Blog Posts in Category: Mountaineering

Kentmere Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

After a relaxed morning in Ambleside we headed out for a late walk to make the most of the improved weather in the evening. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as nice as forecast, but it was still a lovely evening and a great walk. Based on our time the day before, we set off at 4:30 which we thought would get us back just as it was getting dark. We made really good time and were back in 5h30mins just after sunset, which was a nice surprise. As we set off from the cars it was very humid and we were not feeling that motivated by the late start, but thankfully as we climbed up to the first top our motivation increased, and the breeze made it feel less humid. The views were brilliant for the entire walk, which was much more undulating than the previous day. We met a few other people out, who were mostly out for an evening wild camping. It looked like a nice way to spend the evening with the excellent forecast. It was great to see a different perspective of some of the mountains. Read the full article…

Fairfield Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

We decided to make the most of being able to walk from our cottage in Ambleside and headed out to do the Fairfield horseshoe. The weather when we set off was fairly marginal, but thankfully other than a few spots of rain we stayed dry. We decided to do the route clockwise, which meant a flat walk along the valley to Rydal at the start with before the steep ascent up to Nab Scar and onto Heron Pike. After Nab Scar the views were brilliant all day, with excellent views in every direction. There was even a surprising amount of sun. We made good time to the summit of Fairfield, where we enjoyed a quick lunch before descending. The descent was very warm as we were protected from the wind by a beautiful dry stone wall which snaked it’s way all the way down the ridge. After an enjoyable day out, and in a respectable time of 5hrs10mins we were back at the cottage in time to enjoy some champagne before heading out to dinner.

Troutdale Pinnacle

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing Short Link

After driving up from Bristol in the morning we were after a short day climbing in Borrowdale. Our initial plan having not climbed outside since the Dolomites last year was to head to Shepherd’s Crag, however despite it being a Thursday every car park was very full so after driving between them all multiple times we bailed to another plan. We parked in the large car park near Quayfoot Buttress and then made an unusual approach to Black Crag to climb Troutdale Pinnacle. I last climbed Troutdale Pinnacle six years ago while training for the alps, it was soaking wet and we moved together. This time the weather was much more favourable, and my climbing was much less current, however it was a much more enjoyable route this time. We were hoping that starting late in the middle of the week that we would be the only people at the crag, however as we arrived there were two other teams there, one of which was setting off up Troutdale Pinnacle. We decided to queue anyway, and had a chilled out climb enjoying the sun at the belays. The climbing was. Read the full article…

Malvern End to End

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Walking Short Link

For years as we have driven up the M5 we have commented that we should visit the Malvern Hills, however never quite got around to it. As we still have to stay fairly local, cannot go to the mountains and cannot stay away we decided this would be an ideal time to explore the Malvern Hills. So that we could have a big day out, and not just walk out and then back we decided to do the full traverse of the Malvern Hills, stating at Chase End Hill in the south and finishing at End Hill in the north. This provided a walk of about 16km with 750m of ascent. After parking the van at the north end of the ridge we headed down to the south and started walking shortly after 5. This meant that if we made good time we should just about be on North Hill by sunset. The start of the walk was very quiet, on small paths with lovely views. It was also very hot! We had occasional views of the bigger hills in the distance on the first half, and they looked a. Read the full article…

Quantock Hills Sunset

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Walking Short Link

With the easing of the lockdown restrictions we headed down to the Quantock Hills for an evening walk. We chose the evening as we thought it would be quieter, and also to coincide with sunset. During the walk we saw about 10 other people, so we definitely made the right decision to wait until the evening. It was great to be out in the hills on a beautiful summer evening with a lovely sunset, even if they were only hills and not mountains.

Hidden Chimney

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Climbing Short Link

It has been a few years since we winter climbed in Scotland, mostly due to injuries and conditions. This year we decided we wanted to get back into it, but unfortunately conditions were making it difficult. The option with the safest approach seems to be the Mess of Pottage at Coire an t-Sneachda in the Cairngorms. We decided to climb hidden chimney again as a suitable re-introduction to Scottish winter, unfortunately so did a large number of other people. The walk in was surprisingly easy given how much snow was on the ground, and by the time we had arrived in the coire the cloud had lifted and showed us an excellent view of the crag, and the army of climbers in front of us. Thankfully not many teams had already approached Hidden Chimney. We started the route behind out friends James and Jon and had a very enjoyable climb. It wasn’t too cold and the conditions on the climb were excellent, and very different to last time we climbed the route. There was some very poor crag etiquette going on with a team climbing over us and the team. Read the full article…

Geal-charn Mor

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Walking Short Link

With the weather looking significantly better in the east we chose to do another Corbett to make the most of any of the better weather. The start of the walk took us up the Burma road, which was fairly snowy from a low level. Despite the snow we were able to make good progress and enjoy the brilliant views back towards the Cairngorms. As the snow became deeper we all put on our snow shoes, which made the path easier, but I don’t think they made a significant difference. As we left the path to head up to the summit the poor weather came in, so the compass came back out. The show shoes also started to provide a significant benefit and we were certainly grateful for them. The descent was lovely and it was really great to see the Cairngorms from afar and from up high. It was really impressive seeing the vast expanse and how easy it was to identify a number of the major features of the range.

The Fara

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Walking Short Link

The weather forecast for the first day of our trip wasn’t brilliant, so we elected for a short day on a local Corbett called The Fara. The walk in along Loch Ericht in the morning was beautiful in the sunshine, the estate gatehouse was very impressive. After a relatively short distance we were at the start of the steep ascent up a clearing between different plantations. The start of the ascent was brutal as it involved a very steep ascent with very deep snow. As we got to the top of the plantations the gradient eased off, and the poor weather started to come in. Becky was able to make good use of her new snow shoes which made the going much easier for her. As we ascended the weather deteriorated and we were soon in the white room and unable to tell what was up from down. As we were approaching the summit we had to make a detour to avoid a slope which was fairly loaded with wind slab. After some quick lunch at the summit we made a hasty descent back down. It was fairly easy going. Read the full article…