Area: Northern Lakes
Arguably the most impressive mountain in the Lakes, so it is remarkable that I've only been up Blencathra once before, way back in the mid 90s. I seem to remember we went up Sharp Edge and down Hall's Fell that day. The weather was turning increasingly wintry as I set off from the edge of Threlkeld in the early afternoon after an easy drive up. The path headed up a little stream valley before contouring east to join the base of Hall's Fell ridge, which leads in a near-perfect beeline for the summit, definitely one of the UK's most direct ascents. I am still barely able to run, no real improvement, but moving quickly uphill (and moving quickly in the hills generally) is absolutely no problem. So this was perfect: it climbs at least 600m in 2k and doesn't really let up in steepness. Towards the top, it gets a little rocky and this was the exact point that thick hoar frost kicked in, making life a little tricky for the top section, some surprisingly awkward little slabs and icy rock walls. All good fun, and it finishes bang on the summit (41 minutes). Thick mist, very cold, light snow cover, so I evacuated down the west ridge immediately. This leads comfortably over the shoulder of Blease Fell - where the mist cleared to views over Keswick and Derwent Water - and down equally comfortable zigzags to get back to the stream valley above Threlkeld. Felt good throughout - around 1.36 for the loop. Drove down Borrowdale at dusk via a little side-trip to the Bowderstone: atmospheric.
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