Finally I have got out for a run since New Year with Nicola in Aviemore. I have been thawted by one of these ever changing colds that last for weeks... then with a house move on top, its set me back a little, but this evening I have manged to get my sorry ass out of the house and onto the fells... well into the countryside anyway.

A quick round of School Knott, Great Sire and Orrest Head by the late afternoon light, or maybe not so quick. My legs felt heavy, the ground is sodden and Peppa, my little english springer spaniel, thought it a good idea to trip me up as we were running down Hollins Lane, the back road from Ings to Troutbeck. I took a couple of handfulls of tarmac and a knee and a shoulder as well.. it did hurt.. but at least the camera survived, a few scratches, but in one piece.

Windermere from Orrest Head, looking south down the lake.

Looking into the central fells from Orrest Head.

Trainers used: Inov-8 Bare Grip 200's

 

Hot off the press: OMM sleeeping bagsd are back in the range. After a good talk with Andy Williams, the head honcho at OMM, he showed me the old, but very new range of sleeping bags. Great updates, great colours, great fill power and one for the vegans amongst you as well. Oh, and the one for the vegans, is also the lightest!!

I'll fill in more tomorrow, but here are some images to get your juices flowing, or should it be, your heads heavy and ready for a little nap?

3 OMM Sleeping bags

The foot of the new OMM sleeping bag, synthetic and vegan.

The rest of the range looked great, all colour updates are now available this season (SS2012) and the new Adventure 45 + 10 will be in stock soon.

As I left Lowbrook Farm, the OMM HQ, I stepped out to feel the warm air of today gone and a cold fresh evening on its way. Driving over the bridge in Lancaster, I had this view...

Sunset over Lancaster

More on the OMM range coming tomorrow...

An amazing weekend, but I didn't have time to get out on the hill. This weekend was full of packing boxes, sorting stuff out and packing up a van... we are moving to Watermillock in Ullswater. It will mean a little more logistically planned travel, but we think it will be worth it for the quality of life we assume we will get out there... time will tell.Isaac firing down the Kendal Dry Slope

Saturday was packing boxes, but Sunday was Kendal Ski Slope, underneath the Castle mound. Isaac and Millie have both been skiing, these are Nicola's kids, but Florence and Hector, my Niece and Nephew, have not, so a plan was made over Christmas, as to teach Hector & Florence to ski. Every other sunday, so a bi-weekly affair. Sunday was cold and crisp and the slope was covered in frost, so no water necassary to oil the slope, as it were. Hector in his Didriksons Boardman Set

Florence with me running down the slope next to her... she's more nervous than Hector.

Hector and Florence were hilarious, Hector just wanting to be sent in a straight line from half way up the slope.

Florence was more nervous. Millie is getting better, hopefully soon she will be able to control herself. Isaac is no problem, one week and snow and he's almost a professional.

It;s a balll being an adult now, watch in the next generation learning, just as we did, although I think Kendal Ski Slope is a little more comfortable than Aviemore n a bad day, as it was when we learnt. Now all we need is ski's for them all, then when it snow's again on Kirkstone, we can all have a bash on the real thing!! ....

 

Yesterday I was out with Honza, we went to a location we have been a couple of times before, but since the move of the shop, I had lost interest, but not now... my saliva is fully flowing again and I can't wait to get back there.

Can't really tell much about it, as we are only in the developing stages, but all will be revealed soon enough, just one more route to sort out, then the lines to be climbed, then I think we will go public.

But here's a few shots from yesterday....

Pepa and Scratcgh kept warm in a Montane Resolute Smock!! Honza sets off aiding up the line, placing bolts on lead. Scratch checking the new line out!! Charlie getting to grips with ladders and slings. Charlie ready to place the 4th bolt, whilst hanging from 2 dubious sky hooks. Honza finishing the second to last bolt placement.

What I can say about the crag, is its dark, dank and 45 degree's overhanging. We are Aid Climbing the lines and placing bolts on lead, this is for eventually dry tooling the routes. Nothing else would be possible here, unless we had a major droute summer. It might rub some people up the wrong way, but then if you never try... We are keeping with a ground up ethic, so no top roping, everything is done on lead... so far....

Sometimes you just have to get away from it all, and thats what we did for New Year 2012. So much hustle and bustle in 2011 meant a quite and healthy New Year was in order for myself and Nicola, so we headed for the shore's of Loch Morlich for a bit of van life, hope of winter climbing and maybe a little skiing if we were lucky.... of course we had a back-up plan of walking and running if the weather decided not to play ball.

We set off too late on Thursday, 29th December 2011, for the Cairngorms. With a good morning for Friday the 30th forecast, we hoped to get out of bed earliy enough to catch the good weather and freezing levels, before it looked like it was going to crap out and strip what was left of the pre-christmas snow and ice. Unfortunately things don't always go to plan and we only got to Loch Morlich at 03:45am on Friday morning, so when we woke at 9:30am we found ourselves a little tired and although I knew we needed to get out lazy backsides out of bed, it was a little difficult to get fully motivated. Especially when I lit the wood burner, all hopes of getting out in the mountains drained away into a lazy morning. Still, we got to look at the mountains and dream of what we might be doing, had we dragged ourselves out of bed.

Looking across Loch Morlich.

Nicola and Scratch heading up to the Cairngorm Ski Area.

 

Lunchtime and we were up, ready and fighting fit to take the dogs for a walk and check out the climbing possibilities. As we walked out of the carpark towards Coirie an Sneachta we asked returning climbers the conditions. Mixed was in for today, but with tomorrows forecast thaw, they thought it would all be stripped. Even the classic gully's were stripped and would be worse tomorrow. Oh well, you can't have it always, so we had a little dog walk up the coirie, but soon turned around and headed for the comfort of the van as the weather closed in with horizontal sleet and snow.

The crags in Sneachta completely stripped! (31st dec 2011)

Heading up Goat Track.

Looking down Goat Track.

Looking from the Cairngorm Platuea at Coirie An Sneachta.

The moon rises above Coirie Na Ciste as we descend.

New Years Eve, and all was WARM! So no climbing, but a walk was in order. We bumped into a friend of a friend in the carpark we were in, Steak and Rachel, two friends of Jon Ritson's (a friend and former employee of the shop, also the owner of Slackgear UK), they were heading off for a walk as well, it seemed the order of the day. Again we headed into Sneacda and found the crags to be absolutely bare, so anythoughts of the re-freeze on New Years day was out, as the turf was soft, and the hoar and ice non existent. We headed up Goat Track and onto the platuea, from here we headed to the summit of Cairngorm, as Nicola had not been here before and then down into Coirie Na Ciste and back to the van.We were blasted by the wind from the top of Cairn Gorm, it certainly blew the cobwebs away. Not a massive walk, but it suited how we felt after the usual Christmas excess, frolics and work.  Back at the van we soon got the burner underway, dinner on and life was good. We had a slight problem that the glow-plugs for heating the diesel for starting the van were on the blink, but a squirt of easy start got us going and after food we headed back to the shores of Loch Morlich and got ready for the quitest New Years Eve since I was 14. We played some chess and at 00:00 2012 we watched fireworks go off around the shores of the Loch.  2012 was now in swing... and it was time for our little heads to hit the pillow... has middle age caught me up??... never.... just maybe got slightly different priorities now.

New Years day, and the sun was shining, it was indeed a bit colder and the wind was biting, but no hope of climbing. A lazy start again, but its the van burner that causes it.. or thats my excuse anyway.Today's mission was a run across the ridge up behind Loch Morlich. We set of in brilliant sunshine and ran through woods at first, then we started to climb. Up onto Craiggormie, then along the ridge line to Meall a Buichaille to finish. It was cold, bitingly cold and what started as brilliant sunshine finished in horizontal snow and semi-blizzard conditions. As we descended back into the valley we new we had had a good outing and caught the best of the day. Next came, van, burner, food and sleep. All good stuff.

Nicola running through the Queens Forest.

Charlie heading up onto Craiggormie.

Charlie and Nicola on the 1st summit of the ridge - Craiggormie.

And the weather starts closing in....

It was a little windy....

And dusk was approaching...

And the Sun starts to bid its farewell to New Years day 2012

Monday morning, and we awoke to a dusting of snow. Sun at first and then the showers of storms started. Heavy snow, bit of sun, heavier snow, less sun.

Ok, its time to head back... unfortunately, but this time the van wasn't playing ball and we couldn't start with the easy start, RAC phoned, mecanic on the way... burner back on, bit of reading and playing the waiting game. 2 hours later, still no recovery vehicle, but 2 people arrived in the carpark in a big pick-up. It said Arctic-Truck, had massive wheels, maybe these lovely guy's could help out?? Yes was the answer, but the guy who was driving was not the owner... long story to short, the guy driving was picking the truck owner up very shortly from a nearby airport and had to get going quickly, we were facing the wrong way for a bump-start, but what the hell, lets try it in reverse. So we hooked up the rope, got in position and off we set at 15-ish mph backwards, down a narrow track, on snow covered dirt ground in hope of bump-starting it in reverse. It was a little wild, I have to admit. Somehow it worked, and we hit the breaks... just in time it seems, as when we got out to un-hook, we were  foot and a half away from taking out a silver birch with passangerside rear door and off the track, exhaust dug into the soft earth.The helper and I pushed as Nicola drove and we, luckily, were out in seconds.... so all is well that ends well.

Our Knights with a shiny Arctic Truck!!

Whoops, a little too close for comfort....

On the road again!

Now all we had to do was get home!! It was snowing hard, and it was a long drive, but thankfully Glen Garry remained open for the time we were on it and we arrived back in Windermere 8 and a half hours after we set off.

Scotland now looks like it has a fresh covering of snow. Skiing is back in, with soime of the slopes open, some are still closed due to high winds, but check out the latest forecasts with Ski-Scotland, and check out the road conditions on Traffic Scotland. It looks like it will be a few more day's before the climbing comes back into conditions, but its a good start for the New Year. Check out climbing conditions here:

Cairngorm Mountain Guides

West Coast Mountain Guides

Abacus Mountaineering