2 metres into the snow bank with my avalanche probe a few snow holes were in existence but most from my previous visit had been covered over by the large drifts of snow.

Despite the good conditions I saw relatively few people all day.