Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Trail

You know the look on someone’s face when they experience something new? It’s magical. Like a child seeing their first snow, or touching an animal. Or when somebody climbs a mountain and gets an amazing view. This time of year – as the kaleidoscopic contents of this issue show – can be hit-and-miss, weather-wise. You could get the Arctic, you could get Antigua, or any shade in the middle. So if you wanted to introduce someone to a mountain, it’s an uncertain time. It happened to me in January, when I attempted to impart the virtues of hillwalking to a companion in far from virtuous weather. I’d done the sensible thing: picked something small (Loughrigg Fell in the Lakes) and unlikely to be prohibitively frozen, not covered in cliffs or…

* okay, tablewear Ever dreamed of gazing upon Tryfan from your dinner table? Or Great Gable maybe? Or perhaps the stately Buachaille Etive Mor? Well, now you can! Let the dinner conversation wash over you as you lovingly trace the contours of your favourite mountain, printed on a napkin. Okay, it’s perhaps not quite as cool as peeping out at the actual hill itself; but these are pretty good conversation starters. You can choose the area, centred any postcode in the UK. For example, Tryfan is located at approximately LL57 3LZ... www.mapmarketing.com £20,450! This is the sum raised by mountain lovers at The Grand Day Out in Cumbria in January in response to the chaos caused by storms and flooding. There’ll be more events to come later this year… www.granddayoutcumbria.org.uk…

Gillian Watson I love the climb up but don't like staying on the top for too long. Ben A'an is small but has a beautiful summit and view. Robin Wallace A' Mhaighdean in the Fisherfield Forest. The effort to reach this remote summit is well worth it when you see the vista. Dan Cooke I know it’s well travelled but Snowdon has it for me. It was my first and sadly the last mountain I will climb. Kevin Hogarth Crib Goch for me... worth facing 'the fear' for those views. Carol Stubbs Not done very many yet but so far it has to be Glyder Fach: love the rocky summit, Cantilever Stone and Castell y Gwynt. Fabulous. Steve Toye I finally got round to top my first summit in the…

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TRAIL’S ROUTE Distance 16km (10 miles) Time 7 hours Total ascent 820m Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL5; Harvey British Mountain Maps (1:40,000) Lake District Start/finish Patterdale car park (NY396159) What is a secret? Surely it’s something that needs to be kept, protected, like a precious gem. If it’s something that nobody knows anything about, then there’s nothing to be kept and no-one to keep it. As far as the UK hills go it seems unlikely that there are many genuine revelations to be made (although, hopefully, there might be a few left). No, for something to be a secret, somebody has to know of something that the majority don’t, and, ideally, keep it that way... Nethermost Pike is not a secret mountain. It appears in many guidebooks (including one by…

GRAEME EVERARD The Coach House Sports Physiotherapy Clinic’s director (and keen hillwalker) offers his expert advice to Trail readers... You should never just accept it when you’re struggling with injury. People think aches and strains are just a sign of getting old, but there are so many things you can do to help. The Full Body MOT is a new thing we’ve developed at the Coach House, and we advise people to come in before injuries develop and they end up in pain. A one-off treatment can often alter things and set you on the road to recovery. Access to the internet means many people self-diagnose injuries, and there’s so much information out there that they often diagnose wrong. It’s crucial to get a professional diagnosis so you can treat…

Firstly, forget what you may have been led to believe; gaiters look GREAT! But if you’re not sold on the waterproof shin-bag look (and, admittedly, they don’t go with every outfit) you may have been put off wearing them. This is a mistake. There are several very good reasons for wearing gaiters, even if fashion isn’t one of them. They keep water out of your boots. A pair of well-fitting gaiters not only waterproofs your lower leg but also helps prevent water getting into the top of your boots. Fit them snugly enough, and they can even keep your socks dry during quick-step river crossings. Best not to linger in deep water, though – they’re not wellies. They protect your trousers. It’s easy to scuff the lower part of your…

Varta Indestructible Powerpack 6000 £33 Used by Oli Reed, deputy editor Used for 1 year A portable powerpack is one of those bits of kit you don’t realise how handy it is till you need it (usually when your phone is running out of juice or your headtorch battery is starting to die). I’ve tried a few different versions in the past couple of years – some far more expensive than this – but this is the one I keep going back to. Delivering 6000mAh of charge, it’s around the size of a basic smartphone and weighs less than 250g, so it’s easy to stash in your pack. I’ve dropped it numerous times, given it a thorough soaking and plastered it in mud, and I can still get around two…

Roger Butler Roger likes to tick off remote Hebridean islands as well as mountains. Steve Goodier Author of 7 walking guidebooks, Steve loves the UK hills. Ronald Turnbull Creator of a whopping 27 guidebooks and 18 unique coast-to-coasts. Dan Bailey Author of Scotland's Mountain Ridges, and a big fan of huge routes. Garry Smith Teaches mountain skills throughout the UK. Loves Scotland in winter. Sean McMahon Lakeland local, curator of stridingedge.net and devoted fellwalker. Chiz Dakin Award-winning writer, photographer and filmmaker. Avid traveller. Jonathan Cook Has hiked and climbed all over, but his passion for the Lakes remains strong.…

ROUTE INFO Distance 16.9km (10½ miles) Total ascent 713m Time 5½ hours Start/finish the Parish Church of Saint Andrew, Coniston (SD302975) Terrain well-marked tracks and paths Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL6 and OL7; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 96 1 SD302975 From the Parish Church of Saint Andrew in the centre of Coniston, head along the B5285 in an easterly direction, to pick up the bridleway to the left of the roadside. Continue onwards past the entrance of Boon Crag Farm to a sign indicating ‘Permitted bridleway Tarn Hows 2 ¼m’. Follow the bridleway through a gate and cross the minor road to begin climbing up through dense woodland. Ignore paths converging from the right and branching off to the left and continue upwards until you reach a plateau and a gate.…

ROUTE INFO Distance 7.9km (5 miles) Total ascent 380m Time 4 hours Start/finish road end at Toscaig (NG714385) Terrain low-level coastal walk: rough and boggy all the way, with a path that’s hard to follow at times; may be viable in foul weather, but it’s tough going underfoot Maps OS Landranger (1:50,000) 24; OS Explorer (1:25,000) 428 1 NG714385 Park on the verge just before the turning space at the road end in upper Toscaig – take care not to obstruct access to the houses. Cross a footbridge over the River Toscaig at a signpost for Uags, then go left on a grassy track. Soon reach a second signpost and path junction in a cow-churned field. Stay right here, again signed for Uags. At a slight rise bear right away…

ROUTE INFO Distance 13.5km (8½ miles) Total ascent 970m Time 7½ hours Start/ finish Layby near bridge over River Kishorn (NG834422) Terrain An excellent hill trail to start, then a path-free ascent, boggy in places, into Coire an Fhamair. From here the ascent as described includes some grade 1 scrambling: it’s straightforward in dry weather but exposed enough to be worth avoiding if wet or wintry (an easier alternative is mentioned). Maps OS Landranger (1:50000) 24; OS Explorer (1:25000) 428 Guidebook The Corbetts, SMC “ ...with a start from sea-level you’ll get to enjoy every one of Beinn Bhan’s 896 rough metres ” 1 NG834422 From the layby, cross the road bridge over the River Kishorn, then immediately turn right. For the first few kilometres it’s easy going on a…

Sarah Ryan heads for Snowdonia's wild Rhinogs, to see if their highlights can be had in a single day's walk. They can indeed... and it’s on p28 Twitter @sarah_outside Ben Weeks packs his ice axe and crampons and gets to grips with two scrambly icons – one secret (see p52), one not so (p36), but both brill. Twitter @gingerheadben Jeremy Ashcroft is left breathless by the stunning arctic expanses of the wintery Cairngorms, before composing himself sufficiently to write them a love letter on p44 Matty Graham slides over from his pew on Digital Photo mag to share some ’awesome mountain shots’ he found. One thing led to another... and to the interview on p56 Oli Reed finds himself supine and in pain on a Leeds physio's table – and discovers…

Rowan and Faith Trollope Nominated by mum Nina My twins Rowan and Faith have been ascending hills and mountains since before they were born. They summited many Wainwrights in the Lake District while I was pregnant with them, then progressed their hillwalking into a sling, then a back carrier. At the age of 2 they began to climb the last 50 metres of all of our mountains, progressing to 200 metres while on holiday in the Italian Dolomites in June last year – where they were each given koala keyrings by an Australian hiker for making such a great effort. Finally in October this year, shortly after turning 3, they climbed their first two Wainwrights unassisted: Catbells and Latrigg (in the pouring rain and wind). After arriving back down they…

As if a weekend filled with almost every outdoor activity you can think of isn’t enough, Keswick Mountain Festival (KMF) also has a line-up of music and talks to take you all the way into the wee small hours. Some speakers are still to be announced, but here's what we've heard on the grapevine so far... On the Thursday, explorer, marine biologist and TV presenter Monty Halls will give a talk on the hidden mysteries of the planet, followed by Julia Bradbury (right) sharing some of her favourite walks. Friday will have gold medallist James Cracknell on 'From the Olympics to Expeditions'. And we're all geared up for the Saturday, and an evening with legendary mountaineer Alan Hinkes plus an account from Mick Fowler (left) of his first ascent of…

Why is placing a stone atop a pile of other stones so satisfying? Whatever the answer, rangers from the Snowdonia National Park have issued an appeal to walkers to stop doing it. Senior warden for South Snowdonia, Simon Roberts, says, “As the cairns are built, stone by stone, the footpaths are eroding and the fragile landscape is being damaged. Footpaths widen and the cost of maintaining them increases. But, even more dangerous, they can mislead walkers, especially in fog. Later this year, we will begin to rationalise the cairns; but in the meantime we are appealing to walkers to stop moving the stones on the mountains.” If you want to be part of the clear-up, contact Simon at the National Park Office in Penrhyndeudraeth on (01766) 770274.…

BOOKSHELF CLASSIC Ben Nevis K Crocket & S Richardson You’d think only Everest or some other horror mountain of the Himalayas could command a book of this girth entirely dedicated to it. Yet here we have 414 picture-and-map-rich pages offering a complete history – both natural and human – of Britain's highest mountain. Covering everything from the earliest references to 'Bin Novesh' in 1654, this superb volume must have taken a staggering amount of research to produce, but it was worth it. In print since 1986, in 2009 the book received a full revision into its present, handsome edition. It was produced by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC), and hillwalkers might glaze over a little at the decade-by-decade breakdown of the climbing history of the mountain; but it's all readable…

SEND IN A PHOTO – AND WIN! The best photo wins three pairs of socks from 1000 Mile , creator of the original double layer sock with its famous Blister Free Guarantee. 1000 Mile’s range now includes single layer padded socks, plus the Fusion range, which mixes double layer and padding, and offers socks for every type of outdoor activity. Try them with free p&p, using the code TLFP. Send a picture of your haggard hill fizzog to trail@bauermedia.co.uk…

TRAIL’S ROUTE Distance 19km (11¾ miles) Time 7 hours Total ascent 1184m Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL18; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 124; Harvey British Mountain Map (1:40,000) Snowdonia South Start/finish parking at Cwm Bychan (SH645314) Some mountains soar elegantly upwards, all clearly defined slopes and sharply shadowed peaks. Styled like racehorses, or pure-bred hounds; they’re the supermodels. Others are a bit more... unkempt. I’m going to hazard an opinion and say the Rhinogs are the latter kind of range. Which is not to say that they’re without grandeur and presence. Bu-ut... they are kind of like a bog that’s been turned inside out and hardened. A lumpy, bumpy morass of rock, moss, grass and heather. The entire range stretches (very) roughly 25km from Y Garn in the south to a 431m…

Paul Zizka is a photographer who’ll go to any lengths to capture the most extreme outdoor images. Based in Banff, Alberta, the Canadian adventurer specialises in shooting in hard-to-reach mountain locations where the average snapper wouldn’t dare to tread. His work is so spectrally suffused with the kind of light and space that makes the Canadian mountain landscape seductive to the British hillwalker simply by being so different we bet you’ll be packing your cold gear and Googling for a cheap way to get there within seconds. Often involving colourful auroras or perfectly formed ice caves, his work has been featured in publications around the world; and his first book, Summits & Starlight, is available to buy now. Here, the camera-toting outdoorsman talks us through ten of his favourite frames...…

TESTER PROFILE Graham Thompson Technical editor Height 5ft 11½in Clothing size M/L FIT To move moisture away from the skin, the base layers featured here are intended to be worn against the skin. To work efficiently a garment needs to be close-fitting throughout. MATERIAL This is the most important feature of any base layer. Synthetic fabrics are superb at moisture movement but can become smelly and aren’t the comfiest. Base layers from £40 contain treatments commonly using silver chloride (Polygiene) or carbon to combat the pong. Merino wool is comfier against the skin and is naturally antimicrobial, so it doesn’t become smelly easily. But it’s slower to dry than synthetic materials, and this is noticeable if a garment becomes saturated in sweat. Many base layers use a mix of merino…

JAKE THOMPSETT Expedition leader Merrell ambassador Jake runs his own company, JT Expeditions, which offers guided hillwalking and overseas trekking as well as UK-based rock-climbing, navigation, mountain running and expedition skills training. Discover more at... www.jtexpeditions.co.uk Survival bag These handy little bits of gear are perfect for the hills. They’re super-lightweight, pack down very small and are dirt cheap; yet they could really make the difference in an emergency situation. They’re a no-brainer! If I’m with a group I pack a group shelter instead. Map & compass An OS map with the appropriate scale, along with a suitable compass, is vital kit. It’s important that your compass has the right features to suit your needs. I use the Silva Expedition 4, which does the job perfectly. 40 litre rucksack I…

ROUTE INFO Distance 22.5km (14 miles) Total ascent 882m Time 6 ¾ hours Start the Parish Church of Saint Andrew, Coniston (SD302975); finish Spark Bridge, SD306849 Terrain well-marked tracks and paths for the main part with some faint grassy paths across farmland Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL6 and OL7; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 96 1 SD302975 From Saint Andrew’s church in the centre of Coniston, retrace your steps from the previous day’s finish to head along the B5285 before turning left into Shepherds Bridge Lane, crossing Yewdale Beck and picking up the Cumbria Way. Now climb uphill past the old hunting kennel before branching off right along a path through Guards Wood marked by a yellow path marker to Boon Crag Farm and the B5285 at High Water Head. Head south…

ROUTE INFO Distance 5.8km (3½ miles) Total ascent 722m Time 4½ hours Start/finish track turn-off on Bealach na Ba road (NG811413) – limited space; find more just down the road Terrain a mix of rough hill trails and even rougher path-free ground, boggy in places. A steep ascent from Coire a’ Chaorachain, partly on scree. The descent of the south-east ridge is steeper still, involving some basic Grade 1 scrambling down a series of broken craggy tiers where careful route-finding is a must Maps OS Landranger (1:50,000) 24; OS Explorer (1:25,000) 428 Guidebook The Corbetts , pb SMC 1 NG811413 From the gate at the road, follow the vehicle track to the dam at Loch Coire nan Arr. Here take a rough, soggy path along the west shore of…

ROUTE INFO Distance 43km (27 miles) Total ascent 908m Time 12 hours Start Rannoch Station (NN422578); finish Spean Bridge (NN221814) Nearest village Spean Bridge Terrain rough moorland, open mountainside, lochside tracks, steep-sided glen, forestry and minor roads Accommodation SYHA Loch Ossian (01397) 732207, www.syha.org.uk; Corrour Holiday Houses (01397) 732200, www.corrour.co.uk; Moor of Rannoch Hotel (01882) 633238, www.moorofrannoch.co.uk; Lairig Leacach bothy (NN282736) Public transport trains between Fort William and Glasgow with start and finish stations at Rannoch Station and Spean Bridge: National Rail Enquiries 08457 484950 www.scotrail.co.uk Maps OS Landranger 42 (1:50,000); OS Explorer 385 & 392 (1:25,000); British Mountain Maps Ben Nevis and Glencoe (1:40,000) Guidebooks The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland by Irvine Butterfield, pb Baton Wicks; The Central Highlands by Peter Hodgkiss, pb SMC; The Munros…

RIDGE INFO Region Snowdonia Mountain Carnedd Dafydd Location SH665635 Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL17; Harvey Superwalker (1:25,000) XT25 Snowdonia North Technicality Grade 1 scramble WE SAY... The Llech Ddu Spur takes some finding. But my, it's worth it. Confusingly, it has two names. The other is Grib Lem, which – presuming it wasn’t named after a ’Lem’ – reads as ’acute ridge’. Llech Ddu, however, translates as ’black slab’, which is infinitely preferable in the drama stakes and befits the aesthetic nicely. Tucked away deep in the bouldery, bivvy-friendly valley beneath Carnedd Dafydd’s colossal north face, the spur is the only realistic way up to the summit of Wales’ third highest mountain from this direction, and – once you’re established – never strays too far into ’scare’ territory, remaining exhilarating…

PLAN WITH THIS... Fully mapped trails Walking a National Trail this year? Then it wouldn't be a bad idea to equip yourself with a Cicerone guide, which now comes bundled with a nifty new map booklet. The booklets show the entire route, highlighted in red, on 1:25,000 OS maps, making it incredibly easy to follow. Don't want the guidebook? No probs; the map is available separately too! BUY FROM www.cicerone.co.uk BOOK THIS... Blencathra movie premiere After spending a year gazing at Scafell Pike for Life of a Mountain , outdoor film-maker Terry Abraham has swivelled his lens to Saddleback. The film is still in production, but that hasn't stopped the premiere at Penrith's Rheged Centre selling out. Happily, a second screening has already been set up, on 15…

TRAIL’S ROUTE Distance 6.1km (3¾ miles) Time 5 hours Total ascent 780m Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL39; Harvey British Mountain Maps (1:40,000) Southern Highlands Start/finish car park on the Old Military Road, NN242062 “ Move your left arm out! Get your right leg horizontal! Spread your weight! ” Guidebook writer and Trail contributor Dan Bailey once got struck by lightning on The Cobbler. He made a full recovery, although it’s left him with a strong aversion to scone-topped casseroles, the mechanical figure in the window of Timpson stores, and Northampton Town football club. Getting frostbite on The Cobbler doesn’t sound much better. As Tom and I left the Old Military Road at its base, it was cold: the sort of cold that, when combined with damp air, pervades the body,…

Spot the elusive ‘mountaineer’s bird’ The colour of the rocks in summer and the colour of snow in winter, the ptarmigan – a smaller relative of the grouse – doesn’t particularly want to be found. What’s special about this mountain dweller is that is lives exclusively in Scotland, and above 3,000ft. Pithily the RSPB’s entry on the bird notes under habitat ‘the only place to see it is on the highest mountains of Scotland’ – so what better bird to hold the affections of the hillwalker? Look out for its eye patch and tail, which remain black all year. See the reindeer herd In what could be called an early example of ‘rewilding’, 29 reindeer were reintroduced to the Cairngorms in 1952 after an 8,000 year absence. Today they are…

Alison Rose MCSP HCPC is a director at the Coach House Sports Physiotherapy Clinic and has been working as a physio for 20 years. She’s been a consultant for British Athletics since 2000, working with athletes at the last four Olympic Games. “ Is that how you always walk?” This slightly alarming question, and the accompanying look of bewilderment on the face of the person asking it, arrives less than one minute into the Full Body MOT I’m being put through by one of Britain’s leading sports physiotherapists. It’s a test I can already sense I’m failing. So far all I’ve been asked to do is walk barefoot from one side of the room to the other, but judging by the furious scribbling taking place on my examiner’s clipboard I…

1 Stay still for a moment. Sit down if you need to. 2 Breathe out, making your out breath slightly longer than your in breath. Try not to take a deep breath in – this puts more tension through the shoulders. Think about blowing up a balloon with a long, steady out breath. 3 Release tension by hunching then dropping your shoulders, clenching then releasing your fists and loosening your jaw. Shake out your legs if they’re wobbly. 4 Centre and ground yourself by pushing into the ground through your feet. 5 Sip water, or preferably sports drink, to counteract a dry mouth. 6 Pick something quite close to you – a rock or piece of grass – and get very interested in its colours, shape, texture… then move to…

QUESTION What should I do if I lose my map on the hill? ANSWER Rob Johnson MIC A qualified International Mountain Leader, Rob’s led groups all over the world via his company www.expeditionguide.com It’s not uncommon for a map to blow away just when you need it most: in bad weather when you can’t see much. With that in mind, it’s always worth carrying a spare. I normally have a 1:50,000 map that permanently lives in my rucksack in case I lose the one that I am using that day. I also have Viewranger on my phone so that I also have a digital back-up with GPS to help if I ever need it. You can also make sure that everyone in your party has their own map; that way…

TESTER PROFILE Graham Thompson Technical editor Height 5ft 11½in Weight 11st 10lb LID The lid covers the top main opening to the rucksack. It can be fixed to the rucksack or may have a ‘floating’ design that allows the main compartment to be extended vertically. To ensure water doesn’t creep under a floating lid into the main compartment when the lid is extended a little, some designs have a baffle linking the lid to the body of he sack. HYDRATION POCKET If you like to use a hydration bladder with a feeder pipe to drink from rather than a water bottle, then look for a rucksack with a pocket for the hydration bladder inside the pack. All the sacks featured here can accommodate a hydration system. WAND POCKETS Originally designed…

ROUTE INFO Distance 17.7km (11 miles) Total ascent 530m Time 5½ hours Start Spark Bridge, SD306849; finish Yewdale Hotel, Coniston (SD302975) Terrain well-marked tracks and paths for the main part with some initial grassy fields Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL6 and OL7; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 96 1 SD306849 From Spark Bridge head west, passing the Royal Oak pub. Soon afterwards take the small lane on the right adjacent to a row of terraced houses, keeping the River Crake on your right. At the end of the lane, turn right to follow a clearly marked sign, indicating ‘Lowick Green 1/2m’. Pass through a gate with a yellow arrow marker and follow the narrow path along the river bank through a series of stone finger-like stiles. At the A5084 turn right for…

WHO Ben James WHERE Braeriach, Cairngorms Ben says: ”I started my 7 Summits on 26 January, and have the last two still to go. I dragged my brother and dad along to try some winter climbing! This will also complete the ten highest UK summits in winter conditions for me. I'm hoping to Ben wins a Montane Cobra 25 rucksack worth £70! We have one of these to give away every issue, so send your 7 Summits mountain list and summit photo to trail@bauermedia.co.uk and we'll publish the winners. return at the end of February (all the way from Cornwall) to complete the challenge, pending talking very nicely to my boss!” What is the Trail 7 Summits Challenge? This year we’re challenging our readers to name, share and climb seven…