Ill Concieved Plans Poorly executed

EGCC Newsletter Thirty Six

A Second Chance

What in inauspicious start! First Steve wrote off the car that we were going to the Alps in and then starter motor failure at the Dover ferry terminal effectively took out the back-up vehicle. With Leysin now out of the question, Mark and I decided on a back-up strategy of hiring a car and travelling north. Dubious weather reports didn't help, but eventually we decided to head for the Lake District and take our chances there. The odd snow-flake greeted us on arrival in Langdale, but by morning 4" of fresh snow blanketed the whole valley. Cutting a virgin trail we climbed up to Stickle Tarn behind the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel and looked hopefully at Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark. Not expecting any real climbing today we had not brought a rope and harnesses, but if conditions were right then a solo ascent was still on. With the start not looking too bad we cramponed up and began stripping off the loose snow to look for holds. Soon we were high on the face and enjoying the exposure that this summer scramble provides. There was not a lot of ice in evidence, but good axe placements could be excavated with a little digging and the climb was exhilarating to say the least. The crux move at around mid height was particularly exciting - requiring a committing bridge on a torqued axe head in an exposed position. More entertaining Grade I/II climbing eventually brought us to the summit of Pavey Ark, some 450m above the start of the rake proper. With this bonus under our belts we traversed over towards Harrison Stickle and descended to the valley via Thunacar Knott.

With temperatures plummeting to –11o C we planned to climb the classic 200m Grade III South-East Gully on Great End the following day. Following what was now a well-worn track we trudged up Grains Ghyll along with many others and arrived at the foot of the climb a little after mid day. Fortunately only one other party was on the route, and they were some way above, so we quickly geared up and set off. The first pitch was fairly straightforward – traditional frozen turf stuff with warthog runners, but it was not long before we met patches of ice and more typical climbing conditions for this crag. Mark had the honour of placing the first ice screws of the season and soon we were turning the chock stone at around 60m. With time pressing on there was some doubt about whether we would complete the route before nightfall (4.00 p.m. at this time of year!), but continuing up was the only logical option. After taking the right fork Mark met the interesting crux ice pitch, which in the prevailing conditions necessitated making a sharp left hand turn on steep ice. Once over this there was little further difficulty until we met the steep iced-up chimney. With Mark again in the lead we had some excitement here as skidding crampons shock loaded his axes leading to a flurry of oaths and an inelegant slide back to the belay. Undeterred he succeeded on the second attempt and we eventually made the gully top a few minutes before dusk. Moving rapidly now we made it to the plateau just before nightfall, but it was still well after 7.00 p.m. before we got back to the car.

With continuing low temperatures we decided to climb Great Gully (105m, Grade III) on Pavey Ark the next day, but the race to be first on the route and a slight miscalculation meant that we actually climbed another classic, Little Gully Left Branch (110m, Grade III), instead. With Mark starting the gully I was left the crux pitch, which fortunately was just about in condition. The ice proper began just after the start of the branch, but bomber rock placements made the airy traverse across less than ideal ice rather less committing than it would otherwise have been. A convenient spike runner and a couple of solid ice screw placements protected the first steep ice pitch and a rock placement nicely protected the upper section before another bomber belay stance signalled the end of the climb. Fortunately the two lads who arrived just as we were about to start the climb slowed down a lot once they roped up so we were left to shower them with loose ice, rather than the other way around. Moreover, we were the first to climb this classic gully following the recent snow fall. Indeed, despite the number of people in the Lakes few were actually climbing and we managed three days in excellent winter conditions. Not too bad considering that this was our consolation trip after missing the Alps!

Derek 1st January 2001

KIMM AGAIN

As has now become our practice, the last weekend in October saw me and Derek heading for the KIMM (Karrimor International Mountain Marathon). Regular readers will have followed our exploits over the previous 2 years as we struggled to obtain a Certificate (awarded to finishers above a certain score). Despite finishing in both previous attempts we had not quite attained the grade. This year it was to be different..…

The KIMM is an annual mountain marathon. Teams of 2 are required to be self-sufficient (carrying tent, sleeping bag, stove, etc.) and complete a course against the clock in a mountainous area. The 2000 KIMM was in the remotest corner of the SW Lakes. Our previous events were in the Howgills, and Cowal (in Argyll). We entered the short score, one of the KIMM courses where only the start and end controls are defined, the route between chosen by each team to visit intermediate controls to maximise the points obtained, each control having a value dependent on its location.

For a start, we had prepared more than ever. In early September we had met (by chance) a KIMM Guru who gave us all sorts of useful tips:

Train for the event, i.e. run for 5 hours or so over rough terrain. 50 minutes down the gym isn't specific enough to the event
To optimize the choice of route, carry a string marked for how far you can run in the allotted time. Use the string to compare route options
Remember the influence the weather has on the route, e.g. if low cloud, avoid the tops. If recently very wet, avoid any marsh areas on the map, etc.
Pare down the equipment and kit to the minimum
Eat something every hour
We had also both invested in lightweight gear so our packs were much lighter than previously.

The cloud was low and the rain started as we were handed our map at the start control. First problem, the string didn't reach from the start to the finish control - we would have to be going very fast just to avoid time penalties. We quickly settled on the most direct route possible. At the start there was also an announcement about a control change, but as not on our route we took no notice. The navigation to our chosen early controls was quite tricky with the low cloud and we dropped a bit behind schedule. The major part of our route was following a wall up the side of a moor, a route chosen by many other teams. We seemed to be making better progress than many but the rain wasn't relenting and progress was always slower than our string target. Eventually we emerged from the moor, with just a (quick) downhill dash to the final control. Our spirits rose. But, the dash was a bit longer than we expected and had a cruel twist. About 1 km from the final control we had to cross a river using stepping stones, unfortunately with all the rain these were about a foot under water (remember the changed control not relevant to us?!!). We had to go an extra 3 km to the nearest bridge. We were very despondent when we finally made the control and realised we had scored –29 points for our efforts. The target for certification was 250 over the 2 day event.

Pitching the tent and getting out of wet clothes, together with Derek's clam chowder, raised spirits a bit and any thoughts of not starting the second day were dismissed. Studying the leader board suggested we were doing rather well (in relative terms).

Day 2 was much brighter and again a direct route was chosen. The first half of the day offered many route possibilities but the second half was a long snake of weary competitors. We scored reasonably well in the first half and kept up momentum in the second. Eventually we finished.

The published results showed us finishing 60th out of 131 finishers (and 229 starters). A Certificate was awarded to only 42 teams but for a lowered target of 100 points, not 250. Our final score was 44. Even better, on the handicap system Derek's extreme age gave us bonus points to arrive 22nd.

So what do we do now? We trained pretty hard and still failed, but perhaps were slightly unlucky with the weather. Do we give it one more shot or do we give up on KIMM as a bad job? If we do enter, should we try a different category – studying the results suggests a certificate appears easier to obtain as you go from short score to medium to long.

Watch this space!

Sandy December 2000