Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Trail

■ 1856 First surveyed and named as part of the British ‘Great Trigonometrical Survey of India’. ■ 1902 First attempt to reach the summit, made by an Anglo-Swiss expedition in 1902 that ascended to 5670m on the peak’s north-eastern crest. ■ 1954 Finally the first successful summit was achieved on 31 July by two of the climbers in an Italian expedition via the Abruzzi Ridge, despite the severe weather conditions. The summit was reached by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli. During the ascent one of the guides died of pneumonia and the expedition was marred by controversy over rivalry which is thought to have caused the hospitalisation of one of the climbers. ■ 1986 Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz became the first woman to summit K2 on 23 June 1986. Two…

“I’M NOT AIMING FOR THE NEEDLE’S TOP MYSELF [PHEW], BUT INSTEAD I’M THREADING THE NEEDLE’” I freeze on the rock, unable to find the next foothold. A slight panic washes over me. Am I cragfast? Wedged precariously in a steep, rocky chimney high on the side of Great Gable, I feel a knee-wobbling, nerve-jangling sense of vulnerability. I’m a hillwalker in climbers’ territory and the film of greasy moisture coating every ledge, crack and overhang is shattering my confidence. My legs have turned to jelly and my breathing is frantic. I reach left and right, desperately searching for my next manoeuvre, but I can’t find a safe way to overcome the awkward rocky obstacle in my way. This isn’t delicately threading the needle — it’s clinging onto it for dear…

“THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR ADVENTURES FOR THE 14.1 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITY IN THE UK ARE HUGE” At 10.10pm on 4 June 2019, Jesse Dufton pressed his hands into rough sandstone and pulled himself onto the top of a 137m (449ft) sea stack teetering off the west coast of Orkney. As the sun set across the North Sea, his sight guide and partner Molly scrambled over the rim behind him. Jesse had just completed the first blind lead climb of the Old Man of Hoy. If you’ve seen the documentary of the ascent, Climbing Blind, you’ll be familiar with the story, and if you haven’t you really should. It’s an inspiring account of a climb which is adventurous even with full sight, requiring a hairy scramble down a…

1:50,000 MAPS The 1:50k scale (used for OS Landranger), is ideal for long distance or multi-day routes, and massive mountain areas where the detail can swamp the overall shape of the mountain and become a hindrance. This scale is also good for winter walking, when most of the detail shown on a closer scale map will be covered with snow. Here’s what you’ll find on a 1:50k… Each CONTOUR LINE represents a height of 10m. A GRID SQUARE is 2cm x 2cm on the map = 1km² on the ground. That’s 15 mins walking on flat ground at an average pace. 1mm on the map = 50m on the ground. RIGHTS OF WAY are represented as pink dashes and/or dots. OTHER PATHS Black dashes indicate well trodden and established paths…

Bright spark Light My Fire FireSteel Scout £13 While many modern camping stoves feature a built-in igniter, plenty – particularly lighter-weight models – don’t. Which means you need to carry an alternative means of ignition. Matches or a cigarette lighter might seem like the obvious choice, but matches are useless if wet, and a lighter can crack in a packed rucksack or simply run out of fuel. This FireSteel Scout is pretty much indestructible and good for around 3000 strikes before it needs to be replaced. Once, in the frozen Swedish Arctic, I was even taught how to start a fire using nothing more than a firesteel and birch bark. As such, this little fire starter has a permanent (and conveniently compact) place in my camping kit. Verdict “It’s the fire…

The most popular route up Gragareth is from Leck Fell, on the Lancashire side, but it’s fair to say there are more exciting routes out there. That’s where the age-old Yorkshire/Lancashire rivalry comes in, for the swathes of limestone pavement on the fell’s eastern slopes, part of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks landscape, are far more interesting. The views are there right from the off, and only get better as you climb directly above remote Kingsdale through the middle of huge limestone scars, to the famous Cheese Press stone. And with limestone comes caves, and the chance to peer into the ground as well as over it. Lancastrians need not fear, however, as the summit is not only firmly over the border, but also the county top; and with it…

Towering above Kinlochleven, Am Bodach sits at the heart of the Mamores range. Sandwiched between Ben Nevis to the north and the Aonoch Eagach ridge to the south (confusingly home to another Am Bodach), this craggy pinnacle is one of the best seats in the house for West Highland views. There are several approaches to Am Bodach, including the justifiably renowned Ring of Steall. With shorter days or less time available, the direct route from the shore of Loch Leven is the way to go. On the initial climb, following good forest tracks, the Aonach Eagach and northern mountains of Glen Coe are skylined above the loch. An early start is best, breaking through the forestry land in time to witness the sunlight gradually unveiling the ridge. The route up…

1 NY336076 From the minor crossroads by the Heaton Cooper art gallery in Grasmere, walk north-west up Easedale Road for 850m, past YHA on right, and fork right on lane at Goody Bridge. Walk ahead for 1.1km and fork left by the bridge over the River Rothay. 2 NY331095 Cross the next bridge and immediately fork left on a narrow lane at Ghyll Foot, with tall trees on the left. After 300m, uphill, go through the gate by the last house – you are now on access land. Follow the wall on the right and go through a gap in the next wall, then through the next gate. The path crosses open slopes and rises to a wall with gate. The path now rises more steeply up the obvious south-east…

1 SH591480 Start from the metal footbridge in the centre of Beddgelert, at the confluence of the Rivers Glaslyn and Colwyn. Turn right along the riverside path at the corner of the village green. Follow the Afon Glaslyn all the way to the Aberglasyn Pass, rock-hopping across the boulders and crossing the wooden boardwalks on the riverside trail. Watch your footing in wet weather, as this section can be very slippery. 2 SH594462 Follow the woodland path round to the left and walk through the National Trust car park at Aberglaslyn. Take the lane through Nantmor, called Brynffynnon. Pass the church and follow the lane all the way to the minor road junction at Bwlchgwernog. This is a quiet road, but the gradient is steep in places. 3 SH611452 Pick…

Instantly recognisable from afar, the distinctive flat-topped heights of the Brecon Beacons form an immensely popular walking area. Pen y Fan is the star name, marking the high point of the National Park and offering a challenge for walkers of all ages and abilities. At 886m this is a big old mountain set amongst spectacular scenery, but it still somehow manages to feel like a hill that anyone can walk up. The sheer, serrated green cliffs that fall dramatically from its northern edges make Pen y Fan appear more challenging than it actually is, with a variety of simple ascents leading across the surrounding ridges, peaks and valleys to its large, flat summit plateau. But there’s a reason the Armed Forces use the Central Beacons area for their training exercises…

Turds. Long, thin, strangled ones, slimmer than a fox’s, with a pointy end, are what you need to look for. They will be on prominent rocks or tree stumps, again much like a fox’s, but they’ll smell a bit more ‘musky’. That’s right, smell. If you want to identify a pine marten spraint (poo), you need to get down on your hands and knees and give it a good sniff, the closer the better. I mention all this because the pine marten’s little ‘presents’ that it leaves at strategic points to mark its territory, are in reality the closest you’re going to get to this agile, nocturnal predator. But, they’re out there and they’re spreading. They have been since the 1920s. Before that, it was a sorry tale - the…

Some walks start with a sign. I don’t mean a waymarking sign — I’m referring to a rainbow arching over the car park, a peregrine falcon flashing past, or finding a tenner where there’s no chance of finding its owner. Today’s sign was different. Three small fish lay in the path, halfway up the hill, miles from the nearest body of water capable of sustaining such creatures. But how to read such a sign? I crouched over them, gave them a nudge with my boot, then decided, out of desperation, to interpret the fish in a positive way (it reminded me of the biblical feeding of the five thousand and all that). Yes, that was it, I’d been blessed on this mountain day with, erm… fish. The northern edges of…

The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain A free PDF detailing 200 accessible attractions. motability.co.uk/cs/accessible_guide Euan’s Guide Disabled access reviews of attractions, events, eateries and more written by disabled people. euansguide.com Paraclimbing London An accessible paraclimbing group. instagram.com/paraclimbinglondon Accessible Countryside Accessible places to stay, sport venues and scooter hire. accessiblecountryside.org.uk Tourism for All Tourism resource using National Accessible Scheme Ratings. tourismforall.co.uk…

Ronald Turnbull Creator of a whopping 30 guidebooks and 18 unique coast-to-coasts. Peter Edwards Scottish Isles expert, and author of three Cicerone guides to the region. Martin Sweeney Professional mountain leader with a passion for outdoor writing. Ange Harker Nidderdale born and bred, and an experienced walking guide. Roger Butler Roger likes to tick off remote Hebridean islands as well as mountains. Kate Worthington Professional mountain leader, living and working under Snowdon’s shadow. Matt Jones Snowdonia-based writer with a passion for outdoor adventures. ALWAYS CARRY A MAP! Trail routes are written as guides, but for detailed mountain navigation you must carry a printed to-scale map. All of our routes come with recommended maps at a variety of scales. MOUNTAIN SAFETY Walking in the UK mountains can be dangerous, with rough…

The Isle of Mull’s monolithic 966m Ben More — a great hulking pyramid of a mountain — is the only island Munro outside the Isle of Skye. Extracting maximum value from an ascent of this magnificent mountain requires an indirect approach via Beinn Fhada and A’ Chioch, the contiguous summits along the ridge forming the Ben More Horseshoe. In some ways, climbing Ben More from A’ Chioch via the north-east ridge is similar to climbing Ben Nevis via Carn Mòr Dearg and the CMD Arête, in that it makes for an exhilarating, well-rounded hillwalking excursion with a frisson of challenge, magnificent views and far fewer folk than the popular ‘up-and-down’ route. Most walkers climbing Ben More via the A’ Chioch ridge start up the north bank of the Abhainn na…

The modest Moelwynion hills in northern Snowdonia always prove a good talking point. Quietly unassuming but impressively iconic, this varied and characterful range pops classic Welsh summits into many mini and ‘mawr’ (large!) punches. These particular four tops offer dramatic scene setting and history, where you can create your own story among the quiet drama that surrounds you. Imagine the quarry workers, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, singing proudly on their way to work, before their voices descended into an echoey underground chamber. Distances are achievable for shorter days, but don’t underestimate the time that might be spent moving over the varied terrain (and taking in the views), which always offers difference and interest, compared to more frequented routes and paths on other mountains. Delight in what these tops can offer; with…

1 NY336076 From the centre of Grasmere, walk north along the road and pass the park on the right. Cross the bridge over the river and fork left on a lane to reach the A591. Cross the road and turn left for 500m. 2 NY336087 Take the tarmac track on the right, walk up to a couple of houses and keep ahead to join a right of way which bends through pasture and gates to join a farm track. On reaching Open Access land turn right, uphill, after 30m to a wall set amongst trees. Go through the gate and turn left to join a well-used path which runs between walls and passes through a gate after 650m. The valley now forks at the foot of Great Tongue but the…

1 SH591480 Start from the metal footbridge in the centre of Beddgelert, at the confluence of the rivers Glaslyn and Colwyn. Take the riverside path to the left of the village green. Cross the minor road and go through the wooden gate, where the footpath is marked with a fingerpost. Continue until you reach another gate and go down the lane. Follow it to Sygun Copper Mine and turn right along the riverside path, before the bridge. 2 SH604489 Continue along this path, which runs the length of Llyn Dinas to the National Trust farm, Llyndy Isaf. Pass the farm and at the road turn left to reach the A498. Walk along the road, past Caffi Gwynant, and turn left at the lane signposted Hafod y Llan. The flagged stone…

There’s good reason why the world’s second highest mountain was the only 8000-er to never have been climbed in winter. Aside from K2’s reputation as the savage mountain, with one death for every four who summit, the conditions in winter are hard to even contemplate. Summit winds often reach hurricane force and still-air temperatures can be well below -65°C. The exposure and steepness of the snow-stripped slopes on blue ice and rock also mean that it is technically challenging, and the winter’s barometric pressure means there is even less oxygen. But against all the odds and in -40°C, on 16 January 2021, at 5pm Pakistan time, the former Gurkha and UK Special Forces operative Nimsdai Purja MBE and his team of six, along with four from two other Nepalese teams,…

MOUNTAINS FOR THE MIND My love affair with the outdoors began at about 6 or 7 years of age, when my mum started taking me along with her walking group. Weighed down by a knee-length wax jacket and the heaviest boots known to man, I have vivid memories of getting stuck in Peak District bogs! Looking back, being raised by a strong singleparent mum who worked full-time, it’s clear that the outdoors, even then, was a vitally important escape for us. That’s something that has never left me. Growing up, I graduated to mountains and multiday wild camping trips where I can truly leave the pressures of life behind. For my mental health I’ve always known that the outdoors was my happy place, but many years of dealing with failed…

Robert Macfarlane is the award-winning author of books including Mountains of the Mind and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Ben Hope is the most northerly of Scotland’s Munros. It looks over the outermost rim of mainland Britain, and from its summit there is no high ground between you and the Arctic. A bird taking off from the top of Hope, set on a meridian course north, would bank out over the Pentland Firth, pass to the east of the Faroes, cross the Arctic Circle, and enter the Greenland Sea. It would fly over the pack ice which locks the channel between Spitzbergen and Greenland. It would pass, as all things meridian must, over the Pole, and then it would fly south, nearing the ice-bound island of Vrangelya in the…

KEY FEATURES ZIPS Zips can be a point of weakness liable to water ingress. For maximum waterproofing, choose a jacket with a water-resistant zip protected by a sturdy stormflap, either behind or in front of the zip, or both. A zip garage – a little waterproof flap to house the closed zip – also helps keep water out. POCKETS Big pockets are great for storing OS maps, gloves, packs of Haribo and whatever else you intend to put in them. Mesh-lined pockets aid overall ventilation, but sealed pockets are more waterproof. It’s worth checking the pockets aren’t obscured by your rucksack waistbelt too. FIT This is all about personal choice. Some will prefer a tighter, more athletic fit; others will favour a baggier cut with more room for layering underneath.…

Cairnsmore of Fleet is the southernmost hill of Scotland. As such it has outstanding views along the Galloway coast, and across the sea to England, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Well, that’s on a nice day. But on a nasty one – a soggy day of low cloud and late spring snow – it’s time for the other side of Cairnsmore... The side that’s described as an outstanding high landscape of bare granite, rough grasses and tiny pools. The side where paths are tiny, or not there at all, and it takes some cunning with the compass. And where you listen, in the mist, to hear the tiny Coo Lochans lapping against the granite. It’s the dwarf shrub heath, where the hen harrier and short-eared owl are making their…

The red sandstone village of Dufton must have been made with walkers in mind. The great sweep of the North Pennines rises behind the long attractive green, and tracks climb through twisting valleys to swing past evocative reminders of local lead mining activity. There’s a pub and a café and a steep wooded gorge, tucked away behind the comfortable Youth Hostel – always comes as a surprise! And the Pennine Way comes right through the heart of the village. But if you want a real surprise you’ve got to head for the hills. Once you’ve enjoyed the steep but straightforward slopes of Dufton Pike and crossed the stony escarpment of Backstone Edge, the view down to the chasm of High Cup will probably make you stop and gasp. The land…

1 NY336076 From the centre of Grasmere walk north on Easedale Road, past YHA on the right, and continue ahead at Goody Bridge. The lane bends right, then left – after 400m take the track on the right signed to Helm Crag. 2 NY327084 This bends left after 80m and continues between walls for 1.3km, below Jackdaw Crag, towards Far Easedale. The waterfalls at Sour milk Gill on the far side of the valley will catch your eye – the route descends next to these later in the day. 3 NY318093 Cross the footbridge over Far Easedale Gill at Stythwaite Steps and follow the path uphill with a wall on the left. The path splits after 100m – fork left and continue for 400m. A minor path goes right, north-west,…

1 SH588482 Leave the car park and turn right, following the Afon Colwyn upstream. Turn left at Pont Alun and cross the river, then walk underneath the railway line. Follow the lane round to the right. Moel Hebog rears up ahead. From this aspect, it looks craggy, steep and forbidding. Cross the railway line again and continue along the lane. As you head up through woodland, cross the railway line a third time. At the fingerpost take the right-hand track marked Rhyd Ddu. 2 SH579479 At the marker post take the flagged path left. Cross the stile over the wall beside a sheepfold and follow the grassy track uphill. Cross the tumbledown stone wall and continue up towards crags. Follow the marker posts, working your way through boulders. Aim for…

Nestled between Coniston and Little Langdale, Holme Fell is just 317m high. At its south-western corner Raven Crag hangs like a lolling tongue, its tip tantalisingly close to the clear fresh water of Yewdale Beck. The scramble up it starts from the single track road that threads through Yewdale, and which is already 110m above sea-level. This leaves just 207m of scrambling – less when you consider that the crag doesn’t quite stretch all the way to the fell’s summit. In fact, the scramble itself is only 130m from bottom to top, but that’s 130m of the finest scrambling to be found in Lakeland. It’s Grade 2 and offers some airy and exposed rock clinging; Cicerone’s Scrambling in the Lake District suggests novices might benefit from the security of a…

GREAT GABLE, LAKE DISTRICT WALK IT The Great Gable Climbers’ Traverse is as fine a ‘path’ as you’ll find anywhere in the Lakes. Starting in the green folds of the Wasdale Valley, it visits the historic Sty Head Pass, then cuts directly across the broken crags and steep scree gullies that define the complex southern face of the mountain. You’ll pass the rock tower of Napes Needle en route, with the option to squeeze behind it on an awkward Grade 2 scramble, then shortly after come face to face with the mighty Sphinx as you keep traversing west. You’ll know it as soon as you see it! THE FACTS START GRID REF NY187088 Wasdale Head ASCENT 970m (all the way to Gable’s summit) DISTANCE 5.5km (one- way to Gable’s summit)…