Start/End : Coniston Village
Wainwrights : Dow Crag, Old Man of Coniston
Distance : 8.8 miles (14.2km)
Height Gained : 2861 feet (872 meters)
Time Taken : 6 and 1/2 hours
Map of the route. Click to zoom.
Due to a busy work schedule robbing me of all my free time over the past few months I have been frustratingly lacking fell time .... until now. Thankfully things are quietening down and I had a free Friday and a reasonably favourable forecast with the promise of some fresh snow on the ground. And so I headed off to the Coniston area where I had an appointment with Dow Crag, the only one of the Coniston Fells that I hadn't yet climbed.
The forecast was for clear skies but a bitterly cold northerly gusting up to 40mph. So it turned out to be, but being on the sheltered side of the fells along the Walna Scar Road for the first few hours gave a bit of early respite. Only the racing clouds overhead gave any clue to the fierce winds yet to come. Sure enough, on gaining the ridge at Brown Pike the full force of the wind became evident, and it was indeed bitingly cold. It was an exhilarating hike though, along the ridge up to Dow Crag, following which I was positively blown up onto the summit of Coniston Old Man. I've never has such an, 'assisted' ascent.
A 5 minute video of the day
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| Sun rise from the walna scar road |
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| Looking towards Wetherlam .... |
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| ... and the Old Man of Coniston under cloud |
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| The onwards path: It's a shame to make foot prints in there - so I didn't ! |
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| The Brown Pike to Dow Crag ridge |
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| The Old Man of Coniston |
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| On the ascent of Brown Pike |
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| Buck Pike and Coniston Old Man |
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| Brown Pike summit |
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| Looking along the ridge to Buck Pike |
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| A 'glimpse' of Blind Tarn |
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| Blind Tarn from Buck Pike |
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| Dow Crag |
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| A scary looking gulley |
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| Dow Crag summit view over to the Old Man of Coniston |
I got the Kestrel weather gizmo out on the summit of Dow Crag and measured -2 C, wind average 38mph and windchill -12.5 C. Brrrrrr !
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| Dow Crag summit panorama |
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| Dow Crag summit panorama |
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| My brew spot sheltered from the wind with views of Goats Water |
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| Looking onwards to the 'Old Man' ... |
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| ... and back to Dow Crag |
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| Views of the Scafells |
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| Approaching the 'Old Man' summit with views down to Coniston Water |
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| The Old Man of Coniston summit |
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| Views north towards Swirl How |
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| Wetherlam over Small Water |
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| Levers Water creeping into view |
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| The way down |
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| Small Water |
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| It was fun wading down through this stuff! |
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| Going down the old quarry path |
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| A last look back towards Wetherlam in the setting sunlight. |
Kit Thoughts
Cold and windy with some deep powder snow was the order of the day today. I wore the Rab Vapour Rise jacket over a thin base layer and that was enough to keep out the cold - just! I had a down jacket & shell but didn't need them. A windstopper hat and gloves were a godsend. Kit of the day go's to the Mountain Laurel Designs light snow gaiters though. This was the first time ive used them and at 75g per pair I forgot I had them on! Made of single layer Event but with no side zip they are really light and unobtrusive. You have to take your boots off to get them on & off but that is the only down side. They were needed all day today due the deep powder snow, so that wasn't a problem. My old gaiters were 300g a pair and a pain to wear, being hot and sweaty. Not so with these. I was very impressed.
Nice write up Steve. I liked the video, certainly makes the hills come to life when watched in HD on a 50" screen.
ReplyDeleteI did a similar walk but the opposite way around and started from Torver, way back in '93. I got that on video too!
Cheers. I'm liking the video format. As you say, its breathes life into hills. I think you need to get that video of yours digitised and you-tubed though :-)
DeleteThese are beautiful pics, Steve, and an entertaining write-up. I wish I had a better computer than my tiny laptop to enjoy the video and gorgeous views, but they still look fantastic. I think that kind of mountainous scenery would take my breath away (and not just because of the cold). It really is such a huge contrast to my walks. I find the snow against the warm brown colours very attractive. Jane
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. It really is lovely. I'm lucky to live within an hours drive of the Lake District. In another few weeks the landscape will change again when the new bracken starts poking through and then everything will green up and the rowan trees will be in blossom. The way the scenery looks is really due to the native Herdwick Sheep though which roam over all the fells. They ensure most greenery is clipped short year round and this really opens up the landscape. It is a very unique area. You do have an abundance of breathtaking scenery yourself though. I can certainly recall being mesmerised by the blue mountains near Sydney and the mountainous area of tropical QLD near Cairns. Hope to go back some day.
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