Fersit and the Forest

Having waved my dad off on the early train, I headed to Fersit, intending to climb Chno Dearg. As I set off from the car park, so did a minibus load of loud walkers, obviously with the same target in mind. Not wishing for such an intrusion on my planned solitude, I quickly changed my plan and decided to explore the lower paths, via Creag Dhubh and the Corrour Estate road.



My intention was to join the estate road by Strathossian and then head back into the forest, but a minor navigation error brought me out a couple of km north! I followed the road to where it joins the track back round to Fersit, and ignoring the FC notices telling me that logging was taking place and that I would die if I proceded without a hard hat, I continued on. On three separate occasions I was nearly trampled underfoot as deer decided to make a dash for it in front of me, but other than that I succeeded in getting my peace and quiet.

(Technical Data: distance = 18km, ascent = 300m)

The Pipeline

At the start of the 20th Century, a group of navvies built Blackwater dam and reservoir so that they could feed the aluminium smelter in Kinlochleven. The pipeline runs from the dam down into the village, a distance of around 7.5km and a 320m drop. They also built a pipeline linking Loch Eilde Mor to Blackwater reservoir, and it was the path by this pipeline that we walked along.



To spare my dad the initial slog, we parked at Mamore Lodge and followed the track up to Loch Eilde Mor, pausing regularly to marvel at the view back along Loch Leven. Once at Loch Eilde Mor, the track continues to Luibeilt, but we branched off, following the path round to the small dam at the Southern point of the loch.

Yesterday's rain was evident as we joined the path along the pipeline. There were a few patches where we had to detour to keep our feet dry, but generally it wasn't too bad. At the point where the pipeline started to swing back round to the East, we stopped for lunch, and then took the path steeply down towards the River Leven.

Upon arrival in Kinlochleven, I left my dad in the visitor centre and slogged back up to Mamore Lodge to fetch the car.

(Technical Data: distance = 13km, ascent = 490m)

Loch Ossian - Anticlockwise!

Having done this walk clockwise last time we decided to go the other way this time! The path to the South of the loch is a footpath, whereas to the North, it is the estate road.

Once again, the weather was perfect, and about 10 mins into the walk we bumped into one of my colleagues who was heading back after topping out Beinn na Lap! Despite the perfect weather, we only saw a handful of people all day - the perfect setting and peaceful. Thank goodness for wilderness without road access.

(Technical Data: distance = 14km, ascent = 150m)

Laraig Leacach

I'd arranged to meet up with my dad at Corrour, so left the car at Spean Bridge and set off through the Laraig Leacach. The first three miles were along a road, which was a bit of a trudge, despite being next to the river.

The turn off at Choirechoille was welcome, although this was still a well prepared track. It was obvious that it was used by logging vehicles, and much of the forest had been cleared. This was soon left behind, and the track entered into a narrow valley. Eventually I rounded a corner and saw the bothy. With the sun burning down, it was wonderful to sit in the cool bothy and have lunch. From notes in the visitors log, it appeared that others had enjoyed lunch there yesterday sheltering from the sun.


From the bothy to Loch Treig, the path followed the river. No longer a track, in places it was overvcome by peat bog, although in the dry weather this didn't pose too much of a problem. A delghtful short section through a gorge brought some welcome shade, followed by the forst sighting of the loch.

I passed by the boarded up Creaguaineach Lodge and joined the track round the loch head, and up towards Corrour. I opted for the direct route alongside the railway line, assuming correctly that the bog wouldn't be too bad. Like the bothy and Loch Treig earlier, the station house wasn't visible until I was very close. Having been out in the heat and sun all day, the cold shower I had on arrival was wonderful!!

(Technical Data: distance = 25km, ascent = 750m)

The Mamores

Saturday
I parked at Gray Mare's Tail carpark in Kinlochleven, and set off without too much of a definite plan. I knew that I wanted to camp high, and had my sights set on doing a couple of the Munros at the Eastern end of the Mamores. At the time it seemed like a good idea not to park at Mamore Lodge Hotel - although with hindsight it would have saved me an awkward descent.


The path out of the carpark rises steeply up to where it joins the landrover track to Luibeilt. Shortly after, the path around Sgurr Eilde Beag became visible and took me up to the lochan where I thought I may camp. Once I'd decided that doing the whole range in 2 days would be hard work, I homed in on a vague plan to do Sgurr Eilde Mor and Binnean Beag on Sat, and then Binnean Mor and Na Gruagaichean on Sunday. In my quest to keep the rucksack weight down, I'd conveniently decided against taking the guide book with me, and as I got to the lochan, I realised that none of the paths were obvious! The other "problem" was that the descent between the lochan and the path to Binnean Beag was far bigger that I'd expected.

I set off to climb Sgurr Eilde Mor, and was soon overtaken by a group who seemed to know the route (always helpful!). About 1/2 way up I decided to abandon the rucksack, and was able to continue at a far quicker pace. The path near the top was steep, and the loose rock made it hard going. Eventually I reached the summit to discover that the group that had overtaken me were celebrating one of their number having completed all 284 Munros!

The descent down the top section was een hairier than going up, but I managed to collect my rucksck and make it back down to the lochan where I set up camp.

Sunday
Having had a fitful night's sleep, I managed to lie in until 8.30. My plan was to follow a path (marked on the map) up to the ridge between Sgurr Eilde Beag and an unnamed top. Once on the ridge I would be able to see Binnean Mor and Na Gruagaichean and decide between these. Not having brought a daysack with me, I set off with my compass in my camera bag and my platypus in my hand. Talk about travelling light!

The path to the ridge was clear, until about 3/4 of the way up when it traversed a snow field. Crossing this was okay, but 50m below the ridge I met another one - except this time it was vertical! Having come this far, I wasn't going to turn around, so I found a couple of sharp roks that I could use to assist with handholds and started kicking steps into the snow. Once safely on the ridge, I decided that I need to find an alternative way down!

As I walked to the unnamed top, I could see the path clearly on both ridges. I opted for Binnean Mor and soon reached the summot. I got chatting to a local who helped me out by describing a better route for my descent back to camp.

I headed back to the unnamed top and took the other ridge to Na Gruagaichean. This ridge was rockier than the previous one, but still had an obvious path. All the while, on both ridges, I had a great view of a cloud free Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg Arete in one direction, and Bidneam Nam Bian and Glencoe in the other.


The descent back to camp meant retracing my route back to the unnamed top (again!) and then along the ridge to Sgurr Eilde Beag, with the red cairn marking the path down.

I'd packed up everything bar the tent in the morning, so it didn't take too long to strike camp and begin the long trek down. By this time both my feet were aching and it was tempting to stay another night, but I resisted the urge.

I descended to Loch Eilde Mor by a different path to the one i'd walked up. This way meant a long walk along the lochside track. The steep descent into Kinlochleven was a killer - next time I definitely park at Mamore Lodge!

(Technical Data: distance = 24km, ascent = 1850m)

Flask Edge/Brown Edge

It's not been a great day weatherwise, but I still fancied a bit of a walk. I had intended to go a little further than I managed, but I guess anything is better than nothing!

Like White Edge, this is an area that I've not done much, so I just had a short wander across the moor, via the trig point. If the day had been better, there would hae been good views across Sheffield, but today wasn't showing much!

Burbage Moor

Unlike White Edge, Burbage Moor is one of the places I visit almost on a weekly basis. But there was one part that I'd never been to - the trig point.

I'd been busy earlier on, but late afternoon I decided that I needed to escape, so headed up to Burbage and found the trig. It's not that far from the bridleway I often use, but just enough out of the way not to be obvious. Having righted that omission, I headed back to the bridleway, and did my usual round walk along Burbage Edge and then back along the road. As I headed back to my car, wearing a T-shirt, I saw this amusing sign below!



(Technical Data: distance = 7km, ascent = 100m)

White Edge

There are certain areas of the Peak District that I know like the back of my hand, yet other nearby, popular places that I rarely venture to. White Edge is among the latter. Having had an early finish from work, I headed out in that direction. Despite the good weather, there were only a handful of people around, and most of them were running.

I walked South along the edge, before deciding to head across country towards the disused Barbrook reservoir. As I dropped down off the edge, I realised that the ground wasn't as dry as i'd anticipated, and was much tougher terrain to walk across. Being the wuss that I am, I only walked about 2km before I headed back across to the comfort of the edge and heading back to the car.

(Technical Data: distance = 8.25km, ascent = 150m)

Kinder

As we usually do, we go to Upper Booth for one of the practice weekends. The campsite there is great, and there is easy access onto Kinder Scout. Like last weekend, this one wasn't without it's dramas - several students missed the train. They waited for the next one, which then broke down!

This year, we decided to introduce some training on the practices, so instead of the groups walking a long way, we tested their navigation and 1st aid skills. And, surprisingly, they were all brilliant! Maybe there is hope after all :)

Bleaklow

It's that time of year again....I'm out supervising D of E groups on practice expeditions. This weekend the groups were up on Kinder/Bleaklow, and the first group I went to see were walking across Bleaklow from Alport Castles. They were late, but turned up okay (one lad was missing the sole of a shoe, and another lost his sleeping bag!). The second group, that I shouldn't have had anything to do with, phoned up to say that they had a medical issue, and the third group where nowhere to be found! They did eventually turn up, having had a really tough day. It was cold, very cold.

Today was better - two groups made it to the end okay. The other one had more medical issues, but finally got to the bus stop just in time! And to think, this is supposed to be fun!

Zell am See......again!

I'm getting to know Zell quite well now!

You never know quite what snow conditions are going to be like later on in the season, but we couldn't have asked for better. It just kept snowing! I'd originally gone for a week, but decided that I couldn't go home and leave snow like that, so I booked myself into a B&B, sorted out a flight, and stayed an extra 5 days.

The best thing about skiing at this time of year, is that the clocks have changed, giving you some light into the evening. I'd always fancied walking round the lake, so gave it a go one evening - it took about 3 hours, but that was at a fairly leisurely pace.

I'd skied in Zell a number of times, but never skied Kaprun Maiskogel, so I made that one of my aims. I think I was the only person out skiing, as I can't recall seeing more than 3 other people all day. A nice little area that I hope to get to return to at some point.

MSB - take 2

It's definitely a year for old favourites. I've had a trip to Zell am See, and now another week in Wengen.

You know the weather hasn't been great, when you return home after a week having taken no photos at all (the one above is from two years ago!), and for the first time ever, I had a day when I didn't ski.

Wind stopped play, so we decided to go for a walk instead. Knowing the area well has its advantages, so we walked down to Lauterbrunnen then along the valley to Stechelberg for a very nice lunch.

The rest of the week saw good skiing, but no sun!

Zell am See

Once again, I found myself in Zell repping for a ski trip. This time I had 2 schools, which was a new concept for me, and had the potential to be a nightmare. AS it turned out they were both great. One of them was a secondary school from the Lakes, and the other a prep school from the Cotswolds. It served as a good reminder to me why I usually work with teenagers!

The resort is always busy at 1/2 term, but as is often the case, it's possible to avoid the crowds. Snow conditions weren't bad, and all in all, it was a good week :)

Night Nav

The D of E Peak Panel have organised a night navgation exercise for a few years, but this was the first time I'd been along. Tony & I decided that we could both do with the practice, so ignoring the snow, we turned up to Surprise View to get our instructions. There was a chap from Leicester who was on his own, so we teamed up with him and set off in search of CDs with letters on.

As there were a number of teams out there, we held off as long as possible before resorting to the use of headtorches. The area is one that we both know well, but in the dark it wasn't easy to locate the markers. Despite the conditions, we felt we fared well enough - only missing out on a few markers due to time constraints.

Had we known how good it was, we'd have taken more of our team along....so watch out for next year!

The Lakes

Every so often Travelodge have a sale on, and in the last one I managed to bag a room in Penrith for £19. Susan came up to join me, and we headed off to do Cat Bells. All day it threatened to rain, but the cloud stayed high and we had some good views.

The path up Cat Bells is straightforward, and it was a popular route for a January weekend. We had our lunches at the top before returning to our cars via the shore of Derwent Water.



Sunday wasn't the best day for heading high, so we pootled. A visit to Aira Force, a stop off at Glenridding and a drive down to Haweswater were on the agenda, before heading back home.

Scotland the White

I love Scotland, and have always fancied a winter visit, so when I heard that a few others were heading North for the weekend, it seemed rude to say no!

We drove up on Friday evening, staying at the Ballachulish Hotel. The sunrise was stunning, but there was no time to hang around as we dashed to Aanoch Mor and the Nevis Range ski area.


The views were breathtaking, looking right the way across to the Skye Cuillins. The skiing wasn't bad either! It was a bit of a culture shock actually queueing for a lift, rather than engaging in a scrum.


It was also the first time that I had seen the summit of Ben Nevis, so close up and so clear. I could make out more detail than when I had climbed it!

The decision had been to ski at Cairngorm on Sunday, so we headed over that way to sleep. The following day couldn't have been more different to Saturday - blizzards, no visiblity and generally grotty conditions. At one point I was being blown backwards up the hill! At about 2pm they took the decision to evacuate the mountain. I don't think I've ever been so wet skiing. It was still a fun day, and gave amazing bragging rights this morning in the office!

Margery Hill

I'm told that Margery Hill is the highest point within the City of Sheffield.


I left the car at Kings Tree and walked via Slippery Stones up to Howden Edge. There were quite a few people around, mostly running or biking. Once up on the edge, I toyed with the idea of heading along Outer Edge, but decided that would take too long. As it was, I thought it may be going dark before I got back.

I followed Howden Edge, past the trig point of Margery Hill and then down past Nether Hey to by Howden Dam. The path from there seems to go on forever, as you can see Kings Tree on the other side, but have to go a long way round.

(Technical Data: distance = 14km, ascent = 500m)

Magpie Mine

Having looked at the weather, I decided that today was not a day for walking. With that in mind, I decided to go out to Magpie Mine near Sheldon. The old mine workings looked quite dramatic in the mist.

Alport Castles

Having had a frustrating few months with my knee, aggravating it every time I've been out, I'm hoping to get a few walks in over Christmas/New Year. I need to be careful as we're starting to get near to the ski season!


Having left the car at Bridge End, I took the steep path up on to the ridge, and then on upwards to Alport Castles. From there, there is a path down Ditch Clough to Howden Reservoir. Despite it being the holidays, there weren't too many people around. Even Fairholmes wasn't too busy - and the cafe was open :)

(Technical Data: distance = 14.5km, ascent = 425m)

The Old Man of Coniston

Drove up to the Lakes for the day with the intention of doing a circuit of the Old Man. The weather was dry, but a bit windy and there was low cloud. We walked up from Coniston, and it wasn't too bad up to Low Water. After that, the wind picked up and by the time we got to the top, it was blowing hard.

The original plan had been to descend via Goat's Water, but as we dropped down that side, the wind was blowing us off the hillside. After a few minutes, common sense prevailed and we headed back up, to descend the way we came.

(Technical Data: distance = 10.5km, ascent = 1000m)