Ingleborough, Yorkshire Dales. 16th January 2010

Saturday saw two of the Verdes adventurers head off to the Dales yet again. The Golf course remained closed due to snow which may have accounted for Speirsy putting in an appearance on a Saturday. Our intrepid ML Tommo had put out a call but due to the weather conditions (bad enough to kill a civvy - or even a viking, Ginger!) the response was limited.

Speirsy was first to the fore, closely followed by ??. So with just the two up for a challenge, it was into the Disco and away we went. The drive up was to be a good indicator of things to come. Drizzle followed by sleet then snow made parts of the journey up quite a challenge. However, the skills and nerve of our expedition driver got us to our drop off point safe and sound. (Still think the mighty Vectra would have been there in half the time…)

The weather was looking ominous as we passed the Railway Inn at Ribblehead. None of the tops were visible and a brisk breath certainly cooled the air. We parked up just short of the Hill Inn and prepared to tackle the northern route. Tommo had used this route several times during the Three Peaks challenges, but wasn’t used to seeing this area in daylight or snow. This is the shortest way up the mountain, being just 3 miles (4.8 km) to summit.

After we got kitted up we set off, the initial going was very slippery as the snow base layer had turned to slush. The lower areas were becoming patchy but in places it still came up to the knees. We started out across a limestone plateau with many caves, including Great Douk Caves and Meregill Hole. The wind dropped as we sheltered in the lea of the slope and it was a steady trog up the hill. Going was steady as Tommo had very little in the way of track to follow.

Back from a recent MRT tracking class, (Chief Running Bear) was able to identify 2 sets of tracks: a fell runner and a fairly hard core walker. Astounded by the detail gleaned, when asked how he could tell, he pointed up to the track, stating tread of shoe, gait and stride of foot placement and depth of imprint in snow, and ‘I just saw him run over that hill’ (well it happened something like that).

As the track started to rise away from the road, visibility started to degrade and we were down to about 20m. The going continued to become more arduous as the path passed through gullies and hidden drops. On one occasion our pair had to climb down an 8 footer and out the other side; use of poles and some good toe steps was the order of the day.

As we approached the steep climb to the shoulder of the subsidiary summit of Simon Fell we spotted a fellow walker making his way towards us. As he approached it was as like a vision from one of Tommo's magazines, clad from head to toe in Bergaus Gortex, wearing Goggles and Crampons - this chap was the dogs… He had set off to summit like us, but on the steep ascent could not find the path and felt the conditions were a little too treacherous. As he stated: if this was Scotland, that slope would be an avalanche risk.

Unperturbed, our two adventurers continued on their quest with the aim of getting at least as far as the last guy. As we reached the slope it became clear what the chap had been talking about. Large boulders of snow littered the lower regions; it looked like the sort of ball you get when building a snow man when you roll it along the ground. These bad boys had rolled themselves as they broke away. As we battled away on what must have been about a 60% slope, up to our waists in places, it was becoming clear that to go on would be foolhardy and while we like an adventure, we can’t be reckless (that’s Tommo’s speech, Speirsy was well up for it………)

(Editor's note: come on Speirsy - you were up for it after your third change of underwear..)

So as we reached the furthest most point of evidence of a walker, Tommo left his mark on Virgin snow and it was time to head back down to the wall for a cuppa and snack before heading back to the car.

It was at this stage that we had our first revelation - ‘sh*t I’ve lost a gaiter’. Tommo had looked down to see that he’d only got one on, where was the other? As we all know, they do have a tendency to come off especially when worn under your over trousers. On reflection, he did recall seeing another in the back of the Disco and thinking ‘Speirsy must have the same gaiters as me, I’ll put it in the back’. After some long leg pulling (gaiterless) we did consider grading Verdes days against the amount of protection required and today’s day was a ‘One Gaiter Day’ - I hate to think what a two gaiter day looks like!!!

The use of the slope to aid our descent made the initial extraction from the upper reaches somewhat quicker. It is still believed that Speirsy’s twin check trail can be seen from space..

Watch the video to witness Speirsy in action...

On the way back down we had time to reflect on the morning’s endeavours, it was at this stage that Tommo made another revelation and stated he was like a Ferrari? Was it because he was dressed in Red? Doesn’t start well in the cold? Thinks he’s a stallion? As you can imagine Speirsy didn’t give Tommo a chance to explain so if any readers would like to add why they think Tommo could be a Ferrari then add your comments.

As we returned to the lower plateau we did start to see a few other walkers, however, only one group were going to venture the summit (me thinks not). We did however, meet a young lady walking a lower path and, on exchanging greetings, it became clear she was from North of the Border too. Within seconds Tommo had established a near bloodline and confirmed that they had been born in the same hospital bed and raised by the same wolves….

Once back at the car it was check gaiter number two was present then off to the pub for hot tea and butties.

It was a go day on the hill. Conditions underfoot were testing and challenging. It would have been nice to have hit the summit, but it wasn’t going to be done from the Northern route on Saturday.

Once again it is amazing to think just how much we do have on our own doorstep, so a few more trips to the Dales and maybe the moors are in order for 2010.

Speirsy, Queen of the Desert.