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Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

The start of the LMC's WW spring project, The Dales Celebration Way, this will be a circular walk of some 130 miles to celebrate the glories of the Yorkshire Dales. Our first section from Skipton takes us to Flasby Fell, Winterburn, Calton and the banks of the river Aire and ends in Malham. Brrrrr! cold and a bitter wind, roll on spring! The second leg, Malham to Settle; taking in Janet's Foss, Gordale Scar,Water Sinks, Malham Cove' Great Scar, Attermire Scar and then down in to Settle for some very welcome refreshment in the tea shop.. A lovely spring day with a nip in the air and a very pleasant 12 miles. The third leg, Settle to Houghton in Ribblesdale; taking in the Ribble, Stainforth; Churn Milk Hole and Pen-y-ghent. The logistics deemed it better to do this walk in reverse so we caught the train from Settle to Houghton and walked back to Settle. 12 miles on a fine dry day with superb views and good going underfoot, a 'grand day out'. And to round off the month, we visit the Winster Valley to view the Blue Bells. We were not disappointed, the flowers were in full glory and the Rowan tree designated in memory of Derek, one of the founders of the WW group is doing well. A lovely walk on a lovely day, well attended with 15 members present. ... See more

Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

WW's in March - Cowling Hill and Earl Crag from Lothersdale. An interesting walk in new territory for the WW's this week. Heading south on the Pennine way to Cowling and then over Earl Crag to return via Lane Ends and Cowling Hill. Fine weather to start, turning to drizzle and the occasional heavy shower. An excellent turn out of 15 given a poor weather forecast; The Bannisdale Horseshoe, 8 miles with 2000ft of ascent on a very windy day. The strong Nor'wester making the going a challenge. A lovely area, sadly with very restricted parking and the initial ascent not at all obvious. Magnificent views of Longdendale with the Kentmere pikes beyond. Certainly worth the effort for the nine members present; Hutton Roof Crags and Farlton Knot, 7 miles on a misty day with no views. A pleasant area of limestone pavement with interesting moss; Potter Tarn, Gurnal Dubs, Sprint Mill, Burnside and Bowson, one of our regular walks and as enjoyable as ever. April sees the start of our spring project The Celebration Way a series of walks around the super Yorkshire Dales national Park. ... See more

Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

The LMC's 'Monsoon' meet at Cae Ysgubor. Yes it was rather damp with 136mm of rain at Capel Curig in 24 hrs, not to mention the second 24 hrs! We managed a couple of very enjoyable local walks as well as viewing the mighty Afon Glaslyn whose level must have been at lease 1.5 m above normal. As always, a most enjoyable weekend at the LMC's super hut in Beddgelert. p.s. the drying room works a treat! ... See more

Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

As previously mentioned by Tim we had a great evening of reminiscing last week. Here is a flavour:
LMC in Patagonia 2002 - Organised by Chris and Bernard. Flight from Manchester to Buenos Aires and then an internal flight to Calafate. Carried on by car on gravel road to El Chalten. An anti clockwise trek circumnavigating the Fitz Roy range via the Continental Ice Cap.
Day 1 - Walked with very heavy sacks loaded with gear and food through birch woods following the river Electrico and then camped at the head of Lake Electrico. Sheltered by crags from the strong winds blowing of the galcier Marconi. We had to secure the tents by tying the guy lines around heavy rocks. Then build a shelter wall of rocks to keep the wind from blowing us away. Strong wind and heavy rain all night, the tents just about remaining upright. Awoke the next morning with wet sleeping bag and, most worryingly, boot inners soaking wet. 'Don't worry you'll walk them dry', reassurance from Max our guide!
Day 2 - Crossed very loose moraine and boulders then moved onto the glacier, using snow shoes and roped up as the upper part of the glacier is heavily crevassed as we occasionally found out! Constant wind blowing and hard work with the heavy sacs. Camped on a snow ledge just below the pass Marconi. Construction of the ledge cost us two hours of very hard labour. This time we anchored the tents by burying the snow shoes, walking poles, crampons and ice axes in the snow. Pressure dropped big time in the night and the blizzard set in for 36 hours.
Days 3&4 - We were all tent bound, three in a tent. The good news; we could take time out from carrying the mega loads. The bad news; one member of our tent, who shall remain nameless had the trots!!
Day 5 – Thankfully the weather cleared and we stripped camp and made for the pass. We were blown along for the final few hundred yards and ended up on the Continental Ice Cap at last. All we had to do now was walk along, snug within our own individual micro climates aided by the wind, keeping Argentina on our left and Chile on our right, enjoying the magnificent views as they unfolded. Once again we had a big dig to perform before we could erect the tents for the night. The winds weren't bad but can quickly become storm force without warning.
Day 6 - This was our view from the loo at our camp in the Cirque of Torres! The Fitz Roy Range. Fitz Roy was first climbed via the south east ridge in 1952 by Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone. The traverse of the iconic ridge-line of Cerro Fitz Roy and its satellite peaks, 5 km and 4000 vertical elevation with difficulty up to 5.11d. was first done in 2014 by Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold. See the amazing story in Honnold's book 'On The Wall'.
Day 7 - And so we continued our trek along the ice cap after digging our tents out of the accumulation of the overnight snow storm. Eventually leaving the ice with an almighty effort up and over a mighty moraine and spending the night in a basic hut belonging to the Argentine army [don't tell them Pike]. Pure bliss to be sleeping on a raised platform and cooking out of the incessant wind.
Big celebration on our return to El Chalten two days later. Oh and we had to cross a river! ... See more

Loved it last night at the 10.10.10 evening in Brinscall, thanks Richard Toon. Here is a picture of me on Collywood at Ramshaw. 😁

Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

WW's in February and what a month its been, sun and cream teas for all! Wolfhole Crag and Miller House – A fine and dry day from the Trough of Bowland Road. Good views with challenging conditions underfoot with peat hags and then heather covering boulders on the decent from Miller House. A very wobbly knee day!; Carnforth to Arnside – A 9.5mile walk that took us round Arnside Knot. We visited Fairy steps and Arnside Tower, which provide some shelter from the wind at lunch time. We returned to Arnside along the coast path and, as the wind had dropped, sat outside the pub and enjoyed the sea view and a drink at the end of the day; Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle – The day began with a train ride from Settle to Horton in Ribblesdale. The 11 mile walk back involved a partial ascent of Pen-y-ghent to get onto the Pennine Way. A short section of that was followed by parts of A Pennine Journey the Ribble Way and the Pennine Bridleway via Stainforth back to Settle. After a showery and windy day the open fire in the Golden Lion in Settle was very welcome; A magnificent day of blue skies and temperature records of 19 deg C for a lovely walk taking in Scout and Cunswick Scars and Kendal Fell from the Strickland Arms, returning via Kendal and the river Levens. ps.Can anyone identify the Butterfly/Moth? ... See more

Trek 4 - The 'Accursed Mountains' of Albania - Francis House Children's Hospice

Would any of your group be interested in trekking the ‘Accursed Mountains of Albania’ this year in support of Francis House Children’s Hospice?

Please come along to our information evening on Tuesday 26th February, 7pm, to find out more about this incredible challenge.

The 'Accursed Mountains' of Albania offer an unspoilt wilderness of magnificent peaks, lakes and forests.

Our trip is taking place from 7 - 15 September, and will involve five full days of adventurous trekking. ... See more

Take the trip of a lifetime to the 'Accursed Mountains' of Albania in 2019.

Photos from Lancashire Mountaineering Club's post

Wednesday Walks in January. A good start to the new year for the WW's team: Clougha Pike - a lovely day with magnificent views of Morecambe Bay and all the surrounding hills; Pennington Flash and Lightshaw meadows - Another perfect January day with blue skies and frost on the ground. A well attended meet with 14 members present; Pendle Hill - The rain stopped just in time for a dry although windy ascent. Special thanks to whoever built the much needed shelter on the summit ; Winter Hill - A winter wonderland walk from Horwich over Winter Hill. Overnight snow had laid down the magnificent white carpet and a splendid day was has by all; Nicky Nook - Another lovely day from Garstang to Nicky Nook. Frozen ground minimised the usual bog trot across the river flood plane. Snow on the hills made for delightful views. Well attended despite the leader getting snowbound at Orrell. Come along and join us for a taster walk some time. ... See more