Two Falls and a Submission

A wrestling analogy seems appropriate to describe how many of us have battled our way through 2016 - but for us "two falls and a submission" is particularly apt.  As a kid I remember watching Dickie Davies on World of Sport on Saturday afternoons at my grandparents, with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks going several rounds with each other. They'd take it in turns to leap off the ropes in what I am sure were carefully choreographed manoevers, to pin each other to the floor -banging out the count with their hands.  2016 has been a lot like, but without all the rehearsals and giant spandex wrestling suits.

The two falls were mine - in May I knocked myself senseless when I tripped running through Bowness for a ferry.  The docs told me it would take 12 - 18 months to recover, but I persevered and was making good progress, so celebrated by hurling myself off a footpath along the Eden Valley in October - a smaller concussion this time, but with 3 staples added to the mix.

Steve, on the other hand, is resisting being beaten into submission by a persistent, but as yet un-diagnosed, knee condition, which has resulted in him being on crutches since late August.  Not that this has stopped him completing all the photography for two books, planning the pics for a third and hiking up Loughrigg on a frozen November morning.  Or break-dancing on Grange prom...

You may think that grounding the two people behind a hiking a travel blog would slow things down somewhat, but it's going to take more than that to stop us - plus we still managed to do a whole bunch of cool stuff in 2016.  We've both chosen out top 5 stand out moments of the year to revisit and inspire us to keep battling on - you know, just in case 2017 is getting any ideas or anything...

Beth's Top 5 for 2016

1.  High Cup Nick

We'd been meaning to do this walk for a couple of years but I finally got around to it in September and it easily went straight into my top 10 fabulous walks list.  Mainly because it's a cracking hike, but also because my background is in geology and the rocks are superb.  Of course it didn't hurt that I also discovered some of the finest sloes in Cumbria on the walk which  were swiftly turned into several litres of sloe gin to keep us warm during the long cold winter months.  Where is this amazing crop?  It's...erm...well...it's...sorry - could you repeat the question?

2.  Cream tea on Harter Fell

We had SUCH a lot of fun with this one!  I absolutely love Harter Fell and the views along Haweswater so the idea of having a full cream tea on the top of a fell really appealed.  It's not something I'd try on a trickier fell in unpredictable weather but it was a perfect spring day and we had a ball.  We got a few odd/ envious looks, but I wasn't sharing my clotted cream with anyone!

3.  Craigievar Castle

This was love at first sight. No - this was love before first sight.  I'd seen the photos in the National Trust for Scotland booklet and knew I had to see it for real.  It's not easy to get to, even if you happen to be lurking around the Aberdeen area, but it's well worth the effort.  The only access to the inside is by guided tour, but this was utterly fascinating and the views of the castle, and from the castle, were absolutely breathtaking.

4.  Cheltenham Literary Festival

I'm addicted to both the outdoors and reading so a book festival with an outdoors theme was always going to be a winner.  I saw some great speakers but none of them more "outdoors" than Major Tom himself, Commander Chris Hadfield.  The way he speaks about seeing the planet from space and the need to care for it is truly inspirational and I was absolutely honoured to have the chance to meet him afterwards.  He also inspired my favourite blog of the year, all about why we need to send poets into space...

5.  Bum Cloud over Walney Island

Yes it's silly, but memories should make you smile - and this photo always does that.  We spent the first 6 months of the year producing a series of walks for Cumbria Wildlife Trust and, on this particular day, had had a wonderful time exploring Walney Island.  This photo was taken towards the end of the day when a giant bum shaped cloud appeared perfectly reflected in a small lake, causing us both to dissolve into a fit of giggles.  As the title of the Good Life Christmas Special says (essential viewing this time of year) "Silly, but it's fun"

Steve's Top 5 for 2016

1.  Wetherlam in the snow

One of the best things about being 6ft 4ins is that I don't sink quite as deep into the snow as Beth does - plus she generally tries to tear off ahead so she makes a useful depth gauge. This was a long and challenging walk and the snow was pretty deep in places, but Wetherlam isn't too tricky a fell and we both got home in one piece - Beth's bum was colder than mine though...

2. Zipworld Caverns Blaenau Ffestiniog

We'd done plenty of zipwires and high ropes courses in the past but nothing had quite prepared us for this - clambering around in a cavern deep underground.  Although we knew everything *must* be pretty tightly screwed into the walls, when you're dangling 100ft or so above the cave floor you do feel the need to double check.  Of course, I wasn't scared at all and didn't scream like a girl at any point.  Not even once. Honest...

3.  Snowdon

Technically this was my second time on the top of Snowdon but, as my first ascent was at the age of 4 months in a pram on the train, I'm not going to count it.  This time I went up on foot via the Rhyd Ddu route and despite it being early May, it was another snowy extravaganza.  Along the summit ridge the paths were solid ice, but that didn't stop several hundred other people also attempting the route.  Has to be the busiest summit we've ever been on, but a really interesting mountain.

4.  Kendal Mountain Festival - Ullswater Screening

Throughout the year there are Kendal Mountain Festival events and this summer we spent a lovely afternoon and evening on the banks of Ullswater watching a series of excellent films.  The whole evening was very civilised with picnic hampers and Prosecco as far as the eye could see.  As well as the great films we were also introduced to the songs that became the soundtack to the rest of the year, especially during our extended tour of Scotland - Christine & the Queens and First Aid Kit.  Just humming a few bars and I'm back there again now...

5.  High jinks in a Hilux

I really didn't expect this to be quite as much fun as it was.  I also planned to share more of the driving with Beth but that didn't really happen either.  When Vantage Motors asked us if we'd like to play with it for the weekend I'm not sure they expected it to come back with quite as many miles on the clock as it did - we even managed another cream tea, this time in the back of the Hilux on Walna Scar car park.  It persuaded  us to trade our battered old Freelander in for a rather nice (used) Toyota Rav 4 which will no doubt be popping up in blogs throughout 2017...

We're both now hoping that 2017 will turn out to be a little less painful than 2016 but, whatever happens, we'll still be out there finding fun things to do.

We sincerely hope you all have a very Merry Christmas full of family fun an adventurous New Year full of exciting new challenges!

An interview with Gwen Moffat

It's not often you get the chance to sit down and spend the afternoon with one of your heroes but, thanks to the lovely folks at The Rheged Centre, I was able to do exactly that.

We recently spent a day at their mountain film festival - part of a superb weekend of breathtaking mountaineering movies and a dazzling array of guest speakers.  The event was  raising money for CAN - Community Action Nepal - a charity founded by Doug Scott and supported by mountaineers from around the globe.  It works in partnership with  remote mountain villages to provide health, education and income generation opportunities for local communities.  The charity has been particularly busy since the devastating earthquake in April 2015.

One of the guest speakers was the awe inspiring Gwen Moffat, whose autobiography Space Below My Feet is an absolute must read for those seeking inspiration to head outdoors.  She's also the subject of the wonderful film Operation Moffat (see clip later).

To say Gwen has led an adventurous and eventful life is an understatement - now in her 90s she lives relatively quietly in Cumbria with her mischievous cat Nog, so it was an absolute treat to hear her speak at the event and then have the chance to interview her later on.

Q. Lots of people see you as a trail blazer – is that something you set out to do?

No, not at all.  I joined the Pinnacle Club in 1948 and I looked up to my seniors, they were my role models.  Evelyn Lowe, Nea Morin & Pat Kelly.  These were marvellous climbers who all climbed better than I ever did.

It was just the way I lived my life – I met a climber, learned to climb, then I think the Pinnacle Club got hold of me and said “come and join us” so I joined them – pregnant.

But you weren’t going to let anything like that get in the way?

Hahahaha – no.

Gwen at Rheged

When you were in the Pinnacle Club was it competitive at all – trying to compare yourselves to each other?

No, not at all in my generation.  I don’t know if it is now but I don’t think so.  It was very supportive.  I think in some areas now it’s very competitive but it wasn’t like that for us at all.

You were a bit of a rule breaker – is that something you’d recommend?

Depends on the rule doesn’t it?  Are you thinking about the deserting?

Well that, yes, and the unwritten rules back then that “a lady shouldn’t do that”.

Well, I never thought those rules were there.   I didn’t consciously break rules, except for the desertion bit.  Except that I didn’t make the decision – I just started walking away and it wasn’t until I was walking away from the camp that I realised what I’d done, and I just went on walking.  But I really was quite in a curious state when I walked out of the Nissen hut – that was not a conscious decision.  I just couldn’t stick it – it was after 2 weeks climbing in filthy weather and it was the life that these ½ dozen people had shown me – they were all conscientious objectors you see, so they had no time for military authority and so on.  I had done my stint – I’d done 6 years in the services, I wouldn’t have deserted in war time.

Gwen Moffat

Lots of people see you as an inspiration – do you see yourself as one, or perhaps more of a mischievous bad influence?

Well, only in the way that people might try to emulate something I did when they’re not ready for it.  

For instance long walks – I walked around the North West corner of Scotland.  Up to Cape Wrath, around and across the Kyle of Durness, this took me 3 or 4 days, sleeping out.  All I took with me was a sleeping bag, no stove, and a huge cake made of lots of calories, molasses and eggs and all that sort of thing, plus a slab of cheese and I drank from the streams.  Oh I did have a waterproof cover for the sleeping bag which unfortunately was an old plastic survival bag so the only night I used it, when it was drizzling was at the Kyle of Durness, I slept in the heather and when I woke I was soaking wet inside the bag from the condensation and I had to dry the sleeping bag out!

Of course that took me 3 or 4 days and I didn’t take very much with me, but I knew what I was doing and also I know how to deal with panic – not that there was much to panic about there – but it was terribly windy.  The wind was quite energy sapping and I was lucky to find a cove with one of John Ridgeways little huts down there – he used to run sailing courses from up there – and he’d built a funny little round hut with a turf roof which I used for shelter one night.

A couple of times in the book you could have been described as being “under prepared” – is there something to be said for not over doing things when it comes to taking gear and food on a hike?

The sort of security they have now, it just didn’t exist in my day.  I mean we just didn’t have all the ironmongery that climbers carry. When I started all I had was two carabiners on rope slings – and

Snowdon

they were ex-Army carabiners that were liable to open if you fell. When we made the first climbing film in the 1950s with Joe Brown – (he climbed hard, I did the easy routes) – we went to Clogwyn du’r Arddu and Joe did a hard climb on the pinnacle using these useless  carabiners that would have failed with a long fall. But Joe never fell. That’s the kind of equipment people used in those days and if they were good they survived. (You can see some of Gwen’s remarkable photographs from back then right here.)

Was there an element of the skill having to develop because you couldn’t rely on the kit in the same way then as you can now?

Oh no, you couldn’t rely on it – and ropes broke.  They were still climbing on hemp when I started climbing, but we changed over quite soon to nylon because nylon came with the commandos in the war – but when I started we climbed on hemp ropes which broke because they didn’t stretch.  If anyone fell off they just came to a sudden jerked stop.  There was a maxim when I was climbing:  The Leader Must Not Fall – because if the leader fell they were at least injured if not killed – there was no security all the way up,

Trailer for Operation Moffat

Everyone said that pitons were cheating when they first came in. There was a Very Severe line on Tryfan which hadn’t been climbed and some German chaps came over in the thirties and climbed it using three pitons for security. “Troops were mobilised” according to the guide book, and the Climbers Club went up and did the second ascent but they took the pitons out.

And the clothing!  I’m thinking now of snow & ice climbing, that’s entirely different now.  I mean the men in 1933, on the last Everest trip before the war, they climbed in Tweed jackets.  Nowadays we use down and down is lovely – I use down all the time now, even at sea level – it’s so warm and light.

Going back to the pitons – these days people climb with a lot of tech – if you were climbing now, do you think you’d be using it?

No!  I was climbing about 20 years ago when all that stuff was in and I didn’t use it.  I started doing easy, solo, stuff, until finally I gave up because I realised that if I came off the rescue team would have to come and take me down – how humiliating!  So I stopped soloing even easy stuff.  But no, I would never have used all of that – no fun!

When I was living in Snowdon last I’d test myself.  I’d go out without a compass and without a map in thick weather and still find my way around, but then I knew the area very very well you see.  And I’d know from which way the wind was blowing, that sort of thing.

Was it easier to connect with the outdoors then, are we more cocooned now do you think?

It wasn’t a case of connecting then, although I’d been born in a town (Brighton) we’d moved to a new housing development on the edge of town when I was only 9 and we were the last house in the development.  I had the South Downs behind me, and I started walking and exploring then.  And as soon as I got a bike of course, I was going further afield into The Weald.

Children don’t enjoy those sorts of freedoms any more do they?

Nog

Well, people are frightened you see.  And of course with the media you hear so much of what is happening – you didn’t hear it then, presumably it was happening occasionally but we didn’t hear about it.  We only had the wireless and not everybody had one of those.

Being out in the wilds so much, climbing here and abroad, do you think it helped you to care more about it – I know you now have an interest in spotting wildlife such as dragonflies and adders – does it stem from there?

It started with guiding I think, I didn’t start to take an interest in flora and fauna until I realised that my clients were taking an interest and then I realised that in order to keep them interested I had to learn more about it myself.   The only thing I didn’t go for was Geology – now most people would go for the rocks as well, they’re climbing on rocks and they become amateur geologists but I didn’t, I went for the flowers mostly and then the animals.  Of course there were more animals to be seen in the 40s and 50s.

Are people caring less about it all these days because they’re not out there so much?

And yet there are more nature programmes aren’t there, on the TV – but I suppose that’s it, people don’t get out so much now, they watch, they read, but they don’t get out.

Would you have any advice to non climbers or others that are perhaps daunted by what you have achieved?

Start easy.  Go out with somebody who knows it, or join a club, and then you start low, on easy stuff and work up.

What about climbing walls?

Climbing walls can be very, very hard, they’re all graded,  so when you see something very hard on a climbing wall, don’t think you’ve got to go up and do that immediately, start with the easy stuff.

Is it ever too late to start?

I don’t know...I’ve had people aged 60.  I don’t think I’ve had people aged much older than that – for climbing.  Walking of course you can start any age.  I can still get up the tiny hills at 90 – just after my 90^th birthday I got up Great Dodd (over 2800 ft/ 857 m).

Lots of people say that they don’t feel their age – I know you’re in your 90s but how old do you feel in your head?

I’m about 20 or so in my head – but I only have to do one little thing, like stand up and fall over – or comb my hair in the mirror to remember my real age.

Queue to speak to Gwen at Rheged

You’ve often said you have no regrets, but if you could go back in time and give yourself some advice when you were younger – would you?

I think I’d say “ignore me, just go for it” because I’m quite content with where I’ve been and what I’ve done and the things that have happened to me, even the bad things, have made me who I am today.  The bad things, and the sadness, are the things that make you stronger.

Do you get irritated by the “woman” angle?

Yes. One question I was asked recently was about the media pressure on women climbers these days to be sex symbols and how did I cope with it, well it didn’t happen with me – it was just different then.  There was no social media – just news papers and a bit of Woman’s Hour – and the press back then were terribly respectful, there was no “sex” angle.  They just concentrated on what you did and your skill, risk and danger – and now, well they’re not going to make a sex symbol out of a 90 year old now are they?

Lots of people in their 60’s, 70’s and beyond are quite cynical and depressed about the state of the world and the future because it’s different to how it was when they were younger– do you share that view?

No – you should live in the present.  In any case, in a few million years or so we won’t be here anyway, we’re just going to burn up.  Time is immaterial; you’re here so live today.  Of course you have to think a bit about tomorrow but you’re here, so enjoy what you’ve got.  And if you can’t enjoy it, just live it, do the best you can.  Happiness is like love, everyone has their own idea don’t they?  To me, happiness is fulfilment – you are what you are.

Do you have any advice for any protective parents who have a strong minded “little Gwen” on their hands who just wants to be a daredevil and climb things?

Yes – find somebody you trust who can teach them – either a friend or someone you can engage.  Quite a few parents came to me with their children, who’d never climbed – some wanted to learn with their children, others handed their older children over for me to teach.   Put it to the child as an ultimatum – yes you can do it but you go with that person.

I had this with my own daughter who I found walking along the roof of our home in Snowdon when she was only 4 or 5.  The roof at the back of the house came right down to the ground and she’d followed the cat up there.  I was out the front of the house and I turned around and there’s my child, two storeys high walking along the roof!

I can’t remember if I talked her down or went and got her down, but anyway, when she was down I put it to her – look, we’ll go climbing but we’ll do it properly with a rope.  After that I took her climbing on easy climbs and scrambles but she was always on the rope and she thought that was wonderful – like being an expert or a proper adventurer.

So yes, you can go but word it so that it’s one step up from climbing solo and then it sounds even more exciting.

With enormous thanks to The Rheged Centre for offering me this opportunity and, of course, to Gwen who is utterly charming, thoughtful and was endlessly patient with my questions.

The Rheged Centre is a brilliant place to visit any time of the year and always has an array of interesting films and exhibitions.  There are also a good variety of local shops selling the best that Cumbria has to offer and some fantastic cafes where you can put your feet up and enjoy a well earned coffee and a cake.

Snowed on Snowdon, 'snow done

Sorry - couldn't resist - Snowdon, which had been snowed on, is now done.  Don't groan, this is the sort of stuff I think about when I'm making my way down off big high mountains.

The main reason for our trip to Wales was to tackle Snowdon so it was great to finally make it.  To be fair we didn't have the greatest weather during the 5 day window we'd allowed for the hike - but we picked the best of the bunch and went for it. The Camping and Caravanning Club Site at Llanystumdwy is the perfect base for exploring Snowdonia and Rhyd Ddu is a straightforward 30 minute drive from the site.

I'd done quite a lot of research,  poring over maps and reading books (I'm half way through Jim Perrin's Snowdon book and it's FAB) and opted for the Rhyd Ddu route on account of the fact that it's generally considered the quietest and the prettiest of the routes.  (For anyone who's interested our exact route was along the Rhyd Ddu path from the station, then on to Bwlch-Cwm Llan, up via Allt Maenderyn and Bwlch Main, then back along Bwlch Main and Llechog - and if you think any of my spelling is dodgy then be thankful you can't hear my pronunciation!)

Down in the valleys it was a very pleasant day but we were very well aware that the summits were wintery and were glad we had come prepared - which is more than I can say for many of the folks we saw at the top who, in thick fog, ice and snow clearly thought the best outfit was light cotton trousers/ denim/ leggings and trainers, but I digress...

Yr Aran

I've spent a lot of time pondering why we hike high hills - is it just to get to the top or is it something more?  We've now "done" the big three (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) and I can honestly say that Snowdon is the one I'd go back to because it's interesting and not just because it's high - in the same way I regularly go back to Blencathra - there's just something about hiking a fine looking mountain that makes it so much more that just another yomp.

Getting across Bwlch Main in the snow and wind was an interesting experience and halfway along we bumped into one of the wardens - who I suspect is a well known figure to those familiar with the mountain with his brightly knitted hat and generally colourful clobber.  We had a good old chat about the mountain and he put my slightly jangled nerves to rest about the remainder of the route.

Even though the trains weren't running due to the weather conditions the summit was absolutely rammed.  The visitors' centre was closed but was still being made use of as a lunch shelter/ smoking hut/ urinal creating an interesting aroma that somewhat put me off of sausage and egg mayo roll.

Even though the route down wasn't all that different to the route up, it was less taxing and gave us some slightly different views to enjoy and some interesting icy rocks to photograph.

 

We'll definitely be back there to try a different route - or maybe give the same one a go in rather better conditions.  I'm not at all sure about the visitors' centre and I'll probably get into trouble with someone whatever I say - but I'm not a big fan - from down in the valley it reminded me of the sort of evil lair a Bond villain might hide out in.  Who knows, maybe it is and the whole "tea and cakes" thing is just a big ruse.  If the railway ever converts to nuclear power - then might be the time to worry...

"I've been expecting you..."