LIVE FOR THE OUTDOORS
january 2012
R
Britain’s best-selling hillwalking magazine TOP your GE -SP m T EC g itts lov ON es: p30
exclusive!
JOE N PSuO SIM gs and eath, dr on d eeds: daring d p12
www.livefortheoutdoors.com
Lake District SKILLS
WINTER SPECIAL!
january 2012 £3.99
13 thrilling ridge walks ...bag them all! Striding Edge: you can be here! p38
Scared of snowy hills? Get skilled up: Part 1
Tested
4-SEASON BOOTS Ice axes + Crampons
Expert guides to Britain’s best mountain walks
Cairngorms
Adventure at 4000ft
WIN £1400 of kit
Get everything on p88
9 770959 903189
16 routes + maps
01>
the one where you can win a day on the hill with Adele (but not that one)
extra 32-PAGE guide!
out there Been there, climbed that? Send us a picture!
4 Trail january 2012
Send us your shots, share your adventures
Email your photos to us, along with a description of what was special about your day, and we’ll publish the most inspiring examples! Put ‘Out There’ in the subject box, and send them to trail@bauermedia.co.uk
Crib Goch Snowdonia “The scramble was unlike anything I could ever describe – it was unreal. And the views were breathtaking. But what’s a trip without drama?” So says Nichole, of her idyllic day on Snowdon. As for the drama, not long after this photo was taken on the Crib Goch ridge, Nichole and her husband witnessed a rescue attempt by an RAF helicopter on Crib Goch. You can check out their thrilling video at www.LFTO.com
january 2012 Trail 5
contents out there skills
Where this month’s issue will take you...
10
Are these pointy peaks ancient pyramids?
Exclusive! Joe Simpson 12 ...remembers a fateful day in the Alps
Dream peak
Fairfield: portrait of a Lake District classic
16
Winter’s coming!
44
All the skills you need for snowy hillwalking
Ask Trail
Snowshoes: fantastic plastic! See page 56.
50
The Northern Lights, swollen hands, gas canisters and pronouncing Welsh place names
your trail Trail Talk
18
Subscribe to Trail
30
Win! Gear worth £1,400 88 The Trail tall tale
162
neil s price
Fact or fiction?
adventures
Braeriach
22
Just when we thought we really knew this Scottish beast, we discovered we really didn’t
13 Lakeland ridges 32 T ackle the most exciting walks in the Lake District in a rundown of England’s edgiest routes
p125
Wild Adventures
Instant escapes, fantastic new kit and ways to be greener and save money!
The Alps, by snowshoe 56 Think Alpine peaks are out of reach in winter? So did we until we discoverd these babies...
p32
8 Trail january 2012
Hopegill Head north ridge – just one of Lakeland’s superb edges. Stewart Smith
january 2012
gear p80
p68 Ice axes 4-season boots
Christmas gift guide
64
Alpkit Kangri
66
4-season boots
68
Ice axes
80
Crampons
84
If you’ve been very, very good you might get some of this lovely stuff in your stocking!
ur first look at a new 2-3 person geodesic tent O
p84
Eight pairs of winter footwear go head to head
Crampons
p44 Skills for walking in winter
et a grip on snowy or icy terrain with a pair of G these portable spikes attached to your boots...
tom bailey
Which of these essential winter tools best suits your activities in the snowy outdoors?
routes
t
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A clear Finish Finis Kesw 0 Fells 4 path sic walk h ick's 2 the lowe s south around Trail The grea classic walk 2 54 Routes r contours steep, crum in asso Incredib test views 4 of the 4 on ciati of Kesw le view with 6 Lonscale bly slopes of Classic128 ick Mapy A digita from TRAs IL x Lakeland l revol 6 SEP Glendera Fell and high abov 8 ution mapping TEMBER in digita 6 for the l 10 www 2011 spectacu terra Beck, with e NY2542 .mapyx.cooutdoors. 8 12 m leads easillar views. The path climb 81 The long 14 10 as the angl ends gradually park at y back to the 7-9 lake Latri car e GRADIEN 16 of district gg. the slop decrease sep11 PROFILE T 12 es swhlps.indd 18 s and you final few Start take the 128 NY28125 Applethw Carlside steps onto Carl 1400 aite 2 descends 3 A path now Tarn saddle ahea nestles in Side. slopes around METRES 1200 Carl Side the of the dominate d, while Skid woods Latrigg through Skiddaw ABOVE 1000 at daw s the scen Skiddaw the A66 first before cross SEA 800 e. 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1
4
BAUER’S
MEDIA
3
with 3D maps
N WITH
CIATIO
6
IN ASSO
Classic Route
6
2
5
RIGHT
103
Route 6 Moel Penamnen This is an ‘absolute beaut’ of a walk, says our man
Route 13 Nantlle Ridge This issue’s Classic Route involves excellent walking along a fine rocky crest – with ‘a smidge of scambling’ thrown in for good measure
Thurso LEWIS
S
Portre
Braemar
N COPY
Snowdonia
y
Londonderr Donegal
Fancy a long weekend in the Peak District? See what Bleaklow and Derwent’s best base camp has to offer hillwalker, plus a trio of top routess
Snowdonia
ISLE OF
ISLE OF
Aviemore
© CROW
Route 5 Galloway Hills Like the sound of four lochs & three hidden hills?
113
Invergarry
Fort William
BAUER’S
101
Shiel Bridge
Inverie
Mallaig
N WITH
Southern Uplands
ISLE OF SKYE Portree
HARRI
Inverness
CIATIO
Route 4 Rhobell Fawr Easily overlooked, a hill with a stunning viewpoint
from NN111454 Start 1 the car park at the end (a little of the public road nted on short of that represe map). Go the Landranger the track of Aberdeen along the start Loch Etive and by the side of ately uphill head immedi forestry the by the side of is currently plantation. This being felled, Oban MULL of in the process out timber shipped Edinburghand the Glasgow JURA a short distance on-Tweed from a jetty Berwick-up The path up along the loch. is often very 8.9km ISLAY DistanceISLE Jedburghthe fence beside Ayr OF ARRAN and difficult (5½ miles) 960m wet and boggy, Continue Total ascent places. in Newcastle Dumfries to follow Ballantrae levels -upon-Tyne Time 5 hours until the terrain Glen Etive, uphill Londo Stewart Carlisle nderry Start/finish Newton 200m above about at off ugh 54 PenrithDoneg Middlesbro al NN1114Stranraer Keswick sea-level. town Ullapool
IN ASSO
99
Thurso
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FACTS
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Snowdonia
Route 10 Bleaklow Hill Route 11 Kinder Edges Route 12 The Derwent watershed
4 ISLE OF LEWIS HARRIS
Always take a map on the hill
S
LAND WEST HIGH
N COPY
Route 3 Benwiskin An iconic peak with a ‘breaking wave’ profile
Bamford
miles
8.9km/5½ TRAIL ROUTE
© CROW
97
Stay in one place and walk for three days! This month’s first Ultimate Weekend gives three routes from this charming Lakeland village
9
County Sligo
107
NO. AM105/0
95
Route 2 Quantock Hills Inspiring landscape with red deer if you’re lucky
Route 7 St Sunday Crag & Fairfield Route 8 Place Fell & High Dodd Route 9 The Knott & High Street
MEDIA LICENCE
Somerset
Patterdale
ION WITH BAUER’S
93
Route 1 Beinn Bheula Mountain adventure on the Cowal Peninsula
T IN ASSOCIAT © CROWN COPYRIGH
South Highlands
1
3
6
7-9 lake
14 district
sep11
swhlps.indd
128
10 16 18
12
2
14/07/2011
15:46
january 2012 Trail 9
ian whittaker
JOE SIMPSON
“If you look at my hand in the picture, it’s curled over,” says Joe. “I’ve been told it’s a childish, defensive posture. I just think it means you’re scared witless.”
12 Trail january 2012
The pair spent 12 anxious hours clinging to the remnants of the unstable ledge, unsure how many moments they had left to live.
escaping the void
In a rare and exclusive interview, Joe Simpson talks to Trail about surviving the Dru, his hero’s death and why Touching the Void defined – and crushed – his mountaineering career. Words dan aspel Joe has every reason to feel aggrieved. As he puts it, “It wasn’t a loose flake. It wasn’t some dodgy bit of granite. It was a bloody big pillar. Anybody would have slept on it.” In fact, many people had. Great people. Their ledge lay at the foot of the Bonatti Pillar. Named in honour of Italian mountaineering legend Walter Bonatti, the 2,000ft spike was the stuff of Alpine legend. Bonatti’s 1955 solo ascent – which Joe describes as “one of the greatest exploits in the history of Alpinism, to rank alongside the first ascents of the north faces of the Eiger or Matterhorn” – took five days. He and Ian were trying to make the summit in one. Having reached the ‘great roofs’ of the pillar, they were hampered by nightfall and rested on what
would prove to be a dangerously fractured ledge. Their saviour – a member of the mountain rescue team, named Yves Sandoma – was the next morning lowered onto the pillar by helicopter. The picture – taken by Ian – shows Joe gazing up at the west face of the mountain, not far from rescue but still visibly shaken. Ian never returned to the Alps, giving up climbing altogether. “That shows I’ve obviously got no bloody imagination”, says Joe. A fortnight later he saw rocks “the size of helicopters” fall from the Dru into the niche of the north face and bounce out. The rising dust completely obliterated two thirds of the west face. “We wanted to thank Yves,” he continues. “We knew just how terrifying it must have been �
brian hall
T
he 23-year-old Joe Simpson stares upwards, his expression part awe, part terror. “If you look at my hand in the picture, it’s curled over,” says Joe. “I’ve been told it’s a childish, defensive posture. I just think it means you’re scared witless.” He is standing halfway up the Aiguille du Dru above Chamonix, and he is about to die. Around him lie thousands of feet of precipice. The mountain seems ready to join it: after centuries of inactivity, it is beginning to disintegrate. “I didn’t know it was going to fall off. The damn thing had been there for 45 millennia,” says Joe. The Alpine ledge on which he had bivouacked had collapsed. Simpson and climbing partner Ian Whittaker found the ground torn from beneath them, trapping them on the sharp face of the Dru. Unable to ascend further or descend to safety, they could only await rescue. The pair spent 12 anxious hours clinging to the remnants of the unstable ledge, unsure how many moments they had left to live. They couldn’t have moved if they’d wanted to. Not in their socks. Not without ropes. “As five tons of granite went past us it cut our lines to pieces,” Joe explains. “There wasn’t enough left to abseil 20 feet. It had taken our boots [removed for the night] and most of our gear too. We were left hanging on an anchor system that was about to fail.” The few remaining supports were intended for the evening’s bivouac, nothing more. This photo was taken in 1983, two years before an expedition to Peru would spark the book Touching the Void and forever alter the trajectory of Joe’s life. As training, it was ideal. Though ambitious and capable, his climbing career has been streaked with similar flashes of tragedy and disaster, few more vivid than this moment captured on that July morning.
Joe returns to the glaciers of Siula Grande (6344m) in 2002.
january 2012 Trail 13
cairngorms
Where? Braeriach, Scotland What? A fresh look at a familiar peak
old hill new tricks We all have a peak where we’ve seen everything on offer– but have we? Trail sent our Scotland stalwart to Braeriach to find out… Words dan bailey Photographs Tom Bailey
22 Trail january 2012
Heading east from Braeriach's summit.
n
ovelty; sometimes it seems the longer you’ve been walking the less there is of it. Have you already been everywhere, done everything and got the sweaty base layer to prove it? Just once in a while I catch myself thinking I’ve seen it all. World weariness is most likely to strike when I’m thinking about celebrity summits and their headline routes, crowd-pleasers that appear to be cloned in every guidebook, trails that always seem to attract the traffic. These are the walks we all tend to gravitate to, treading them again and again like needles on a scratched record. Perhaps they’re busy because they’re great, yet the fact remains that you probably already know them better than your own back yard. But try not to let familiarity breed contempt, because the chances are that even on your most-visited hill there are hidden corners, whole ridges, entire corries even, whose existence you’ve hitherto overlooked in your well-worn groove to the top. Like the unfortunate flayed feline of proverb, there’s more than one way to skin any summit; so try sneaking up on a familiar fell from an unexpected angle and you might just nose out all sorts of surprises. Go on, have a sniff. What’s that smell? A vague whiff of adventure. �
january 2012 Trail 23
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Check your hand sizthee
TOM BAILEY
ht hand with Place your rig llow ainst this ye right edge ag t size is where es ar line. Your ne of your hand the other edge wnload at do Or t. ar crosses the ch m/glovechecker www.lfto.co
January 2012 Trail 31
Learn avalanche avoidance skills – page 48.
These are spikes you’ll like! Page 46.
Who’d have thought practising a life-saving technique could be so much fun? Page 44.
Offend fewer locals! Page 52.
skills
Trail's Skills section is put together by outdoor experts to help you get the best out of yourself in the UK’s high places. Here you can find cutting-edge information, handy hints and tips – and expert advice tailored especially for you. Simply ask Trail!
guide to... Winter: crampon and ice axe skills 44 ask trail Where to see the Northern Lights How to avoid getting swollen hands Remote gas canisters: the low-down Pronouncing Welsh place names
50 51 52 52
january 20121 Trail 43
ask trail
your problems solved by our hillwalking experts So you’ve got a problem that needs solving, but don’t want to lose face with your mountain mates? Don’t worry, Trail’s expert team is here to help… Graham thompson
GT has been Trail’s technical editor for over 20 years, and he’s a fountain of knowledge on all aspects of walking kit.
Simon ingram Trail’s editor is a Mountain Leader trainee, and he’s been on more mountains than most of us could dream about.
jeremy ashcroft
Mountaineering editor Jeremy has a wealth of experience in the UK and overseas, and he’s here to solve your problems.
PeteR mAcfarlane Peter’s our lightweight expert, and he can give you all the advice you need about saving weight on the hill.
Ask us a question!
Why do my hands swell? Q
I recently completed the Three Peaks Challenge, having carried out plenty of training beforehand. However, I noticed that my hands swelled while walking. Can you give me any insight into why this happens? Sadie Clayton, via email
A
Swollen hands and fingers are usually related to vasodilation, a natural cooling process whereby your blood vessels expand, allowing increased blood flow just below the skin. It’s perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Even if you do look like a tomato. Another major factor is simply trapped fluids. During exercise your heart rate increases, pumping more material through your veins and arteries. While a hillwalker’s legs are working hard and moving blood and water around quickly, their arms are relatively stationary, which encourages fluids to ‘pool’ in the hands and fingers. Runners experience this phenomenon too.
If you’ve got a question about hillwalking, don’t suffer in silence. Get in touch and ask our team. ›› Post your queries to: Ask Trail, Trail, Bauer, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Even better, email us: trail@bauermedia.co.uk and put ‘Ask Trail’ in the subject box. (Sorry, but we can only answer the questions that appear in the magazine.)
50 Trail january 2012
If your hands are this swollen you’re beyond our help!
One of the best solutions is to use walking poles. The regular movement will help keep your arms and hands loose, stretched and free from fluid. You could also try carrying a bouncy ball or stress reliever to lightly grip from time to time. Raising your arms above your head, stretching your fingers out for a few seconds and then making a fist works just as well. If you’re feeling festive you can even play an imaginary accordion for a minute or two. Before you hit the hills, we’d also recommend you loosen or remove any tight rings, straps or bracelets too.
your questions answered Can I invert a gas canister?
Q
I recently bought a Primus Spider, but having never owned a remote canister stove before I was wondering… when it’s running low on gas, what would happen if I inverted the canister? Is it safe? Will it improve burner performance? Chris Walker, via email
Some newer stoves however do rely on an inverted canister. Much like pump-activated canisters, they use gas pressure to force liquid fuel out of the container to the base of the burner, from where it evaporates and ignites. It’s tempting to believe what’s good for one stove is good for another, but it’s not true. Rather boringly, decent wind protection is the best way to aid ouput on a traditional stove.
A
Inverting the canister won’t help, unfortunately. In reality you’ll just cause spluttering, or worse. Traditional stoves rely on evaporated vapour inside the canister to keep the burner supplied with fuel. The less vapour left, the lower the pressure and the less impressive the output of the stove. Inverting the stove will place the heavier, liquid part of the fuel against the nozzle, making it harder for the gas to escape. It’s both unnecessary and potentially dangerous.
How to tell how much fuel is left in a canister If we’re honest, we’ve all got a stash of half-used gas canisters at home that we’re never going to take out on the hills for fear of running dry. To solve this, weigh a halfempty canister, time how long it takes to burn until empty, and then weigh it again. That way next time you measure another ‘not-full’ canister you’ll be able to work out exactly the weight of fuel left in it and how many minutes of cooking that equates to!
Help me speak Welsh!
Q
How do I pronounce the names of the Welsh mountains? Everyone seems to say them differently, and I’m embarrassed to ask! Are there any simple rules I can remember to help me? Amelia Askey, via email
A
If you’re English, pronouncing Welsh can be a tricky task as it derives from the Gaelic family of languages, unlike our own Germanic Anglo-Saxon tongue. They may share (mostly: Welsh has no k, q or z) the same letters, but they often come loaded with wildly different pronunciations that can vary from valley to valley! Luckily there are a few simple rules you can follow when walking in Cymru (or ‘Kum-ree’). There are nine letters (or pairings) which catch out visiting anglophones: c, ch, dd, g,
ll, f, ff, w and y. The rules to mastering these frightening phonetics are nice and clear, so assume your best Rob Brydon impression and try these on for size... c is like the English ‘kick’ eg: Caernarfon (kyre-nar-von). ch is like the Scottish ‘loch’. dd –is like the English ‘breathe’ eg: Beddgelert (beth-gell-airt). g is like the English ‘get’ eg: Beddgelert (beth-gell-airt). ll is pronounced thl eg: Llanberis (thlan-ber-ris) f is like the English ‘of’ eg: Felindre (veh-lin-dray). ff is like the English ‘off’ eg: Ffestiniog (fest-in-yog). w is like the English ‘swoon’ eg: Llanrwst (thlan-roost). y is pronounced like a ‘u‘ at the start of the word, and an ‘i‘ at the end, eg: mynydd (‘mun-ith’).
Top Welsh peaks pronounced With those tips in mind, here’s Trail’s guide to pronouncing some popular Welsh peaks… Tryfan – ‘truh-van’ Pen y fan – ‘pen-uh-van’ Cnicht – ‘kuh-nicht’ Cadair Idris – ‘cadder-id-ris’ Carnedd Llewelyn – ‘car-neth thl-oo-el-in’
Glyder Fawr – ‘glidder vowerr’ (to rhyme with ‘hour’) Elidir Fawr – ‘el-id-ir vow-err’ Glyder Fach – ‘glidder vakh’ Moel Siabod – ‘moil shabbod’ Crib Goch – ‘crib goch’
Yr Wyddfa ‘urr oo-i-th-va’… or more simply - ‘Snowdon’ Listen to real Welsh: www.walkhighlands. co.uk; www.munro magic.com
LAKE DISTRICT
ed g es of
It’s the ultimate thrill-seeker’s journey: your guide to 13 of
U
nderfoot, the ground turns from mossy pelt to a bare vertebrae of angled slabs. Soon, this arches into a spine, elegant and cold. Drops open either side, gently first, then quicker; your breath copies. There is no longer any doubt as to the forward direction – you’ve found the edge, and there it goes, your way ahead. This is The Thrill. The places where these feelings bubble and spit are among the most famous, infamous areas of the UK’s mountains – the ridges and edges of the Lake District. Covering every range of walking, from skyway hands-inpockets struts to hands-on-rock expeditions, these routes offer the perfect places to see the mountains at their most dramatic and dynamic. The pages that follow collect and issue a call to arms to Lakeland’s 13 best arêtes, skyline ridges and rock walkways. Treat these pages as a tick-list, and you’re guaranteed that the finest mountain walks in England will pass beneath your boots before you’re done. Treat them as a ladder of challenge and you’ll find yourself contemplating personal benchmarks of thrill and adventure. Perhaps you’ve got the skill and nerves to tackle them under snow – or perhaps you’d rather wait until spring, then knock them all off in a flurry of edgy action. Either way, pack your sense of adventure...
Before you go...
Some of these routes are exposed or scrambly: tackling them in winter requires skills for dealing with snow, ice and difficult terrain in bad weather. Exercise caution.
32 Trail january 2012
Sleet How's broad ridge during a cloud inversion, with Skiddaw’s and Blencathra's summits on the skyline.
gr e atness 13 Sleet How, Grisedale Pike
Words from the edge
Grisedale Pike is often considered one of the most arresting peaks in Lakeland, its pyramidal form a thorn on the Coledale horizon. Sleet How is a fine approach onto this fell, and a perfect step up from fell and valley paths to airier, altogether more electrifying ridge-walking. There’s little to fear: drops are unthreatening, and only the final pull onto the summit of Grisedale Pike requires you to give a little extra thought to your foot placements. But the area’s wild, scraped position in the North-Western Fells and Sleet How’s lofty skywalk and commanding views of the surrounding fells will grip you and make you hungry for more.
FACTFILE
"A sublime slice of the Lakes, which offers the joy of being high without any of the dread of a spindly crest. Grisedale Pike is a worthy objective that never leaves your sight as you ascend. I did it in wind and, fittingly, sleet – and still loved it.” Simon Ingram, Trail editor Location North-Western Fells, NY203226 Character broad, high-level moorland ridge which steepens to rock on the approach to Grisedale Pike In summer no significant difficulties In winter beware of high winds and cornices
january 2012 Trail 33
© Crown copyright in association with BAUER’s media licence no. AM105/09
© Stewart Smith / Alamy
the Lake District’s most charismatic ridges... from softie to scary.
tom bailey
magazine
magazine
best in test best value
gear
Only the best products receive Trail's Best in Test or Best Value awards. Keep your eyes peeled for them!
ABOUT OUR TESTS Our tests are carried out by experts so you know you're getting a proper verdict based on years of experience. To keep things consistent, prices are the manufacturers' suggested retail prices, and our five star ratings are as clear as it gets...
christmas gear guide! alpkit kangri tent 4-season boots group test buyer's guide ice axes buyer's guide crampons
✱ ✱✱ ✱✱✱ ✱✱✱✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱
64 66 68 80 84
Poor Below average Average Good performance The best in its class
january 2012 Trail 63
gear Christmas
gift gu de Santa’s coming, and if you’ve been very, very good he may leave one of these musthave bits of swag in your stocking! Words Phoebe Smith Photographs Tom Bailey
Memory-Map Adventure Kit £30 Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket £150
A well-made insulating layer for all your winter adventures which is lightweight and packs down tiny. www.cotswoldoutdoor.com
Light My Fire Spork Titanium £14 Be the envy of your friends who only have the plastic version. www.lightmyfire.com
Includes an app, maps and a stormproof case, all for your iPhone. www.memory-map.co.uk
Vibram Five Fingers KSO Trek £150
Designed for walking – with a robust leather upper and sock liner. Time to see if your feet are tough enough! ww.vibramfivefingers.com
Brasher Boot Care Kit £10
Help your loved ones make their leather boots last longer – and save having to fork out on a new pair of footwear for them – genius! www.brasher.co.uk
Be green and trendy with this classic water bottle. www.sigg.com
Nut iPhone Protector £20
Aladdin Bento Lunch Box £13.30
Protect your beloved iPhone so you can use its GPS on the hill whatever the weather (unless the batteries die...). These are designed and made in the UK. www.okoqu.com
Primus C&H vacuum bottle £15
Slip a little something hot in your bag this winter – available in 6 fantastic colours. www.primus.se
Like a thermos for food, this nifty box keeps your grub hot or cold. www.aladdinpmi.com
Jetboil
Fry Pan £40, Utensil Kit £9, Coffee Press £12.50 Pimp Trail’s last subscriber gift with some of this cooking bling. www.jetboil.com
Cébé ICE 8000 Glacier Sunglasses £90
64 Trail January 2012
Sigg Heritage £17.50
Ideal for mountain use, with great lenses and a sleek design that strikes a good balance between goggle and glasses. www.cebe.com
Lowe Alpine Illusion Pack £30
Magellan Explorist GC £140
A GPS dedicated for the treasure-huntlike sport of geocaching with the world’s most popular geocaches pre-loaded. www.magellangps.com/uk
A16 litre daypack that weighs just 280g and folds into its own pocket – magic! www.lowealpine.com
Grower’s Cup Coffeebrewer £2 For the on-the-hill coffee connoisseurs, one bag makes three tasty cups. www.growerscup.com
The North Face Nuptse Tent Mules Fur II £35 Embers Merino LS Chase (women’s) £46 Zip Duotone (men’s) £52
Naturally antibacterial and antipong, these funky base layers are great for year-round comfort. www.embersmerino.com
Luxuriate in your camp in style in these incredibly comfortable slip-ons that are also water-resistant, durable and packed with 450 fill power down. www.thenorthface.com
Yaktrax Pro £22 Don’t let the icy paths put you off keeping fit for the hills – invest in a pair of these for slippery trail running this winter. www.yaktrax. co.uk
Brunton Pocket Scope £22.50
Perfect for twitchers who want a compact option for hillwalking. www.brunton.com
Good quality speakers great for camping as they’re weather resistant and rechargeable.
Created by climber Ueli Steck for the extremes, this little gem is also perfect for everyday adventures. www.whitbyandco.co.uk
Kids’ and Adult (2 pairs) £14 Impregnated with the anti-tick product Durallin, these socks will keep the biting parasites safely at bay. www.travelhealthstore.co.uk
Hats, scarfs, gloves, socks £10-40 Combining the comfort of snuggly merino wool with some, let’s face it, very jazzy colours, Smartwool has your winter accessories sorted. www.smartwool.com
Goal Zero Rock Out Portable Speaker £40
Wenger Titanium Line Ueli Steck Special Edition £110
Care Plus Bugsox
Smartwool
www.goalzero.com
MSR Alpine Deluxe Kitchen Kit £45
For the camping chef who has everything. www.msrcorp.com
DK / Royal Geographical Society Mountaineers £25
A beautifully produced book that’s crammed full of photographs certain to inspire and impress any mountain aficionado. www.dk.com For more gift ideas see our exclusive extra on www.lfto.com
group test what we tested Berghaus Kibo £200 Asolo Sherpa GV £200 Boreal Triglav £210 Mammut Monolith GTX £220 AKU Spider Light GTX £235 Scarpa Manta GTX £240 Zamberlan VAjolet £240 La Sportiva Trango Alp GTX £240
4-season
boots While a pair of 4-season boots can be used with crampons on more challenging icy ground, they are also ideal for long mountain days in the snow, making them the perfect winter hill and mountain footwear...
Test & Studio photographs Graham Thompson Outdoor photographs Tom Bailey
If you want a pair of boots that will perform on winter mountains, read on...
68 Trail January 2012
4-season boots
JANUARY 2012 Trail 69
buyer’s guide Length of spikes
Long spikes will give a better grip in snow, but they will also catch more easily on gaiters and protrusions while crossing uneven ground of rock, snow and ice. So choose long spikes for use on snow, but go for shorter spikes for mixed ground.
Sharpness of spikes
Antiballing plates
Sharp spikes are ideal for getting a grip on ice, but they also snag easily on gaiters and they will wear down more quickly than blunt spikes. So unless you are heading for hard, steep ice, then slightly blunted spikes are all you need.
These attach to the base of the crampon and help to reduce the amount of snow that sticks to the crampon.
Fit
Crampons need to fit your boots; so always try crampons on your own boots before purchase and keep hold of the instructions in case you need to adjust them at a later date.
Number of spikes
Crampons
The more points you have, the more secure your grip will be on steep, slippery slopes. But fewer spikes save weight and money. So walker’s crampons often have 10 points, while climbers and mountaineers go for crampons with 12 spikes.
Get a grip on snowy or icy terrain with a pair of these bad boys attached to your boots... Words Jeremy Ashcroft Photographs Tom Bailey
Binding
Some binding systems attach the crampons to your boots more easily than others. C1 crampons are often fitted with straps, while C2 and C3 crampons are often fitted with quick-release heel clips, which are the easiest and fastest binding method.
84 Trail january 2012
Classification
To help with choosing crampons to match your boots there is a classification system. You need to find out what classification your boots are and a good shop assistant will be able to help if you don’t know. Boots rated as B1 can be fitted only with C1 crampons. Boots rated as B2 can be fitted with C1 or C2 crampons. Boots rated as B3 can be fitted with C1, C2 or C3 rated crampons. C1 crampons are usually flexible, C2 crampons are articulated and C3 crampons are completely rigid.
crampons
best for value hillwalking
best for occasional use Stubai
Camp
Trekking 10 Point Universal £82
Magix £85
A 10-point crampon that is exceptionally compact, and for its price fairly light, making it ideal for those who tend to carry their crampons in their rucksack and use them only occasionally on their boots. The crampon has two points that are turned through 90 degrees to help with stability on slopes. There is also some 3D stamping towards the front points to add some extra strength. The crampon is easy to adjust and fit with the straps combined with toe and heel mouldings. This year’s anti-balling plates are pre-fitted and very lightweight, shaving a few grams off the whole package. The spikes are of a longer and more traditional length, which is good for use in snowy conditions, but they can feel a tad clumsy over mixed ground of exposed rock combined with thin snow or ice. A functional crampon with at a glance generally good features for Materials NiCroMo steel winter walking, but some others Classification C1 Size one size (fits 34-51cm) have the edge in dealing with Weight 906g (pair including technical terrain. anti-balling plates) www.trailwise.co.uk
An interesting crampon offering 10 points, of which two are normal curved front points and the remaining eight vertical ones are rotated at 45º. This set-up is designed to reduce snow balling. The flex is fairly relaxed and the spikes are not too long, a combination which makes walking easy. Fitting is via toe and heel cradles with a nylon strap, which makes a very accommodating set-up that will fit an extensive range of boots. The length is adjusted by a spring-loaded pin and again is easy to adjust, even with gloved hands. Walking in them does take a little bit of getting used to, particularly if have used more conventional spike designs in the past. However once you become accustomed to the nuances of the required action they give a very positive grip on all forms of winter terrain, and at all gradients. at a glance These crampons are perfect for Materials steel the weight-conscious mountain Classification C1 walker, and will on odd occasions Size one size (fits 36-48cm) Weight 855g (pair including prove useful for steeper ground. anti-balling plates) www.camp.it
january 2012 Trail 85
clockwise from top left: Kieron gribbon, Ronald Turnbull, Paul Richardson, Ben Winston, Phoebe Smith
P101
P97
Routes
p119
Trail Routes use OS mapping and gradient profiles, and are written by walking experts. This month we feature six hilly gems that only locals know about - virtually guaranteed crowd-free! Look out for the ‘Did You Know?’ panel for extra facts with which to impress your walking friends! Download these routes and GPS waypoints at lfto.com/routes
P114 P108
1 2 3 4 5 6
Beinn Bheula Quantock Hills Benwiskin Rhobell Fawr Galloway Hills Moel Penamnen
14.5km p93 15.8km p95 16km p97 13.7km p99 18.7km p101 13.9km p103
ultimate weekend – Patterdale 7 St Sunday Crag 14.8km p108 8 Place Fell 12.4km p109 9 The Knott 17.4km p110 ultimate weekend – Bamford 10 Bleaklow Hill 21km p114 11 Kinder Edges 24km p115 12 The Derwent Watershed 16km p116 classic route 13 Nantlle Ridge
15.6km p119