Crianlarich peaks

Peaks: Ben More (1174m), Stob Binnein (1165m)
Area: Crianlarich, Southern Highlands
Possibly the most sustained continuous climb in the British Isles? This was an ideal short but intense work-out to break our journey home, as the 1000m+ vertical interval begins from the road in Glen Dochart and ends on the summit of Ben More. It is absolutely relentless and not really runnable (for me, anyway). However, I went flat out and managed to skirt the rocky hollow of Sloc Curraidh and gain the summit cairn in less than an hour (58:50). A crystal clear morning had sadly given way to cloudy conditions, but I had hazy views throughout. I passed dozens of early starters on Ben More so had the continuation ridge to myself. This gave excellent running down to the pronounced Bealach Eadar da-Bheinn. A large snowfield lent definition to Stob Binnein's ridge: indeed, this peak is well defined, graceful and more aesthetically pleasing than its slightly higher twin (although as a result of their height both are very prominent landmarks throughout this part of the Highlands). I thoroughly enjoyed the ascent of Stob Binnein - which I managed in 10 minutes from the col. Flat out running back to the col, then the contouring path which gave superb level running with views of the Bridge of Orchy hills until plunging steeply down to pick up a good path in Glen More. Back to car, sweaty (2:14 road to road), to continue the drive back to Wales. Total climbing for the week (Sat-Sat) was over 7500m/25000ft.

Beinn a'Bheithir

Peaks: Sgorr Dhonuill (1024m), Sgorr Dhearg (1001m), Sgorr Bhan (947m)
Area: Beinn a'Bheithir, Central Highlands
This shapely massif is nicely poised above Loch Leven and lends itself to a fine traverse. Kate dropped me off at the car park in Gleann a'Chaolais and I ran through the conifer forests which spoil the northern slopes of the massif, promising to meet them the standard two hours later in Ballachulish itself. I was last here in 1989, when I failed to find the way through the forests. Now, it is all much clearer, and nicely runnable - which meant I gained the broad gully above the trees in less than half an hour of running. This leads steeply up Coire Dearg to gain an awkward shifting scree funnel. Steep, loose and tiring, and the whaleback ridge above is slightly disappointing. After around 1k of gentle uphill trotting, however, I gained the summit of Sgorr Dhonuill in 58m (these hour-long Munro climbs have become a familiar holiday theme). This has famously excellent seaward views, poised as it is above Loch Leven, Ardgour and Lismore. Sadly, it was a little hazy with high clouds after a crystal clear morning. Still, onward prospects looked superb. A surprisingly rocky and exposed ridge (for a few metres) leads from Dhonuill down to a pronounced col. The ridge stays well defined throughout, though broad, and leads quickly to the summit of Sgorr Dearg, the companion peak and second Munro. From here, I was pleased to see that the onward traverse over the sub-peak of Sgorr Bhan looked well worthwhile - a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing curving ridge, set off by the remains of a large snowfield and cornice. Tremendous running down this beautiful ridge, with views directly ahead opening out over Bidean nam Bian, Aonach Eagach and the other peaks of Glencoe. From Sgorr Ban, I should have headed east down a spur to the valley but instead followed the excellent ridge of Ben Ban - poised directly above Ballachullish with good views over to the Mamores and Ben Nevis. The path then contoured unhelpfully round and back up the valley, losing me valuable time! So I left it and bushwhacked down through bog and heather to emerge at the village school: met the family in a cafe around 2:22 after leaving Gleann a'Chaolais, a very enjoyable traverse. A tranquil afternoon on Lismore followed.

Dalmally peaks

Peaks: Beinn a'Chochuill (980m), Beinn Eunaich (989m)
Area: Glen Strae, Central Highlands
Completely overshadowed by neighbouring Ben Cruachan, these peaks nevertheless give an enjoyable and very runnable outing. They made an obvious pre-breakfast target from our Taynuilt cottage, and I got back before 10am. I'd already done Ben Cruachan in 2005, and although we had wonderful ever-changing views of it and the Taynuilt Peak from our front room window, I thought it better to tread new ground. A short drive from the cottage meant it was only 7.30am as I set off on the long and gradually inclining track which makes for fast running above the Allt Mhoille towards the head of the valley. After 4 or 5k, a very tenuous path heads steeply up the vague SE ridge of Beinn a'Chochuill. Surprisingly windy and cold as I gained the main ridge - with obvious 'weather' approaching. Yes, I was getting the worst of the day's conditions again. I pelted along the superbly runnable ridge to the summit (58m from the road), and its famously excellent views of Ben Cruachan, keen to get them before the weather closed in. I did so, and was not disappointed - the entire massif, one of Scotland's finest, in perfect detail and complete with quite a bit of old snow in the gullies. More fabulous running back down the ridge to a steeper descent and good views over to Ben Starav and the Blackmount. Inevitably, the weather closed in for my ascent of Beinn Eunaich although the rain stayed fairly light. I took a bearing from the summit and ran flat out down the south ridge to Stob Maol and a steep descent back to the valley (2:28 in total). Back, as planned, in time for breakfast.

Beinn Lora

After a day trip to Mull, and a walk round Craignure, we tagged this splendid little hill (a 300m 'Marilyn') on to the end of our day after seafood in Oban. Left Benderloch with K and E and enjoyed the tracks through the forest and the superb views over the Firth of Lorn from the 'Eagle's Eyrie'. E enjoyed negotiating the boggy ground below the summit, and the views of Lismore, Mull and the sea were superb - as showers tracked across the Firth of Lorn and the Beinn a'Bheithir massif, but missed us.

Bridge of Orchy peaks

Peaks: Beinn Dorain (1076m), Beinn an Dothaidh (1004m)
Area: Glen Orchy, Central Highlands
This beautiful peak is a famous landmark that marks the entrance to the Central Highlands: a near-perfect cone that sweeps down to the A82. But although I'd driven past Beinn Dorain dozens of times, I'd never been up it (or its neighbour Beinn an Dothaidh) before. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for a quick run to stretch my legs after the Jura race. We'd all enjoyed a family walk round Glen Nant yesterday, and all drove over to Bridge of Orchy at midday in changeable conditions of squally showers with some hope of a clearance later. Kate dropped me off at the station, giving me two hours for both peaks while they went in search of lunch. I felt quite good for the runnable but not very scenic path up Coire an Dothaidh, making very quick progress up to the rocky terrain around the head of the cwm as it closes in on both sides. Sadly, the weather also closed in at this point and I got a real soaking as I gained the flat bealach between the two peaks. Torrential rain and fairly brisk winds for the onward route, which weaves up a flat ridge to two steepish snowfields. Then an interesting and intricate onwards route to the right of some crags and the main ridge: occasional fleeting views down to the A82 far below. This twists around until eventually curving back on itself to the summit in 60 minutes from Bridge of Orchy. A brief but memorable clearance gave views south over Beinn Challum to Ben More before the weather closed in again. Superb running led back to the bealach, then a very boggy slog up the less interesting (but still shapely) peak of Beinn an Dothaidh - the second Munro. Misty on the summit, so I pelted back through the bog to meet the family at the station just as the sun came out (2:18 in total).

Jura fell race

Race: Isle of Jura fell race (28k/2370m)
Peaks: Dubh Bheinn (530m), Glas Bheinn (562m), Aonach Bheinn (500m), Bheinn a'Chaolais (733m), Beinn an Oir (785m), Beinn Shiantaidh (757m), Corra Bheinn (573m)
Time/Position: 4.36.57 (69th from 213)
Probably the most interesting and memorable mountain race in the British Isles. A magical event, with a superbly challenging and scenic course accentuated by its location on this inaccessible island: just getting to the start is an adventure in itself. We finally managed to combine the race with our usual Whit family holiday in Scotland, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the journey via Dumbarton to Tarbet and the north of Kintyre to the Port Ellen ferry. A nice day exploring the delights of Islay, including several calling corncrake, then we took the small ferry across to Jura and a sunny but windy camp near the little river running down to the sea from the island's only hotel. Venison lasagne was good ballast for the race, which started in perfect sunshine next morning, the few remaining tendrils of mist peeling away from Beinn an Oir as we began the long but gradual climb into the wilds leading up to the first hill of Dubh Bheinn. The views of sea and mountain soon become spectacular: out over Islay, then over to Kintyre, Ben Cruachan and Mull. Lovely running past beautiful little lochans over the steeper second peak of Glas Bheinn led to the highlight of the day: a perfect runnable ridge to Aonach Bheinn with the sea glistening below, Colonsay coming into view and the first Pap (Bheinn a'Chaolais) towering above the deep cleft of Astaile. The first very steep descent follows, losing thousands of feet down to the deep and wild valley of Gleann Astaile. Here lies the only water source, so I drank tactically from the stream and filled a collapsible bottle which I sipped on the massive climb up Chaolais. Hard to exaggerate the steepness and length of this quite intricate ascent up the first of the Paps. A little cloud passed over the summit, giving some shade, but it was a superb place raised directly above the Atlantic and the beautiful beaches of Colonsay (the Irish hills of Antrim visible in the distant south?). The next descent was one of the roughest I've ever experienced, steep and exciting initially, then a combination of unhelpfully large scree and small boulders. A 'controlled fall' down this, starting to pick up a few places after a very slow start, led down to another superbly wild col between the two highest Paps and above Gleann an t-Siob. Then it is straight into the next big climb up the wonderful highpoint of the island, Beinn an Oir (Hill of Gold). This has a little light scrambling to ease the pain, and if anything is steeper than Chaolais. The climax of the hill is a narrow and bouldery ridge, and more stunning views now focused on the wild north and west of the island - completely uninhabited and untracked. An easier descent leads to a short and mercifully flat, broad col, before the third and final Pap of Beinn Shiantaidh. I was tiring now, and ate a bit on the climb (no water source, so I was glad I'd been so diligent at the stream on Chaolais). The descent from Shiantaidh is perhaps the worst of all, certainly the most notorious, as a direct line to the final peak leads over a crag. This means that a circuitous route down arduous shifting boulders, intertwined with good runnable scree, leads to a long and easy contouring route (far from direct) down to the remote Lochanan Tana and the cruel final climb up the 'extra' peak tagged to the end of the route. This was hard, steep and heathery, and a few sweets on the summit of Corra Bheinn were welcome. Hot sunshine now for the very long and very boggy descent down to the road: arduous and knee-deep mud in places. After the final checkpoint at the Three Arch Bridge (crowds, people, tarmac!) a 5k+ section of road leads past a series of lonely white-sand beaches to Craighouse and the finish at the Distillery. Went past 6 or 7 on the road but still finished miles down the field: still, I had no intention of racing even if I'd been capable of doing so over this distance. It was lovely to jog round in 'holiday mode' and savour the views. A truly wonderful circuit: I'd always felt that the Laugavegur in Iceland (done in 2008) would never be beaten as a mountain running experience, but this got very close to it (and my other longstanding favourite - the Jungfrau marathon).

Llandegla Mountain Biking

MTB route: Bwlchgwyn-Llandegla Black/Red-Bwlchgwyn
Distance: 25k
Extended the normal route by cycling up from below Bwlchgwyn, then met Rich and repeated the Red Route, but branched off for the recently completed 'B-Line' Black Extension. This is quite exciting, particularly as I struggled with what is now virtually non-existent suspension on my front forks. Some steep North Shore type obstacles, and many big ramps and sharp climbs. All in glorious warm sunshine. Enjoyable, as was the excellent barbecue at the cafe afterwards. This stood me in good stead for a wild camp with E that afternoon. We tried several secluded camping spots in Idwal, all of which were too windy, made an evening meal on a bluff overlooking Nant Ffrancon, then retreated to the valley for an excellent camp (in advance of a Capel-Crafnant partial walk next morning).

Clwydian race route

An attempt to link various fell race routes into a longer training circuit, ostensibly to check on the condition of the forthcoming Hotfoot race - which I've taken over the organisation of this year. It was also hopelessly late last-minute training for the Jura fell race (in 8 days time!), so a tad worrying as I struggled on the climb up Moel y Gaer after the descent from Penbarras (Hotfoot up Famau route). Superbly clear evening views over Snowdonia compensated, and I felt better for the ridge along from Famau over Dywyll (now following the Llangynhafal Loop route). From the end of this section, I descended the bridleway towards Cilcain (Clwydian fell race route), then contoured along to descend the normal Collie route. I met Huw et al, and we then ran back up to the top of Famau (Collie classic route!), then down to Penbarras and my car. A lengthy but slow outing.

Thurstaston MT race

Race: Thurstaston Multi-Terrain Challenge (6m)
Time/Position: 37.09 (11th from 121 [3rd V40])
A disastrous pacing error saw me blow up completely half way along the horribly long bridleway leading to the finish. I had to walk for a while on the fields as several chasers flew past: desperately unpleasant, particularly as I normally pride myself on my (slow) pacing. This part of the Wirral was almost Hebridean-feeling this evening, as the sun set over the Dee estuary and the Welsh hills beyond. Beautiful weather and a great race, with superb running along the beach for 1.5 miles: I was feeling quite good for this section, and was up in 6th place as we left the sand and headed up twisting roads to the woodland. I started to struggle a bit on the little paths through the trees, then lost it completely on the very long, very straight bridleway that leads to the finish at the visitor centre. Obviously went off too fast, or perhaps feeling the effects of over-racing (four races in ten days).

Ras Moel Eilio

Race: Moel Eilio fell race (8m/3000ft)
Peaks: Moel Eilio, Foel Gron, Foel Goch, Moel Cynghorion
Time/Position: 1.22.16 (8th from 56 [3rd V40])
This turned into a painfully slow 'survival-mode' plod across the ridge into a ferocious headwind and torrential rain. The effect was like a horizontal power shower switched to 'cold', and brought back fond memories of similar outings in the past (OMM Borrowdale, 1000m peaks 2009, Foel Fras, Mynydd Troed etc etc). It was no worse than any of those, but it was worse than might have been expected given the forecast and the lowly nature of these hills above Llanberis. The field was small but fairly strong and although I managed a reasonable pace from Llanberis along the tracks to the ridge, as soon as we turned up towards Moel Eilio the headwind tore into us and made running (for me) almost impossible. Just a heads down plod to the top of Eilio, then the wind got really fierce. The crosswinds were almost dangerous as we crested the little spur above the gullies on Foel Gron: I was blown over here, and a minute or two later I fell quite badly on the descent from Foel Gron, saturated scree and grass helping me slide and minimising loss of flesh. Finally, at the head of Maesgwm the wind turned and helped a bit for the long climb up Cynghorion although I was mildly hypothermic by this point. The steep descent back to the valley was a rather stiff and cautious affair as a result, and I couldn't catch the two runners in front on the long run in along the track down to Llanberis. Great job done by the marshalls in difficult circumstances. Peter and I recovered with a bowl of chips and mug of tea in Pete's Eats.

Dinas Bran hill race

Race: Dinas Bran hill race (4.5m/1200ft)
Time/Position: 32m (4th from 50)
Over 11 years since I first did this race, and the second 'lap' doesn't get any easier. I vividly remember my shock in 2003 when I realised we had to climb Dinas Bran twice. It's actually a very short climb, but my girth was maybe a bit wider in those days. Today, a small field set off round the school then headed up the very steep metalled road to the open hill. I kept it going at a very slow pace and found myself in third with (seemingly) nobody close behind. The route takes the lovely wooded path on the far side of Dinas Bran then climbs the steepest slopes to the ruined castle. From here, a quick zigzag descent led to the second lap. At the bottom of this, I was overtaken almost silently by another runner. I stayed with him for the second lap, but he pulled away on the climb and I couldn't quite catch him on the descent (five minutes from the top to the school?). A chilly evening, with a spot of rain at times.

Llangynhafal Loop

Race: Llangynhafal Loop fell race
Time/Position: 45.01 (4th from 84)
The final climb on this race is always pretty desperate, and so it proved again - my first proper fell race since early November and perhaps my sixth running of the event. Nice running contouring the vale at the start leads to Nant y Ne and a long, but gradually uphill (and therefore draining) run to the base of the infamous gully. Nowhere near fit enough to run up this at present, so just concentrated on staying close to 3rd placed Neil from Ambleside. At the summit of Famau, he took off - and I lost even more ground on the descent and the fast running along the ridge to Moel Dywyll. I resigned myself to 4th place and wasn't caught, but slowed considerably on the desperate final climb. The final descent is steep, but grassy, fast and always exciting! Nice event, very well organised by Huw this year.

Dyserth climbing

Crag: Dyserth Castle Slab

Routes: Jason and the Aga Nuts (f5:led), Leo Saw Us Rex (f4:sec), 36 Bolts to Happiness (f5:led), Siamber Wen (f3:sec), Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to Neil Crud (f6b:led), Isabella Rose (f6a:sec), The Purple Ladies Versus Godzilla (f6a:led), Tegengle (f6a:sec), Genesis (f6b+:led)

A surprisingly competent and efficient sweep of every route on the slab in a couple of hours. Our short evening visit concluded with a clean 6b+ lead of the oldest and best line here, Genesis. Shamefully, this grade has always (since the age of 20) represented my absolute leading limit, so I was rather surprised to manage it after eight months away from all climbing (except last Friday!). That said, it feels to me that all the routes here are slightly overgraded given that the French system is supposed to reflect overall difficulty rather than merely the technical crux: they are certainly generous, although technical slabs are always more flatteringly graded than pumpy steepness. Vic and I began with mileage on the easy short routes right of the main face, up and down a few times. I then led the longest line on the crag, a surprisingly fine 20m+ f6b up the far left of the main slab. Neatly sustained, with a few nice technical moves on small positive holds - delicate and absorbing in places, particularly where the route steepens at a little overlap. More like 6a+ though. The loose groove line to the right looks awful, and is indeed a tad unstable, but it gives some surprisingly enjoyable crisp technical moves at f6a: we both quite enjoyed it. I led the overgraded 6a up the vague right-hand arete, a good climb, and seconded its twin route Tegengle. It was then time for Genesis, which was for many years the only route here at E3 (now retro-bolted). It embraces the main challenge of the slab, straight up a blank steep slab of compact limestone. The excellent friction, unusual for British limestone, means that it is easier than it looks. It goes easily via some huge pockets up to a steepening. Then some technical moves on small positive crimps lead to an awkward crux with a difficult clip: luckily my right-hand had a decent crimp and my feet were high up on crystals, so I could clip the bolt cleanly with my much weaker left hand! One more hard move gains a couple of finishing jugs. Good climb, but again probably 6b at the most. Nice to clean up the slab after my first visit last year left 'unfinished business'. The sun finally came out as we packed the gear away.