Trail magazine January 2014

LIVE FOR THE OUTDOORS

LOVE HILLS, HATE COLD?

16 WAYS TO HAVE AN EPIC WINTER – FROM YOUR SOFA!

LIVE FOR THE OUTDOORS

JANUARY 2014 £3.99

THE BEST ROUTE UP BRITAIN’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN – IN WINTER

JANUARY 2014

A

WIN

£4000 OF GEAR! PAGE 67

13 WALKS + MAPS

Galloway Hills Wasdale & Borrowdale Torridon classic Tryfan the quiet way the one that listened to its sphincter and took a winter skills course.

THE 24 HOUR CHALLENGE EVEN WINTER CAN’T STOP

WALK ALL NIGHT! ▲ On the hill with Kenton Cool ▲ Boots and crampons ▲ The Brownlee brothers get high TESTED & RATED!

PLUS TACKLE SNOW LIKE A PRO WITH OUR LIFESAVING EXPERT SKILLS ❯❯

cover jan14 final.indd 1

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contents ‘this is the domain of those with mental fortitude, physical resilience and legs of only the finest stainless steel’ (or, in Trail’s case, jelly...)

basecamp

skills

Dream peak

6

Vote for our best peak!

8

Great End: evidently it ‘thrills from the walk-in’

Which mountain beats the rest? Pray tell...

The Mountain Inquisition 10

Mountain Guide

Turbines threaten important Scottish peatland

High Lights: January

Your month of mountainy stuff, sorted

Behind the picture

13

your trail

14

contents jan14 dasw.indd 1

Lyke Wake Walk

22

Winter skills course

31

20 hours, 40 miles, in North Yorkshire, in winter!

Why going on one could be the best thing you do

From Khumbu to Cumbria 38 What a top Sherpa reckoned to the rainy Lakes

16

Ben Nevis

44

Out There

18

Escapism

50

Subscribe to Trail

88

In Box

The world of hillwalking, according to you lot

Your best mountain moments, on camera

Ueli Steck’s lightning assault on Annapurna

55

How to avoid cornices; seeing the Earth’s curve; prepping winter boots; coping with a white-out; flummoxed by fill power?; weather websites PLUS best maps of Europe; down v. synthetic insulation; why don’t our hills have signposts?

Olympic medallists, the Brownlee brothers

Wind plan makes waves 12

adventures

Sign up and save a huge 66 per cent!

How hillwalkers can tackle a snowy CMD Arête

Make best use of your time trapped indoors

19/11/2013 11:34

WHERE THIS MONTH’S ISSUE WILL TAKE YOU It’s reet slippy up north.

The Lyke Wake Walk proves a tough test.

p22

p44

TOM BAILEY

Ben Nevis in winter: not necessarily out of bounds to hillwalkers.

TOM BAILEY

p10

p38

Brother act: the Brownlees conquer Kili.

JONATHAN BROWNLEE

Sherpas love Langdale: official!

SIMON INGRAM

We, ahem, pick the best ice axes and crampons.

p76

GEAR Incoming!

The must-have hill kit that’s available soon

ROUTES 64

1 2

First test

66

4-season boots

70

For solid footing on cold and wintry mountains

5

Ice axes & crampons

76

6

Lowe Alpine’s latest mammoth load-lugger

Tools to keep you safe when things turn slippy

Winter gloves

80

Trip report

84

3 4

7-9 10-12

Gripping tales of heavy-duty handwarmers

Dan visited (The) Ben; but how did his kit cope?

contents jan14 dasw.indd 2

GRAHAM THOMPSON

13

Hartsop Tryfan Seatallan Ben Nevis Ben Starav Ben Tee Borrowdale Galloway Beinn Alligin

93 95 97 99 101 103 107 113 119

13 4 5

6

10-12 7-9 3 1

2

Choose your route and go hillwalking!

19/11/2013 11:35

GO: North York Moors DO: The Lyke Wake in 24 hours Marching to Carlton Bank in fading light.

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Dark side of the Moor Brave enough to pass through Purgatory? That’s the spirit. Join Trail as we head to the North York Moors… and cross over to the other side.

Words Tim Major Photographs Tom Bailey

i

know what you’re thinking. What are they doing there? There’s nothing there that could tempt me away from peak-bagging in the Lakes or Munro-hopping in the Highlands. Well, to borrow a sentiment often credited to American car mogul Henry Ford, if you only do what you’ve always done, you’ll only get what you’ve got.

It was with this attitude that we headed to the North York Moors, a wild and windswept arena of expansive moorland and untamed moody fells.

To the uninitiated, this is the land of bird watchers, dog walkers, the occasional rambler and, of course, cuddly Sunday night TV show Heartbeat.

But there’s a game-changer: a long distance epic that should be appearing on the wish-list of endurance junkies nationwide. The challenge is to cross the moors in less than 24 hours. It’s an undulating and difficult traverse �

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winter skills

T

there are many things I’m afraid of. Clowns, for example, and identical twins. Then there are moths, aeroplanes, that woman out of Misery, horses, the sea, London… and snow.

In fact, forget all the others; snow has always been my ultimate fear inducer. I’m terrified of driving in it and, until recently, I was scared stiff of walking in it. One reason is that I’m not a big fan of lingering outside in penetrating cold. Another is that the term ‘white-out’ sends multiple shivers down my spine. And, perhaps most importantly, I don’t have any interest in being swept away by an avalanche or sliding over an icy cliff edge.

As a result, virtually all of my previous walking and scrambling has been limited to spring, summer and autumn, leaving my winters free to catch up on TV box sets, hone my PlayStation skills and do everything on page 50, twice. But this year I snapped.

I was sick of seeing mates posting Facebook pictures from the summits of snow-capped mountains, so I decided to peel myself off the sofa and do something about it.

The key thing about going out in winter is preparation. I’ve read far too many mountaineering horror stories to know that even the most basic mistakes can end in tragedy. Something as simple as forgetting to pack spare gloves, not checking the weather forecast or taking one lazy footstep can turn a simple stroll into the kind of life-threatening situation that every hillwalker dreads. What I needed was professional help, so I signed up for a winter skills course, loaded my car with tools and headed for Fort William.

Despite the aforementioned misgivings, what’s always appealed to me about winter walking is the transformation snow brings to the UK mountains. Our green hillsides, rolling ridgelines and obvious footpaths are replaced by white slopes, icy arêtes and �

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BEAT WINTER

GET SKILLED UP

USE YOUR BOOT AS A TOOL

USE YOUR ICE AXE AS A TOOL

Your winter skills course will teach you how stiff winter boots can be used as tools in their own right. If the sole is robust enough you can dig the edge into a snow slope to provide grip, and you can also create a stable platform to walk on by kicking steps in the snow.

Your ice axe can be used either as a tool to cut steps or ledges in the snow, a balance aid while walking, or to stop a slip turning into a dangerous slide down the mountain (known as ice axe arrest; see page 37). A winter skills course will help you develop all of these skills, and teach you how to carry your axe in readiness for use.

WALK SAFELY IN CRAMPONS

MASTER MOUNTAIN WEATHER

One of the big dilemmas in winter is deciding when to put on your crampons.

If not used safely, crampons can create added dangers such as tripping over your own feet and losing balance on steep slopes.

Good instructors will teach you how to use them efficiently and effectively on a variety of slope angles and snow types.

Winter weather in the UK mountains is some of the harshest in the world. High winds, moist air and low temperatures combine to produce an extremely challenging environment. You’ll learn how to spot the symptoms of hypothermia and other cold-weather injuries, how to manage your kit and how to plan your day around the conditions.

BECOME AVALANCHEAWARE

UNDERSTAND SNOW CONDITIONS

Avalanches and cornice (snow overhang) collapse are major threats to winter walkers in the UK (see page 56). Therefore, a basic knowledge of avalanche forecasts (page 37) and how avalanches occur are vital skills to learn. Good forward planning and an understanding of snow conditions, combined with sound knowledge of UK mountain weather, will help you avoid avalanche-prone ground.

PERFECT WINTER NAVIGATION

Route planning and navigation is even more important in winter than summer, because visibility is often reduced, features are less obvious, objective dangers such as cornices are greater and the general environment is harsher to function in. Route planning and navigation must take these points, and many more, into account.

An understanding of the different types of snow, how it forms and how it changes during the day can be absolutely crucial. The snow conditions on a mountain determine what kit you will use and often determine the safest route to walk.

LEARN BASIC ROPEWORK A rope can be used to safely approach an edge in poor visibility, to safeguard against the threat of cornices or to descend a slope that has been made steeper in winter, such as the top of the Pyg Track on Snowdon. Your winter skills course will teach you the basics of ropework, in case of emergency.

JANUARY 2014 TRAIL 33

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19/11/2013 11:39

LANGDALE PIKES

FROM KHUMBU …or, what two record-breaking high-altitude mountaineers made of a rainy day in the Lakes.

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS SIMON INGRAM

S

omeone helps someone else across a slippy stream.

A brief stop to adjust clothing and recompose, then both regroup over a map. Nothing remarkable about that. It’s raining. Everyone’s wet. It’s the Lake District so, again, nothing remarkable about that.

What is rather more remarkable is that this particular duo have between them stood on the summit of Mt Everest 28 times.

To this you can add a couple of ascents of Lhotse, a dozen or so of Cho Oyu (one of which was skiied down) nearly 30 climbs of Aconcagua, a few Eiger North Faces, first ascents in Pakistan, Alaska, India, a Seven Summits record and, ooh, a couple of hundred more in the same vein. One of them was born in Nepal’s Khumbu Valley, in a place called Thame. The other was born in the Thames Valley, in a place called Slough. Both are now at the peak of their chosen profession, and they’re among the most revered mountain guides in the world. They are Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Kenton Cool. We’ll presume you can work out who’s who.

And here they are hunched over a map, in the Langdale Pikes.

Which begs one question loudly, among many others: What, with so many extreme peaks having passed beneath their boots, do these two make of the drizzly hills so many of us more ❯ moderate mountaineers know and love?

38 TRAIL JANUARY 2014

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Himalayan legends need maps in the Lakes, too. Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Kenton Cool enjoy a spot of nav beneath the crags of Pavey Ark.

TO CUMBRIA

january 2014 Trail 39

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GO: Ben Nevis DO: An epic winter ridge

It’s Britain’s biggest, baddest peak. So how can a hillwalker climb it in winter?

The south face of Ben Nevis (centre) and the Carn Mor Dearg Arête (right), seen from nearby Glen Coe.

44 TRAIL JANUARY 2014

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WORDS DAN ASPEL PHOTOGRAPHS TOM BAILEY

By its gnarliest ridge, that’s how...

JANUARY 2014 TRAIL 45

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winter escapism

love mountains, hate cold?

Winter’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Here are 16 ways to hit the hills... without leaving the couch.

50 Trail january 2014

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download your year Nothing is quite as vicariously satisfying as sorting out your hillwalking year’s adventures in front of the fire. Load your photos up, edit out the blurry ones, organise them into folders then make a special folder with your very best pics. You’ll need ’em later...

follow these twitter accounts Even if you’re not into climbing winter hills, that doesn’t have to stop you enjoying the adventures of others. From the heads-up on the aurora borealis to Himalayan-slaying, Tweet-happy mountaineers, here are Trail’s recommendations. Don’t ask, just follow! @aurorawatchUK @coordinatorsais @kentoncool @AlanHinkes

@BMC_Walk @paul_steele @jacswork @trailmagazine

tool up your phone Got a smartphone? Turn it into a lean, mean outdoors machine by loading it up with the latest apps for the outdoors. Trail recommends Britain’s Best Hillwalks (iPhone), ViewRanger (Amdroid and iPhone), Hill Lists (iPhone) and Grid Reference (Android) for starters...

january 2014 Trail 51

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Mountain guide

How to survive...

A white-out

Imagine a disorientating world where you can’t tell what’s uphill or downhill, or even where the sky ends and the ground begins. It can happen – and you need to know what to do.

Know your enemy A white-out is a very dangerous weather condition when snow and sky are indistinguishable, contrast is severely reduced and visibility is compromised. This can be due to mist, windblown snow or sand, or falling snow. The horizon is not visible in a white-out, and therefore the steepness of a slope cannot be judged and edges of cliffs can be invisible. Vertigo can also result.

Make sure you know where you are White-outs don’t just appear; you’ll have some warning, and it’s then you should stop and get a position fix. If you’re equipped with a mapping-enabled smartphone or mountain satnav (GPS), use it to get an accurate position, and to formulate a safe escape route from it.

A crisp, clear day is one thing; but what if you can’t see your hand in front of your face?

Consider your options Do you think the weather is in to stay or just passing by? Have you got lots of food? You may wish to consider unrolling your emergency shelter (and, it being winter, you should have one) and hunkering down with some food for half an hour or so, nailing your location and formulating a plan.

Don’t let the white-out panic you into a rash decision.

tom bailey

Descend if it’s safe to do so Mountain whiteouts are usually altitude-related, so you might find you pop out into visibility again by dropping a little. Ensure you’re very clear about where you are and where you’re going if you do this; retrace your own steps if you can.

Handrail it out of there If there’s something really obvious nearby that isn’t likely to be obscured by snow and will lead you to safer ground – like a wall or a fence – head for it. Forests too can offer some protection from the elements.

If in doubt, throw a snowball Sometimes visibility is so bad you can’t interpret whether the ground right before your feet is sloping up or down, is level, or is a sheer cliff edge. Tossing a snowball – or the end of a rope – ahead and watching what it does is an often adopted technique. If it seems to stop mid-air, the ground ahead is ascending steeply.

Likewise, if it appears to land downhill of your feet, you may be on a descending slope. If it simply vanishes, try it again – if the same happens, you may have a drop right in front of you.

For more advice check out The Ultimate Navigation Manual by Lyle Brotherton, pb Collins. www.micronavigation.com

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Three websites to bookmark this winter... www.mwis.org.uk Detailed, expertly analysed and readable, this is the pro’s stop for forecasts. Coverage isn’t total, but most mountain areas are in there. You can also get a simplified version on your mobile by adding the suffix /mobile www.myweather2.com/ hill-and-mountain.aspx Imagine a website where you can bang the name of a summit into a search engine – particularly a Munro – and get detailed weather information for it at its foot and at the top. Imagine no more!

TOO EMBARRASSED TO ASK?

“

“

Lyle says: On pitch-black nights, sometimes the light from a headtorch can be reflected off snow and create a white-out. One way of reducing – but not eliminating – this effect is to dim your headtorch beam.

What does ‘fill power’ mean? the down, and its inherent ability to trap air and reloft after compression.

Normally found on down products such as sleeping bags and down jackets, ‘fill power’ is usually expressed as a number between 400 and 800.

Many people who think they know what fill power means actually don’t. It’s nothing to do with the amount stuffed into the jacket – it’s actually a measure of the quality of

There are two ‘standards’ – US and EU – but broadly the number refers to the volume in cubic inches that a standardised figure of 30g of down can fill when at full ‘loft’ (fluffiness). The higher-quality the down, the more expansive the feathers; the more

expansive the feathers, the more space they will fill. The more space they will fill, the more warm air they will trap.

To put that into numbers, a fill power rating of 800 means that 30g of the down in your jacket will fill 800 cubic inches of space. Counter-intuitively, jackets and sleeping bags with a higher fill power will generally be lighter and pack up smaller than those with a lower fill power.

www.sais.gov.uk Superb forecasting site for Scottish avalanche black spots – essential info for winter walkers.

Be weather

ADVERTISING FEATURE wise

Guaranteed comfort, wherever you walk Bridgedale has been a leader in sock technology for nearly 100 years, ensuring your feet stay dry and comfortable all day, time after time. Bridgedale uses three blends, or Fusions. Let’s look at one in detail…

W

oolFusion: this style is at the heart of Bridgedale’s whole ethos. Essentially it’s a blend of Enduro Wool (made from the first spin of new wool to guarantee softness and strength) which is then wrapped in a thermal yarn called Endurofil. Together they form a reservoir that absorbs moisture and pulls it away from your foot, making a sock which is hard-wearing but comfortable. WoolFusion is available in a range of styles and lengths for men and women, from the slimline Trail Ultra Light to the flagship Trekker and the higher-cut Summit Knee.

Bridgedale believes its

WoolFusion socks are simply the most durable on the market, suited to anything from the Himalayas to the Sahara to a classic British mountain walk. This might explain why polar explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Alex Hibbert choose WoolFusion for their expeditions, and why Trail loves them too.

As with all Bridgedale socks, they are made in the UK and come with a three-year guarantee.

So if you’re heading for wild places, don’t forget your Bridgedales.

JANUARY 2014 TRAIL 59

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WINTER SPECIAL!

ON TEST

WINTER GEAR If you’re heading to Britain’s high mountains this snowy season, you’ll need some specialist kit. Read on to find out what’s what...

TEST AND STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHS GRAHAM THOMPSON OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHS TOM BAILEY

4-SEASON BOOTS p70

CRAMPONS & ICE AXES p76

WINTER GLOVES p80

68 TRAIL JANUARY 2014

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THE VERDICT YOU CAN TRUST UNDERSTANDING TRAIL'S TESTS

R

MAGAZINE

BEST IN TEST This is awarded to the best in its class...

MAGAZINE

BEST VALUE ...whereas this offers the most bang for its buck.

m

= Men’s version

n

= Women’s version

What our scores mean Trail’s all for transparency and consistency in gear tests, so our scoring is done by a simple star grading system. The stars tot up to form an average star grade, to make the overall rating.

POOR BELOW AVERAGE AVERAGE GOOD PERFORMANCE THE BEST IN ITS CLASS

MAGAZINE

✱ ✱✱ ✱✱✱ ✱✱✱✱ ✱✱✱✱✱

BEST IN TEST MAGAZINE BEST VALUE

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE BEST IN TES BEST VALU

JANUARY 2014 TRAIL 69

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13 route north highlands

© Izel Photography / Alamy

classic route

‘The route continues east to tackle the Horns of Alligin, a Grade 1 scramble...’

Heading down Beinn Alligin towards the three horns, which are still in the shade.

122 Trail january 2014

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january 2014 Trail 123

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