Winter Hill Walking - or was it?

As there has been a lot of snow on the fells I though I'd go and try out my early christmas present. Boots and Crampons. I found it quite hard to find any B2 rated boots in a size 14, in fact I never found any, but instead I saw a pair of (B3)  La Sportiva Nepal Extremes in my size. With a pair of Grivel G12 XL Crampons and a DMM Cirque Ice axe, I am fully equipped for winter hillwalking and mountaineering.

Murton Crag

My Dad was quite busy today and although he was quite happy to take me to the Lake District I decided it would be a bit too much to ask of him. Instead I headed for the nearest fells, the north Pennines. In just 10-15 minutes I was in Murton Car Park ready to set of up the Pike! Any previous readers will probably be thoroughly sick of hearing about my regular ventures around High Cup Nick; I wasn't going to even write about this outing, but it was a bit too special to miss out.

Murton Pike Summit

I set off towards Murton Pike. I had a wonderful feeling. For the first time I was a mountaineer! It didn't matter that I had little knowledge of crampon and Ice axe technique, and I hadn't yet even used them, now I had the right equipment I knew I had the whole day to get to know it! I was gazing up at the summit, my first objective of the day. I looked at the ground I was currently walking on, a thin blanket of white with many intrusive splodges of grass poking out of it. This was certainly too low a level to even consider the use of crampons, a good hundred metres would have to be gained before the snow was even close to ready. I had set myself a point and went for it, Murton Crag. By the time I was there I would be half way up already. It wasn't long before I was there. The snow was now thick, but powdery, crampons would do very little and an Ice axe would only damage the turf lying under the snow. I continued towards the summit without the aid of crampons. Kicking steps and occasionally punching a fist through the snow for the extra stability. On reaching the summit the fog poured in. I took a few photo's of the trig point and then went to put my camera in my rucksack only to find the whole of Eden Valley sitting patiently below me when I looked back up. The fog had cleared! I got my camera back out again and after taking several more shots, at long last I donned my crampons and got out my ice axe. The north face of the hill would surely be in the right condition. But what was the right condition? I didn't really know. I was hoping for good hard snow, but there was none. It wasn't even worth carving a bollard out in the snow to test it's strength. I knew for sure it would give way. I decided I could at least try some techniques out and I wasn't going to come to any harm on such a gentle slope. After 10 minutes I realised today wasn't going to be a great day for Ice Axe and Crampon practice. I put them both away and got out my poles instead. This was the set up I used for the rest of the day. After working my way down to the valley, I gently made my way towards High Cup Nick.

High Cup Valley with Murton Pike in the Distance

After a while my heels were starting to get blisters on them. I sat down in the snow and took my boots off.  The whole process took about 5-10 minutes my bum was getting quite cold but I didn't really care, I knew it would easily warm up again. However when I did finally get up I had a feeling something was missing. I couldn't think what though? My arse! I prodded at my buttocks countless times, unable to register any feeling in them what so ever. I continued walking knowing that they would thaw out the moment I started on a bit of ascent. Throughout the day certain parts of my body went numb my fingers were the obvious one and my nose, which reminded me of the anaesthetic the dentist gave me when he pulled my teeth out. Because the of the soft snow, I decided I would concentrate on getting some descent photo's instead of practicing winter skills. High Cup Nick was beautifully lit by the sun and I was sure to get some good shots. As the day went on I was getting more and more into finding good camera angles and I was becoming increasingly glad I had come to such a unique place, where the sun and the snow complemented every inch of the amazing whin sill valley. The day was drawing to a close and in order to get back before daylight I attempted a glissade down one of the steep slopes. I had my Ice Axe out in order to use as an ice brake. On the powdery snow I didn't pick up that much speed, so I'm not sure how much time it saved but it was definitely fun and an efficient way of getting down a steep slope. Dad arrived at out meeting spot at exactly the same time as I did, often I miss time my walks and my nice relaxing day out turns into one of those Top Gear style races where I have to sprint down a mountain to beat the car. 

Despite not having used my new gear much, I now feel much more comfortable about using it when the ground conditions are right. I will hopefully be learning more skills on a course at Glenmore Lodge in February, but before then I will try and get out and about in the snow, to get used to using my gear.

Running, Climbing, Dreaming

I haven't been out on the fells recently but have been doing a lot still. Despite the domain name 'Fell Feet' I never intended the blog to be dedicated to the fells, and the more I write the more it seems this blog isn't really even dedicated to trips specifically in the mountains. It's more about challenge, adventure and basically the things I do that make me feel better as a person. 

I have been spending a lot of climb at the climbing wall recently in Kendal. I have been going on Wednesday nights after school to do bouldering, and Saturdays for Young Climbers Club.

There are a lot of very good Young Climbers there!

I was at Kendal Mountain Film Festival on Sunday. It was truly inspiring. My favourite films were 'Richard Parks 737 challenge', a film of a former Rugby Player who climbs the seven summits (Highest summit in 7 continents) and stands on the three poles (Everest, North Pole and the South Pole), and  'Crossing the Ditch' a film about 2 lads, Cas and Jonesy, not much older than me, as they paddle from Australia to New Zealand for the first time ever. I went their to watch films of mountaineering expeditions and only caught the last half of this, but was immediately drawn into it. It had humour, as well parts where I was on the edge of my seat, it was outstanding and everyone else must have agreed, because despite it being a kayak film it won the Grand Prize. Cas and Jonesy are currently attempting another world first called 'crossing the ice' the first ever unsupported return journey to the South Pole, 100 years on from the first Expedition to the South Pole. You can follow their progress on their website linked above.

I bought a Petzl Tikka 2 from Millets while I was in Kendal, so I can run after school now the days are getting shorter. I have used it twice this week and it is fantastic. I am also looking forward to a winter skills course at Glenmore Lodge in February. I'm hoping to learn Crampon and Ice axe skills, as well as the relevant safety procedures to go out in Scottish winter.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments.

Also take a look at Cas and Jonesy's website, as they could go down in history for this Expedition.

Ethan

A Quick Catch Up

I haven't written anything for a while so I will just tell you briefly some of the stuff I have been up to recently.

I hadn't been running for a week or two because I wanted to try and get rid of the cold I had at the time. I never quite managed it and became quite bored so decided to run a 13.5km circuit that I do quite often and suffer the disappointment of finding out how much slower I was. To my surprise though I beat my best time by about 2 minutes, and the following week when I did the same circuit I beat that one by another 2 minutes.

I have just completed a beginners indoor climbing course at Kendal Wall. I had done climbing in the past at another club but never managed to get back into it after I left. Last Saturday I went along to young climbers club and we did some top rope climbing (bottom rope to be correct). I also joined the mailing list for the wall and was one of the 5 lucky winners of a free prize draw, where I won a month's pass. I think I'll try to make the most of it next week as it's the half term holiday.

My Dad bought a 2nd hand Ridgeback bike from Arragons in Penrith, that they had as a hire bike. We went for a 17 mile cycle the other day to try it out. We cycled to the New Inn in Hoff which has just opened up and I had lunch there. The journey to there was practically all down hill, and Dad was trying to find a route back home without going back up hill (I tried explaining the impossibility of this). In the end we went to Great Asby and on to Orton Scar, and Dad was disappointed when we came to, what was in his words 'the biggest bl**dy hill he's ever been up in his life'.

That's all really I haven't been up to much recently, but I will try and do some fell walking next week.
Oh and I got an 'F10 Vitesse' on ebay. A light weight tent that can be pitched with trekking poles or string to save weight? I'm looking forward to using that.

Thanks for Reading

Ethan 

Exploring the North Pennines

Last week I decided not head up to Cross Fell because of bad weather, I was a bit annoyed that I didn't go on but knew that I would get little pleasure out of it on my own on a day like that. Fergus joined me for Murton Pike but went back after that, as the fog was low and he couldn't stay the night anyway. I did a  loop around High Cup Nick with minimum visibility. So I was keen to get on up to Cross Fell this weekend, this time in the company of Fergus and Rex.

  

This week I planned to go around High Cup Nick and onto Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell. We set of from the farm in Murton at about 10:10am. This time rather than walk around the edges we walked through the valley. Rex was over joyed to be out and about in a new place and expressed his excitement by running around and demonstrating his remarkable athletic ability, which always makes me feel slow and lazy and generally seems to put most human bodies shame. I was keen to have a nosey around a bit more and possibly climb a gully or two. I saw one and it looked fantastic. It had a huge boulder that had fallen and jammed itself between the two walls. I asked Fergus if he could hold Rex while I went up. The rock of High Cup Nick is very Brittle so it's important to take care when selecting hand holds. After a few minutes of simple scrambling I was on the top. I walked to the edge and looked over the cliff to see Fergus and Rex waiting patiently and looking quite small. I shouted hello to them both before making my way back down.

We then worked our way along the bottom of the cliffs until we came to the rock fall at the end of the valley, where we went up the large gully onto the top. We then walked along the western side of the cliff tops until we came to the drystone wall which leads all the way to the bottom of Dufton Pike. We hand railed along it for 20 minutes or so. If you have been reading my blog since it first started you will remember the walk I did in the Lakes with Fergus in June. Despite knowing his boots were a size to small for him he came along anyway and although it slowed him down quite a bit he managed quite well considering the pain he claimed

to be in. He said the first thing he would do when he got back would be to buy a new pair of boots. Here we were 4 months later and Fergus is still in the same old pair of boots. So a frequent topic of conversations was yet again complaints of pain in his feet. Despite being 1st October the temperature must have been about 25 degrees celsius at this point in the afternoon. I was walking quick and was a bit reluctant to stop, as I wanted to get to the bothy before night fall. We had joined the Pennine way at the bottom of Dufton Pike and were heading for Knock Fell. We were both dehydrated and Rex was also hot. I decided that it was worth having a nice break by a river to fill up on water, let rex have a paddle and finally allow Fergus to rest his feet. After half an hour we continued. We kept going on the long walk to Knock Fell. The three of us all sat down admiring the distant Lake District fells as they stood proudly over the Eden Valley, the sun gradually creeping down into dusk. I put my arm around Rex and realised this was one them moments that you look back on with a smile across your face. A short time later we made it onto Knock Fell. I gave Rex his tea, as he seemed to be lacking his usual energy. The big 'Golf Ball' on the top of Great Dun Fell, that can be seen from Blencathra on a clear day and from my house in decent weather, was now very close indeed. We came to the road that led up radar station on the fell. This is used by workers there and is apparently the highest road in Britain. After a short stroll up the road we were as close to the summit as we could get, with out sitting on top of the station or being done for trespassing. We walked around the fenced of area and then onto Little Dun Fell. Cross Fell was our final objective of the day. At 893m (2930ft) Cross Fell is the 9th highest fell in the country and the highest point of the Pennines or any other part of the country outside of the Lake District. We ascended relatively quickly and the view was amazing from the summit a few photos were taken before we headed of the fell and looked around for the hut. We couldn't see it for a while until I spotted it and we set off towards it.
In fairness I had told Fergus that the day wouldn't be as long or tiring as last time and it kind of was in the end. I find it hard to stop and stay still when I have a planned destination. I'd sooner get there and then relax.

This was my first time in a mountain bothy and I was very impressed. Greg's Hut is well maintained and well stocked and I immediately felt cosy the moment I stepped inside it. A few others came with even more supplies. I had brought some fire lighters but they burned out. They had some so we used them and I got the fire going well. There were about six staying altogether but five of them were scared off by us so went outside to pitch tents, but one poor soul had to stay as she didn't have a tent to escape to. Rex, who has a tail that reacts to noise kept us awake. I stupidly donated my camping mat to Rex so had to sleep on the hard wooden platform above the fire. We ate quite well though. I am trying very hard to not use dehydrated camping meals as there expensive and disgusting. Fergus had some lightweight super noodles but I can't bear to look at them, considering they pretty much the only food I ate on my 12 peaks challenge. I brought some pasta and some carbonara source and ate it quite happily.

In the morning I had Ready-Brek and Semolina, which was quite a nice start to the day. Fergus had 'Cup o' Soup'. We then packed and after feeding Rex his Breakfast we left. I forgot to pack the Rex's Bowl. It's one of those red Sea to Summit X-bowls. If anyone's back up there before me, could you let me know if it's there still. We said goodbye to the other 5 who returned back to the bothy to cook breakfast on their stoves, and I tried my best to apologise to the women kept awake all night by Rex. She pointed out that what actually kept her awake was me commanding Rex to "Lie Down!". She even seemed to feel sorry for the dog, as if I was taking away his rights by trying to stop him wagging his tail in the middle of the night. On the way out of the bothy I couldn't help notice the beauty of the Pennine fells when looking to the north, I'll perhaps explore them some time. As for now all that remained was a quick descent into Blencarn before returning home.

A fantastic trip, with the company of two good friends.

Thanks for reading,
Please feel free to leave comments.

Ethan

Murton Pike and High Cup Nick

Today I got up at 08:30 and got a lift with Dad to Murton where Fergus was due to meet me. Fergus was waiting in the bus shelter when I arrived. We set off up towards Murton Pike walking behind Murton Crag. The cloud was very low and from here on navigation was difficult, seeing as we were off the path. Using a compass bearing I found our way to the summit. We then headed down towards the start of High Cup Nick. The plan was for Fergus to walk around High Cup Nick with me as well before finding his own way back to Murton, and then I would head on up to Cross fell and Greg's hut. Seeing as the cloud was low and Fergus didn't have a map or know how to use a compass we decided it was best if he went back now while the way was still clear. I worked my way around High Cup Nick, the fog was thick and the rain was persistent. I didn't meet one person. Every so often one of the jagged, pointy rocks would stick out through the fog to confirm I was near the edge. I was deciding that it perhaps wasn't worth heading on to Cross Fell today and I should meet Dad in Dufton. After a few kilometres down the field I came to the bottom of Dufton Pike. At only 300 metres visibility was still poor and the majority of Dufton Pike was hidden. It is in this weather that I start to appreciate the company of others a lot more. I was going to check out Greg's Hut but realised that although I could probably make it quite easily, I didn't see what enjoyment I would get out of spending a long, lonely night in a mountain bothy at 700 metres with nothing to do other than cook some pasta and dry out my clothes, just to head back down in the morning. After ringing Dad I decided that it was best to meet him in Dufton.
             It is hard for me to cope with the fact that I didn't go on to the hut today, but I know that sometimes my determination can push me through those hard times and thats what achieves great things on the mountains, but it can also push me through tough times and in the end bring me nothing to look back on with a smile on my face. If I was aiming to get somewhere for the next night or had a particular route in mind I wouldn't have returned until I had completed what I had set out to do, but considering this was an adventure with no objective and at the end of the day had little enjoyment or achievement in completing it, I decided it was one to do another day with enjoyable weather and good company.

Thanks for reading,
Comments valued as always.

Regular Update

Tomorrow I'll be going on a walk with Fergus for the day up Murton Pike and around High Cup Nick.
These are both walks I've done a lot. It's possibly my 5th time up Murton Pike and maybe my 5th visit to High Cup Nick. One of them a memorable experience with my Dad, when it didn't really cross my mind mind that walking along a 70 foot drop could be a bit scary to someone (like Dad) who suffers from vertigo. After that Fergus will make his own way back while I head off up to Cross Fell (which I've never been on) and then stay the night at 'Greg's Hut' (which is also a new experience). Cross Fell is the 9th highest fell in the country and the highest fell in the country, outside of the Lake District. 'Greg's hut' is also the highest mountain bothy in the country. I am quite pleased with how I've packed. I've managed to fit everything in my 'Lowe Alpine 45 litre Air Zone', and I'm leaving my Theramarest style Vaude Air mattress at home and I'm taking the light weight and cheaper option (a standard foam mattress).

What I've been up to
I haven't been up to a lot recently. I have a minor cold which usually would mean nothing, but it is effecting my stamina quite a bit, so I have had to abandon my increasingly regular long distance run for this week. I have managed to fit a 6km and a 4km in but I can't say I'm proud of the distance or my performance in it.
           I went to my first session of the indoor climbing course at Kendal Wall. It was extremely well taught. I have done bits of climbing in the past, at a Kids club when I was 10 in Penrith leisure centre and also with school and a summer camp once or twice, but I learnt an awful lot just in this one session. We only used the Bouldering wall this week, but I learnt to climb a lot more efficiently. Next week we will be doing top rope climbing and weeks 3 and 4 we will be doing Lead Climbing (something which I have never done).
           I have been having trouble getting hold of size 14 B2 winter boots. Which is strange because I can find Plenty of size 14 walking boots. Manufacturers are a bit silly really. They have concluded that men with size 14 feet don't have the desire to do anything more than summer walking! It's as if they expect a man with big feet to say "Oh no, gravel is challenging enough for me! I'll wait until next summer, and for now I'll leave those much more adventurous small-footed people to explore the snow." However 'La Sportiva' do 2 B3 rated models in my size so I am not totally lost.

That's all for now. Check back on Sunday or Monday night and I might have a post up about tomorrow's adventure.

Feel free to post comments and few more followers would be nice (but I won't hold my breath).

Ethan

Lakeland Walker Article and a Catch Up

I haven't been able to spend much time on the fells recently, but I have kept myself busy in other ways.

The most important thing to mention firstly is about an article I was lucky enough to get published in the Lakeland Walker. It's a more compressed version of the 12 Peaks Challenge post that I wrote in July. It is on Sale in Booths and I think WHS. Possibly Cotswold sell it as well. Have a look if your interested it's a great magazine, which offers advise and inspiration to those who visit the area.



About 2 weeks ago, a day or two before I was due to start school, me and Calum went on a walk in the Howgills. We were planning to go camping in the Lakes for a night but with the Met Office Mountain Weather suggesting winds of up to 70mph I suggested we didn't. We ended up spending the day going to Weasdale and walking up to Green Bell and Randy Gill top instead. Apart from the Lake District the Howgills are my favourite fells in the country and I have a feeling I will be writing a lot more about them in the winter months. At this height and location the winds were at an exciting speed, more than the dangerous speed that Scafell was probably taking. I can only hope nobody set out for the summit in that weather. We then went for a game of pool in Tebay before heading to the cinema with Fergus. We saw that film about apes taking over the world. We had a much more comfortable evening then the one I had planned for us originally.

I then started school on Thursday and only had to suffer two gruelling days of it before the weekend came. The Saturday was my Birthday and the 2 days were spent at Langdale Charity Folk Festival where I had been booked to play Sat and Sun. Langdale is the place where I discovered my love for the Lakes and I have the folk festival to thank for getting me out to that part of the country. The night of my Birthday we ate at the thai restaurant in Ambleside. As we set off we picked up a lad a bit older than me hitching, who lived in Ambleside. He studied Geography and Mountain Walking at the uni there, and had been to the Picos and many other fantastic places. I took the opportunity to rabbit on about mountains to him. I think he was glad to exit the car once we'd arrived (and I'm almost surprised he didn't attempt an escape while the car was still moving.

I will be starting a climbing course at Kendal climbing wall on Wednesday. I have been wanting to get into rock climbing for while and I'm glad I finally have the opportunity. I'm also looking at getting some experience in winter hillwalking and mountaineering. I am looking at getting some B2 boots, crampons and Ice axe first and then will try and find a way to learn. Whether its going out on some of the safer fells learning on my own by trial and error or saving up to go on a course.

This week I have managed to fit in a few 13km runs, to keep fit while I'm off the fells and also to improve my running in itself. I'm thinking about possibly entering a 10km race next month but I'll see how I'm doing nearer the time.

I'll try to update my blog at least every two weeks, even if I'm not getting up to much, but hopefully I'll find something to speak about before then.

Thanks for reading and keep checking back every so often.
Feel free to leave comments.

Conniston to Grasmere August 29th-30th

View of Low Water

Windermere and Conniston

Dad dropped me off in Conniston, just after 10am. I made my way along a field until I came to the path up to ‘The Old Man of Conniston’ (that’s the name of the fell by the way). After Some hard work I was on the summit in about an hour. The views showed Windermere, Conniston and the coast rather nicely, with the morning sun shining through the high clouds. This didn’t last for long. I was in the shelter of the cairn and knew the other side of it was gonna be a whole lot worse. I set out onto the wide ridge between The Old Man and Brim Fell where the winds suddenly picked up. I didn’t bring any gloves as my cheap ones just get wet and cold anyway. As I got to Brim Fell I sheltered from the wind behind the cairn and put my waterproof jacket on to keep the wind off. Rain was bound to come as well. It wasn’t long before a mean looking cloud started sweeping in from the coast. The rain started and visibility became minimal. As I headed on to Swirl How, I had begun to lose track of where I was on the map, I asked another walker and they told me. Great Carr was my next destination where I was told the path to Grey Friar was clearly marked. By this time the fog was thick but I could see the cairn of Great Carr so took a bearing on my compass and made my way over to Grey Friar with a little uncertainty. It is at these points where I wish I had a friend with me, just to talk to when I feel the most lonely (best start trying to make some). The fog cleared to my right to show Wynrose Pass running behind Cold Pike and Pike o'Blisco. This was where I was heading down to after Grey Friar. With newly found confidence I continued walking towards Grey Friar when the path cleared to reveal some Land Rover Tracks in the grass. I wouldn’t call it a “clearly marked path” but once I found it I was able to make my way up to the summit with a much calmer feeling. I gradually made my way down the hill and crossed the Wrynose Pass to make my way up the Public Bridleway west of Cold Pike and Crinkle Crags along the Moesdale beck. After a long lonely stroll through the boggy ground and the rain I came to the path leading up to Ore Gap (the col between Bowfell and Esk Pike). It was about 5:30pm and I was ready to pitch my tent and have a good nights sleep. I was glad to have a signal so rung Mum and Dad for a quick chat, before descending to angle tarn where I’d camp that night. After having tea I went to sleep at about 7pm and had a good nights sleep.

Nice and Dry

At Stickle Tarn

The next Morning I got up at 8:30am and was off by 9:30am. The weather was the same as yesterday. I could see Pike of Stickle watching over the Langdale Valley. The paths were muddy and on my way to the crossroads where the Cumbria Way meets up with the path from angle tarn, my right leg went knee deep in Peat Bog. By the time I got to the crossroads I wasn’t sure what to do. I had decided I wasn’t going to go up High Raise today, just the Langdale Pikes, but a part of me wanted to take the Cumbria Way path into Langdale and get picked up there. I couldn’t though. I had to go on. If I did I would beat my self up about it all week. I took the black path marked on the map. After a few hundred metres on it I was off the boggy ground and on a nice graveled path leading up to Pike of Stickle, the first of my Langdale Pikes. After a bit more walking and a short scramble, I was on the summit and Loft Crag and Harrison Stickle had escaped the cloud and were looking quite magnificent. Elterwater and Windermere were visible as well as the Langdale valley. Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell were hidden by cloud, but Pike o’Blisco, Lingmoor Fell and Blea Tarn all stood out making Langdale look fantastic. I found and easier route of descent of the summit, which I took before making my way on to the summit of Loft Crag. Again Langdale looked fantastic. I stopped by a stream to clench my thirst and then began the short ascent onto Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Pikes. On it was a Mum and her son about 6, who asked me where I was going. The boy was keen to show me the way they came. It’s nice to see someone that young getting so much out of fells, even when the weather is bad. I made my way on to Pavey Ark where I rung Dad before descending. I made my way for Stickle Tarn to Easdale Tarn, where I met a small group of men from west Cumbria who showed me the best way off down to the tarn. At the end of the tarn I went up a small hill to get a signal to arrange the pick up time with Dad. After a 40 minute descent I met Dad outside the Cotswold shop and we then went and had Lunch in the pub next door. I’d had a good trip but there were plenty of times where I wished I had someone to talk to. 

Harrison Stickle (left), Pavey Ark (right) and Stickle Tarn

Next week, if all goes to plan I should be going on a 2 day walk with Calum (Fergus’ brother). I was thinking of going over in to the Scafell area from Langdale via Crinkle Crags and perhaps doing Scafell Pike and maybe Scafell as well, depending on the weather.

Feel free to post comments as always.

Picos de Europa - Week 2

Monday 15^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 1

We got up at about 9:45 and had a breakfast of bread and honey. We arrived on a Sunday, so a lot of the shops were shut. We spent most of last night running round Potes trying to get food for tea and breakfast.  We thought the market would be a good place to start this morning. The market had various foods we could stock up on, such as olives, fruit and a piece of bread shaped like a tortoise shell (hardly the essentials in my opinion). After following Mum and Dad around the market for what seemed like an hour we were finally free of the place and into the centre of Potes, where we bought some maps and I found an internet café to publish my post on Matienzo. We then went to the butchers, where with the help of Andy and Julie’s Spanish, we bought our meat before returning to the cottage for a bit of lunch. Andy looked on our map and planned a walk we could do from a village called Colio, just a few km away. We drove to Colio (550m) and set off up towards la Riscos a col at about 1000m. On the way the views got even better, often the case when heading up a mountain. It was quite late and we hadn’t had tea yet. I was convinced I could get up to ‘Pico de la Paña’ (1356m) and get back down before dark but despite me trying to persuade Mum, She wan’t going to let me go up. But they did say they’d drop me off there the next day to explore the mountain range. We arrived back at the cottage and had a nice stew that Dad made. And then played a card game.

Tuesday 16^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 2

Pico del Acero Summit (1675m)

We got up at the same time as yesterday and had breakfast. After breakfast Andy and Julie set off back to their holiday cottage to spend the rest of their holiday there. After filling my 2 litre Platypus hydration pack and a 1.5 litre bottle, I was dropped off in Colio and set off up on my own, to where we stopped yesterday. From here I planned to head up to Pico de la Tarabiella, Pico de la Paña and Pico del Acero. Here I would get a good sample of what the Picos has to offer. When I reached where we stopped the previous day, I had to find my way around a herd. I set off up La Riscos and onto my first peak of the day ‘Pico de la Tarabiella’. At 1099m it was the highest summit I had been on, being bigger than any of Englands mountains. I then walked up the long grassy slope of ‘Pico de la Paña’ and after about 10-20mins I reached the summit at 1356m, now this was the highest summit I’d been up, higher than any of the mountains in England and Wales. I then set off down the grassy slope to the main col and then set off up the steep ground towards the summit of Pico del Acero. Looking at the map I was heading in the right direction but there was a bigger summit behind it. What was this? I decided to head on to the summit of what I thought was Acero and open the map up fully when I got to there to check where I was. I realized after a thorough check on the map that I was on the summit of ‘Pico del Acero’ at 1675m. This was now the highest summit I had been on to that date, higher than Ben Nevis and any other mountain in Great Britain. I descended with joy. When I got back I realised that I had packed another 2 litre bottle in my pack without even seeing it under my jacket. The amount of money you can pay for light weight equipment can all be a waste if you do something stupid like that. A 2 litre bottle of water ways little less than my 2 man tent. We went out for a nice meal in Potes. Before heading back to the cottage.

Wednesday 17^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 3

Mum and Dad on Cosgaya Walk

We got up quite late and after having breakfast headed through Potes and into Cosgaya. We parked at a posh looking hotel in our dirty car and got out in our scruffy holiday vests and shorts with the intention to eat there. Suddenly a waitress came out with concern and asked us to move. We told her we were planning to eat there and thinking very sharp and quickly she said it was fully booked. We were more than happy to leave this posh expensive hotel and move on to a bar, full of scruffy locals and tourists where we felt much more at home. After that we went for a small walk, described In the guide book, following the Rio (River) Cubo uphill, then crossing it and descending the other side. There were plenty of ripe blackberries to enjoy on the descent. When we got back to the car we headed on to Fuente Dé where a lot of tourists were found queuing for the cable cars and eating in the café. The reason for coming here was to have a quick look at where I planned to go the next day. I wanted to do an ascent from Fuente Dé to Peña Vieja. Most walkers and climbers would get a cable car for the 800 metre ascent to the top station at 1800 metres and then head for the summit. There were many reasons I could give for not wanting to take the cable car: saving €15, not having to spend the morning queuing, but to be honest the main reason, if not the only reason I didn’t want to take the cable car, was because I wanted to do it the hard way. Climbing a mountain over 2500m and doing only 800 metres of ascent seemed like cheating. Fuente Dé was still at an altitude of around 1000 metres but it was the lowest place I could start the ascent from that wasn’t miles away. I was still unsure what route up to the cable car station I would take, as I looked up at the frightening cliffs reaching endlessly up through the cloud. But I still wasn’t going to take the cable car unless there was no other way on foot. We set off home and I went to bed at an early time in order to get up for a long day. I had an idea to go up roughly where the cable car went as there looked on the map a way round the cliff faces that way, but there was no path marked.

Thursday 18^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 4

I awoke bright and early to see the skies covered with cloud. Rain looked imminent. I remembered reading that quite often mist filled valleys are likely to mean the peaks will be above the clouds and give a great view. Despite knowing this I decided it would be best not to go up Peña Vieja today. I couldn’t help feeling that I stood a better chance the next day. Me and Dad drove into Potes to get some information on the weather at the tourist info centre.  It is hard to tell what the Spanish weather forecast is trying to say. It is very quick and brief and the tourist information just had pictures to say something along the lines of what the telly said. We realized on the back of a leaflet that the visitors centre in Tama seemed to be of some use to those who were planning on venturing into the mountains. Seeing as Tama was 3 km from our cottage it seemed worth a visit and it was very good. They had a big 1:25000 map on the wall and on it was a a route marked up to the cable car. It went through a gully called ‘canal de la Jenduda’. One of the staff showed me some photos on his laptop of the mountain. It looked fantastic. 

By this time in the day the clouds had disappeared and we decided to go to the coast. We set off at about 2:00pm traveling deeper and deeper into the cloud the further north went. When we got to the coast, it was windy and a bit chilly. We stopped off for lunch at a restaurant before heading back to the cottage, stopping off at a cove on the way. When we got back we ate in and watched a film on the DVD player.

Friday 19^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 5 (The ascent of Peña Vieja)

Ascent through Canal de la Jenduda

I woke up early and had a big breakfast. The clouds were looming but I had a good feeling they were going to clear. We set off for Fuente Dé and arrived at about 10:30am. The map there on the wall showed the same route marked on the map in the visitor’s centre yesterday. I started my ascent at 11:00am. I was confident that the gully would be safe, but I wouldn’t be able to see it fully untill I was standing at the foot of it. Using the trekking poles I worked my way up the scree untill I arrived at the Jenduda gully. Even at the foot of it, it was hard to see what lay ahead. A storm last year had caused a lot of rock to fall in it. As I headed up the gully I realized it was bits of scrambling over rock and carefully making my way up the scree. I was already glad I picked this way, it was far more fun than the cable car could ever be. There was a bit of rope attached to the other side of a huge boulder blocking the path. It soon became clear I needed it to pull myself up and around it, but I couldn’t see what it was attached to on the other side and I the rope looked quite old. So I just did it any way and it turned out all right. As I started to reach the top of the gully, I saw a man coming down. I was already beginning to fear making conversation with him and hoped we would just say “ola” and be done with it. Unfortunately not. He started speaking at a ridiculous speed. I said the only Spanish phrase I know in Spanish, which is “I don’t speak Spanish”. But he just said “ahh! No Espagnol?” and carried on at exactly the same speed but started pointing to random places on the map. It seemed like it wasn’t going to end! He then for some reason started to build a cairn in front of me. My first thought was “I’ll just sneak off and leave the crazy guy to build cairns on his own,” but then I realized he was trying to say follow the cairns. I just said yes a lot and thank you and we then continued with our days. I went to the cable car platform to text Mum and Dad. I could get a signal here. The station was very busy. Although it was at 1800 metres it had a restaurant and a tourist shop as well as various other things. I headed towards Peña Vieja. The closer I got to it the fewer tourists I saw in trainers and shorts and the more walkers I came past with trekking poles and boots. I knew I was on the right track but had a horrible thought going through my head, suggesting I might have missed the turn off. I knew on the map that I hadn’t but just to shut the thought up I finally asked a man coming down the track I was on, “Peña Vieja?” Pointing to the direction with my trekking pole. He spoke some English and basically just said when to turn off at and that the views were good on top. I continued on up the track and then took the turn off path to the mountain. I headed higher and higher until I came to a small col between two peaks and ahead of me lay a bigger col and a huge steep peak. There was a guy chilling out on the ground, listening to his Ipod. I pointed to the peak and said “Peña Vieja?” he gave me the thumbs up. This was a big summit. I had gotten to about 2400m and ahead of me lay this steep ascent to a pointy top. I headed across the col keeping to the path away from what looked like shake holes. Then I headed up the steep scree until I came to the summit about 30 minutes later. 

Looking at summit of Peña Vieja

Torrecerredo and the surrounding mountains

On the summit of Peña Vieja (2613m)

To the south lay the surrounding foot hills of the Picos. A steep drop below me lay ‘Peña Olvidada’ a peak only accessible on a rope. For this reason many people go on to Peña Vieja, hence its name ‘Forgotten Peak’. To the north a quilt of cloud hid the valleys. Whilst the mighty peaks tore through it. To the Northwest stood the king of the Picos ‘Torrecerredo (2648m)’. Peña Vieja had been an objective for the past 4 months and here I was finally stood on it. At 2613 metres (8573 feet) it was by far the biggest mountain I had been on. After a lot of photos, I descended at a decent speed with the trekking poles down the mountain and along the col, then back to the cable car and down the gully. I slipped at one point and the fall wouldn’t have been anything too bad but one of my poles jammed in the rock and pole-vaulted me forwards. I was fine but I’d broken one of my £10 poles. After beating the handle against a rock I managed to close it enough to put it in my rucksack with the other one. The next bit of terrain needed hands more than poles anyway. After climbing down past the big boulder with the rope attached to it I saw a chamois, on its own, looking up at me. I gradually descended down closer and closer towards it but it didn’t move until I was very close. It then ran up a scree slope to a herd of about 10 other chamois. I looked up at the cable car making its way up in a rapid ascent and thought about all the stuff its passengers were missing. I remembered a sentence from Edmund Hillary’s auto Biography ‘Nothing Venture, Nothing Win’ Where he said “There are plenty of tamed wonders for all to goggle at through vehicle windows - we must also retain our wilderness areas where nature can develop in its own calm way and where only those humans who are prepared to walk and sweat a little qualify to go.” The two cable cars run all day and between them take 40 people up in about 3 minutes. I had only met one guy today doing my route to the same place through the gully. We only need to give a good bit of hard work before we can share sites like a herd of chamois resting on a mountain slope with that very small percentage of this earth that have discovered peace in wilderness. At this point I realized that through all the adventures I have been on in the past 6 months, at 15 I had seen more beauty than some people 4 times my age have ever seen. I arrived back at the car park at Fuente Dé and had an ice cream with Mum and Dad who arrived shortly after me in the car. When we got back we ate out at a really nice place in Potes looking out of the 1^st floor window on to the street.

A Chamois

Saturday 20^th August – Picos de Europa – Day 6

We got up late and after a lot of time deciding what to do for the day we ended up just driving to places we thought might be interesting. Mum and Dad had spent a lot of time in their holiday worrying about me, while I was up in the mountains. Dad is scared of heights so as well as worrying about me on the mountains, he has also been taken on a few walks by me and Mum this holiday that he didn’t particularly enjoy. So it seemed only fair that I should just do what they wanted to do for this day. But I won’t go into unnecessary detail about the day. We went to a church. It wasn’t open so we headed around for a bit in the car before heading for the coast. Dad particularly enjoys the beach, so we decided to go there for the rest of the day. On the way we stopped off at a roadside restaurant for lunch. When we arrived at the sea, I noticed there were a lot of caves around. I wished I’d brought my head torch so I could have had a look, but as Dad pointed out it’s not the kind of thing you’d think of taking to the seaside. Me and Mum went swimming in the sea while Dad lay in the sand. We then went back to the cottage where dad used up the stuff in the fridge by making a tomato based mountain stew. There was a huge lightning storm just before we ate. We all just sat and watched. I never knew lightning could strike in so many different ways. We watched a film and went to bed.

River running through Potes

Sunday 21^st August – Picos de Europa – Day 7 (our last day)

Potes

We didn’t really do much on our last day but we had a nice time. We got up late and lounged around for a bit before heading into Potes for some Tapas. This is perhaps the best way to fill your family up and actually costs less than the ‘meal of the day’ option. We went for a very pleasant stroll along the river bank before going to a lovely building called Torre del Infantado. From the top of this tower great views of the town can be seen. The temperature was 38 degrees celsius and the air was humid. We went back to the cottage and Dad continued to read his book while Mum and I ended up watching lots of Modern family episodes from a box set. After this we went and had our best meal yet at a restaurant looking over the river, which was very good seen as it was our last night. Another thunder storm came and we waited for the rain to die down before making a dash back to the car. When we got back we watched more Modern Family before going to bed. 

The journey home

We got up early Sunday morning and after Mum and Dad did the last bit of packing we drove to Santander where we boarded the ferry. I took some more of those wine gum travel sickness things and they actually did the trick this time. After spending the afternoon doing very little, we had a meal in the ferry restaurant, before me and Mum played air hockey and we all went back to the cabin to sleep. I was sleeping well and so was Dad, but unfortunately Mum wasn’t. If Mum doesn’t sleep well, then she’s so grumpy the next day that you have to avoid speaking to her. She said she got to sleep at 4am. This would have given her 6 hours sleep which you can sometimes get away with communicating with her on. It’s 5am and we’re both woken up by Dad who’s amazed by dolphins outside the ship. Me and Mum got up. “Wow! oh Wow!” Dad shouts, forgetting with all his excitement that the rest of the passengers are on the ship asleep. Me and Mum were too grumpy to put up with this kind of noise at this time at night, so Mum gave him a telling off. “But I just saw one standing up on its tail!” He said. Me and Mum got up and looked outside the window. It was dark and hard to see but you could see the waves breaking. Dad was convinced these were dolphins. So much so that he got us all out of bed to go and stand on the deck and look. It was about 30mins before Mum went back to bed with no signs of any dolphins. I was a bit annoyed at Dad for making Mum run on only 5 hours sleep the next day. However I stayed out for a longer time, still believing Dad who was utterly convinced. Suddenly we saw something “wow” I said, soon realizing what it was. Dad on the other hand continued to shout in excitement and point. “It’s just like the one I saw!” He continues to say. “wow!” I was a bit cheesed off at this point, I realized how stupid I was to trust this deluded man. “It’s a seagull!” I growled in a frustrated voice. Dad squinted at the seagull a few times, still unsure, before it flew off out of the water, and he finally realized. I then found out that all the other times Dad was shouting Dolphin and I thought I’d missed it, that they were underwater and what he could see was the light reflecting off there bellies. What I could see with my better eye sight was actually the light of the ship reflecting off braking waves. We went back to bed. 

The next morning Dad was being very friendly to Mum and even me as it happens. He had gotten up 30mins earlier than us and had been up on deck. He admitted that he noticed how far out the waves were breaking and it was clear he was starting to realize that he didn’t see any dolphins and he didn’t have a talent for seeing light reflect off their bellies as they swam underwater. We waited for the ship to dock before driving off it and slowly making our way back to Cumbria.

We all really enjoyed the holiday. I loved the Picos de Europa and I wish I could have spent more time walking and perhaps have done some climbing with a guide, but it is important to balance the holiday out. We’re all quite different in what we like. Mum’s ideal holiday would be horse riding through Texas, Dad’s would be lying on a beach in Gran Canaria and for me, if I had to plan a week it would involve a tent, a stove and lots of mountains. I would love to come back to the Picos sometime with like minded people, and spend the time climbing and Walking up the mountains. But I was aware before I came that the most important thing to do was spend time as a family and I did that pretty well.

Thanks for Reading if you got this far.

Feel free to post comments.

Matienzo week 1

Hi I arrived at the Picos last night and am now at an internet cafe in  Potes posting my first week in matienzo. I´ll upload some more photos soon on this post when I´ve shortened the file sizes. More to follow on the picos soon................

Sunday 7^th August – Cumbria to Matienzo

I got up on Sunday at 6 o’clock after 2 hours sleep. I’d been up all night thinking about the ferry, meeting our friends and the Picos de Europa. After a long Journey, broken in two halves by a nice lunch, we boarded the ferry and went to our cabin, before eating at the restaurant. The ship was being knocked around quite violently. At one point some plates slid off a cupboard and smashed on the floor. Not so long ago I went on a cruise in mid winter and felt extremely sea sick with my pulse at 42bpm. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have this problem this time and although feeling a bit queasy I was alright at the moment, but took a travel chewy thing before I went to bed.

On the Ferry

Monday 8^th August – Matienzo Day 1

I had a suspicious feeling that the travel chewy thing I ate last night was just an idea a conman had to put some wine gums in a packet

and pretend they did something to help your travel sickness. Yes, there was something we did in science called the asbo effect or is it the placebo effect? It was saying something like if you think you’ve taken something to make you feel better, you feel better anyway, or something like that. I was probably concentrating on something else far more interesting at the time like falling a sleep or doodling. Anyhow back on track. I was right! I woke up dizzy on the top bunk, feeling as if a giant had picked up the ship and started shaking it vigorously. To make things even worse I thought it would be fun to climb up on to the bunk, the night before, without putting the ladder there, not thinking I’d be feeling sick in the morning. As a result I had to jump off the 5 ½ foot bunk bed aiming for the narrow floor between the two beds without landing on my sleeping Mum. After completing this tricky manoeuvre with a dizzy head I ran to the toilet and threw up. I spent the remainder of the journey staying in the cabin near the bathroom. But got Dad to take a photo of Santander as we were coming into port. After a half hour drive we arrived in Matienzo to meet Andy, Julie and Arthur at there holiday cottage in Spain. Andy was my Dad’s best man at Mum and Dad’s wedding and him and Julie’s son Arthur is my age, so we all get on really well. We then went to a restaurant in the next valley. Walking in it looked like a small bar until you go through the far door and a huge restaurant that can seat about 300 is suddenly in front of you. This was my first introduction to the food in this area of Spain and I loved it. The starters are pretty much the size of an English main course and then after that the main course is even bigger. I had ‘Mountain Stew’ for my first course You get a huge bowl that you can have as much as you like out of. This seemed fantastic, and to make things even better the waitress came and filled the bowl up to the top when it was getting lower. Andy then took us all on a guided drive around the 3 valleys of Matienzo. When we got back we went for a short stroll, which involved stopping off at 2 bars. Arthur then introduced me to his friends and later me and Arthur went out for a meal with them. We played table football at the bar we ate at. I wasn’t very good but now I’m much better at the end of the week.

Tuesday 9^th August – Matienzo Day 2

 We got up late after a late night (the common routine in Spanish holidays). We then went to see Covalanas, a show cave with paintings that are 20, 000 years old. They were mostly of deer. It was amazing to see the intelligence they had. They would use the different surfaces of the cave wall to make the paintings look different from different angles. After the show cave we then went to an art exhibition and had a drink and a snack at a bar and I went off with Arthur to look round a shop. It was a strange shop it had tools, air rifles and knives. The guy there was happy to show me and Arthur the rifles and didn’t have a problem with selling me a pen knife. By this time I had begun to really like Spain. When we got back to the cottage, I used my new pen knife to make a number of sticks with Arthur, that I could use to fight off vicious dogs guarding sheep on the hills. We then went out to the nearest bar to where Andy’s friends were having a caving expedition meal. There were 47 of us there and I was beginning to worry whether we’d have enough to go round. Then one of the waitresses took the plate of meat near me away, and brought it back full. By this time I had noticed that the Spanish weren’t to fussed about salad and definitely not veg. In terms of meals, this area of Spain has really sussed it out well. 2 of the people at the table had just got married and I was asked if I would play everyone some songs on my guitar for the party. It turned into a nice gig.

Wednesday 10^th August – Matienzo Day 3

Mum, Julie and Andy

It had gotten to my 4^th day in Matienzo and I hadn’t gone up any of the hills on the area yet. Andy, Julie, Mum and Dad were going on walk. They were going to drive up on to the highest point of the road and then walk up the remaining height to get to the col between El Naso and La Colina. I had arranged to walk up by the other side of the mountain and meet them at the col. After being dropped of at El Sedo I headed up towards the col. First passing through a field with a family of donkeys and then making my way up to the col through sharp bushes and bracken. The path wasn’t very clear but the top of La Colina was easily visible so I just made my way up to that. After reaching the col before the others coming from the other side I had already decided to start making my way up to the summit of La Colina when they came out onto the col. Andy, July and Mum made there way over to meet me half way up the remaining climb before we left Dad (who is scared of heights) and headed up to the summit. We then met back up with Dad on the col and enjoyed the walk down similar to the way I came up. After a drink at the bar we went back to the cottage and had stuffed marrow for tea.

Thursday 11^th August – Matienzo Day 4

Me and Arthur got up at very early time (around 10am) and set off to cycle up the mountain road. Arthur had gone up there before with a friend and had done it in 34mins with a few stops. We did it in 29 mins and cycled down in 7mins. We were going down so fast that the wind was blowing tears out our eyes. Dad, Mum, July, Andy and I went to Santander to look around a DIY shop and get a map of the Picos. There was also a big sports shop that had a large section for the outdoor enthusiast. It turned out there weren’t any decent maps anywhere but I had a quick look round the outdoor shop and Dad bought a bit of trim for the shower at Spain’s answer to B&Q. We went back and Andy made clam stew and did some meat on the BBQ for us all. We then had to head out as there was no more wine left in the house and people started to panic.

Friday 12^th August – Matienzo Day 5

Today Mum and Dad set off for a 2 night break in Santilla de el Mar and I stayed with Andy and Julie. Me and Arthur set up some home made fishing traps using sticks, nails and corks (which we had plenty of by now). Ater setting them up we went to the old abandoned school to hang out with his friends. After that we had some chips at the bar. I then went with Andy and July for a stroll around the valley. After that Julie made chicken in a nice tomato sauce with home made chips at the cottage. We then ewent to watch a horror film in Spanish at one of Arthurs friends house before heading back to bed.

Saturday 13^th August – Matienzo Day 6

Today was my last day in Matienzo and we all went caving. Andy is a very experienced caver and has had expeditions funded by the National Geographic in the past. The cave was called Jivero and was 500 metres long. It was my first time caving. Although not technically difficult it was extremely exciting. Matienzo’s caves are beautiful and unique. I was very lucky to start caving in such a fabulous place. After we left the cave we went out to the bar before returning home for a pizza to put us on until lamb chops later in the evening.

Saturday 14^th August – Matienzo to the Picos

I got up at 9:45am and had breakfast before getting my stuff together. Me, Andy and Julie were gonna set off and meet Mum and Dad in Santilla de el Mar for lunch, then head over to the cottage we’d booked just outside the Picos de Europa. We met Mum and Day at about 12:45pm and had a quick look around the town (I hate this part of the holiday which was why I didn’t come with them) and some art galleries. One had paintings with some fantastic ones of the Picos de Europa. This filled my passion for mountaineering again after a week away from it. We had lunch and then set off for our cottage. The road took us through a gorge, with mighty rockfaces and jagged peaks towering above us. A magnificent introduction to the kind of country I have been admiring in the photos. After sorting out rooms we all went to Potes just a 6km drive away. It is like Picos de Europa’s Keswick. It has many shops selling bits of local produce and I saw one or two outdoors shops and guide centres there. We bought some unusual stuff. Mum was in a grumpy mood because she hadn’t had a cup of Earl Grey tea for two days and hates pasteurized milk, fresh milk is very hard to find round here. When we parked we got out and we couldn’t quite believe it. There was a kind of Milk machine thing selling fresh refrigerated whole milk! Me and Dad were just as relieved as Mum. She would be much friendlier now.