Saturday, September 27, 2014

Black Mountains fell race

Race: Black Mountains fell race (17.5m/5200ft/AL)
Peaks: Crug Hywel/Table Mountain (451m), Pen Cerrig Calch (701m), Pen Allt Mawr (719m), Pen Twyn Glas (645m), Pen y Gadair Fawr (800m), Chwarel y Fan (679m), Bal Mawr (607m), Crug Mawr (550m)
Time/Position: 3.01.03 (19th from 93)
Not one, not two, but three unfortunate route finding errors rather spoiled this Welsh Championships counter for me. The last detour was by far the worst, just a few hundred metres from the end of the race (after putting a lot of effort in and heading for a reasonable time by my limited standards) I pelted straight down the road and missed a vital (unmarked) stile indicating the descent to the finish. I ended up on the road to Crickhowell, 1k from the village, and had to navigate back along the river losing a huge amount of time. If you discount the last 10 minutes, though, it was a great race! Steeply up from Llanbedr (a nice village last visited for the classic Llanbedr-Blaenafon), and up towards Crug Hywel and the main Black Mountains ridge. Superbly runnable over the limestone summit of Pen Cerrig Calch and Pen Allt Mawr, looking down to the final ridge of the Waun Fach race that I'd so enjoyed in July. High cloud, and quite warm, and we headed down steeply to Grwyne Fechan from Pen Twyn Glas. From the airless bottom of the valley, a steep haul led round to the east of Pen y Gadair Fawr. Locals took a better contouring line lower down, but I didn't lose too much ground and was comfortably in the top 10 at this stage. Superb twisting and exciting descent through a bracken path to the steep-sided valley of Grwyne Fawr, then a river crossing before a very steep climb up to Chwarel y Fan above the Vale of Ewyas and the English border. Then came a fantastic and surprisingly narrow ridge, brilliant running although I was starting to tire a bit. Over the summit of Bal Mawr before a draining and complex descent down to the road in the Mynydd Du forest. Then came more complex route finding through the maze of forest tracks leading to the open hillside below the final peak of Crug Mawr. I had my only gel, and kept a reasonable pace going - all the time unsure about the route through the thick woodland. Eventually, I emerged and tried to catch a biggish group in front on Crug Mawr. I reached the summit in 2.35, to be told by the marshall that it was '10 minutes to the finish'. Stomach cramps marred a superb descent, but it got worse as I arrived at a crossroads. No idea where to go, so waited for the next runner to join me. Straight down it was, to some tape marking the final descent. This was a relief, so I switched off and concentrated on a flat-out descent to the village. Bad decision, as I flew past the crucial stile, lost 8-10 minutes, and ruined the race. Rather gutting, as I was leading my category in the Champs before the race. The South Wales curse continues: the third time I have made a serious route-finding error in a race down here - that said, I'm told the descent from Crug Mawr is the exact reverse of the climb on Llanbedr-Blaenafon, so perhaps I have few excuses.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Vitosha

Peaks: Maluk Rezen (2191m)
Area: Vitosha, Bulgaria
Vitosha may well be unique. Although there are other big cities dominated by a single large mountain (Yerevan springs to mind, perhaps Tokyo) I can't think of any like Sofia where the mountain is accessible direct from the suburbs. After a big day yesterday and a lot of travel, I wasn't sure I could be bothered working out the route to the peak, so initially tried to jog there from my hotel. This didn't work, and I gave up in the outer suburbs of Sofia, opting instead for a 6k jog back to the hotel. After a trip into the city centre, however, I walked down Vitosha Boulevard which, as its name suggests, is dominated by a view of the mountain (specifically, a view of Maluk Rezen). I couldn't resist, and had plenty of time before my flight, so got a taxi to the base of the Simenovo cable car and brought a ticket. This whisks you above the forests up to 1800m, way above the city, and was very relaxing after yesterday's exertions. I didn't have time for a long outing, so decided to make my way up to the two vague peaks that I could see from Sofia. The peak on the left had a huge tower on top, with hundreds of weekend walkers making their way along a broad track, so I went for the boulder-strewn summit on the right via a steep grassy slope to gain the very broad main ridge. From here, all of Vitosha appears as a vast plateau with various humps rising from it. Distant views were very hazy, with Sofia so far below as to be practically invisible - an incredible contrast. It would have been nice to see across to Musala and Rila from my highpoint at Maluk Rezen but it was too dank and hazy, so I went down to the Aleko hut for a slap-up lunch of Tarator, Mishmash and Bulgarian sausage.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Musala Horseshoe

Peaks: Musala (2925m), Malka Musala (2902m), Irechek (2852m)
Area: Rila, Bulgaria
The highest peak between the Alps and the Caucasus, Musala made an obvious target for a mountain interlude following a short research trip to Macedonia and Kosovo. I travelled up in one long day from Skopje via Sofia and Samokov and stayed the night in Borovets, a rather depressing out-of-season ski resort. I may well have been the only guest in the entire resort, so got up early with no breakfast options and no cable car running. This added a very significant extra 1000m climb to the day! Some cursory research revealed that Musala could be combined with two more peaks to create a rather attractive horseshoe along narrow ridges with an Alpine flavour. So the extra 1000m vertical interval was doubly unfortunate (Borovets is at 1300m, Musala almost 3000m). Still, I got to work in the cold crisp air of early morning and adopted a sustainable jog through the thick forest of Bulgarian fir and Macedonian pine. The trees were statuesque and attractive but the slog was inevitably rather boring as it essentially followed a ski route up a narrow valley (it may have been the route taken by the World Mountain Running championships last year - let's hope they choose something more interesting when the worlds come to Betws next year!). I finally emerged below the top ski lift after an hour of running: then a tortuous twisting mile of small paths through dwarf pine forest before finally gaining a beautiful Alpine meadow with the peaks rising into the blue sky above. A memorable moment, with frost crystals on the grass and the sun just peaking over the shoulder of the impressive Irechek and Musala beyond. My weather luck was in, and a tricky river crossing led to the Musala hut complex (80 mins from Borovets) and fabulous views over the lake to the peaks beyond. I had the place to myself, a real privilege on such a popular peak, and was thoroughly enjoying myself after missing out on an Alpine trip this year. After walking round the lake by the hut, a broad gully then gains height quickly to gain a series of little cwms decorated by beautiful lakes reminiscent of the Pyrenees or Maritime Alps (the Musalenska Ezera lakes). The path weaves through a series of little ridges and moraines to gain a steeper scree slope and more desolate terrain as it makes its way up to Ledeneto Ezero ('Ice Lake'), a dramatic feature in a hollowed out cwm. It was very icy on this section, as the sun still hadn't got up, with the rocks rather treacherous (and the hideous 'Everest hut' near the lake completely deserted). The ridge leading to Musala was in the sunshine, though, and gave a great ascent. I saw three people, the first I'd seen all day, to my mild annoyance, near the hut - but soon gained the broad ridge leading up more icy rocks to the summit (50m from the Musala Hut). Again, it felt like a privilege to be on my own up here (the highest person in Europe between the Alps and Caucasus!) as it is such a popular mountain. It was cold but superbly clear, with views over Rila and more hazily across to Vitosha in the north and Pirin in the south. After a quick snack I continued along the obvious ridge (the Trionite ridge) leading to Malka Musala. This becomes much narrower almost immediately, and the path remarkably narrow and ill-defined. I was amazed, given the popularity of the main peak. A superb scrambly ridge, with some ancient rusting cables, led just right of the crest via a weaving little path - mildly exposed in places - down to a pronounced narrow col. From here, a short chimney gave access to more scrambling up the crest - all really enjoyable - to easier terrain leading to the top of Malka Musala. Great views back to the main peak. Next up was the fine peak of Irechek, which dominates the view from the Musala Hut. This was again surprisingly sporting in tone, with a steep descent and quite intricate route-finding down to another deep col. Then a rocky ridge which led to an impressive final summit tower. Felt a bit like Beinn Eighe. From Irechek, the terrain flattens out and becomes very reminiscent of the Carneddau: big ridges connecting big green hills. I ran down to a broader ridge below a subsidiary peak and then traversed icy north-facing rocks below the Sfinska (the Sphinx) to pick up a small path dropping off Deno. This became hard to follow by the lake, and some marshy bog-trotting continued the Carneddau theme! After a bite to eat outside the deserted hut, I ran flat out back down to Borovets to check out of my hotel before midday.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Pedol Peris

Race: Peris Horseshoe fell race (18m/8500ft/AL)
Peaks: Elidir Fawr, Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Lliwedd, Snowdon, Moel Cynghorion
Time/Position: 4.17.02 (9th from 50)
As my third attempt at a sub-4 Pedol evaporated into an undignified dehydrated plod on Lliwedd, I was forced to reflect that I am currently good for three hours sustained effort: but not a minute more! This was all a bit disappointing, though, as I'd hoped my endurance would be a bit better after concentrating on slightly longer races than usual this summer. Peter and I cut it very fine indeed to register for the race in the morning: less than 20 minutes to go when I paid my entry fee at the Heights (this would have been a stressful rush for a 5k, let alone the hardest mountain race in Wales). A sprint through Llanberis to the field near Vivian Quarry and we were off up the inclines by a different route than usual. This took us further right towards the crags before heading up the tracks to gain the open hill on Elidir Fach. A welcome breeze took the edge of what was shaping up to be a hot day. I went direct for Elidir Fawr and gained the summit bang on 48 minutes, exactly the same as last year. I was determined to stick to sub-4 schedule, but made sure I enjoyed every step of the next section - for me the highlight of the race, contouring round Foel Goch to the slog up Y Garn. Great views over the Carneddau, perfect conditions, all looking good. Still felt pretty fresh for the next climb up Glyder Fawr, but then took a less than ideal line too far left down to Pen y Pass. It is notoriously hard to find the best line down here, but it wasn't a disaster as I reached the Pass in 1.55. I have a vivid memory of chronic dehydration on my first Pedol Peris some years ago, so took a litre on board as I jogged up the Miners Track towards Lliwedd. It didn't work, however, and I started to suffer quite early in the climb. My only gel didn't help and I began to slip away from the group in front. I perked up very briefly on the Lliwedd ridge, great views over the crags to Snowdon, and momentarily thought I might be able to catch the group in front. This was an illusion, however, and I really suffered over Lliwedd and hobbled down to Bwlch y Saethau, falling further behind. I took the scrambling line direct up the ridge to Snowdon, the opportunity to use the arms always welcome, before enjoying the usual surreal experience of emerging into the crowds on a chilly and misty Snowdon. Difficult to dodge the people, so I jumped onto the railway track and pelted down, relieved to turn off on the Snowdon Ranger path. Any revival proved short-lived, however, and I soon recommenced hobbling down to the col below Cynghorion. The sting in the tail up Cynghorion doesn't last too long, but it was long enough today - and my snail's pace continued, losing another place and loads of time, on the punishing descent down to Maesgwm and long run back to the finish at the Victoria hotel. Shame I felt so rough, but more positively the Pedol always provides a memorably hard race. We recovered with a pint and soup at the Heights.

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Grisedale Horseshoe fell race

Race: Grisedale Horseshoe fell race (16.5k/5000ft/AM)
Peaks: Catstycam, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, St Sunday Crag
Time/Position: 2.20.08 (30th from 120)
It looks likely that I will miss this year's batch of mountain marathons, but I always like at least one trip to the Lakes each year: so this was a good opportunity for a late summer 'away day' with Huw and Steve. A classic race and classic hard route, despite the relative shortness of the course. It reminded me of the sadly defunct Carneddau race - only a 'medium' but tougher than many 'longs' due to the amount of climbing. It had taken me a while to recover from Maesgwm and I had no wish to damage myself (with one eye to a possible Pedol Peris next week) so took it easy throughout. As such, we all had a very enjoyable and quite relaxed day. Stuck with Steve for the path from Glenridding, which goes gently up towards the steep climb round the side of Birkhouse Moor taking the most direct line to Red Tarn. After a long, hard climb with the sun peeping through high clouds and the temperatures climbing, the ground flattens out towards the lake but then kicks up dramatically for the full frontal ascent of Catstycam. Superb running along Swirral Edge followed, with some mild scrambling up to the top of Helvellyn with the mist clearing from Striding Edge below. This was my first time up Helvellyn for 26 years: last went up in leisurely fashion via Striding Edge with the University Hiking Club in October 1988! Tremendous stuff with far reaching views over the western Lakes, and it was followed by brilliant easy running south along the ridge line, across the summit plateau of Nethermost Pike skirting Dollywagon Pike to a steep and punishing descent down to a CP at Grisedale Tarn. I took this very easy, not wanting to risk quad damage. After missing a few racing lines earlier on, I got in with a small group of local runners for the route up the fine peak of St Sunday Crag - new territory for me. They knew all the best lines, and we cut one giant corner via a tiny contouring sheep trod. On the main ridge, I felt quite good, benefiting from a relaxed start, so pushed on a bit and gained a few places as the mist skirted the summit, keeping the temperatures down. I then found the crucial scree gully which helps quickly gain the steep grass slopes down to the barn and CP at Elmhow. From here a river crossing leads to a slog through bracken up to a level path with great views across to Place Fell, before the savage sting in the tail up to the Hole in t'Wall. This is desperately steep, rather like the Blorenge at the end of Llanbedr-Blaenafon: hands and knees at times. Because I'd taken it easy it wasn't too bad, but I can imagine blowing completely here. After the stile on the ridge, a diagonal contouring line gained the outward path at Birkhouse Moor followed by an excellent fast and smoothish descent back to the finish in Glenridding. Tea, cakes and sandwiches at the village hall followed by a fine recovery pint at the Water Mill in Ings.

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Llandegla mountain biking

MTB Route: Llandegla Blue variant (15k)
Eve's first visit to Llandegla, and a very pleasant few hours of light winds and warm sunshine. She coped reasonably well with the long climb, although wilted on the undulations at the top: just as M did on his two trips. A little sugary sustenance revived her, and she enjoyed the bumps, berms and singletrack descents of the True Blue section. Her downhill technique improved noticeably in the space of half an hour: tea and cake at the cafe followed.