Howgills

Peaks: Winder, Arant Haw, Calders, The Calf

Area: Howgills, Cumbria

Back in the Howgills for the first time since the OMM of 2012. That is a fairly frustrating memory, as I dropped out of the elite course with Mick after day 1 (to this day I'm not entirely sure why, but it was certainly my fault). No hard work today, just a quick outing in fairly grim weather from the centre of Sedbergh involving a steep but short climb straight up the front of Winder to gain the little ridge that leads to the summit. On the OMM (and the Rab of 2009, which also took place in the Howgills and was a superb event on which I came 7th overall in wonderful weather) you obviously have to prioritise navigation and route choice. No such issues today, so I headed direct along the ridge to Arant Haw (which lies some distance from the main bridleway and so is much quieter). It was misty, wet and windy for the continuation over the sub-peak of Calders and out to the highpoint of the range at the Calf. I'd been up all these peaks before on the mountain marathons, but really enjoyed revisiting them. Squally blasts of wind and sleet at certain points. The mist began to clear only as I descended the big path east of Winder which takes in a little valley and heads direct back to the centre of Sedbergh. An ideal little outing to break the journey to Ambleside, where I now headed.