Sunday 4 November 2012

Hard Tarn


A glorious morning and I'm out of the house by 08:00.  I've swapped the trail shoes for the mountaineering boots and as I head up Raise Beck from Dunmail Raise Ive got the ice axe fastened to the back of the sack and hidden under the lid my crampons. Overkill?



I am heading past Grisedale Tarn and down to the entrance to Ruthwaite Cove.  I remember now why I decided last time never to do that again.  It's a long way and you have to descend 500 Knee jarring feet into Grisedale.



The view ahead  spurs me on and I decide not to stop for  tea until I reach the tarn.


From Hard Tarn I head NE to pick up the ridge onto Nethermost Pike.  Now Ive done this twice before.Once on hands and knees in summer when a gale was threatening to drop me into Nethermost Cove and once in winter with crampons and good conditions.  What could go wrong?


As the ground steepens I realise Im sliding down in the knee deep unconsolidated snow.  I look down from a little refuge above a boulder and realise theres a long drop below me now and I probably could not reverse what Id just come up.  Gingerly I open the sack and ever so carefully get the crampons on.
There's  30 feet of steep snow above with a lip through to some boulders.  The crampons bite into something and even the narrow alpine like ridge (above) dont cause any problems.


It's just a stroll along to Dollywaggon Pike  taking photos as I go.




Heading south west from Dollywaggon I descend the little gill that brings you out onto Willie Wife Moor and the path off Reggle Knott. This is a much better descent rout than the eroded and often icy path down Raise Beck.


No cafes were visited in the making of this blog.

10 comments:

AlanR said...

Very nice walk and some lovely photo's. Thanks Greg.

Jules said...

Lovely pics, and a good little adventure. What more could you want!

Because They're There said...

Wow. I hadn’t realised there had been so much snow in the Lakes. These routes are all new to me, Greg. I’ve not been up Nethermost Pike from Hard Tarn, but I think I’ll wait for warmer weather before I attempt it.
Great pictures – and not a soul to be seen anywhere. I’m a bit disappointed by the absence of cafes though, it must be said. It’s like getting to the end of News at Ten with Trevor McDonald and him forgetting to say: “And finally . . .”
Cheers, Alenb

Greg said...

Thanks for the comment Alan.

Martin Rye said...

Wow, wow. Nice time on the fells. Envy comes to mind.

Greg said...

Thanks Jules, yes I was lucky. A day off sun and snow , what's the chances of that?

Greg said...

Aye I'm giving the cafes a miss for a while Alen. I figured what's the point of saving 100g and spending £60 on a titanium pan when you're 2 stone over weight.
I've now lost 25 pounds.

fell running guide said...

Beautiful photos. Not had any snow yet in Peak District - just very wet.

Berghaus said...

Hi

I work for Berghaus and just wanted to say thanks for the mention of our Ilam jacket.

It certainly looks like you had the weather for it!
David- Berghaus Digital Marketing Team

Greg said...

Thanks for a great garment Berghaus, i actually bought the Asgard bas well.