Two weeks ago we bagged Skiddaw as part of Steve's quest to get the top ten done before Christmas.
Taking advantage of some fantastic weather a party of Verdes Adventurers comprising of Rich S, Paul B, Steve H and Davie headed back over to the Lakes to tackle Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike and Catstye Cam which, if successful, would bring Steve's tally to five out of ten.
Like most Verdes adventures, when Paul and Rich get together the talk turns to motorbikes and their leather fetish. At least, we hope it was about motorbikes. As they giggled on the back seat ooooing and ahhhhing all we could hear in the front was the odd word or two; leather, oil, helmet, twist grip, two up, 3 inch pipe and various other 'technical terms'.
Brought to a head though when the question was asked as to whether a certain type of leathers had 'twin zips'....
When we weren't having our ears bashed about v-twins and two strokes, the rest of the journey was spent telling Steve all about the mortality rate on Striding Edge, how like a tightrope it was and how he had nothing to worry about...
The weather was truly idyllic and we stopped to have some snaps over Ullswater which was like glass, a solitary duck causing some ripples.
We drove right up to the Youth Hostel and got underway, with Rich taking role as leader as a preparation for his ML Assessment in early October (NOT LONG NOW RICH!).
We had a snack at Red Tarn and elected to go from here straight up the slope to Striding Edge, using this to gain the summit. As you would expect on such a great day, the ridge was covered in people all snaking along trying to get to the top.
In spite of a fear of heights and three changes of underpants on the journey in, Steve kept to the highest point of the ridge all the way to the top, never once dropping down to the easy path. A truly excellent effort, fully embracing the Verdes spirit and one which opens the way to Sharp Edge and Jack's Rake once the ten are bagged.
We summited Helvellyn and then made our way across to Nethermost Pike. The summit plateau is a good area for some micro navigation practice, so Steve and Paul headed back to Helvellyn and Rich and I had a play with the map and compass for 20 mins. On a day when you could see almost every mountain in England, Rich managed to navigate his way round successfully.
From the summit of Helvellyn we then headed down Swirral Edge to Catstye Cam. Steve's legs were still holding up and his new ankle was well broken in. Paul was moving well with the zimmer sticks and Rich had given up trying to be a ML and had reverted to type; seeking out the scariest path back and sticking to it.
The views from Catstye Cam were excellent and a down hill bike was spotted by Paul for a future trip.
We arrived back to Glenridding in good order and immediately initiated the therapy phase of the adventure; mint choc chips all round and a soothing dip in the river with our bare feet....excellent.
Another great Verdes day and Steve now has 5 in the bag. Next trip will be another biggy with Bow Fell, Great End and Scafell Pike in our sights.
Davie
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