In a no-blame culture it doesn’t matter that it was Noel’s idea, or that Trog called his bluff and booked us in. Indeed the experience of 3-seasons of weather is something we’ll look back on fondly when we re-visit the fells in the future (or not). On the way up a furtle around Kirkby Lonsdale in the mizzle whet(wet?) our appetites for the conditions to come, with the army checking us out en-route so they could spot us when air-sea rescue was called out over the weekend.
Of course none of us, quite, needed that and a summiting of Scafell Pike 978m, Haystacks 597m, Great Gable 899m, Allen Crags 785m and Glaramara 783m proved ample reward for some occasionally testing weather and the unavoidable rocky ascents & descents.
Socially, Keswick was a fine start, missing Julia Bradbury by a whisker in the Mountain Festival.
Black Sail groups were all a-bed by 8:45 on Friday, but Saturday saw a more sociable group. We had the chance to join the fell race in Buttermere as a team of 4, but as we had forgotten our daps we couldn’t join in to win the old gits event.
Leaving a sun-drenched vista at 6pm on Sunday, pies from Tebay services nourished our aching bodies before creeping into silent houses ready for Alicante the next day.
