Bonny Scotland

Good morning folks

Here is the latest wrap-up of gubbins that is the blog that is my jumbled up life!
WARNING: The second half of this blog is a bit hillrunning heavy, if in doubt please just scroll down to the video at the end 🙂

It had been a bit of a quiet time since the last blog, ergo, no blogs.
I bashed in my ribs at Borrowdale, which although not a showstopper, was enough to put a BIG spanner in the works for the remainder of summer.
I couldn’t really do much at all for 2 weeks, then started training (pitifully lightly) but not enough to make a difference, so put all races on ice.

I did however get a late call up to the mighty P&B team for the Ian Hodgson Relays in Patterdale, a 4 leg-2 person relay, in which my old Morley mate Charlie and I ran the anchor leg from Hartsop over Hart Crag and St. Sunday Crag before plummetting down to Patterdale. Lack of fitness on my part, a very short distance (7 miles is the shortest fell race I have run in a long time) and a distinct lack of balls on my part (fortunately coupled with Charlie’s patience, as he was flying) left us mid-league at the end.
It was however AWESOME to catch up with some old faces and meet some new ones. Some people flit from club to club to club, but Charlie and I both agreed that we were both P&B forever 🙂

Tight lines.

Just one fishing trip for the bairn and I of late. A boat trip off Whitby. Spent a lot of time sailing around and not a lot of time fishing, but caught enough for tea for 2 nights 🙂

New wheels!

After watching summer turn into autumn, back to summer, to autumn and then fade into darkness…

A series of events of coincidence, fate or maybe just sheer magic led me to Kettering to buy a second hand eBay bargain Cyclocross bike for a knockdown price.

In the not-so-great Fire-sale of 2021, I got rid of all my bikes, and the only wheels I had nowadays are those on my commuting bike, which I am borrowing on loan, so the birthday money and ebay sales fund was just enough to cover it.

A possible return to the (very back of the) muddy CX grid potentially beckons.
Watch this space…

Carry on Camping!

Managed one last summer weekend trip away with the bairn. Just before the August Bank Holiday deluge.

Raiders round-up

As far as the men’s team goes, it was (as ever) a gradual nervous breakdown over the course of the season. After being in the promtion play-offs last year, 12 months on we had a desperate fight to survive the drop, and (as always) it went to the wire, to the last game, where Newcastle and Keighley went down and the poor old Flatcappers, Featherstone Rovers, were somehow denied promotion as Toulouse got it together to go up.
Barrow men finished 4th bottom and survived relegation, just.

MEANWHILE, in the Ladies team, it was a very different story.
An all-Cumbrian (Furness, Westmorland and Cumberland, but mainly Furness) side beat Leigh Leopards to get promoted to the Superleague!!!
Always in top form, wining the last 6 games on the bounce.

Onwards and upwards for both teams next season!

“Up the road….”

As a young lad growing up in Cumbria (was Westmorland and now is Westmorland once again, but we won’t go there), this tune is one that sticks in my mind forever (followed by “This is Border Television, broadcasting to Cumbria, South west Scotland, the Isle of Man and North and west Northumberland, from the Caldbeck, Selkirk and associated transmitters of the independent broadcasting authority“, but you had to be there!

Anyway, as a result of being brought up on news of sheep rustling in Dumfries, Moffat and Peebles, I feel (and maybe other Cumbrians also feel) some kind of affinity with our geographically close Caledonian neighbours.

I have travelled round the World a fair bit, but my favourite place on this whole planet is the Scottish Highlands, I would move there in a hearbeat.
I love Cumbria and the Lakeland fells, but the Scottish Munros (tops over 3000ft) are next level!

Round, round get around, I get around.

A “round” is a long distance fellrunning challenge. Not a race, not marked and a route which can be done anytime you fancy (although a winter round is a different proposition). The main objective of a round is to get round within 24 hours, even if it is 23:59:59

Bit of history. The Big 3.
The Bob Graham Round (England, Lake District)
First run in 1932 by Keswick Hotelier, Bob Graham, running in a pyjama top and sustained by boiled eggs. Traversing 42 fells, starting and finishing at Keswick Moot Hall taking in 66 miles (106 km) with 26,900 feet (8,200 m) of ascent. I did mine in 2009, it was an obsession, but it had to be, it was a grand day out!

The Paddy Buckley Round (Wales, Snowdonia)
Cooked up by Paddy Buckley, but first run by Wendy Dodds in 1983. A round of 47 summits, 61 miles (100km-ish) 28000ft (8534ft) of uphill, another stiff day out.

The Ramsay Round (Scotland, Western Highland)
The Tranter’s Round (devised by Phillip Tranter, a benefit of these rounds being that if you are the pioneer, you can name it after yourself) used to be the Scottish 24 hour challenge, taking in the Mamores, the Grey Corries, the Aonachs, Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis. At 37 miles (59km) with 17717ft (5400m) of climbing, it’s a bloody long day out.

THEN the formidable Charlie Ramsay extended this to 58 miles (93km) with 28500ft (7500m) of climbing, by adding on a group of additional munros around Loch Trieg, which has more ascent than climbing Mount Everest from sea level!

(More about this chap later on…)

All of which leads to the latest obsession.

A possible 2024 Ramsay Round attempt???

I mentioned the idea to my mate John, who is a top bloke to spend time in the hills with and an outstanding Youtuber.
He really knows his onions and also makes top class videos HERE.

https://www.youtube.com/@lakelandtrailrunner/about

The seed of an idea quickly sprouted into a plan, which quickly became reality.
“Let’s go and have a look at it”.

So we did!

A loose plan of driving up to Fort William on the Monday, staying overnight in the Youth Hostel (conveniently the start and finish of the route), 3 days/2 nights in the field, doss down in Youth Hostel then drive home. Simple.

Doing what is nowadays known as “Fastpacking” (carrying all your kit and moving as fast as possible, but realistically not as fast as you would if you weren’t carrying a 10kg brick on your back!)

In essence, moving as fast as possible in the hills whilst being self contained with only the basic essentials. Simplicity.

Or so it sounded, then I tried packing enough in my ancient, diddy 27 litre racesack and skimmed down everything

Bare bones kit included:
Tent-Sleeping bag-Sleeping mat-Stove-gas-Pan-Cup-Headtorch-spare clothes-first aid-enough food for 3 days on the hoof.

It was a squash and a squeeze, but in the end I had to scale everything right back to the lightiest/skimpiest I had, especially my sleeping bag and tent.
In its day the Rab “Top” bag was a revolutionary concept in its day for all weight-freaks, racing snakes and outright masochists. It would not be out of place at a Rocky Horror Show.

It weighs about the same as a bag of chips as it is basically half a sleeping bag. Its design means that you cannot move at all whilst sleeping as the mesh base lets any heat you may have in there, fly right out…

Coupled with a tiny tent that would make a good crisp packet, I wasn’t in for a cosy night, but sometimes needs must!

The round can be roughly split into 3 sections:
1) Glen Nevis YH over the Mamores to Loch Eilde Mor
2) Loch Eilde Mor round the tops of Loch Trieg to the Lairig Leagach.
3) Lairig Leagach over the Grey Corries, The Aonachs, CMD and Big Ben Nevis down to the YH.

This was just an exploratory recce, “having a look”, so the whole route was ambitious, especially with our loads and the time of year. A bit of a suck-it-and-see/play-it-by-ear approach.

So, after a great drive up in clear conditions, at 7am on Tuesday morning, after kipping in the red hot furnace that is the YH, we were ready for the off with the sun yet to rise (this is October we’re talking about and this is Scotland!)

Day I

Early doors-ish, heading up the Glen Nevis road in the half-light, looking for the secret fence crossing, which would lead us onto the forest track and then a kamikaze (abandoned) attempt to cut through the blown down forest beating a hasty retreat to the forest track, breaching the cloud inversion and up, up onto the ridge.

Heaven!

Munros as far as the eyes could see, including the mighty Ben Nevis uncapped with cloud, but capped with a dusting of snow. We started ticking off the unpronounceable Gaelic name summits.

Mullach Nan Coirean-Stob Ban (one of two)-Sgurr a Mhaim-Sgurr An Lubhair-Am Bodach-Stob Coire A Chairn-An Gearanach, including “The Devil’s Ridge!”

A gorgeous morning had given way to a brooding, grey and an increasingly gusty afternoon. The Mamores ridge includes 2 out-and-backs, the second of which we decided to drop off to find somewhere to camp, as time was ticking.

A noise that had been with us all day was the sound of rutting stags (what a great band name that would be!) We seemed to be in a valley surrounded by them, nature taking its course!

A Wayfayrer’s Veggie Curry disappeared down my gullet way too quickly and by 6:15pm, it was lights out/sundown for a l-o-n-g, cold (and generally sleepless) night, kept awake by the calls of randy deer!

Day II

Alarm set for 5:45am, which was ambitious and still absolutely pitch black but with the distinct possibility of rupturing my bladder, I got up and started the faff-a-thon which is breaking camp.

We hadn’t quite finished the Mamores, so therefore had to rethink our ideas.
The Loch Trieg loop would be ambitious tagged on to the last few Mamores, and indeed, when we finally got on the ridge, the wind had other ideas for us.

(In reality the full route over 3 days would have meant 3 superlong days if the conditions had been favourable. As we had cut our first day short, we had to rejig our plans).

Although we had been following the mountain forecast very closely up to our departure, we were unaware that Storm “Babet” was brewing…

After summiting Na Gruagaichean (glad I am typing that and not tripping over the pronunication) the winds beat us down to the lonely valley along Loch Eilde Mor, but the winds still not letting up nor easing down.

“She’s not goona let us out”

Another route reassessment led us to head for the Meanach bothy.
A “bothy” is a stone shelter, free to use and open to all, some more basic than others, but a good place to hide from foul weather. Meanach is a great two room bothy. After a brew, we headed north for the Lairig Leagach bothy, sacking off the Loch Trieg munros for another day. Even in the valley bottom, the swirling crosswinds and gusts made for an entertaining passage!

The only downside of a bothy is that you never know whether it will be full, (you can’t book and there is no way to check), so we plugged on, hoping there would be space as by now the wind was reaching crazy strength and there was little or no shelter to pitch our tents.

It was empty (other hillgoers must have seen the forecast) and we listened to the wind trying its utmost to rip the roof clean off all night, along with rutting stags (in between gusts).

In bed by 6:30pm for 10 hours in bed, but in reality a fitful few hours of shuteye before dawn, when at times the storm sounded to be dying down, but in fact it was merely building up!

Day III

The home straight, not!

The original plan had been to do the Grey Corries, The Aonachs and then Carn Mor Dearg arete, leading up to the high ground of Ben Nevis and down, down, down to the tropical climes of Glen Nevis Youth Hostel.

Heading up Stob Ban, the wind was howling in and also abruptly gusting.
Now, if wind is (unidirectionally and constantly) strong, you can kind of brace yourself and adjust how you move, but sudden gusts are real sucker punches.
The wind got wilder and wilder the higher we got, almost feeling like someone was angry with us for even being there!
About 50ft from the top, the wind was pinning us down, preventing upwards or downwards movement. The main danger was not getting to the top, but getting off the top. We faced a very exposed ridge, at least where we were, we were being pushed into the slope.
So, by sign language (for it was impossible to hear each other’s voices) we agreed to contour round to hopefully get out of the wind, which took time, but in actual fact was just as exposed. Pursuing the rest of the Grey Corries would have been suicide, so we decided to drop down.
As we contoured further round, the relentless wind pursued us.
I was about 10ft in front of John when I heard the rustle of his jacket.
I turned around and a monstrous gust caught me off guard, taking me off my feet and dumping me several feet away, very, very fortunately not on a big pile of Quartzite! I had got my stick handle wedged under my bottom rib and ripped my jacket, but apart from a painful attack of cramp in my calf, I was unscathed.
Definitely time to get down to lower levels.

(Not many photos taken during this time!)

We plotted a route to lose some height and try to get out of the wind, but it took time and even in the valley bottom, it was still blowing a proper hooly, thankfully a tailwind now though. We passed a young couple in full gear with BIG rucksacks heading up the valley, I wondered if their friendship would still be intact by the end of the day?!

Apart from the rutting calls of stags and ferocious gusts of wind, all was quiet in the pathless valley. A sheet of rain was racing up to meet us but with the wind behind us we made good progress hitting the path and then dribs and drabs of bedraggled daytrippers around Steall Falls and below. All downhill now, onto the road, past a group of shouting workmen wrestling with fallen trees, (the trees were winning) and eventually back to what would be the finish line on a round, Glen Nevis Youth Hostel.

I absolutely LOVE being out in the hills, in any weather, but it was good to get a warm shower, despite having to wipe a ton of Lochaber mud off the shower room floor (twice, after dropping my clown shoes on the way out too!)

Food for thought.
– There are less summits but much, much longer climbs on this round (than the BGR).
– Despite poring over maps for weeks and months, the (real life) scale still caught me out. Humbled is a word that sums it up, (as is spanked!)

I take my hat off to anyone who has had a crack at the Ramsay Round and as for a winter round, those folk are beyond Superhuman!

It was an awesome trip. It opened my eyes and upped my psyche levels 100pts+

There was a lot of talk about this chap whilst we were out on the hills, The Monarch of the Glen, Finlay Wild. 12 times Ben Nevis race winner and Ramsay Round record holder (along with a shedload of other records).
A man of inspiration!

Next step, a potential second exploratory recce in the spring?
The question of going supported or unsupported?
The logistics are complicated. It is a long way to Fort Bill.
The weather can change at the drop of a hat.
The racing calendar is pretty full throughout May and June. Prior to May is a risk as winter lingers on in the north. After June is midges galore season!
So, watch this space

And finally

Watch THIS video NOW 🙂