Helvellyn - The Hard Way

There was something mystical about the Catsty Cam looked in the snow. The futher away you were from it the more Himalayan like it looked. It was one of those sights that would always look awe inspiring in these conditions.
The protruding rock on its right hand side, the pointy summit and the gully which wound its way up the slope like Ivy up the wall of a house. You could be forgiven for expecting an epic ascent when you first saw it, Perhaps that was what Evan was expecting when he saw it for the first time? I had assured him I had seen a man making his way up it in what appeared to be a walking position and it certainly wouldn't be too much of a problem for us. But at the point I took this photo I was starting to wonder if this man was Jesus Christ. For it looked steep. And I was even more excited now than I was the night before. But as we neared the gully its angle relented and so did my excitement.

It was the first time I had seen Evan in about three months, now he was working up at Castle Toward Outdoor Centre up in Dunoon. He had come down to fulfil his promise of going back to Stanage with me this spring. But he had insisted on some time in the Lakes before hand which is why we were here. This time his friend Susan had come down to join him in the Lakes before Evan and I venture on down to the Gritstone Edges this Tuesday.

Evan 'pretending' to pull an exhausted face

We set on up the gully un roped. The angle wasn't as steep as I expected. The resulting climb was a walk, but none the less a steep one. Calf muscles burning as if someone had poked a hot knife through the back of them, we pushed on and it wasn't long before we found ourselves on the summit of Catsty Cam looking down onto Swirral Edge and a Red Tarn Cove with a tarn, frozen over and buried deep beneath the snow. We then plodded on down to Swirral Edge where we were to stop in a sheltered part for a spot of lunch.

It was then on along Swirral, where a worrying amount of people were making there way off the mountain without crampons or ice axes simply pointing out why this mountain had claimed so many lives. We then went on up the final slope to the summit, where we stopped for a break under in the wind shelter.

As for the final section of the day the descent of Striding Edge. A must tick for serious winter walkers. I was made to wonder how serious when seeing people slipping and sliding along it in trainers, though looking well out of their comfort zone and thankfully taking the advise to go back quite readily. I was expecting the ridge to be more challenging in winter, but realised a lot of this is down to the fact that after every ascent another 'Touching the Void' story is added to its fearsome reputation by the tipsy Hill Walker in the pub. And why shouldn't it? Although unintentionally that tipsy hillwalker in the pub is sending out a further caution to all those careless people about to ascend it in trainers on a windy day and because of that maybe save a life. Which is why I have added to its notorious nature by calling this blog post 'Helvellyn - The Hard Way'. A familiar sounding title to those who have read Bonnington's books, and are maybe considering a winter ascent of the edges in trainers themselves. It was then a down hill slog back to Glenridding, where a quick stop off at the Traveller's Rest (watch your head btw) was the last activity of the day.

Thanks for Reading,

Comments welcome as always,

Ethan