tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-249009772024-03-08T01:53:23.073+02:00Northern Light – chilled thoughts from the top of Europe"Let it be one cheerful rational voice amidst the din of mourners and polemics." Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1840. <b><i>
A Brit-in-Helsinki's blog about <u>global politics, climbing, cycling, things that annoy me and other bits of life</u>. But not necessarily in that order.</i></b>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.comBlogger840125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-86838094585747816962020-05-15T01:07:00.003+03:002020-05-15T10:03:23.620+03:00Vittoria Trail Tech G+ Tubeless Ready Folding Tyres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vittoria Trail Tech tyres</td></tr>
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I just bought a pair of "Vittoria Trail Tech Tubeless Ready Folding Tyres" on sale from Planet X; they're currently on sale for <a href="https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVITRAILTECHTR/vittoria-trail-tech-g-tubeless-ready-folding-tyre">14 quid each down from a claimed RRP of 40 quid</a> - although I'm pretty certain Planet X never sold them for that price. Nevertheless, 14 quid for a tubeless-ready folding tyre really is a decent bargain. One thing though was, despite deploying my awesome Googling skills, I couldn't find out much about the tyres in advance of buying them. So now I've fitted them and used them, I thought I'd do a quick review just in case anyone else is thinking about buying a pair.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_XgBQ8XZUprLbp5dMSf2D94sUgCODt7v_UEgP_PRoaWmUpbwZXIsTFFymR-udLs5MqzPioIJgk7naNFD-rwXp4b0qJqy2AXdbJ9ul27ImWolg_tMD1wUJ8gFe14VFen5_bz6gg/s1600/IMG_20200514_163440796_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_XgBQ8XZUprLbp5dMSf2D94sUgCODt7v_UEgP_PRoaWmUpbwZXIsTFFymR-udLs5MqzPioIJgk7naNFD-rwXp4b0qJqy2AXdbJ9ul27ImWolg_tMD1wUJ8gFe14VFen5_bz6gg/s640/IMG_20200514_163440796_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">According to Strava I was much quicker up here than on my mountain bike!</td></tr>
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The Vittoria tyres are replacing some Panracer Gravel King SKs, which are light, fast and feel super comfy to ride on, but back in December, on a cold early morning on my commute, I punctured one on sharp stone; covering my bike with sealant (which didn't work to seal the puncture). After much hassle removing the tubeless-valve I eventually got a spare tube and made it to work (late) and home again in the evening. After cleaning everything up I used a plug on the hole and re-mounted the tyres, but the plug never sealed and the tyre would go down in a couple of kms. After various hours getting very cold hands, out in the garage, over a number of nights and still failing to get a plug to work, I gave up and put an old super-heavy but almost puncture-proof Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour, a tubed-tyre, on that wheel and got on with a cold winter of commuting. I bought special tubeless patches you glue on the inside of tyre of the damaged Gravel King, hoping that would fix it, so once I got the new wheels a few weeks ago, re-mounted it. But the patch wasn't working, it leaked at the original puncture, and as the pressure went down (sealant leaking out of the tread), it would also burp at the rim and sealant would start leaking there as well. So I'm not very impressed with the Gravel King SKs longevity. Buying a new one as a replacement was going to be slightly more than a pair of Vittoria Trail Techs at the sale price.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQhWDwWOkoNYdEuGYwN3D78NRaJB8tnibLWeGFUl649YhS7mHgS_ML3jMh6U_TFA3iEuAKO0SbjKLm5wG69AmuQQhFdtj5QVk6k5agRrg-FJkeMFyT3wVVXYp87BAvmwuKfRPWw/s1600/IMG_20200514_162249353_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQhWDwWOkoNYdEuGYwN3D78NRaJB8tnibLWeGFUl649YhS7mHgS_ML3jMh6U_TFA3iEuAKO0SbjKLm5wG69AmuQQhFdtj5QVk6k5agRrg-FJkeMFyT3wVVXYp87BAvmwuKfRPWw/s640/IMG_20200514_162249353_HDR.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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When I got the Trail Techs my first impression was weight! They felt more like the famously heavy Marathon Plus range. It felt a bit of a shame putting them on my lovely new light (for me at least) wheels - Hunt 4S Discs. I weighed one - 740 grams, so about double a Gravel King, but 150 grams less than the Marathon Tour Plus, and I don't need a tube in the Trail Techs so that saves another couple of hundred grams. So, yes, much heavier than the Panracers but quite a lot less than a tubed Marathon. The Trail Techs have a "<span itemprop="description">Solid Shielding puncture protection layer" that, in the picture below that Google did turn up, looks quite similar to way Schwalbe makes Marathon Plus tyres so puncture resistant. Then of course, set up tubeless with sealant in them, I'm hoping punctures should be a non-issue. I do most of miles commuting to work so not puncturing, and making me late, is more important than saving a few hundred grams although it might make me a second or so slower on my regular Strava segments!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bikerumor.com/ezoimgfmt/bikerumor-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Vittoria-commuter-tires-flat-proof-interbike-20173.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://www.bikerumor.com/ezoimgfmt/bikerumor-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Vittoria-commuter-tires-flat-proof-interbike-20173.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borrowed picture showing puncture protection</td></tr>
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When I first tried putting a Trail Tech on my rims it was a total battle. Having mounted different Schwalbe Marathon models over the years - famed for being hard to fit - this was upsetting as it calls into question my a) self-appointed expert tire changer status and b) manhood. After composing myself, wiping away the tears, and watching a few YouTube "how to fit tight tires" vids for inspiration, I had another go and buy really forcing the beads of the tyres in the well of the rim and working down, managed to get it on. Oddly the second tyre went on the second rim more easily, although I still wouldn't say it was easy! I had my home made compressor out ready to blast them on to the rim, but before doing that, thought I'd give it a few blasts with just the track pump so see if, on the off chance, that would work. I was quite amazed when, yep, it was that easy and after a few pumps the bead of the tyre clipped onto the rim with a couple of satisfying pops. Compared to the utter hassle of getting the Gravel Kings set up tubeless, this was a breeze.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhSp3e-XBN68ukgJv1KPI85Qqq9RjjidwqVu2fwVhhv0sqmaDPIjOhCTdO_q-BzkTjlA-yBNY8hg7_QNRAvQSq9-_chn8QinGUPr0Eaj924FfgfagDB134eEG9q1UKOePESM-EQ/s1600/IMG_20200514_152341021_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhSp3e-XBN68ukgJv1KPI85Qqq9RjjidwqVu2fwVhhv0sqmaDPIjOhCTdO_q-BzkTjlA-yBNY8hg7_QNRAvQSq9-_chn8QinGUPr0Eaj924FfgfagDB134eEG9q1UKOePESM-EQ/s400/IMG_20200514_152341021_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So that was surprisingly easy!</td></tr>
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I added sealant through the valves - all very nice and un-messy - and re-pumped them. They tyres say that tubeless the pressure should be a minimum of 45 PSI which seems quite high, and a max of 90 PSI - which seems amazingly high for a tubeless tyre - I think gravel kings say max of 60. I tried 50 PSI to start of with, but may drop it a bit as they felt relatively firm, although that might have just been due to being a heavier duty tyre than the Panracers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0hTX3ASTk_kFqjKYkeZUcVHr9b3tw0wfhst0nfaP93Z9Vew7Ba40BcLkfZnIrxu8ci-fTbCtk-3YWLXqyj42kJyiPi8W9nwoSRpu8n24jFh0BVcM2ORXFzeoBD-vdjl7_X-qcg/s1600/IMG_20200514_165143573_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0hTX3ASTk_kFqjKYkeZUcVHr9b3tw0wfhst0nfaP93Z9Vew7Ba40BcLkfZnIrxu8ci-fTbCtk-3YWLXqyj42kJyiPi8W9nwoSRpu8n24jFh0BVcM2ORXFzeoBD-vdjl7_X-qcg/s400/IMG_20200514_165143573_HDR.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridleway bashing...</td></tr>
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I took the bike out on 25 km local loop and did both an ascent and descent that I normally ride on my mountain bike. On the ascent (Johnnygate Lane for any Sheffield/Chesterfield locals) I set a new PR according to Strava which I'm pretty happy with. It's really dry out currently, so on dry gravel and hard compacted mud (covered of course in Derbyshire's finest rocks, twigs, leaves etc.) the Trail Techs felt as good as the Gravel King SKs and better than the Schwalbe G-One Speeds my bike came with. Once onto tarmac they are noticeably quieter than the SKs and didn't feel squirrelly on fast descents on road.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOYTf-kw_NLqdj3R8d8rN7neNWCR1JiwTxglrexG2hWdv3H4x-ias7TKj54Lasg7-m7wWIIDMev-tlZQZALXKvBeYaHj5_M57zeIj4m6CBoVoirCnHp5hwq8se3mn8DMlF8DTkA/s1600/IMG_20200514_164246293_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOYTf-kw_NLqdj3R8d8rN7neNWCR1JiwTxglrexG2hWdv3H4x-ias7TKj54Lasg7-m7wWIIDMev-tlZQZALXKvBeYaHj5_M57zeIj4m6CBoVoirCnHp5hwq8se3mn8DMlF8DTkA/s400/IMG_20200514_164246293_HDR.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...or tarmac cruising.</td></tr>
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So after setting them up and a first ride - I'm pretty happy. Yes, they don't have tan sidewalls - so I'm not cool anymore but they seem to grip, in dry conditions at least, as well as the Panracers. Instead of tan sidewalls they do have a reflective sidewall and, again, as a commuter come the autumn I'll be happy about that. Reflective sidewalls are a great feature if you ride at night in traffic. If the Trail Techs turn out to be as puncture resistant as they look, particularly for commuting, that's a big plus. Yes, they're heavier than the Gravel Kings, but after getting hole that I couldn't fix in one, I had to replace it with heavy reliable tubed tire anyway - so the weight point has been moot for months anyway. And at £14.00 each versus £30.00, and being able to set up tubeless so easily, I reckon they're pretty good value.<br />
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<br />Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-38414334532555195242020-05-02T14:18:00.002+03:002020-05-02T14:18:51.037+03:00Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WPI wrote this ages ago, and for one reason or another it never got used, so this is just a place to archive it really.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNFFSgQfRY_pYRa1SWLG16NU0pCLPuVMTZ_jQZJYn1mYIt1md6ITyHtaCHJV0fRAZ1Re_zst3yaLE42hP1jpzLW99NwiWHzHIediGAOACLvqlmhqix08HrQqyF_2fDVgTuhI1YQ/s1600/DSC_0449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNFFSgQfRY_pYRa1SWLG16NU0pCLPuVMTZ_jQZJYn1mYIt1md6ITyHtaCHJV0fRAZ1Re_zst3yaLE42hP1jpzLW99NwiWHzHIediGAOACLvqlmhqix08HrQqyF_2fDVgTuhI1YQ/s640/DSC_0449.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Many keen runners will have at least
seen Hoka One One trail running shoes, with their big chubby soles
they are hard to miss. While the rest of the running shoe industry
seemed to be going for minimalist, ultra-light shoes with very little
cushioning, Hoka went the other way – what is sometimes called
‘maximalist’ cushioning. The Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WPs (yes,
silly name, I will just call them the Tors from now on) have applied
that maximalist cushioning to walking boots. Alternatively you could
perhaps think of them as supportive, protective trail shoes with an
ankle added.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>I have to admit
the slightly bizarre aesthetics of the Tors is what first led me to
ask if I could review a pair, but after six months of use I can now
say they are despite looking odd they are fantastically comfortable
and capable hiking boots. Compared to more traditional leather three
season walking boots they are light (Hoka says 970 grams for a pair
of UK 7s). They certainly feel light when you wear them, more like
approach shoes than boots. I’ve even clipped them on to the back of
my harness and carried them up rock routes – they are a bit bulky
to be perfect for this but they aren’t too heavy. They are also
just ridiculously comfortable compared to more “classic” walking
boots. The biggest proof of this for me is that after a day of
wearing them in the mountains I’m quite happy to just get in the
car and drive home with them still on. Normally after a day in hiking
boots or winter climbing boots there is that lovely feeling of
pulling them off and putting your trainers on before getting in the
car, but not with the Hoka One One Tors. Hoka say the boots have
“late stage meta-rocker geometry, active foot frame stability”
and “full length EVA top midsole for cushioning” – I’m sure
this is all true although I don’t know exactly what it means. But,
basically, whether walking for miles on flat hard surfaces like the
flagstone sections of the Pennine Way over Kinder or hoping between
rocks on bare, rock-strewn mountain tops like Tryfan, I found the
Tors wonderfully comfortable. In many ways they feel like a comfy
padded running shoe, but with more protection around your foot when
bashing through scree and more support around your ankle when walking
over rough terrain.</div>
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The boots are waterproofed by using an
eVent liner and so far this has worked perfectly even for walking for
long periods in very wet and muddy conditions. I’ve always been a
bit suspicious of how long liners can last in boots, but I had a pair
of Merrells with a Goretex liner that stayed waterproof for years
despite loads of use, so hopefully these will last as well. The
eVent also seems to breath well enough to keep my feet from getting
to hot when the weather isn’t so lousy. I wouldn’t recommend
these boots for summer hiking in hot weather, but for the UK except
for high summer they seem well rather suited.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Tors have a “Vibram® MegaGrip
Hi-Traction Outsole with 5mm Lugs”. The grip offered by these soles
has also turned out to be superb – the lugs grip well in mud and
wet grass but the boots also work surprisingly well where friction is
central – be that on lichen-covered grit boulders or slimey
limestone slabs, and even more surprisingly on polished slabby holds
on classic mountain scrambles. The last thing I expected from these
boots is for them to work for scrambling, but having worn them up
Tryfan’s North Ridge and Bristly Ridge they were great. They of
course didn’t edge well on small positive holds like an alpine boot
will due to the softness of the midsole, but on bigger holds and
slabby moves they were just fine.</div>
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I’ve found just one problem with the
Hokas, the stitching around the top of the ankle cuff (in cheery
contrasting yellow thread) has snapped and is starting to unravel a
bit. The swift application of lighter to the nylon thread will stop
it unraveling any further, but this seems to be a problem with this
sort of stitching on exposed sections of footwear, particularly where
the thread is in a stretchy material like the neoprene cuff here.
Another ‘issue’ which may or may not be seen as a problem is that
the flat profile of the sole means that there is no groove for the
underfoot strap of a gaiter. If you have gaiters with wire straps
under-foot this might work although I picked up some shorty gaiters
with a very narrow neoprene strap from Decathlon thinking they might
works with the Tors, but they still don’t. As said before, the Tors
seems very waterproof when walking through typical hill bogs but of
course any boot will leak if water comes over the top, and I still
think that gaiters have their place for hiking in Britain.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But, besides the gaiter issue, I think
the Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WP are great boots for three season
hiking in the UK, be that multiday backpacking on rolling (and often
muddy) moorland or the more abrupt up and downs of the mountains. If
you like the soft comfort and lack of weight of hiking in running
shoes but want the protection, waterproofing, and traction of
‘proper’ hiking boots, then the Tors are well worth considering.</div>
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P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm }</style>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-24117829525377448482017-12-18T13:40:00.000+02:002017-12-18T13:40:21.887+02:00Scarpa Zodiac Tech GTX: a review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO46ns7o43MkbP0Maz0lLT9-QSd46lR-c4rMX25vYrpgmdshKfUVV6G5sIfZbU1VQaFmNPCtGbUhkVO4uRxMzqd8H9XSy6YC97S6A0mCRCVbi5FoKDtkkuwc8zGspdqYXyqDGxg/s1600/close+up2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1251" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO46ns7o43MkbP0Maz0lLT9-QSd46lR-c4rMX25vYrpgmdshKfUVV6G5sIfZbU1VQaFmNPCtGbUhkVO4uRxMzqd8H9XSy6YC97S6A0mCRCVbi5FoKDtkkuwc8zGspdqYXyqDGxg/s640/close+up2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Summer scrambling</i></td></tr>
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<i>I was asked to review these boots for UKC back in early summer. Happy family reasons meant I spent little time in the mountains this summer and, despite hiking and scrambling in them in the Peak District, I held off writing up my review until recently as I wanted to use them in the mountains and with crampons. By the time I submitted my copy, Scarpa UK had just removed them from their website as they are not selling them next year. It real shame as they are cracking boots, but I thought I'd park the review here for archive purposes. Some UK shops still have the Zodiac Techs in stock and they are still on Scarpa's international website as well as for sale from many webshops across Europe. So I hope that this review is of help to any random googlers who find it when researching the boots.</i><br />
<br />
The Scarpa Zodiac Tech GTX are an impressively
light pair of mountaineering boots. The first version of Zodiacs that
Scarpa made were stout approach shoes, not even boots, let alone crampon
compatible boots - but that is exactly what the Zodiac Techs are.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRHR1u-9vFwVp4iVDWo2TyIssiczsMaI9kga-YpeNLtdWr8C-DWk-9AmJYHKzX4saoApMfh6OsclWqSzRlumRnRzdP6LpNq6YxPUz2qlQESmjqNpA0b6vrlQk4_4PFT9hor4e1w/s1600/IMG_20171210_102930407_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRHR1u-9vFwVp4iVDWo2TyIssiczsMaI9kga-YpeNLtdWr8C-DWk-9AmJYHKzX4saoApMfh6OsclWqSzRlumRnRzdP6LpNq6YxPUz2qlQESmjqNpA0b6vrlQk4_4PFT9hor4e1w/s640/IMG_20171210_102930407_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Winter scrambles</i></td></tr>
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I imagine Scarpa designed them primarily as a summer alpine boot, particularly well suited for routes where you need to cross glaciers or snowfields on the approach but then carry the boots in a pack when doing technical climbing, but I’ve found them to make an excellent scrambling and hiking boot for UK conditions too. I have used them in UK winter conditions now, including for a simple climb on ice up one of Kinder’s cloughs, and have traversed Crib Goch in marginal winter conditions (scrambling on snow covered rocks, but I didn’t need to use the crampons that were in my pack), and don’t doubt that they will work well for fast moving days of winter hillwalking and easy winter climbs. They have so far proven to be very weather resistant; the GTX bit of their full name is an obvious nod to their suitability to the wet and muddy hills of Britain. I have heavier, warmer and stiffer boots for days of pitched ice or mixed climbing, midwinter, but will happily use the Zodiac Techs for winter ridge scrambles or easy snow gullies where I would be either soloing, or just pitching occasionally. With a decent pair of gaiters, they kept my feet warm for a hike through deep snow and a climb up soggy early season ice. Indeed they seem particularly well suited for England and Wales with their more marginal winter conditions, but I would imagine they could also be fantastic for those special alpine-like days at the end of the Scottish winter as well as the big summer scrambles like Tower Ridge or the Cullin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz2PKlv46DYCEwNCH7N0RpkxxqEbqyc5hPcrkPGbuIx-t7YmQCiYty2al4HFQMzmK80i2HbX6iSNTLJlMl42powbBL-GxNvkTf28F98vsXR9NmaI7WFprQYDsanplTOEqz21Huw/s1600/IMG_20171210_084337434_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz2PKlv46DYCEwNCH7N0RpkxxqEbqyc5hPcrkPGbuIx-t7YmQCiYty2al4HFQMzmK80i2HbX6iSNTLJlMl42powbBL-GxNvkTf28F98vsXR9NmaI7WFprQYDsanplTOEqz21Huw/s640/IMG_20171210_084337434_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The most obvious feature of these boots is their weight, or lack thereof. Scarpa says 1240 grams for a pair at size 42. This makes them marginally lighter than the Rebel Lites at 1280 grams and the Scarpa Charmoz at 1440 grams. Only Scarpa’s new super high-tech sort-of-trainer-sort-of-mountain-boot, the Ribelle, is lighter - but only by 20 grams and at almost double the price. The Zodiac Techs, except for their stiffness, feel like a pair of lightweight summer hiking boots. This is great whether they are on your feet or being carried. They are made of a tough suede and have a high rand that gives lots of protection to the lower boot. The cuff of the boots is snug with elastic and this keeps most sand and grit out of the boot if you aren’t using a gaiter of some type. This works well and will increase the longevity of the goretex liner to the boot. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfl5jiN_rL4FdiQt7E_VovUJZzSHonaLc33cCxK35VUof_hYn9-b2vB5xvL1miVvqitfmJebACsUHrP1P38diXEZbi2kEKlIFJizaarch7TB3i8pWGaZJoBxdjWAEGi4OmXIT1g/s1600/summer+hiking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1137" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfl5jiN_rL4FdiQt7E_VovUJZzSHonaLc33cCxK35VUof_hYn9-b2vB5xvL1miVvqitfmJebACsUHrP1P38diXEZbi2kEKlIFJizaarch7TB3i8pWGaZJoBxdjWAEGi4OmXIT1g/s320/summer+hiking.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The Zodiac Techs are definitely a boot compared to original approach shoe version, but the ankle isn’t particularly high or supportive - back in the early summer I went over on my ankle (my dodgy ankles, not the fault of the boots) while wearing them walking down from Kinder. I sat with my ankle in a cold stream for some time, envisaging a sunny Derbyshire version of Touching the Void and Simpson’s lonely crawl down the glacier, but eventually got the boot back on and hobbled back down to my car relying on my walking poles. Some argue that the idea that ankle support from any boots is more imagined than real for all boots, but with these boots in particular the ankle is both relatively low and soft. Nevertheless, the plus side of this is when you climb in the Zodiacs you have good ankle mobility.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNlqRUW0rpN8f-qCcYrH-wEnrNnyPRnhs3PnEYefnwhfjKCMbdvgJZ2fWwx6Znz6TuK-JQ1TIHEO2niRXLkzqlsMjdwxrgVJbI7sYpAIGgQ4gTwRJ3M1MPZNbfGa8PAPwtJQqpA/s1600/winter+hiking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1070" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNlqRUW0rpN8f-qCcYrH-wEnrNnyPRnhs3PnEYefnwhfjKCMbdvgJZ2fWwx6Znz6TuK-JQ1TIHEO2niRXLkzqlsMjdwxrgVJbI7sYpAIGgQ4gTwRJ3M1MPZNbfGa8PAPwtJQqpA/s320/winter+hiking.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The Zodiac Techs are clearly boots designed for climbing in. On scrambles they have worked superbly. The classic Vibram sole grips as well as any on even wet and green rock and the boots’ rigidity make standing on small holds feel secure. I recently used them descending Y Gribin from the col between Lliwedd and Snowdon. I was below the snowline but the wind was screaming and the ridge was getting covered in sleet and wind-driven hail; far from perfect scrambling conditions. Standing on little nicks on otherwise lichenous slabs in the Zodiacs, as I picked my way down towards Glaslyn, felt like standing on front points on a slab of ice - confidence inspiring considering the tricky conditions. Most recently I have used the Zodiacs with semi-automatic “C2” crampons and it felt secure standing on the front points in them, on easier angled ice at least. Nevertheless, despite this underfoot stiffness when climbing in them, they are not uncomfortable boots to hike in. I’ve never got a blister from them, even when wearing them for 20 km days when they were brand new.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV0_HsqX-EDG_10i_rvz2PTa5UHYJdTRtfGrotmullyVyFGSI-URZCj4aosUjcApWh7BoPQ6_L1Sm2lLZ-TSyPV-UUgcURrbpfSAfgtK0MzvckWcZPeavNnVL0a9944lno7HMFQ/s1600/clough+scrambling+in+the+Peak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1382" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV0_HsqX-EDG_10i_rvz2PTa5UHYJdTRtfGrotmullyVyFGSI-URZCj4aosUjcApWh7BoPQ6_L1Sm2lLZ-TSyPV-UUgcURrbpfSAfgtK0MzvckWcZPeavNnVL0a9944lno7HMFQ/s640/clough+scrambling+in+the+Peak.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Overall I’ve been very impressed with the Zodiac Tech GTX. They show no real signs of wear after plenty of use over the last seven months, and if your ambitions don’t go beyond scrambles and easy winter climbs, these remarkably light boots may be all you need for the British mountains as well as being clearly well suited to summer alpine and sub-alpine peaks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakaGayfk_xOxtHm4gGQ6dqYog26eQUy21TKSJIzfWkM2eiea8vjLm8FwAd9v_lWNgNmclMWqgalxGmHIttd2LJhoUvwxiePLYmlv5FpaZhfi4-Zui_qbrnC8SELy2pFU2dwm8Qg/s1600/IMG_20171210_102851021_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakaGayfk_xOxtHm4gGQ6dqYog26eQUy21TKSJIzfWkM2eiea8vjLm8FwAd9v_lWNgNmclMWqgalxGmHIttd2LJhoUvwxiePLYmlv5FpaZhfi4-Zui_qbrnC8SELy2pFU2dwm8Qg/s640/IMG_20171210_102851021_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-82774004752842734562015-08-04T02:52:00.000+03:002015-08-04T11:50:57.185+03:00The Stanage VS Challenge - a two thirds-successful attempt.<style>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3kzVdJq1wYPSBbs-r9e01L-AF89EwN4SPfbBA0xlwZ9WXFmDt6JS5ThQ6TeIViPX7FkvSaO4xzVnT7MLGBW7XlsRttSUwPStRSxVJDpNd4IOczTWd2rvrkdaj_JXrQBWwusIUg/s1600/IMG_5732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3kzVdJq1wYPSBbs-r9e01L-AF89EwN4SPfbBA0xlwZ9WXFmDt6JS5ThQ6TeIViPX7FkvSaO4xzVnT7MLGBW7XlsRttSUwPStRSxVJDpNd4IOczTWd2rvrkdaj_JXrQBWwusIUg/s640/IMG_5732.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me, climbing sideways on "Rubber Band", route 9 of 24.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, I know, technically speaking being two
thirds successful is still a failure, but lets try to take an optimistic view
on life eh? So here's what happens when myself and my mate Tony had a go at the
Stanage VS Challenge.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtde4IG9827FyzTJl5_CjmJPZaQ-ZDz3Ijlh0MgT7upKJSpK_CCFMwvJYkBZI_4aZfrHNuiwQ4RhI_u_YiF08JTNr97rTJvdZuHV5SoinDR_kVzxjXDJCdytltWjk-fTuCscJDNg/s1600/IMG_20150730_131747172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtde4IG9827FyzTJl5_CjmJPZaQ-ZDz3Ijlh0MgT7upKJSpK_CCFMwvJYkBZI_4aZfrHNuiwQ4RhI_u_YiF08JTNr97rTJvdZuHV5SoinDR_kVzxjXDJCdytltWjk-fTuCscJDNg/s400/IMG_20150730_131747172.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I've spent a fair bit of time at Stanage over
the last year; I was always a bit sniffy about gritstone previously. Not that
there is anything particularly wrong with it, but there are lots of British
(well, English) climbers who don't seem to see much past it. Grit climbing is
great, but if you start your climbing in a non-gritty area of the UK, you can
see there are lots of other types of British rock and British climbing. Yet,
for Sheffield residents it IS just very convenient. 20, 25 minutes in the car
and you have thousands of routes, at all grades, many with real historical
resonance too. And so I've been going lots, and as a result getting lots of
routes climbed. Of all the grit crags, Stanage is the most impressive. It is so
popular and well known, it's almost a cliche; but when you stand on the top of
cliffs at "Popular End" and watching the edge sweep away northwards -
about 6 kms, not unbroken but pretty consistent cliffs along that stretch - it
really is one of the most impressive sights in England. But it is not the Alps though, or the high
mountains of the Norwegian Arctic. Few of Stanage's rock climbs reach 20 mtrs
in height. If you want to have a BIG day out climbing, you are going to have to
climb a LOT of routes. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmTxpzntWBnr_UuYSWAaMXsPUPHXYEjsCRaeAw55O6ftiMILFH_Q4-RG0sBvTejBlKLZHmMHsxs6BEAn6U_biTqKyynD4IK9ZrMsVzpNoFkz1b4hQ7w7s5l0LeUL-cWoPi_h-Ng/s1600/IMG_20150725_190833535_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmTxpzntWBnr_UuYSWAaMXsPUPHXYEjsCRaeAw55O6ftiMILFH_Q4-RG0sBvTejBlKLZHmMHsxs6BEAn6U_biTqKyynD4IK9ZrMsVzpNoFkz1b4hQ7w7s5l0LeUL-cWoPi_h-Ng/s320/IMG_20150725_190833535_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Stanage Popular End, on a nicer afternoon.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I'm not quite sure why Tony and I decided we should do
something challenging in an endurance way like this. Tony's finger is
recuperating, stopping him from hard sport climbing currently but he is still
very 'climbing fit' as long as he doesn't have to crimp hard. I had <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=7349">read about the VS
Challenge</a> since moving to Sheffield and having done a number of the routes
involved, fancied my chances. John Roberts, <a href="https://johnroberts.me/outdoors/2011/07/the-vs-challenge/">whose blog
post seems to be the modern spark for this silly idea</a>, has set the rules: all
the routes on Stanage that get the grade VS (Very Severe) and have stars.
Stars, normally *, ** or *** are given in guidebooks to denote quality of
climbs, three being the best. The grade VS, despite sounding, well, very severe
is actually very much a 'mid grade' these days. Most keen climbers will get to
climb VS with experience and practice, even if they don't train at a climbing
wall or have much natural ability. Many young climbers climb VS very quickly
and progress well past it. Nevertheless it retains some historical cache, as
"serious" grade for "serious" climbers and VS climbs on
gritstone can often be quite brutal or physical, even if you don't need
seriously strong finger strength to do them. One quirk of the challenge is it
is based on the 1989 Stanage guidebook - there are probably more starred VSs in
the newest guidebooks BUT there are a few "sandbags" (routes harder
than their given grade) in the 1989 list, so you need to be willing to climb a
bit harder than your normal VSs to do the challenge. The rules also state no
soloing, all climbs are to be led or seconded by a team. This seems very
sensible, soloing with tired arms is not a great idea.</span><br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTJzS-phnisdb5Fl3fMc-uyqanK4hyT4Y1wyJI75top9DDghZdeAavGoSlZ9WNS_M7zkSyabAtMq3ZIETdN2V98Bk9tbAdjvAXi3ILsgijK1mpyrTgIwPp2YVIqC5N4bvzE0PTQ/s1600/IMG_20150801_120015331_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTJzS-phnisdb5Fl3fMc-uyqanK4hyT4Y1wyJI75top9DDghZdeAavGoSlZ9WNS_M7zkSyabAtMq3ZIETdN2V98Bk9tbAdjvAXi3ILsgijK1mpyrTgIwPp2YVIqC5N4bvzE0PTQ/s400/IMG_20150801_120015331_HDR.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Route 13, Mississippi Buttress Direct </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We arrived at Stanage at 7 am, first car in
the often full car park. We were climbing within 10 or 15 minutes. We decided
to start at Popular End thinking we would do those routes early and avoid any
queues. The first climb is Heather Wall, which is one of the first routes I did
at Stanage sometime back in the 90s. Easy. Tony led the first five routes, then
I did a block of five leads. I'm not sure if its true, but this is deemed to be
quicker than alternate leads. The first routes where I seconded flew past, but
we also cocked up - I had marked up the guidebook making easy to see on each
page which route we needed to do, but in my haste I didn't look carefully
enough at the topo-photo for Narrow Buttress and we shot up one climb only to
realise we had done the wrong line. Tony quickly rectified this and blasted up
the real Narrow Buttress, but it wasted probably 15 or 20 minutes. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMJTpvCKoFrmz59VNgODNOkyeel0rJQh8O9tEExu3JsCtABOhVzZw6gC5pdEulUlKswwErhMU4gHE-koihCIeSJf0DKuRNB5KYZ53Y0WxKNw2kb0zzdq60AequIt7b5IyOABgOw/s1600/IMG_5734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMJTpvCKoFrmz59VNgODNOkyeel0rJQh8O9tEExu3JsCtABOhVzZw6gC5pdEulUlKswwErhMU4gHE-koihCIeSJf0DKuRNB5KYZ53Y0WxKNw2kb0zzdq60AequIt7b5IyOABgOw/s320/IMG_5734.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Route 14, Louisiana Rib</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I took over
the leading at Central Trinity, a route I've done before once or twice and
really like. Solid hand jams, easy to place mid-sized cams. Bang - done. Bring
Tony up. Hargreaves’s was next, a route I had led nearly 15 years ago on one of
my last days in England before moving to Helsinki and starting that phase of
life. It was a bit more delicate than I remembered, but perhaps I'm just more
of a wuss now. Inverted V - another one I had done back in 1999, the year I
started my PhD in Manchester - feeling like half a lifetime away. Ellis's
Eliminate was my first onsight of the day (a route I hadn't climbed before).
Not much for your feet on the traverse but solid if slightly odd horizontal
hand-jamming. The next route is Rubber Band, again onsight for both of us and
yet more weird horizontal jamming. Tony’s next block of leads included the
first “mystery route” – Via Roof Route. It isn’t in my Rockfax guide and the
description in the BMC guide is a bit confusing. The lower slab is very
technical, Tony did a great job balancing up it on the lead with no gear in. It
was spitting rain by the time Tony led Hell Crack (route 15) and then I took
over to do the tricky Stepladder Crack (route 16). The next route was the Nose,
which I found hard work and a bit scary – I’m glad to have done it, but didn’t
enjoy the process. As we walked to the next route, The Punk, it started
chucking it down. We pulled on waterproofs and hid under the big roof that the
Punk traverses. Psyche was low for me at this point but it was a good excuse
for a rest, food and coffee. The rain stopped, but more grey clouds were racing
across from the Kinder Plateau. The strong winds did mean the rock dried very
quickly though. After the pause, I led the Punk. Yet more bizarre sideways
jamming and not much for you feet. I had to fight more than I would expect to
on a VS and came worryingly close to falling at one point. 17 routes in, my
shoulders and arms were starting to tire noticeably; I tried leading the next
route – Cleft Wall Superdirect but thought the overhanging traverse with little
for your feet felt desperate. I lowered off, my first failure of the day, and
Tony blasted up it. But even seconding, I still think the moves are too hard to
be VS. It’s sister route Cleft Wall was next. It is meant to be harder than its
sister at 5b, but I think is actually the easier of the two.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0BUnQfh2Rfg6SppVms9SHs2q_hj5vCAuwhJuSe9MUH32ZI9l37TWvBbtC8YWp9nVGwLq_WTCENfG_l0sR4NBFvD_9BamI-Wf7bC6DVLf3XFOO7hMk3d8qg61Uc5DNZigh_amzA/s1600/IMG_20150725_184659215_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0BUnQfh2Rfg6SppVms9SHs2q_hj5vCAuwhJuSe9MUH32ZI9l37TWvBbtC8YWp9nVGwLq_WTCENfG_l0sR4NBFvD_9BamI-Wf7bC6DVLf3XFOO7hMk3d8qg61Uc5DNZigh_amzA/s640/IMG_20150725_184659215_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Stanage on a nicer afternoon, a couple of weeks ago.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqs5B0kSFg0CrUSm_A0ZVTO93mVJWuqnYt0iamYvh1dDi46uGqY7cyPDdJ7D6Xl3WDklmGpOvCYPy4Ig2lHUp_e3uvNGw1iOvt1eGlGOJlTrtZIUp97XU6BbNTYuK_sDQkjBQ_g/s1600/IMG_20150801_134613752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqs5B0kSFg0CrUSm_A0ZVTO93mVJWuqnYt0iamYvh1dDi46uGqY7cyPDdJ7D6Xl3WDklmGpOvCYPy4Ig2lHUp_e3uvNGw1iOvt1eGlGOJlTrtZIUp97XU6BbNTYuK_sDQkjBQ_g/s320/IMG_20150801_134613752.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>First rain, hiding under "the Punk"</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Moving down to the Plantation area Tony put
in a sterling effort on Wall Buttress (route 21), a bit of beast with some
offwidth action in the middle. With more rain falling I then led Paradise Wall.
In the rain and needing to places lots of runners in case I slipped off the sopping
and polished holds, it didn’t feel much like paradise. The rain eased off for a
bit as Tony seconded, so I carried on and sent Pegasus Wall and Valhalla, two
VSs I haven’t done before. As we walked down from Valhalla the rain started
again and soon it was bucketing down: water trickling down the cliff faces and
soon the ground had streamlets running down it. We ran for one of the big trees
below the cliff for some cover, but even under its canopy the rain was still
dripping through. The edge itself disappeared into low cloud. We had our rain
jackets on but we were both quickly soaked to the skins on our lower halves,
water squelching out of my trainers as I walked! We waited half-heartedly for a
bit, hoping it might clear, but looking across the Hope Valley there was no let
up in the grey clouds racing towards us. The decision was made, soaking harness
were taken off and packed with the rest of the soggy gear and we walked down to
the road and back along to the car.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxDRtWFw2fra-xUpldycrmGdO6Hdj-NBAckFYVn2P2VmWCQ74s9PobSt31U9QHXXG5wmujSezl6Sxo_BrHQUj1I7Mz_nUL8miR5rWWCeyB_KPTaTpLvo-aJii59yz9iel3Z5ybg/s1600/IMG_5743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxDRtWFw2fra-xUpldycrmGdO6Hdj-NBAckFYVn2P2VmWCQ74s9PobSt31U9QHXXG5wmujSezl6Sxo_BrHQUj1I7Mz_nUL8miR5rWWCeyB_KPTaTpLvo-aJii59yz9iel3Z5ybg/s640/IMG_5743.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tony, the offwidth master, taming Wall Buttress, Route 21.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeC6LIW0xwarD30-GVaSUrN2PxT2q2eRLr2yXgwVbjGt-wHJSI27hwMIU-EcmzsEJIGF6COizh-vK8c1vmMsfqght1wuQfyE68Lcwddv0NTjnXlLxC65wJvkif38pQnlhbLYPog/s1600/IMG_20150801_174039809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeC6LIW0xwarD30-GVaSUrN2PxT2q2eRLr2yXgwVbjGt-wHJSI27hwMIU-EcmzsEJIGF6COizh-vK8c1vmMsfqght1wuQfyE68Lcwddv0NTjnXlLxC65wJvkif38pQnlhbLYPog/s320/IMG_20150801_174039809.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Soggy climber bailing</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Postmortem: quitting at 24 routes in at 17.30
suggested we would have been doing the last couple of climbs by head torch, but
if it hadn’t rained earlier and we hadn’t done one route by mistake we might
have been on schedule though to finish in the light. Tony wants to try again
later in the summer, so an earlier start seems obvious. I was pretty tired
after 24 routes. I’m not sure how I would have fared on another 12 but Tony was
still going full gas. He does train though, so there is probably a lesson in
there for me! I’ve climbed (and also hiked) far more metres in a day on alpine routes
like Sydpillaren, but the climbing on routes like that is so much less
sustained. If you really are a VS climber, i.e. VS is the best grade you can reliably
onsight, then I think the Stanage VS Challenge might be too hard for you.
That’s definitely how I felt. I’ve only onsighted one grade harder this year, a
handful of HVSs and I have never led E1 on natural grit. So 24 routes just
below my limit was a lot, I don’t think Tony ever felt he was likely to fall
off, but I felt that a number of times towards the end. If we do it again he
might need to lead a few more of the final ones!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fancy giving it a go? The list of routes is <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=437">here on UKClimbing</a>. </span>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-4273538096736302992015-07-29T19:40:00.003+03:002015-08-04T02:56:34.433+03:00Bikepacking around the Peak District<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-bdf4eb16-da66-19f5-8b1c-10d5959898ad" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjyHAVW27iKiSmUddkwUXiin1cokKTdSRf5K9fShWcIQZ7c10wjBPUh-228cxdJtLZUPWPim0LhpZMuSgjM8SVG5p57EpouwJ5WHpcdOoMPbM5h6IkebEANnXSMocmSlcJbTQxA/s1600/IMG_5701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjyHAVW27iKiSmUddkwUXiin1cokKTdSRf5K9fShWcIQZ7c10wjBPUh-228cxdJtLZUPWPim0LhpZMuSgjM8SVG5p57EpouwJ5WHpcdOoMPbM5h6IkebEANnXSMocmSlcJbTQxA/s320/IMG_5701.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since moving to Sheffield nearly a year ago I’ve been getting out into the Peak District and beyond quite a lot, but this has been mainly focused on climbing. I’ve ridden a lot for commuting during the week, keeping my cycling legs ‘in’ that way, but have had few opportunities for riding for pleasure. So now having finished my course, and having some time, I decided to get out and explore the Peak by bike. I didn’t want to ride on roads but I sold my trusty old mountain bike as part of our massive ‘life-streamlining’ before we moved from Helsinki. Hence I was going to need to find a route that I could do on my cyclocross bike as besides my roadie, that was the tool to hand.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp33PQW6yWWGQbYcCcBYUvKlYxqxaTVaoPXZq5gnbFO3nppoIDra0XJ76OyrjxiBnMKmfG6SXQ60JN9P0c09zaikTL_mrFTBIjdYsxgJgwXuVgismYYpKK8HbmztltKCdO3POeQ/s1600/IMG_20150714_134736598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp33PQW6yWWGQbYcCcBYUvKlYxqxaTVaoPXZq5gnbFO3nppoIDra0XJ76OyrjxiBnMKmfG6SXQ60JN9P0c09zaikTL_mrFTBIjdYsxgJgwXuVgismYYpKK8HbmztltKCdO3POeQ/s640/IMG_20150714_134736598.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>On the trail in the White Peak.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOVuPnl9CG3wgh1eKP_-Ocu7_HMECAQBRGV-3hBIh6C9ZwqS3EhxbsVFiyLvkka4iV62PTxFC2WTam4EOx9CJDrVhB6fYSY8V-paXknP_QeO90dVUD3Opxj-2t_j1v3DbFkl6rA/s1600/IMG_20150714_104747008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOVuPnl9CG3wgh1eKP_-Ocu7_HMECAQBRGV-3hBIh6C9ZwqS3EhxbsVFiyLvkka4iV62PTxFC2WTam4EOx9CJDrVhB6fYSY8V-paXknP_QeO90dVUD3Opxj-2t_j1v3DbFkl6rA/s320/IMG_20150714_104747008.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cromford Mill - first sparks<br /> of the industrial revolution.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38;">There is definite sweet spot for off-road riding on a cyclocross bike (CX). Too smooth and you might as well be road biking on a lighter, faster bike. Too rocky and technical and it just feels like your teeth are going to rattle out of your head and you just want a mountain bike with suspension. In England and Wales the law helps define that sweet spot though; bikes have no right of way on footpaths, you are only allowed to ride on bridleways. In many parts of the country, bridleways are often farm tracks – they can be rough or muddy but in rural areas they usually are drivable for a Landrover or a tractor and the determined CX rider. The route I took followed bridleways throughout, so I was fully 'legal', although much of it made use of more modern cycle routes using old, dismantled railways lines - thanks to the brilliant <a href="http://www.sustrans.org.uk/">Sustrans</a> organisation that is creating a network of long distance routes across the UK for non-motorised traffic.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa4el8poQaYgYhNooqREz9gip8UOP2cOTK3KsqNMMORscmWpCqtrNlnkx144eaBRfv9jQiMKIft-iiVDC4bs1E_MZ23A4F5n3WBc6HdHl8XiTgzcnq9tF_SBvxPk4cI5cYpjrNA/s1600/IMG_20150714_141616963_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa4el8poQaYgYhNooqREz9gip8UOP2cOTK3KsqNMMORscmWpCqtrNlnkx144eaBRfv9jQiMKIft-iiVDC4bs1E_MZ23A4F5n3WBc6HdHl8XiTgzcnq9tF_SBvxPk4cI5cYpjrNA/s320/IMG_20150714_141616963_HDR.jpg" width="179" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I started south of Chesterfield in the town of Clay Cross - my wife had to go that way for work that morning so it got me quickly away from Sheffield and towards some unfamiliar terrain. After the first 15 kms or so on quiet country lanes I dropped down into the Derwent valley just south of Matlock. Crossing the river and the Cromford Canal at High Peak Junction you get onto the <a href="http://www.peakdistrictcycleways.co.uk/cycle-route.php?route=HPT1">High Peak Trail</a>, and old railway line and now a national cycle route. You generally think of railways as being flat or nearly so, which makes dismantled ones such great cycle routes, but this is not the case here! The 19th century engineers needed to include massive inclines to get the railway up out of the river valley. Static locomotives were used to help trains haul or lower their loads <a href="http://www.bigginhall.co.uk/cromford-high-peak-railway-c47.html">up or down these inclines</a>. They are not so steep as to be impossible to ride, but they are quite unlike road climbs for the cyclist: arrow straight and of a completely consistent angle, there is really nowhere to hide and no brief easings of angle as you toil up them.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVMVy0fb3Ndbq-fBBiRRJ_Eow1J-DYQjvQo5nm6syvghYgQ1OQ97KIPtEttqiudOk9oxQPdjzWGvrT99anmTEc0tgbs2NC7xVNpLfcAbTZjJLicoCPD_Ouuk8qVEUhbpGXrkNoA/s1600/IMG_20150714_112914814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVMVy0fb3Ndbq-fBBiRRJ_Eow1J-DYQjvQo5nm6syvghYgQ1OQ97KIPtEttqiudOk9oxQPdjzWGvrT99anmTEc0tgbs2NC7xVNpLfcAbTZjJLicoCPD_Ouuk8qVEUhbpGXrkNoA/s320/IMG_20150714_112914814.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Above the inclines.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mrI4Zaq9-JifXjfwS4zt4pf5Hu6enCqvK7vTP0va2Aa_g7mm_-PevasA3DJBh0kGMHklL8ZAQrXoPi1sgX3MyveZ6y1L25My7LBd873af5Xcg5tg2n22YUBTNy6FFzv_baDpQw/s1600/IMG_20150714_114758721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mrI4Zaq9-JifXjfwS4zt4pf5Hu6enCqvK7vTP0va2Aa_g7mm_-PevasA3DJBh0kGMHklL8ZAQrXoPi1sgX3MyveZ6y1L25My7LBd873af5Xcg5tg2n22YUBTNy6FFzv_baDpQw/s320/IMG_20150714_114758721.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>On to the Pennine Bridleway.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The inclines take you up above the Matlock valley where you can see numerous quarries, abandoned and still working, and factories and their chimneys - again both empty and still in use. It is a lovely, verdant valley but it set a theme that is ever present in the Peak District: although now a rural area of great beauty, there are signs of past industry everywhere. It's strange but as the economy has changed so much in the post-war period, large parts of Britain have in effect been "re-wilded", or at least "re-ruralfied". Places which were once alive with the industry of both workers and their capitalist bosses; places of production, social conflict and social progress have slipped back into being rural backwaters where once again agriculture is the main industry. It is now the turn of people in the Far East and the Global South to go through those huge social and economic changes that took place in the valleys of the Peak District 18th and 19th centuries.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once out into the open countryside of the Southern Peak, the High Peak trail allows rapid smooth riding westwards through limestone country. Limestone is not my favourite rock for climbing on, but it does mean wonderful wild flowers. The cuttings and banks of the railway line were alive with yellows, blues, pinks, purples and more, and buzzing with insect life. Occasionally I could see beautiful Common Orchids growing. The wildlife might not be as exciting as you might see in Finland, but the odd deer, rabbit and voles came into view and hovering kestrels were ever present. The High Peak trail above the inclines also includes the starting point of the <a href="http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-bridleway">Pennine Bridleway</a> - a newish long distance path that will take the mountain biker or horse rider all the way to Scotland if they wish, roughly paralleling its older and better known sibling, the Pennine Way. I would follow the Pennine Bridleway until lunch time on the second day, when I would swing back east towards Sheffield on the Trans-Pennine Trail.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When the High Peak Trail merges with the Tissington Trail at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley_Hay_railway_station">Parsley Hay station</a>, it swings northwards. The station is now a bike hire place, National Park info office and cafe - the coffee and chocolate tiffin is to be recommended. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc0FMEg7HySPGaAsVHY4Yeiv9hrZNvHahtD4vvEPMAD_qB_lXo47-P-sEMpyDFcFFLcj_yjGubMd50EsgRyunUUyl0zEwE5kNTIGfPG7RBKLZAP72C589J08v4kSd3SF78hF08w/s1600/IMG_20150714_141204010_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc0FMEg7HySPGaAsVHY4Yeiv9hrZNvHahtD4vvEPMAD_qB_lXo47-P-sEMpyDFcFFLcj_yjGubMd50EsgRyunUUyl0zEwE5kNTIGfPG7RBKLZAP72C589J08v4kSd3SF78hF08w/s320/IMG_20150714_141204010_HDR.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New and old industry <br />above Cheedale.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps 10 kms north of Parsley Hay the disused railway meets still used rails, so just before this the trail, now solely the Pennine Bridleway, leaves the cuttings and embankments of the ex-railway and follows quiet lanes and farm tracks before dropping dramatically (read: really quite exciting on CX) into the amazing limestone gorge of Cheedale. Cheedale is again a place of old industry now going backwards to rural backwater. That industry left another old railway route through tunnels and over bridges down the gorge, which now makes the lovely bike and walking route, the Monsal Trail. Modernity now comes to Cheedale in the form of some of the hardest sports climbs in the UK on the various limestone walls. But the my route just crossed the Monsal Trail and the river, going north straight up and out of the dale via a beautiful but very steep meadow - the first place I had needed to get off and push.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">North of Cheedale was some of what felt like the least travelled parts of the route that I followed. For a few kms the trail felt more like a footpath than bridleway but, on the other hand, despite needing to crash through vegetation nearly choking the path in places (fortunately not too many nettles!) it gave some really good singletrack riding in places.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3G56f1BapPwu9XnrxZ8zTA61mh1ELD7uFp1_N9zaUFvEnCfB19Mc11-dVYiBKc0bYRgQmY4LSRyat8aF40ouw06w3SelLb-WYxEc7t-4eArpc-m4SEOMfa4NvvhDQf4msMSwIjQ/s1600/IMG_20150714_144059567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3G56f1BapPwu9XnrxZ8zTA61mh1ELD7uFp1_N9zaUFvEnCfB19Mc11-dVYiBKc0bYRgQmY4LSRyat8aF40ouw06w3SelLb-WYxEc7t-4eArpc-m4SEOMfa4NvvhDQf4msMSwIjQ/s640/IMG_20150714_144059567.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The limestone gorge of Cheedale.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2exnwvrPDfB5aysHdRDAtR7MOtoeAnJ0uMo0nS0zLK-9Llc6aYX0zPMmgglUNdXLLuJcY5bL-BqKpHo3KSrzSiJEEjbszYVo9MqojMjV2oWluUyiSsbI_Ma29-TH4TQwksOJ0g/s1600/IMG_20150714_152119178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2exnwvrPDfB5aysHdRDAtR7MOtoeAnJ0uMo0nS0zLK-9Llc6aYX0zPMmgglUNdXLLuJcY5bL-BqKpHo3KSrzSiJEEjbszYVo9MqojMjV2oWluUyiSsbI_Ma29-TH4TQwksOJ0g/s640/IMG_20150714_152119178.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>There is a trail there somewhere!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6oU8YavLc7ZSrAdmQdo93J3iXrr65ktO7iF8c-XTJJhXFsAojwXqxEMT_CIoIQev7OU4K14Pt_PfC1q2G80fLmDVjVHv2fspDHozZ2XkhqMX6dTNSq_qrKWr12BSVtT83ehge0w/s1600/IMG_20150714_143016059_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6oU8YavLc7ZSrAdmQdo93J3iXrr65ktO7iF8c-XTJJhXFsAojwXqxEMT_CIoIQev7OU4K14Pt_PfC1q2G80fLmDVjVHv2fspDHozZ2XkhqMX6dTNSq_qrKWr12BSVtT83ehge0w/s320/IMG_20150714_143016059_HDR.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>First push, out of Cheedale.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjCCV0-juNBRXjO_PaOs_fyQ-s_0N1nQVKt7n-HCb8vE6TTCrs-Z2NxliJ9B9pa_13ebgbm4W2reXisct9o4Hjsb5bBC8Weng0_ofc3rrof4fuU6KiZAj0MW5ZgUtLTlOB-hWMA/s1600/IMG_20150714_173609937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjCCV0-juNBRXjO_PaOs_fyQ-s_0N1nQVKt7n-HCb8vE6TTCrs-Z2NxliJ9B9pa_13ebgbm4W2reXisct9o4Hjsb5bBC8Weng0_ofc3rrof4fuU6KiZAj0MW5ZgUtLTlOB-hWMA/s320/IMG_20150714_173609937.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Traversing Mount Famine.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Peak District is made up of two quite distinct visible geologies - the White Peak, the limestone predominantly in the south, and the Dark Peak, the gritstone to the north. By now with the afternoon pressing on, the route followed quiet lanes and started to climb towards the dark bulk of the Kinder plateau. At some point a line is crossed and the drystone walls are now made of the brown grit and not the white and greys of limestone. Crossing the high road between Chapel-en-le-Frith and Castleton marks a sudden change in the feel of the trail; the next section that traverses the western flanks of Kinder at over 400 mtrs of height is really mountain-bike country.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I didn't have a mountain bike, although I like to think I impressed the the passing MTBers with my doggedness (they were probably laughing at... not with...!). The Pennine Bridleway is an impressive path at this point but it is tough technical riding in parts as you traverse towards the wonderfully named Mount Famine, a spur coming down from Kinder. I pushed more here than anywhere else on the ride, but I guess I still managed to ride 70 percent of this section. The descent down into the village of Hayfield was excellent fun, although I suspect would have been even more fun with wide bars, hydraulic brakes and 140 mms of suspension up front!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkUE22puV4bNTwQU0mhyhgOdOdU0CrNkNtfddCqFu0VFmwr1Wo4AznBxqt8NvsIP9lm5fssPuXzOX1OYM-rAA__GUlf30jWaMKO22Uz34ujvIWCWvOi62upLecpJyp7wmaynyOw/s1600/IMG_20150714_165936538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkUE22puV4bNTwQU0mhyhgOdOdU0CrNkNtfddCqFu0VFmwr1Wo4AznBxqt8NvsIP9lm5fssPuXzOX1OYM-rAA__GUlf30jWaMKO22Uz34ujvIWCWvOi62upLecpJyp7wmaynyOw/s640/IMG_20150714_165936538.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Into the Dark Peak, tough going on the flanks of Kinder.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMU3I1B3dal9rG-C7AqksjhGvgVflE_OaRoAf_tjWBEeu3E2CIYQOijgkLz8OODJQP9STwFrD0J8ZWzYrPrFWQ3BPtw2xPwPYwYXn0v4giMteKPsuOPo_u5JEQfhY1QznTpZtoaw/s1600/IMG_20150714_200215959_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMU3I1B3dal9rG-C7AqksjhGvgVflE_OaRoAf_tjWBEeu3E2CIYQOijgkLz8OODJQP9STwFrD0J8ZWzYrPrFWQ3BPtw2xPwPYwYXn0v4giMteKPsuOPo_u5JEQfhY1QznTpZtoaw/s640/IMG_20150714_200215959_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking back to Hayfield and Mount Famine.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38;">Hayfield is lovely, I had a pie and pint in the pub, stocked up on supplies from a shop and left the town following the trail very steeply up onto Lantern Pike. Once the local boisterously good-natured Scout troop that had hiked up there left, I was all alone at the top so it seemed as good a spot as any to quietly put up my tarp and camp for the night. The views of the sun setting over Manchester to the west and lighting up the slopes of Kinder to the east were exactly the type of thing that makes wild camping worth it, even in a country where it is not exactly legal.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-93iRGmjD8U1oKfrZckYnpwzPpT1YwuvzQtRgTHobLUTHKVZoXzhiGjj-l25lApcCn1egjLDw473xr2C5gw-nzsKTiFqD9bM53tUQNsoz-mN7r3-ustrruVIlN94DWf842FiCQQ/s1600/IMG_20150714_200221051_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-93iRGmjD8U1oKfrZckYnpwzPpT1YwuvzQtRgTHobLUTHKVZoXzhiGjj-l25lApcCn1egjLDw473xr2C5gw-nzsKTiFqD9bM53tUQNsoz-mN7r3-ustrruVIlN94DWf842FiCQQ/s640/IMG_20150714_200221051_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Evening light on Kinder, with Kinder Downfall just visible.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBAlSZJOT7Noo0bZLNVi5Q_3eCukJNcXBnwUbgceMRJroxGjA8DCfsN1ARNam0vsHOxNOcbat4yNGSEKMV0oBieXU1lIYMpKZZC64jg9GuU581zU_Y1QV66Sx97B1_sLhBh3tbg/s1600/IMG_20150714_210304971_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBAlSZJOT7Noo0bZLNVi5Q_3eCukJNcXBnwUbgceMRJroxGjA8DCfsN1ARNam0vsHOxNOcbat4yNGSEKMV0oBieXU1lIYMpKZZC64jg9GuU581zU_Y1QV66Sx97B1_sLhBh3tbg/s640/IMG_20150714_210304971_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sunset over Manchester and the Irish Sea.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RCumqdXNKWGrdDdIFNIMjOVWhMxiirYLIPkt4Ua9QPPDwahRVUVk2fKO51K-y1JMryejZB4OofOusGA2FXi28Qyy3tag2Z7BKnr1UVwWPjM7ci8h8EvwpHVCQn0yI9XHmhWyhg/s1600/IMG_20150715_071545517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RCumqdXNKWGrdDdIFNIMjOVWhMxiirYLIPkt4Ua9QPPDwahRVUVk2fKO51K-y1JMryejZB4OofOusGA2FXi28Qyy3tag2Z7BKnr1UVwWPjM7ci8h8EvwpHVCQn0yI9XHmhWyhg/s200/IMG_20150715_071545517.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Breakfast in bed.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRJ_NET_wDr1Ih0s1UhIrtfA3b7JxaI-kOYhUI10F36BD4sVMSF9wjU9v62fV4VgLsfNW-_SHhncxfk_noo81bfuJEts9uJxEv1JKBkbskRSQckA7bV6fQDyIC5vOdDUYfvamjA/s1600/IMG_20150714_210401732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRJ_NET_wDr1Ih0s1UhIrtfA3b7JxaI-kOYhUI10F36BD4sVMSF9wjU9v62fV4VgLsfNW-_SHhncxfk_noo81bfuJEts9uJxEv1JKBkbskRSQckA7bV6fQDyIC5vOdDUYfvamjA/s320/IMG_20150714_210401732.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38;">I woke up in wee small hours hearing rain on the tarp, but I stayed dry and warm under it and the morning dawned blue and cloudless. Following the Pennine Bridleway over some more hills and then plunging down towards Glossop was good riding. In Glossop, I finally left that route when it is crossed by the <a href="http://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/">Trans-Pennine Trail (TPT)</a>. This long distance route goes from the Irish sea near Liverpool to North Sea at Hull, but I was about to follow it to its highest point as I crossed back from the west to the eastside of the Pennines. The route up Longdendale follows old railway track again so its very straight and smooth. The path leaves the old track where the rails used to go into the now closed Woodhead tunnel. The TPT instead crosses the busy A628 (it is busy with lots of big trucks - take care!) and goes steeply up a hillside (more pushing) before following a rough bridleway up to the top of pass. The Woodhead Pass is high and quite wild in a way, but definitely not "wilderness": a busy road goes over it, Longdendale has big pylons carrying electricity cables that then go under the pass using the old railway tunnel. There are also reservoirs and dams in the valley bottom. But looking up to the cloughs and crags on the northern edge of Bleaklow you can see the wild country.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQjHS0xHPZNz9wUkULILvEySETFpmlCScGz52ZvAHIs_2J0dg6_B_-R_WQiGrZYoqi6Kj1-kWxkUgD4COmA-anDT5I_uI0RLudldRY_cLjaJlrEjc650I-f44hJmhlvRHwkZCdg/s1600/IMG_20150715_085249439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQjHS0xHPZNz9wUkULILvEySETFpmlCScGz52ZvAHIs_2J0dg6_B_-R_WQiGrZYoqi6Kj1-kWxkUgD4COmA-anDT5I_uI0RLudldRY_cLjaJlrEjc650I-f44hJmhlvRHwkZCdg/s640/IMG_20150715_085249439.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting going on day 2.</i> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XKOzs5NaLOvPrt4GujqZ7VGI2j4ecrtryMPGmI8ccZZCE53FKuACbYnffH_Fbx89DsPFGwf-kJUfvtS9wk40_nrMUnu-vD0ctMIiSPADbDrVyp20ovhR9seXDUnkMAHMQeeQhA/s1600/IMG_20150715_090405013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XKOzs5NaLOvPrt4GujqZ7VGI2j4ecrtryMPGmI8ccZZCE53FKuACbYnffH_Fbx89DsPFGwf-kJUfvtS9wk40_nrMUnu-vD0ctMIiSPADbDrVyp20ovhR9seXDUnkMAHMQeeQhA/s640/IMG_20150715_090405013.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rough tracks giving slower but fun riding.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSiFkQNAHeVYcfL4SBQGWzKvVG8P7U4mZuCqhNRyJOKFSD-HA60erNjbasggfQy4yzU8qICyag7Vy_1yI5PaPG1BFhWd9EzaU2CQxNeECKZIOSUM2RMupbztynH359G6Cq6liJQ/s1600/IMG_20150715_092256195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSiFkQNAHeVYcfL4SBQGWzKvVG8P7U4mZuCqhNRyJOKFSD-HA60erNjbasggfQy4yzU8qICyag7Vy_1yI5PaPG1BFhWd9EzaU2CQxNeECKZIOSUM2RMupbztynH359G6Cq6liJQ/s640/IMG_20150715_092256195.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking toward Manchester - I can see my old uni!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38;">Across the Woodhead pass and back in Yorkshire, the TPT plunges down into the Upper Don Valley and picks up the old railway line where it emerges from the eastern end of the Woodhead Tunnels. It’s then old railway - flat, straight and fast -through Pennistone, Deepcar and taking you almost all the way back into Sheffield. Once back in city centre there just one more steep hill to slog up and I was home in time to go and pick the kids up from school.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Climbing out of Longdendale - the Woodhead tunnel is somewhere deep below my tyres.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVnbAtzZHzROTaI1cGi7RFyFA8sC5OSyJKvyB1Y8L0KLEPrhBaNVJ7BUV3ZfB0wXdtDu0zK7wUFAlHbM3lW1KLF1Af1-0oVX7Q1X3B9rQk2VYhvZcc7up9gpEGp_C080E5OhXKg/s1600/IMG_20150715_115913513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVnbAtzZHzROTaI1cGi7RFyFA8sC5OSyJKvyB1Y8L0KLEPrhBaNVJ7BUV3ZfB0wXdtDu0zK7wUFAlHbM3lW1KLF1Af1-0oVX7Q1X3B9rQk2VYhvZcc7up9gpEGp_C080E5OhXKg/s640/IMG_20150715_115913513.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Traffic jam on the Trans-Pennine Way.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVpfYrRw91LoJ_2Yfm44id-w_ElVSZ66_jrDN14ZSCuoS_bEkYLzzYd9QzgXLc9dFB7JeNiWay4NOx6M9HVU8EFsklwz2X2Tu0cdV7o9wUCV1qo45KFOAtSzPQlyWybi3UCJvNw/s1600/IMG_20150715_121637579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVpfYrRw91LoJ_2Yfm44id-w_ElVSZ66_jrDN14ZSCuoS_bEkYLzzYd9QzgXLc9dFB7JeNiWay4NOx6M9HVU8EFsklwz2X2Tu0cdV7o9wUCV1qo45KFOAtSzPQlyWybi3UCJvNw/s640/IMG_20150715_121637579.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Back into Yorkshire, all downhill now.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Overall I did 151 kms in two days, of which probably only 25 kms was on paved road, arriving home sweaty, dirty and (perhaps unusually for Northern England) dry but slightly sunburnt.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Snapshot from Strava showing the route and profile - day 1:</i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 20.2399997711182px;">Snapshot from Strava showing the route and profile - day 2:</i></div>
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Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-15728024112002104052015-01-18T15:40:00.000+02:002015-01-18T15:40:03.072+02:00Pinnacle Ridge, St Sunday Crag.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U9RDSP7kEg91fqvBHm64qxhDdvll0cua1o1SsvUN62gmFp7PRw0KQ9ql8XyJn8nN0RHC3X4OG2OR9c7hoMEamAoJ8J6Gs3EpANoVpQlo3Sqr7c8yaC6hMFzmjjS6zHuqcKCj0g/s1600/IMG_20150116_042044464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U9RDSP7kEg91fqvBHm64qxhDdvll0cua1o1SsvUN62gmFp7PRw0KQ9ql8XyJn8nN0RHC3X4OG2OR9c7hoMEamAoJ8J6Gs3EpANoVpQlo3Sqr7c8yaC6hMFzmjjS6zHuqcKCj0g/s1600/IMG_20150116_042044464.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>4 am, somewhere in South Yorkshire - yes that's what getting up after 3.5 hours sleep feels like.</i></td></tr>
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Moving from Finland back to the UK after many years was a surprisingly un-traumatic, if rather expensive, experience but I knew that I really would miss the ice climbing. Of course, there are other things I miss too but for this post we'll stick with the ice climbing. On the other side of the scales to lack of ice climbing was the opportunity to do more winter mountaineering, in Scotland or at least in Wales or the Lake District. Unfortunately work and family commitments have made this more difficult than I hoped; besides anything it's three hours driving to get the Lakes or Snowdonia and the Highlands are considerably more. Hence, since winter has at least fleetingly visited the more southern hills of the British Isles, I had only managed one visit to the Lake District this winter; a good day out in the hills with good company, but disappointing from a climbing point of view as even on one of the highest crags in the region the turf wasn't frozen* under the snow and we 'scrambled' the route with boots and gloves; no need for ice tools or crampons.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Phone snaps: a better topo in from an old guide/a snowy Lake District/a happy climber</i></td></tr>
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Over the last week the forecasts had suggested that winter climbing conditions might be forming again south of Hadrian's Wall and I was really keen to get out. Friday was going to be the only day I could manage it, but even then I needed to be back not long after the kids got home from school in order to look after them. I figured I could drive to either the Lakes or Wales late night Thursday, sleep in the car for a bit and get an early start - but what would be in condition that I could comfortably solo? I kept checking the forecasts and conditions reports Thursday evening looking for info as to something being 'in', but it really wasn't clear. Eventually I decided I'd risk the Lake District, but sleep at home and leave very early. I packed my kit, made lots of thermos flasks of hot drinks, sandwiches and put 'breakfast' in a bag by the front door. I'm not good at going to sleep early so it was about midnight when I did - early for me. I didn't even need the alarm, as I woke up at 0355. Having been organised with packing the night before, I just put on my clothes, cleaned my teeth, and was in the car driving at 0409.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLZFaRNhaZA4t1Oc5O1UTx-j2tVMpunjkEpacRg8oxPcaw7U6zdwy77_ARkmdXogAZ-qHVlU7GtdQ3YPHP4JYvWUjTy_kvovY8We8dyMaCv6lzu3XX7KUk-bK4-poASXvxfKENg/s1600/IMG_4892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLZFaRNhaZA4t1Oc5O1UTx-j2tVMpunjkEpacRg8oxPcaw7U6zdwy77_ARkmdXogAZ-qHVlU7GtdQ3YPHP4JYvWUjTy_kvovY8We8dyMaCv6lzu3XX7KUk-bK4-poASXvxfKENg/s1600/IMG_4892.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Avalanche debris, some hundreds of metres belows the cliffs. Yes, you can big avalanches in England!</i></td></tr>
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Sheffield was quiet, taxis moving not much else. The moors even quieter, up over Snake Pass - a careful eye on the car thermometer, conscious of not having winter tyres like in Finland, but the temperature never hit zero even on the top of the pass as the lights of Manchester spread out below. Down around Manc and up to the M6, there's more traffic - lots of trucks on early runs - but its smooth going through the dark. Into the Lakes, the GPS takes me on little road I've not driven before missing Windermere and coming out halfway up the Kirkstone Pass. It is snowing on the pass, but the road is still wet and not slippery. Down in Patterdale I park, gear up and walk up the road. It's not quite 0730 yet and still dark enough that I need my headtorch on to see the map. Heavy wet flakes being driven by the wind as I walk up the sodden track along Grisedale. It doesn't feel good for winter climbing but I can see lots of snow higher up. I've not climbed on St Sunday Crag before so need to check the guide to work out where I'm meant to head. It's quite impressive from below, there's 300 mtrs or so of ascent up a steep hillside to get to the lowest rocks then another couple hundred to the summit ridge. I slog up the hillside through a gather blizzard, listening to Melvyn Bragg's proud Cumbrian tones as I do via a podcast - fitting really. It's pathless and brutal, but I gain height quickly to where the steepness eases off a little before the cliffs begin. St Sunday is seamed with gullies and I can see the one to right of Pinnacle Ridge, my target, has spewed out a chunky, heavy avalanche - the debris coming several hundred metres down the hillside below the gully's mouth. I could see this was sometime ago, and the debris now provide a hard and fast route up to the start of the ridge once I clip my crampons on.<br />
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The ridge itself was a delight, never desperate, but plenty of opportunities to get my head back into British mixed; hooking, torquing, swinging tools into frozen turf. The crux is no pushover - and I chimney up carefully, double checking my hooks - well aware I'm alone and not on a rope. Having been soloing a lot easy grit routes recently, I even chuck in a gloved handjam on the crack, preferring that to a tenuous torque.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ltI7Jo-jYLz_efX1N9xJJ1i83pcSpbYAZaqcSI82No4MQEWP7ZyMvyc_yMZJ-yEAOfchmMxXLLS43SSKq7C5d46eGsvo5V8hrF24BbImqktZuMorQ3bPsaUnGSvexxO9u2Wylg/s1600/IMG_4920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ltI7Jo-jYLz_efX1N9xJJ1i83pcSpbYAZaqcSI82No4MQEWP7ZyMvyc_yMZJ-yEAOfchmMxXLLS43SSKq7C5d46eGsvo5V8hrF24BbImqktZuMorQ3bPsaUnGSvexxO9u2Wylg/s1600/IMG_4920.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking back down the crux corner</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuWIXgW_LkWz4o87FEFf_n-7EtKc4Gp2le8GpRp9989D1262MOtogseqUBysE-p2HnYb5d6AqqgtHvhkysYbCrHHSMHMaPA9PGPlKw2UrCoNnRyWKmS5abNT6TYux59bcSryU9g/s1600/IMG_4929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuWIXgW_LkWz4o87FEFf_n-7EtKc4Gp2le8GpRp9989D1262MOtogseqUBysE-p2HnYb5d6AqqgtHvhkysYbCrHHSMHMaPA9PGPlKw2UrCoNnRyWKmS5abNT6TYux59bcSryU9g/s1600/IMG_4929.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The final pinnacle of Pinnacle Ridge, II. Grisedale is below.</i></td></tr>
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The route is decent length too, meaning lots of enjoyable climbing. Hard snow above the ridge's terminus leads on to the summit plateau - the weather has improved and there are great views all around. Helvellyn's highest corries are still hidden in clouds, but the views down to Ullswater and over towards High Street are fantastic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking down towards Ullswater.</i></td></tr>
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It's only mid-morning, so although I know I can't stay all day, I still have time. The hard snow on the headwall suggests the gully to right of the ridge might be a quick was back down, and so it turns out to be. I quickly down climb it predominantly on hard, secure neve. I traverse along the base of the cliff to East Chockstone Gully, reputedly the best of the cliffs gullies. It's meant to be just I/II but there's a distinct ice pitch today in the bottom narrows.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPk9D-S-aqBqQB44GrMee7UEKOsKmXNMtio7ZuwwhALmyegPtcQYmb2vqAq0R9b7o6wXqRtgLkMh_xktEAnQj7puQKBsjRmrQExBMEk3ktTvdqx4FaRuipOSW_lYl4olQA9tCiA/s1600/IMG_4935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPk9D-S-aqBqQB44GrMee7UEKOsKmXNMtio7ZuwwhALmyegPtcQYmb2vqAq0R9b7o6wXqRtgLkMh_xktEAnQj7puQKBsjRmrQExBMEk3ktTvdqx4FaRuipOSW_lYl4olQA9tCiA/s1600/IMG_4935.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A bit steeper than your normal grade I gully!</i></td></tr>
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I climb up to that and start climbing the maybe 8 metres of almost vertical ice. It looks impressive but ice is very soft. By bridging one foot across to rock on the other side of the narrows I climb most of it but its that 3D chess thing: continually spread your weight and never committing to just one foot hold or tool placement, I get both tools in the ice above the steep section, but its too soft for me commit to swinging all my weight over onto the ice. Waves of spindrift pour down the gully and over me to just to complete that full-on feeling. So not today and not soloing; I gingerly down climb back into the welcoming snow of the gully bed. I try forcing a way around the narrows on vegetated mixed ground to its side, but it is steep and the thick heather and reed grass is not properly frozen under the heavy snow. It seems silly, so I back down and out of the gully. Traversing further along, I come to the next clearly defined gully, Pillar Gully. This has firm neve in it and I can see no nasty surprises looking up, so I take it, trying to do my <a href="http://youtu.be/UxEtJoK0-jA">best Ueli Steck impression</a> to the top. It's a pretty poor impression to be honest, with a few sneaky, panting rests, but the gully is very straight forward, I even catch myself looking down it and thinking "I could ski this with a bit more snow in it" but enough of such silly thoughts. With good hard snow the whole way, soon I'm back out again on the snow blasted summit.<br />
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I slog to St Sunday's highest point, put on a duvet to ward off the maelstrom, check the compass and map and head east and down. The walk along the ridge is lovely as soon as I'm down below the cloud. The heavy snow that has been blasting past me on the cliff has whitened everything below, right down to the lake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj685fXOph7uIxIn2vIGSVTqmLJKQYJNIZKHVHzuiIruIV1SlulC6-e7kil0ynwimZ0Va8z6UT2J42sb7g4Y-ZjTyv3vZC2X03c-yuTKlb4IHdoNmRfEw7bP7SZ1AehwNSlAWY1DQ/s1600/IMG_4954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj685fXOph7uIxIn2vIGSVTqmLJKQYJNIZKHVHzuiIruIV1SlulC6-e7kil0ynwimZ0Va8z6UT2J42sb7g4Y-ZjTyv3vZC2X03c-yuTKlb4IHdoNmRfEw7bP7SZ1AehwNSlAWY1DQ/s1600/IMG_4954.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Walking down and towards the sunshine</i></td></tr>
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Back down on the valley floor, the new snow is melting into already sodden ground and water is streaming everywhere. I walk back down to Patterdale admiring the fast flowing Grisedale beck roaring down below the track. I'm back at the car, changed and driving south by 1330, with only the traffic around Manchester to worry about.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Red Screes gone white.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking down from the Kirstone Pass towards Windermere.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Back over the Snake Pass, not too far from home now.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*For non-British winter climbers, the ethics of winter climbing here can seem a bit arcane, but are actually deeply-rooted and come about both from sporting reasons (routes should be harder as winter ascents than in summer!) and increasingly environmental reasons (frozen turf is good to climb on and seems not bothered by being wacked by the ice tools of passing climbers. Unfrozen turf rips up and off the cliff, and the habitat of rare alpine plants can be destroyed).</span>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-4568922870344931082015-01-06T20:29:00.004+02:002015-08-04T02:56:52.783+03:00The Jöttnar Alfar - a review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEuHdbhSGLDqRbe79gI7l343liScDpUcB66A7CmXi_wkNeNpPQEGgGsfC8mZtFJFiYkZgxE70TO9yTYkdkZsWW1H0dhIo_45NTY5e9b7UNMmLk7QXkqnI1NPvSa2e5UKYmQ-bOg/s1600/233579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEuHdbhSGLDqRbe79gI7l343liScDpUcB66A7CmXi_wkNeNpPQEGgGsfC8mZtFJFiYkZgxE70TO9yTYkdkZsWW1H0dhIo_45NTY5e9b7UNMmLk7QXkqnI1NPvSa2e5UKYmQ-bOg/s1600/233579.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The <a href="http://www.jottnar.com/men/">Jöttnar Alfar</a> is, in brief, a very warm hooded mid-layer of the type normally now called a hybrid. It is hybrid in the sense that it bonds two types of insulation, fleece (in this case Polartec Power Stretch) with and synthetic-‘puffy’-insulation (ThermoCool from German textile manufacturer Advansa) sandwiched between lightweight ripstop nylon. The Power Stretch is used for the arms and sides and the neck area of the jacket, whilst the ThermoCool insulation panels cover the front and back and over the top of the hood. What this provides is lots of insulation for your back and chest from the puffy sections along with loads of stretch and breathability from the stretch fleece areas.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghS5AkFu9NmiT_WPNkg0fe3hXIYX6bnp3-GMbwj6WY4bZg6lt2_wSjr0rYR5euTxl7dpycULGoFuBvc4iSZmpuIFC6KTfd67C5aDLkt_aBOP_1WP1AO7a2sAzKN6Ypt8yjyFQ2PQ/s1600/232986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghS5AkFu9NmiT_WPNkg0fe3hXIYX6bnp3-GMbwj6WY4bZg6lt2_wSjr0rYR5euTxl7dpycULGoFuBvc4iSZmpuIFC6KTfd67C5aDLkt_aBOP_1WP1AO7a2sAzKN6Ypt8yjyFQ2PQ/s1600/232986.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alfar under Jöttnar's Bergelmir shell.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The clever mixing of materials means that Alfar gives a great fit, provides perfect mobility for climbing and layers under shells superbly. Power Stretch side panels and arms means that the Alfar will be a good fit for many - for me, medium is perfect; a slim ‘athletic’ fit but no problem with tightness across my chest and shoulders that I get with some midlayers in medium. The sleeves are long and allow the thumb loops to be used without increasing the pump; an unwanted side effect of thumb loops particularly when pulling on ice tools. The plentiful stretch also makes the Alfar suitable for any cool weather pursuits where you want no resistance when reaching. An early test for the Alfar was a cold October day when I was trying to learn the moves of a reachy granite 6c. A repoint attempt will have to wait for spring, but it wasn’t the Alfar holding me back - full stretch spans between little holds with no resistance from the jacket. Power Stretch has long been popular with climbers for this reason, but when slumped on a bolt trying to think about the next bit, the puffy insulation over my chest and back kept me much snugger than a solely Power Stretch top would have. The jacket’s great “layer-ability” comes from the slim smooth Power Stretch sleeves and slick nylon-shelled ThermoCool body, meaning a shell slips effortlessly over it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The hood is pretty full-on; a strip of puffy insulation comes up the back and over the top meaning warmth but Power Stretch on the sides means you can still hear ok. The stretch also means that it fits fine over your helmet as well as under. I normally wear a hat under my helmet when ice climbing so am slightly sceptical about under-helmet hoods which is how Jöttnar describe this one. Nevertheless, I found the Alfar hood went up and down over various helmets with no bother and added instant warmth when I did pull it up. The hood doesn’t have drawcords, but does have a neat elasticated trimming around the face. This makes the hood snug and protective when on and fully zipped up, but it does have the downside of making the Alfar a bit restrictive around the chin/mouth if you try to zip it fully up with the hood down. I think if Jöttnar want to refine their design for future seasons, seeing if they could offset the top of the zip, as Patagonia and Mountain Equipment have done with the R1 Hoody and Eclipse respectively, might be one thing to try. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrQdm83PJTQ_w6TPXLvJcpBHcHmsjQxkhm75l0PiAUQnM7QD0qOvjmVoD37ABBiiFmDPwIayqY15ZVbQkeajAekXTLIEpJisMN8xvyzaLC8Vsw5L9sva_47SQS-4R8AY7OBZ9dQ/s1600/232987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrQdm83PJTQ_w6TPXLvJcpBHcHmsjQxkhm75l0PiAUQnM7QD0qOvjmVoD37ABBiiFmDPwIayqY15ZVbQkeajAekXTLIEpJisMN8xvyzaLC8Vsw5L9sva_47SQS-4R8AY7OBZ9dQ/s1600/232987.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hood goes over a helmet</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jöttnar are from the start aiming to build clothing of a quality on a par with best already available; and looking closely at the Alfar suggests they are getting there. Things like the care in the stitching and finishing is clear to see. Components such as zips are all top quality. The design is also very refined, particularly considering this is a brand new company. It is both little things like the successful “zip-garages” and the big things like seeing that the hand warmer pockets have clearly been designed to be used while you wear a climbing harness. With some of the design features you realise they’ve thought about it much more than you have. I actually emailed Jöttnar to ask if they had put the thumb holes in the wrong place - you have to have your thumbs forward - like you were standing to attention, hands at your sides - for the thumb loops not to put a slight twist in the bottom of the sleeves (Tommy and Steve, Jöttnar’s founders, are both former Royal Marines, so I did wonder if after military careers this becomes your default hand position when standing at rest!). There was only the merest hint of sigh in Tommy’s reply; the thumb holes were, of course, exactly where they wanted them to be. By introducing the slight twist to the end of the sleeve (which make no difference to comfort due to the stretchy fleece) it moves the seam of the sleeve out of the palm leaving no possible pressure point when you have a ski pole strap, ice tool (or perhaps even an SA80 rifle!?) in the palm of your hand all day. It’s nice to know that with Jöttnar there is a functional reason for everything.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My only question over the Alfar is could it be too warm for a mid-layer? On it’s own it is pretty breathable (the fleece side panels help a lot with this) so when not under a shell its warmth is mainly a positive, but layered under a shell you are really warm. I wore it recently on wintery traverse of the Snowdon horseshoe. It was way too warm to wear slogging up from the Cromlech boulders towards Grib Goch, but once I got onto Grib Goch’s verglassed and powder covered North Ridge it worked well on its own, the fleece panels letting most of my sweat out, the synth insulation sections keeping the keen wind off my torso. On the summit of Grib Goch the clouds rolled in and I pulled the Bergelmir shell over the Alfar, using it as a mid layer for the rest of day. In reasonably heavy snow conditions and cloud over Snowdon, then back down below the snowline over Lliwedd where, after some sunshine, thick clouds, sleet and, lower, rain made up the rest of the day, the Jöttnar gear kept me comfy - I didn’t feel the need to take the shell off while slogging up towards the summit of Lliwedd but I definitely got a bit sweaty in there as a result. The outer of Alfar was damp to the touch under shell towards the end of the day, but one way to look at that is that the ThermoCool insulated sections breath well enough for condensation to form there, not inside against the skin, but something with slightly less insulation might be better if you are on the move all day in those temperatures just a few degrees either side of freezing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jöttnar are clearly aiming at winter climbers as a big part of their target market, and here the Alfar perhaps makes most sense. It is possible to get too warm when pitched climbing but, when not wearing a belay jacket, it’s not easy! A very warm, climber-specific mid-layer like the Alfar is just the thing for cold days out on Scottish buttresses or Norwegian icefalls.</span></div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-49421934770389367512014-10-04T01:44:00.001+03:002015-11-07T19:06:38.282+02:00A beginner guide to clothing systems for the British Winter Mountains<i>This is an article I wrote a few winter ago for UKclimbing but it was never used for some reason. Anyway, it might be of use to someone (and I may even add photos at some point!) so here it is.</i> <br />
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Buying clothes to wear for the winter
mountains is an investment, winter climbing is not a cheap sport. So
let’s start with the good news: modern outdoor clothing is,
relatively speaking, cheap. Compared to any normal clothes you buy,
the mark-up in the outdoor trade is rather small, and if you find
something on a clearance rack at half price, the shop is almost
certainly making next to no money on that sale. I bought my first
Goretex jacket nearly 20 years ago with my savings from working the
school holiday picking fruit on farms. It was about £130 and despite
19 years of inflation you can still buy a Goretex jacket for the same
amount and it will work better than my 1990-vintage Phoenix Topaz.
Secondly, modern outdoor clothing is really good. If you have the
money to buy top of the range from any of the famous brands it is
really, really, really good. But a sensibly-designed, own-brand
fleece from Millets or Decathlon is going to be as good as the top of
the range Berghaus or North Face fleece of twenty years ago whilst
being a third of the price not even taking into account inflation. I
might not go as far as to say you can’t go wrong, but like having
SatNav – it’s getting ever harder to go really wrong.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/8452949" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br /> </div>
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/8452949">Cneifion Arete - Welsh winter climbing</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user647558">Toby A.</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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Sometimes the British winter can get pretty wild - and this is just Wales! Scotland gets more knarly!</div>
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But good value is the result of
competition and this comes from a huge choice. You can hardly moan
about this, but of course this does making choosing exactly what you
want difficult. This article aims to give some basic information for
those who are new to the game, and perhaps a few alternatives
thoughts to those who aren’t.</div>
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This article, being UK Climbing, is
aimed primarily at winter climbers going to Scotland, Snowdonia or
the Lakes. Climbers often need a little extra warmth than winter hill
walkers due to pitched climbing necessitating standing still and
belaying in foul weather, although otherwise the basic philosophy is
the same.
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Dry and still</div>
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Winter clothing keeps you warm by
keeping you dry and from stopping the wind. You lose heat in two
major ways – conduction and convection (forget radiation – there
ain’t much that can be done about that). Conduction is heat energy
moving (in this case away from your body) through solids and liquids.
Convection is the same but through gas – the air, moving in the
form of wind. Keeping dry is about reducing conductive heat loss. You
can stand around naked in still air at -10 and if you are dry it is
fine for a few minutes, but try getting into a lake where the water
is 5 degrees and you’ll know all about it. We do both of these
regularly in Finland, often together, so I say this from personal,
and normally quite embarrassing, experience. Just to complicate
matters, you can get wet in two ways – from the outside (snow,
sleet, rain) or from the inside (sweat); your clothes have to stop
moisture from either being near your skin. Keeping out the wind is
about avoiding heat loss through convection. Anybody who has stood
around belaying on a windy day without a windproof jacket will
understand exactly how this works.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SsSePV-Ljs0zTMOkOG-YXB0wES78Xfc4yrrco9BGZbuFe3IG-4nmlinwBgBiPtI52igZlKCJKkke-xg2uXJIwo1Nk5GbCzU0z6bigKVhY-SIrLsgXIR_9SQW69f1t97ydzKzaQ/s1600/DSC_0041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SsSePV-Ljs0zTMOkOG-YXB0wES78Xfc4yrrco9BGZbuFe3IG-4nmlinwBgBiPtI52igZlKCJKkke-xg2uXJIwo1Nk5GbCzU0z6bigKVhY-SIrLsgXIR_9SQW69f1t97ydzKzaQ/s400/DSC_0041.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Dry and still conditions Nordic ice climbing, a micro fleece and vest was fine even if it was -10.</i></b></td></tr>
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Inside out</div>
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The layering principle is the standard
way to dress for the winter mountains. There are clothing systems
that claim they aren’t based on the layering principle, but due to
basic physics they are really – it’s just a different take on it:
normally combining two layers into one. It is best to think of the
layering principle from the inside out starting with the clothes
against your skin. This is the base layer – although often referred
to by your granny as thermal undies. Base layers suck the sweat away
from your skin as quickly as possible transporting it outwards to the
next layer. This is called “wicking” - probably because “sucking
up sweat” is such a horrible image. The quicker your base layer
wicks, the dryer you stay – and as we discussed above, the warmer
you will be. Next comes the mid layer – normally this means fleece
these days. The mid layer is insulation that traps air which
insulates you from the colder air outside your clothes. Your
insulation mid layer also needs to be able to transport sweat
outwards without holding the moisture. This is why it is rare to use
a down jacket as a mid-layer, feathers hold moisture so it would get
clammy from sweat and stop working well. Finally there is the shell
layer. When I started climbing everybody just called these
“waterproofs” and were done with it, but this is where things get
a bit complicated because you have in effect two types of shell –
those designed just to keep the wind out – windproofs – and those
that keep both the wind and rain out – waterproofs. If you want to
be down with the kids you can call the former softshells and the
latter hardshells, but for the moment this unnecessarily complicates
matters – so I won’t. Next we will go on to discuss the basic
options available for these layers, before heading out to the
extremities – hands, feet and head.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Base layers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Until some New Zealand sheep farmers
hit on a really great business idea a few years back, base layers
meant synthetics – mainly different types of polypro. I have
synthetic base layers made by Helly Hansen, Karrimor, Jack Wolfskin,
Berghaus, Lowe Alpine and others that I don’t recall. All work –
even my 18 year old smelly Helly that I still regularly wear whilst
cycle commuting in winter. There is not so much to distinguish them
in terms of wicking – get any polypro base layer from a decent
manufacturer and you won’t go wrong. Making sure they don’t have
seams that rub or labels that itch is probably the most important
consideration. One feature they do all share in common though is that
if I wear them for more than ten minutes, they stink under the arms
(and round your nether regions with the long johns). Different firms
have claimed to have solved this issue over the years but none I have
tried have succeeded. It seems that most blokes at least will make
synthetic base layers stink. This is where we get back to those
enterprising antipodeans. I reckon Merino wool is a real revolution
in thermal undies. It still wicks to my mind as well as synthetics
(others disagree on this but they seem to be a minority) but it is
really quite spookily smell resistant. I can wear a cotton t-shirt
for a day without it getting whiffy, but after two days it's not so
great. I wore my favourite merino baselayer for four days ice
climbing last Easter in Norway – and no hint of smell. To me this
is amazing and in my experience the only downside to merino is that
it tends to cost more and the material is a bit delicate in
comparison to synthetics.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mid Layers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Fleeces are pretty simple things –
fluffy polyester knits that trap warm air and thus insulates you –
but they come in bewildering range of styles and types. The fluffier
or thicker it is, the more insulation that garment will offer. For
climbing, simple and fitted is best. As increasingly with modern
clothing systems we add insulation to the outer layer – the belay
jacket idea (see below) - micro fleeces are amongst the best mid
layer garments. They offer a fair amount of warmth but aren’t bulky
and as shell layers become ever better cut and fitted, this is
important. Hi-loft fleece is the fluffy type that makes you look like
a brightly coloured sheep but is superb in cold conditions. They are
far, far lighter than old heavy weight fleeces and compress well.
They also make ace pillows once you are in the tent at the end of day
– but many might find them too warm under a shell if climbing hard
or moving fast. If you are sure you are going to be wearing your
mid-layer all day, as most people will for winter climbing, consider
a pullover rather than a jacket version: lighter, no annoying zip
lower down near your harness and, best of all, normally cheaper.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mid-layer for your legs is more complex
because legs generally need less insulation so many find that if
their leg wear has some wind resistance to it, it will actually be
their outer layer for much of the time. Softshell trousers made out
of a stretchy, breathable and wind-resistant material have become the
legwear of choice for many winter climbers in recent years, but
summer trekking trousers over long johns can also work well. But even
the expensive Schoeller materials are not completely windproof
(unless they are the expensive and less breathable membrane type) and
in cold temps or when static for long periods I’ve found them to be
not warm enough. This when you might have add some sort of shell over
them, or pick a more specialist pair of trousers that are insulated
in some way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Windproofs</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq49remuDvUBhcgLEUb5gOchP1g7MhTfg5qBSyPkn6RPHev-xX3a1aviXJH1THX7DCEkqDZVZhX7eG7qPWNsCnLvnJDC_yrDOZvsqqlqnd_mwcYEDPm6VebhNtzkT9qig95Yr0xQ/s1600/P1050242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq49remuDvUBhcgLEUb5gOchP1g7MhTfg5qBSyPkn6RPHev-xX3a1aviXJH1THX7DCEkqDZVZhX7eG7qPWNsCnLvnJDC_yrDOZvsqqlqnd_mwcYEDPm6VebhNtzkT9qig95Yr0xQ/s320/P1050242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My great Marmot windproof on the top of a cold but (for once!) dry Scottish mountain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IXjBe0mJovrlmKhxJmhpUr1WNZ1ya_rS6YJTfWuPouh7UIqO8yuRSNAnL8pe8E3YV-ybeVEV7BUI-sPJp7f-W8Popn77WhNcchpKtKq2I3SNcF4xddpweSnWKEhV2H8k3MHC2Q/s1600/IMG_0488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IXjBe0mJovrlmKhxJmhpUr1WNZ1ya_rS6YJTfWuPouh7UIqO8yuRSNAnL8pe8E3YV-ybeVEV7BUI-sPJp7f-W8Popn77WhNcchpKtKq2I3SNcF4xddpweSnWKEhV2H8k3MHC2Q/s320/IMG_0488.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Rab windproof - super breathable for big ice pitch I'm about to try, Norway. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Shell layers are designed to mainly to
make your insulation layers below work, not to offer insulation
themselves. This is why many windproof smocks now weigh next to
nothing. Nevertheless the various windproofs I have are amongst my
favourite bits of outdoor gear; used all year round for climbing, ski
mountaineering, cross country skiing, cycling and orienteering. By
keeping the wind out they make your insulation underneath work, but
unlike waterproofs they are (or at least should be) ultra-breathable
and hence sweat produced from activity can escape easily. Pertex is
the classic material for windproofs and perfect for the job, but any
close woven and unproofed nylon will work.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Waterproofs</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Making a waterproof jacket is easy –
the trick is to make it waterproof in only one direction. As you do
any exercise you sweat. If this sweat can’t escape through your
waterproof layer, it will wet your mid and base layers just like rain
or melted snow from outside would do. Conducted heat loss then begins
and you get cold. This is why your waterproof jacket also need to be
breathable. Breathable simply means that the jacket material in some
way to do with it physical structure or chemical make-up allows
moisture vapour (sweat) through from the inside to the outside, but
does not let liquid water (rain) in from the outside to inside.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEINSTbMqxcwU0K04krRdJ384RHLzKCd9REHYfuC9qiTDQqmZwTOEqkMxoqca-o47YFw8766j5x8bz_khR9RdRW_eEIMjwtWRSa__bx8womh8aSIAx0iCPwu76ydUGEV5CwYYBIQ/s1600/IMG_3308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEINSTbMqxcwU0K04krRdJ384RHLzKCd9REHYfuC9qiTDQqmZwTOEqkMxoqca-o47YFw8766j5x8bz_khR9RdRW_eEIMjwtWRSa__bx8womh8aSIAx0iCPwu76ydUGEV5CwYYBIQ/s400/IMG_3308.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Proper old school, get your Goretex on weather. Senja, Norway.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Materials are getting better – the
Goretex of today breathes more readily than the Goretex of the jacket
I bought in 1990 and there are now many competitor fabrics that seem
to work adequately and particularly with eVent there is now a fabric
that many believe is better than Goretex. But just as importantly is
that designs have improved massively in the last decade. Designers
are making jackets that are slimmer fitting, tailored to the needs of
climbers or hikers, and use cleverer technologies like thin seam tape
or bonding technologies that allow the material to breath better all
over. In the early 90s I became a huge fan of Buffalo clothing
because it meant I didn’t need my Goretex jacket for winter
climbing and that meant getting less clammy and cold from sweat
despite not being waterproof. I still won’t wear a Goretex for,
say, skinning uphill whilst ski mountaineering, but my Arctryx
paclite Goretex I can wear happily when ice climbing on drippy days,
or hiking in sleety weather, without getting sweaty inside. It’s
just a better designed coat made out of better material than the
early 90s shells – and the fabrics of today are further improved
than the six year old goretex of my Arctryx.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For the British mountains in winter,
what you will want though is a shell jacket with a good hood - the
best tend to have a wire in them to create a peak, and the hood needs
to be big enough to go over a climbing helmet. Unsurprisingly,
British companies (Berghaus, Mountain Equipment, Montane etc.) often
have the best hoods for full on conditions – putting more emphasis
on protection than peripheral vision. Some US firms have even made
jackets designed specifically for the British market including bigger
than normal hoods – showing the difference in design philosophy.
More and more shells now use waterproof (water resistant some say)
zips. These save weight, but some still prefer their winter jacket to
have a storm flap that covers the zip for maximum protection.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Booster Layers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Booster layers – often called belay
jackets – are insulated coats that you stick on over your shell
(windproof or waterproof) when static or just really cold.
Traditionally these were down filled, although down doesn’t mix
with rain or wet snow well, so increasingly many climbers are going
for modern synthetic fills such as primaloft. These keep their
insulation value better if getting damp, but down is lighter, packs
down smaller and last much longer if well looked after. See my
<span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=1375">earlier
article</a></u></span> on belay jackets for much more on this.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Alternative systems</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For a long time the most famous
‘alternative systems’ in the UK to the layering principles
outlined above were Buffalo and Paramo. You can read much more about
both on their websites, but both avoided membrane waterproof fabrics
like Goretex. What they lose in waterproofing they gain in
breathability. The fans of both systems often have a slightly zealous
air to them that come with having ‘seen the light’. I should
know: in the mid-90s I was a hardcore Buffalo boy. I was living in
Scotland and working in shop that stocked the system felt the urge to
try and convert the Goretex clad infidels to the true and righteous
(and slightly odd looking) path. I’ve never used Paramo, so their
crusaders will have to speak up in its favour but back then Buffalo
was without any doubt the best value for money mountain clothing
system you could buy. Montane also make pertex and fibre pile
products very similar to Buffalo. Pertex and fibre pile is not always
perfect, but for serious winter climbing when on a budget it is still
well worth looking at. Stephen Reed, owner of Needlesports has an
<span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.needlesports.com/gearreviews/buffalo.htm">excellent
manifesto</a></u></span> for the Buffalo system.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Feet, hands and heads</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Keeping your extremities warm is one of
the hardest parts of choosing your clothing system and my experience
is that in particular finding the right glove system is an annoyingly
expensive experience of trial and error. Hopefully some of
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Feet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What boots you wear is dependent on
what you are doing - winter hill walking, mountaineering and easy
climbs, mid grade pitched climbing, or hard climbing. For hill
walking and easier routes many will wear a B2 (link) rated boot -
with a bit of flex to them and not too heavy. These can be super
traditional leather walking boots, or more modern styles made with
various synthetic materials. Boots for climbing in tend to be rigid -
B3 rated for prolonged crampon use and built with warmth in mind.
Boots for the hardest climbs are rigid but lighter, possibly
sacrificing some warmth and support but anyone interested in those
type of boots won't need this article. Opinions vary on what to wear
inside. When I started climbing in Scotland in the early 1990s
everyone wore plastic boots, and most people seemed to use inside a
liner sock under a woolly sock. You didn't need to worry much about
cold feet with that combo but it compromised climbing (and walking)
performance. With better fitting leather boots wearing one pair of
medium to thick socks inside seems to make more sense to make the
most of the fit and climbing performance of your boots. Good mountain
socks from manufacturers like Extremities, Thorlo, Smartwool,
Bridgedale and the like are very nice but do seem horribly expensive
for a pair of socks. I found that high wool content socks - normally
sold as hiking socks - from even Tesco can do the job fine. My two
pairs of Tesco hiking socks cost about seven quid but have kept my
feet nice and warm inside my Nepal Extremes even when ice climbing in
the bitter cold of the Norwegian arctic. The old Extremities mountain
socks I have are a little warmer, but at something like eight times
the price!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For UK mountains, I still think that
gaiters are pretty vital. If you get water or mud over the top of
your boots, you will get cold feet once above the snowline. The
gaiters that come attached to many shell trousers might do a good job
at keeping snow out of your boots, but not the boot sucking mud of
many a British walk-in. Good gaiters are nice, but cheaper ones do
the job well enough. Look for a pair with a front zip, these are much
less hassle if you need to tighten your laces than the back zip
models. Places like Decathlon do some very good value pairs with
decent technical designs. Full foot gaiters like Yetis are great for
keeping snow out of your boots on prolonged trips where you are
camping in deep snow, but in my experience are a bit over-kill for
day climbs. They do make boots slightly warmer by keeping snow off
your boots and laces - but the majority of heat-loss from the feet is
through the soles of your boots, so Yetis aren't the magic bullet to
warmer feet that some people expect.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hands</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glove and mitts are notoriously
difficult to get right and, due to the complexity of the stitching
and taping, expensive as well. Most winter climbers find a system
that works for them after years of trial and error. Mitts are warm
and often waterproof but most find them hard to do anything technical
in. Softshell gloves are light and dexterous - picking the no. 3 wire
of your racking krab is easy enough - but you quickly get cold
fingers when belaying and water goes straight through them. Goretex
or eVent mountain gloves are somewhere in between - a bit warmer and
you can use your belay plate, but you might drop that wire. In my
experience you need more dexterous gloves for Scottish climbing,
particularly mixed routes where the majority of pro is rock gear.
Softshell, or some other thinner types of gloves work well, with
mitts for belays and the walk down. For pure icefalls, goretex (or
similar) gloves work well - ice screws aren't too fiddly to use with
them and they are warmer. Ice climbing in Scandinavia I have often
just used my mountain gloves all day, for climbing, belaying and the
descent, but for hiking up to Scottish climbs, takes something thin
and stretchy for the approach; any old gloves will work fine
including woolly ones, keep your main gloves dry and ready for the
actual climbing. Finally, take some light, insulated mitts for
belays, descents in horrible weather and for simply when your hands
get really cold. Buffalo mitts remain a favourite, very light and
pretty cheap, but if you think you might be wearing them to belay
much get something with reinforcement on the palms. Dachstein mitts
deserve a special mention as many and will go on at great (boring?)
length about how they are the be all and end all of Scottish winter
handwear. I'm unconvinced myself, finding them heavy, stiff and
neither particularly grippy or warm - but a thousand happy punters
can't be completely wrong so it may be worth trying them out.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some specific recommendations: my
current softshell gloves are by Ortovox - I got them mainly because I
couldn't afford the Black Diamond Dry Tool gloves and they were the
only other ones my local shop had, but they have turned out to be
hard wearing, being three seasons old and surprisingly warm. If the
price of softshell gloves puts you off, try Extremities Sticky
Thickies over a pair of thinnies (or even cheaper no-brand 'magic'
gloves) as a cheaper and surprisingly warm alternative. I used this
system for a few seasons of regular Scottish routes and it worked
great for me for more technical mixed routes where you are mainly
placing nuts and cams. When it comes to a more general, waterproof,
mountain glove; for about six years I used a pair of Goretex gauntlet
gloves made by Mountain Hardware. These were absolutely superb: the
palms and fingers were made with sticky and absolutely bomb-proof
rubbery material that no number of abseils could wear out. They had
minimal insulation, just a light brushed lining to protect the
Goretex, but this meant they were very dextrerous and, for all but
the most technical of routes, you could put them on and just keep
them on all day. Of course they seem to have stopped making that
model now, which all too often happens with a brilliant product! I
replaced them last year with Rab Makalus - decent gloves but with
some insulation making them less dexterous than the Mountain Hardware
ones, and with a less good cuff arrangement. The eVent does seem very
good though. If buying waterproof climbing gloves one really
important thing is get them to fit your finger length; any floppy
bits at the ends of the fingers seems to be magically attractive to
the gates of any karabiner you are trying to handle - not what you
want whilst desperately trying to get a quickdraw onto your ice
screw. For mitts, bargain bins in climbing shops in the summer or
somewhere like Decathlon have proven good bets for me in the past -
any loose fitting nylon-covered and pile-lined mitts should be pretty
warm. My current favourite belay mitts are Extremities and were
bought in TKMaxx for about a tenner.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Heads</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For ultimate warmth and protection you
want a balaclava - I like light and stretchy ones because I tend to
carry it much more than I wear it, plus with a black powerstretch
balaclava you are also always ready to attend fancy dress parties as
a ninja. Back out on the hill, wearing a hat and some sort of fleecy
neck tube is far less likely to get you arrested as a bank robber and
is more flexible an arrangement. And remember: bobble hats both look
ridiculous and don't fit well under climbing helmets, so buy a good
looking beanie and you can also use it for bouldering, as long as you
remember to take your top of first.</div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-21295701509868528522014-05-03T18:26:00.000+03:002014-05-06T14:10:37.525+03:00Edelrid Beast Lite Crampon review updateUKclimbing.com have just <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=6227">published a review I have written of the Edelrid Beast Lite crampons</a>. This post is basically an addendum to that noting a problem that has since arisen with the crampons since I filed the review.<br />
<br />
I got the crampons unfortunately near to the close of this year's rather truncated Finnish ice climbing season but I still managed to get out and use them on several hundred metres of steep ice divided over lots of pitches and a number of days. It wasn't a whole season of weekend usage, but I still felt pretty confident in my conclusions on the strong and weak points of this rather novel model of crampon. The most noticeable thing about the Beast Lites is (unsurprisingly, considering their name) their low weight, so when I was packing for a ski-mountaineering trip to Norway just before Easter I threw the Beasts into my bag because, despite being a technical climbing crampon by design, they weigh less than even a pair of 10-point walking crampons I own. It was actually on taking them out of my pack to use to scramble up on to the blocky summit of the Senja peak <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=237844">Kvænen</a> where I noticed that plastic heal clip of one of the crampons had cracked through (see the pictures below). <br />
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I know that heel bail clips like these don't need to break and that plastic is a very suitable material to make these components from; my Grivel G12s are now well over a decade old and the heel bails are fine. and on my first pair of DMM Terminators it was the metal <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2009/01/too-much-of-good-thing.html">frame of the crampon that broke</a> after 8 seasons of hard use not the bails. It seems very unlikely that this could be simply bad luck after, relatively speaking, so little use. So I suspect there is a problem either with the type of plastic that Edelrid have used here or the shape and design of the heel clip that led to the breakage. It maybe that in trying to make the crampons so light they simply used too thin plastic here.Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-92047150977781058252014-02-19T23:59:00.002+02:002014-02-20T00:07:48.871+02:00Marmot Isotherm Hoody/Polartec Alpha Insulation - some thoughts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrFhvXNRKqsYtcm6ELXdYT5JNO575acbMMjUAuduGjTKtSbiWMzna6g_AaX4tHxH94TL7CicMJbmrsvlNkSsOksM2kAJUrlMCdgqOwR6WdVfGnONLP8XWMoBEvE9-YVBNLJVvdA/s1600/IMG_2052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrFhvXNRKqsYtcm6ELXdYT5JNO575acbMMjUAuduGjTKtSbiWMzna6g_AaX4tHxH94TL7CicMJbmrsvlNkSsOksM2kAJUrlMCdgqOwR6WdVfGnONLP8XWMoBEvE9-YVBNLJVvdA/s1600/IMG_2052.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Marmot Isotherm Hoody being used as a mid-layer on a -20 day.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; </style>The <a href="http://marmot.com/products/details/isotherm-hoody">Isotherm hoody</a> is Marmot's first go
at using <a href="http://www.polartec.com/warmth/polartec-alpha/">Polartec's new Alpha insulation</a>, an insulation originally
<a href="http://www.polartec.com/warmth/polartec-alpha/">developed by Polartec for US Special Forces</a>. The military wanted a
synthetic insulation that while warm was also breathable and could be
kept on during periods of activity. With body armour, plus all the
equipment carried by modern soldiers on their webbing, donning or
taking off layers of clothing below all that is obviously difficult
in anything beyond relaxed and safe situations hence the requirement
for insulation that breathes well when you are active in it. The
Alpha insulation is knitted onto a mesh, allowing 'sheets' of the
insulation to made and sewn into garments. The knitted construction
is very air-permeable meaning breathability, but also means the
insulation is stable and drapes well. This allows for simple garment
designs that don't require extensive channels through the
construction, as would be necessary to hold a loose insulation like down.
The Alpha insulation is though encased in an inner and outer shell.
Again because of the stable, knitted structure of the insulation,
manufacturers can use as an inner layer a very breathable and light
mesh material (again a loose insulation like down would escape
through such a material). With the Isotherm Hoody Marmot have used a
mesh version of their own dri-clime material for most of the inner
liner. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUllIXBZWbpKg0KoICahjsDppNsz52_2VtCluvaPo3-b1wfHjD0b4dYNfN-oZRvf1O2qZpNWPImrG-tMsou86cr06C6d925jhvMLlHfI2U-Q0thfKAWbxyGu7msDGnrt_dqtWSdQ/s1600/polartec_alpha_puffy-600x531.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUllIXBZWbpKg0KoICahjsDppNsz52_2VtCluvaPo3-b1wfHjD0b4dYNfN-oZRvf1O2qZpNWPImrG-tMsou86cr06C6d925jhvMLlHfI2U-Q0thfKAWbxyGu7msDGnrt_dqtWSdQ/s1600/polartec_alpha_puffy-600x531.jpeg" height="353" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graphic from Polartec, <a href="http://www.polartec.com/uploads/pdfs/Polartec_Alpha_Brand_Book.pdf">click here for more info</a>.</td></tr>
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With Polartec Alpha's unique selling
point being breathability I feel the choice of outer material to the
insulation is vital. Insulation works by holding air still, creating
a barrier of stable, warm air between the person inside the clothing
and the colder, moving air in the environment beyond – so there
needs to be a windproof layer over the insulation to allow for this
to happen. This would seem to be where the central dilemma with
Polartec Alpha lies – for the material to insulate to its maximum
amount you need to use a windproof outer fabric but this may not be
particularly breathable, but to get the most out of the insulation's
structure which is what Polartec says makes Alpha more breathable
than competitor synthetic insulations, you want an outer fabric that
is highly breathable, which generally means less windproof. The new
buzz-phrase in the industry for this is “air permeability”; for
instance the new Goretex Pro is air-permeable as is Polartec NeoShell
making both of these fabrics more breathable than other waterproof
fabrics, but the other way of putting this is “not as windproof”
and that might not sell as well in the 'performance outdoor clothing'
market. For the outside of the Isotherm Hoody, Marmot have gone with
Pertex Quantum, a light ripstop nylon. There are different types of
Pertex and I'm not sure if certain forms are more windproof and less
breathable than others – but Quantum is an ultra-fine and smooth
weave so I would imagine that it isn't particularly air-permeable,
although of course being windproof allows the Alpha insulation below
to insulate all the better.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MKdZwMuWFL1JB9YhXzNMawMJZi6BC0OWH7qtvaXIht0DKT5encV4beGg1ZrH4UE_6L8NjkB4CDwpmoe8H0c0STHUqMEUm-a4y4zVeRaL_a91jWlyuuulTAM-AYw58xafRF-S3g/s1600/IMG_1068-ACTION.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MKdZwMuWFL1JB9YhXzNMawMJZi6BC0OWH7qtvaXIht0DKT5encV4beGg1ZrH4UE_6L8NjkB4CDwpmoe8H0c0STHUqMEUm-a4y4zVeRaL_a91jWlyuuulTAM-AYw58xafRF-S3g/s1600/IMG_1068-ACTION.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some slightly freaky google auto-produced multilayer pic of me mountain-biking in the Isotherm.</i></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So that's the physics theory section;
but what about in use? Well, in truth it is a bit of a mixed bag.
Let's start with the good stuff; the Thermo Hoody is very light (387
grams in medium, about 20 grams less than Marmot claim) and very
compressible – it is very easy to stuff into a bag to take along
'just in case'. The hood (a simple under-helmet design) adds instant
warmth when used although it isn't designed to zip up and protect
your face. Considering how light the materials are too, it seems
relatively tough – it survived a day of gritstone cragging when it
was far too cold for me to worry much about not scuffing and scraping
it. Marmot have used a stretchy light softshell material over the
shoulders to make it a bit tougher for use with a rucksack. It's easy
to care for too, particularly in comparison to lightweight down tops.
If it gets grubby you just chuck it in the machine for a wash. For me
the downsides are the fit and the design. I've been a big fan of
Marmot for years as their quality seems top-notch and their size
medium has always fitted me well, but with the Thermo Hoody the
medium is too tight across the shoulders although it's not
particularly trim around the waist so its seems a bit oddly
proportioned. Perhaps related to this I've also found it doesn't work
brilliantly with a harness with a tendency to pull out after some
high reaches. A climbing harness covers the hand warmer pockets too,
which considering Alpha is all about “active insulation” - so
insulation to wear whilst doing stuff, like climbing! - seems a
shame. Another minor design flaw is that the lining in the sleeves is
too loose so when ever you pull the jacket on the inner fabric pulls
out, protruding beyond the cuff. It goes back in easily enough if you
hold the cuff and stretch the sleeves a bit, but it's enough of an
annoyance to notice.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And finally to the big issue – is it
breathable and how much warmth does it offer? Used as an outer layer
for things like autumnal mountain biking I found the Isotherm snug,
wind resistant and warm but perhaps a bit too warm. Despite not
riding particularly hard or doing long climbs, in positive single
digit temperatures the inside of the Isotherm was getting rather damp
with sweat being worn over just a thin base layer. This would
dissipate with time, but then I've found the same true of traditional
synthetically insulated pieces <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=4447">like the Marmot Variant</a>. Through the
damp cool autumn Alpha didn't strike me as that different and I was
left wondering – was it the Pertex Quantum material holding in the
sweat or the Alpha insulation itself? For cool weather rock climbing,
the jacket was more successful, not getting sweaty inside and keeping
me reasonably comfortable while climbing on what was a ridiculously
windy day at a rather exposed English gritstone edge. The day was so
windy though, that although it wasn't particularly cold (about +5) I
still needed to use a duvet over the Isotherm when not climbing –
in those gales you notice the air permeability by getting cold! So
good for less aerobic activities like rock climbing but I don't think
the Isotherm is necessarily the best cragging top for the reasons
mentioned earlier; it would need to be longer, have differently
positioned pockets and perhaps a slightly heavier, tougher face
fabric for that. I have used it as a mid-layer under a Marmot
NeoShell jacket in cold and very cold conditions, and here it worked
impeccably. This has included Nordic skating at -20 and alpine skiing at just below freezing. But in both these cases I suspect a
hi-loft fleece would have also worked as well as a mid-layer.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmTt8D3rJ-SHJiw9EtK3_UoqjKxSVD7bIUPHp29UhA_Nr58KRacfs0ktdKpQ97lXiZjmkyfFMwOu9q5qU9YNmZT-LnnV4meXMd1lehXYzwaDSISGPlqcCKzdC6j83Ww5KpHVhnw/s1600/IMG_2408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmTt8D3rJ-SHJiw9EtK3_UoqjKxSVD7bIUPHp29UhA_Nr58KRacfs0ktdKpQ97lXiZjmkyfFMwOu9q5qU9YNmZT-LnnV4meXMd1lehXYzwaDSISGPlqcCKzdC6j83Ww5KpHVhnw/s1600/IMG_2408.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cragging at the Roaches in the Isotherm Hoody</i></td></tr>
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I'm left wondering rather what “active
insulation” pieces like the Isotherm are really best suited for? I
think for me, at least, a microfleece (the grid-pattern ones wick and
breath very well) and a windshirt will work as well; being more
versatile, costing less and not weighing much more. Nevertheless we
all experience the outdoor environments differently and for some
people I'm sure the Isotherm will be the best midlayer they've ever
tried. There is a lot of like about it, a certain silky luxurious
snugness in particular! But still – for me – I'm not sure if it
does a job better than pre-existing solutions. It will be interesting
to see how Polartec Alpha is used in conjunction with different shell
materials in the future, because I still don't quite see how to
square the circle of having an insulation that is both air permeable itself and is encased in air-permeable fabrics that will still work well in anything other than windless conditions.</div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-25334709111790887452014-01-08T00:43:00.000+02:002014-01-08T00:43:50.359+02:00Physics you can sleep on; a design weakness in the Alpkit Numo sleeping mat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1FT_16aOtrFejKVChRzpQDWvnlEUzv5dQV8B7eum26PlpAKPkZZqhj40k9mmftq2auoCaWSImOb2w-GBOWO2nlHMYVReU1ZxsuvNCmNpl1EqorkZZGJHwhxhzudyc05wi4uhQQ/s1600/IMG_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1FT_16aOtrFejKVChRzpQDWvnlEUzv5dQV8B7eum26PlpAKPkZZqhj40k9mmftq2auoCaWSImOb2w-GBOWO2nlHMYVReU1ZxsuvNCmNpl1EqorkZZGJHwhxhzudyc05wi4uhQQ/s1600/IMG_0073.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bikepack bivvying - my Alpkit Numo under my tarp</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Warning: very geeky camping gear post follows;
surf away now if you don't care and most well adjusted people
probably don't.
</i></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A camping mat is pretty fundamental to
getting a decent night's sleep when camping – whatever you pick is
a compromise; the light ones might not be tough, the tough ones not
light, the light, tough ones not cheap etc. In summer you can get away
with more (well, actually less); find some softish, non-rocky ground and even the lightest
closed cell foam mat can be great, but on hard uneven ground and as
winter approaches the mat becomes more important.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5JryyC6yUDiKr6Ayo7y0s3Ce_FNMvW-BS-pMGMiFtGFyPivpMmvalmJHtRG19SNx_PvHMRIDD2Fw6x_VZa6ghyD4ydQ5eG64za5MVYxX1am4fIr4z-G_Z6_lw_zCsbsvbxItWg/s1600/P1040697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5JryyC6yUDiKr6Ayo7y0s3Ce_FNMvW-BS-pMGMiFtGFyPivpMmvalmJHtRG19SNx_PvHMRIDD2Fw6x_VZa6ghyD4ydQ5eG64za5MVYxX1am4fIr4z-G_Z6_lw_zCsbsvbxItWg/s1600/P1040697.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Winter bivvy, in a laavu (Finnish lean-to log shelter)</i></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I got an <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/">Alpkit</a> Numo a few years back and <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2012/06/alpkit-in-operation-kayak-touring-in.html">have like it</a>. It's one of the new generation of air mattresses - you blow into it
and it fills up like a balloon - very light and compact. I had always thought that just
getting you off the ground, so that heat can not move by conduction
away from your body into the ground as you sleep, was central to how
sleeping mats of all types worked but using the Numo demonstrates
it's more complicated than that. Once inflated the Numo probably is
about 10 cms thick – a lot more than most Thermarest style mats (a
couple of cms) or closed cell foam mats (>1 cm). This makes it
super comfy but also allows for some interesting physics – because
the Numo is just air inside (thermarests hold air in a complex lattice
of open cell foam that it inside the mat) you get convection currents
in it. Because the air can move inside the mat as it cools it will
move around - not working well as insulation. Alpkit obviously knew
this as in the body section of the mat (about shoulder to bum) they
put insulation, this was some sort of synthetic strands stuck to the
two inside-sides of the mat. When you blow the mat up this stretches
forming a lattice structure and stoping convection in that section of
the mat. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjB8lNM7YQ6tyAX4XWLRMHUVjZyee1SI1qp2E6kvv6SdPbn7SCdfWaBDj2bKhdBAAw-IsIS2ItIFsxKtVOJ4fILRHafF1heVD76wlcFmjpaccy2DAd1upJedOjsJYyYBmLW7mGIg/s1600/P1040655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjB8lNM7YQ6tyAX4XWLRMHUVjZyee1SI1qp2E6kvv6SdPbn7SCdfWaBDj2bKhdBAAw-IsIS2ItIFsxKtVOJ4fILRHafF1heVD76wlcFmjpaccy2DAd1upJedOjsJYyYBmLW7mGIg/s1600/P1040655.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Late summer bivvy.</i></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The difference this insulation made is
very noticeable – I first sussed this on a wild autumn night in
upper Glen Nevis, near Steall waterfall. It wasn't terribly cold,
maybe around 5 degrees and I had a bag plenty warm enough. I slept
fine but it was quite noticeable that whilst my body was warm my legs
(where there is no insulation in the Numo) were getting cold from
below – just like the feeling of trying to sleep on ice with a too
thin mat. Hence despite being both really comfy and also light and
the most packable of my mats, I decided it was best to use it for
3-season camping only. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyoSVK2RD2fuAblsjN620ds5YGciXX9-qhJbAyzsZtX5T4ilYLBGO9alP6KNqx4NJSCZxOULarvlvjvh_ty1rvBuAKUmR74FOrKDm559DAkKlCwcx6McHh-cnlpFD7m_-zMqQxw/s1600/DSC_0066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyoSVK2RD2fuAblsjN620ds5YGciXX9-qhJbAyzsZtX5T4ilYLBGO9alP6KNqx4NJSCZxOULarvlvjvh_ty1rvBuAKUmR74FOrKDm559DAkKlCwcx6McHh-cnlpFD7m_-zMqQxw/s1600/DSC_0066.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFpvfVPTP34IzTOWnA-BBL0CEIBmuhkH2J6ANA45TaNjuWb1vsGK9TsW79fwRfMg27EsbMv2ViwILPwE6agSi7GQo_WqROSP7MnGQYY2Ac3fr8MUnhn55R0VgnFXBDg0w59knWQ/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFpvfVPTP34IzTOWnA-BBL0CEIBmuhkH2J6ANA45TaNjuWb1vsGK9TsW79fwRfMg27EsbMv2ViwILPwE6agSi7GQo_WqROSP7MnGQYY2Ac3fr8MUnhn55R0VgnFXBDg0w59knWQ/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the pictures above, on the left you can see the insulation still adhering to one side of the mat but on the right you can see where most of the insulation has come detached and collapsed back on itself. </span></i> </div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is issue is compounded by the
design problem with the mats – the insulation comes unstuck from
one side of the mat and collapses back against the other side hence
doing nothing. When I first noticed this with my first Numo, Alpkit
in their normal very customer-first way said “no worries, we'll
send you a new one”, but then the same thing happened with our
second Numo (my wife had discovered how much comfier my Numo was than her old thermarest), and then more recently
with the replacement to the original one. I've come to the conclusion
that you can get about two weeks use out a Numo before the insulation
peels away. I used one of them in that state on my recent bikepacking
trip where it was just below freezing at night and even sleeping on
the wooden floor of the <i>laavu</i>, I got cold enough from below to wake
me up (the first night in my tent in the car park I had slept
perfectly on my much thinner foam Z-rest). So the failure of the
insulation really limits the Numos to summer use only.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZyEZu_3uKDdaoOk-VVcc7LiCOMIPUZMZXANe8VhdzqfWtTyB-kAHGAnvtOst6Gh6rA2PQgulN8Ioq1GhemVrDbFze39-sNjWF7wtb3y164whDcbIROGhPCDPIenxS6nZyY-wJA/s1600/IMG_1242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZyEZu_3uKDdaoOk-VVcc7LiCOMIPUZMZXANe8VhdzqfWtTyB-kAHGAnvtOst6Gh6rA2PQgulN8Ioq1GhemVrDbFze39-sNjWF7wtb3y164whDcbIROGhPCDPIenxS6nZyY-wJA/s1600/IMG_1242.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Slightly grumpy bikepacker in the morning twilight after a long chilly December night on a not warm enough mat.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Alpkit admitted that the problem is
that when you breath into the mat blowing it up – they aren't self
inflating like Thermarests – the moisture in your breath gets
trapped and the sogginess inside makes the glue holding the
insulation in place fail. Alpkit have stopped making the Numos and
aren't going to do any more – they told me they're redesigning
their whole mat range for next summer – so of course that makes
this whole post sort of pointless: if you don't have a Numo you can't
buy one and if you do have one and it fails in the way mine did,
Alpkit can't really do anything about it now. But at least I've
proven to my own satisfaction that air alone isn't sufficient
insulator for sleeping. I guess it has to be stable air that can't
circulate, and the problem also shows how small a sealed space
-inside an air mattress- is enough for convection currents to have a
significant impact on the insulation quality of that mat. <br />
</div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-50750453890179793762013-12-08T12:03:00.001+02:002013-12-08T13:21:39.700+02:00An early winter bikepack<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPv9C2oDJ-hx4kvuyGPnHEodo20Z-kMbZM2GyT-CAnrFYfM0MG8A2UB7ed7bEHactB79jSbI-Z21E6wqWypvz1GXNxGWhPGK1APD8rXni8DA4eqAFzgzFjOg_17t64JYjPUToiw/s1600/IMG_1179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPv9C2oDJ-hx4kvuyGPnHEodo20Z-kMbZM2GyT-CAnrFYfM0MG8A2UB7ed7bEHactB79jSbI-Z21E6wqWypvz1GXNxGWhPGK1APD8rXni8DA4eqAFzgzFjOg_17t64JYjPUToiw/s400/IMG_1179.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It seems that a late November weekend
scout camp is now part of my kids's annual schedule, so a couple of
Fridays back I found myself back up in the Forssa area, about 100 kms
northwest of Helsinki with 36 hours to kill. It was mid-evening,
slightly below freezing and very very dark. Last year I had taken my
mountain bike and <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2012/11/dark-times-november-bikepacking-on.html">tried bikepacking the hiking route, the Lynx Route/<i>Ilvesreitti</i></a>,
with limited success. The 'trail' was marked by waymarks but not
enough people had actually walked it to make much of trail on the
ground. I did a lot of pushing and carrying the bike through forest
brush. This year I decided to stick to roads and forest tracks,
including riding sections of the long distance bike route <a href="http://www.pyoraillensuomessa.fi/en/node/61">the Häme OxRoad/Hämeen Härkätie</a>, that goes from Turku to Hämeenlinna, so took my cyclocross bike.
A lot of the roads and trails are unsurfaced so the CX was a great
choice, I could nip along paved sections at a decent pace, but had
plenty of grip on the gravel.<br />
<br />
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07VH_E4fFSpNRGIrSat6tkUk7HAJlDja6U8NDxZbHT1dk5Byys8rDvg4zprpLxbe3KZW8OA-3r4GmOY8ZTJbBLDxIfERHTR93Yy-t7nT02dkdwEw4tz1oJU9c1rg4vc9CzK_VgQ/s1600/IMG_1149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07VH_E4fFSpNRGIrSat6tkUk7HAJlDja6U8NDxZbHT1dk5Byys8rDvg4zprpLxbe3KZW8OA-3r4GmOY8ZTJbBLDxIfERHTR93Yy-t7nT02dkdwEw4tz1oJU9c1rg4vc9CzK_VgQ/s320/IMG_1149.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Last year it was grey and just above
freezing for the whole trip, and in November in Finland the days are
so short and the sun always so low that it brings a whole new drab
meaning to “grey”. This year I lucked out and the sky cleared
early on Saturday morning and stayed clear until after I was asleep
that evening, the temperature never got above 1 degree and was often
just below freezing according to the thermometer on my excellent
newish bike computer.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tUjsb58fh2zqdxfLU3tqQ6KqHC4Y0GjrSPIEn8lRBlcnYewYsl-2ShU24telAEq3ZPgTMNgwiiyA2Ux-Q6GM3Rv0_lMRtWKujR50KOH54PPjAYnwWimm5LiQfSnWTx47D9HhPg/s1600/IMG_1164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tUjsb58fh2zqdxfLU3tqQ6KqHC4Y0GjrSPIEn8lRBlcnYewYsl-2ShU24telAEq3ZPgTMNgwiiyA2Ux-Q6GM3Rv0_lMRtWKujR50KOH54PPjAYnwWimm5LiQfSnWTx47D9HhPg/s320/IMG_1164.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saari Folk Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGG75j2oembFwGk9Ww-ii5LZscfTEIAmLXQucjWWCiw0VHxDveaQ_Qae3K1Ey6hArJPSbS3d3hkjqt3y9F2jMkkN7EBxV_GqRYDYRhTCMcohiOXuE2Xdel2DyI9b9ImP-qteG-g/s1600/IMG_1158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGG75j2oembFwGk9Ww-ii5LZscfTEIAmLXQucjWWCiw0VHxDveaQ_Qae3K1Ey6hArJPSbS3d3hkjqt3y9F2jMkkN7EBxV_GqRYDYRhTCMcohiOXuE2Xdel2DyI9b9ImP-qteG-g/s320/IMG_1158.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Saari viewing tower</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I camped in a carpark in <a href="http://www.outdoors.fi/destinations/nationalparks/liesjarvi/Pages/Default.aspx">LiesjärviNational Park</a> on Friday night with the luxury of a tent and left the
car (and tent) there on Saturday morning. That day I rode a bit over
90 kms; this included some hiking single track in the <a href="http://www.outdoors.fi/destinations/otherareas/saari/Pages/Default.aspx">Saari Folk Park</a>
but mostly was on unsurfaced roads and forest tracks. A good day of
gravel grinding. It didn't feel that big a day but I ran out of
daylight and had to ride the last hour or so with lights on to get to
the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=laavu&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xTKkUpjZMcqi4gST1YCgDg&ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1132&bih=687"><i>laavu</i> (lean-to shelter)</a> I had decided to use that night. This was
actually the same one as I had camped in last year, but it was much
nicer this time with all the stars out above and no wind.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I lit a fire in the fireplace with out
much trouble, although it never really got to that pleasantly roaring
stage. There was only the dregs of the woodpile left, I guess after a
summer of visitors, and although the logs burnt they didn't seem to
put out much heat. I made lots of hot drinks to rehydrate – it's
easy to not drink enough riding in cold weather – and ate my
dubious far-eastern pot noddle thingy for supper, but with an
indifferent fire retired to my sleeping bag very early.<br />
<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sunday morning, I didn't have much time
before needing to go and pick my son up from scout camp so got up
early, made some hot drinks with breakfast and packed up. It was
still only getting light as I left the laavu and the moon was
shining brightly over the lake. I only needed to ride about 20 kms
back to my car that morning. It had snowed over nigh; enough to make
most of the world white but not enough to bother me in terms of
riding. My new tyres seemed to grip through the snow perfectly well
and reasonably soon I was back where I had started and putting the
bike back on the car.<br />
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</div>
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Overall, the <a href="http://www.outdoors.fi/destinations/tourismregions/hamelakeuplands/Pages/Default.aspx">Häme Lake Uplands</a> area is
nice region to ride and <a href="http://www.karttakauppa.fi/workspace.client_organization/PublishedService?file=page&pageID=9&itemcode=F201803">the available map designed for hikers andother outdoors user</a> is a great resourse. The roads away from a couple
of highways, that I only crossed, are almost deserted. I reckon only
around a dozen cars went past me all day. At this time of year in
particular though, it is rather lonely – even though there are
national parks with the related infrastructure you might expect,
everything was closed. I found one cafe in the post office in Porras
open, where I had a lovely chat with the ladies picking up their
parcels and having coffee (I suspect and Englishman on a bike
speaking very bad Finnish might have been one of the more novel
events of their day), but beyond that I went past no open shop, cafe
or similar. Make sure you have enough food with you. There are also large numbers of abandoned and decaying buildings in the area, barns and old farm houses like this are quite normal in rural Finland, but the empty petrol station and shops (see photos above) had an unnerving feeling of looking a bit too much like a scene from "The Walking Dead".<br />
<br />
Of course you
can camp pretty much anywhere, but I pushed on to get to a laavu I
used last year – knowing it was great spot and has a fireplace,
wood and a compost loo. But because of the hiking, riding, canoeing
and cycling routes around that area there are quite a few similar
laavus around.<br />
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I had new tyres for the trip, <a href="http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-plus-tour-wired-road-tyre/">SchwalbeMarathon Plus Tours</a>. I was still using my original Marathon Pluses
through this summer on that bike. They came on my last bike and have
been absolutely superb. I must have done at least 10,000 kms over five years on them
and have never had a puncture but they're showing their age with the
sidewalls beginning to crack and the tread must be wearing somewhat
even if it doesn't look like it. I've ridden a few cyclocross races
this autumn and using my light CX tyres and have had a puncture in
one race then a double puncture in the next – all pinch flats from
hitting rocks and having the tyres blown up firm doesn't seem to
help. Hence deciding to try the Marathon Plus Tours – the same
hopefully bombproof construction as the normal Marathon Plus, but
with a bit of tread that seemed more suited for gravel roads and
forest tracks of Finland. On this trip they were great – the grip
felt great, even on Sunday morning riding back on snow. The only
downer is that with those very meat tyres plus mudguards on, the bike
felt bloody heavy. I'm not sure if serious CXers would want to race
on them, although for me if they didn't puncture it would offset any
slowness caused by their weight. For touring like this though they
seem perfect, hopefully I'll get 10,000 trouble free kilometres out
of this pair.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For cold weather bikepacking you need a
bit more gear just to keep warm. I used the same set up as <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2013/09/bikepacking-new-bags-new-camera.html">in September with my new Alpkit bikepacking bags</a> and lashed-on dry bags
but also took a waist pack; just that bit more capacity than I needed
in summer. One of those bigger things for winter is the excellent
<a href="http://www.jottnar.com/men/fjorm-black-m">Jöttnar Fjörm down jacket</a> that I'm reviewing for UKClimbing
currently. It's very warm and a nice “insurance” layer to have,
obviously designed as an belay jacket for ice climbing but works
great for any cold weather camping. It was stuffed with my sleeping
bag in the dry bag that goes under saddle. This is fine when riding,
but I need a number of straps to hold it in place which makes getting
things out of the bag a hassle if you're not stopping for long. The
obvious if a bit expensive solution to this is to buy one of <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/products/koala">Alpkit'sKoala</a> seat packs, meaning retrieving a jacket from the seat pack
would be easy, but I'm not convinced the Koala packs would fit as
much as my current arrangement despite supposedly being the same size
as my current dry bag I use there. Nevertheless, I know from winter
climbing that your belay jacket HAS to be easy to reach because
otherwise there is the temptation not to use it with the inevitable
downwards circle into shivering. I guess with cold weather bike
touring the situation is not dissimilar so I need to work this one
out.</div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-22045631978870577552013-10-30T13:44:00.000+02:002013-10-30T13:44:57.336+02:00DMM Renegade 2 harness - a review<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnnYDPzZtmXyQiC6uYgl7oC0x7NSMiUcqkB_qnPrYsHxbi7iY28ZKjvAHLUjUM6JuYIs4ytkOfI8fs-O6H_L9trvPlQcU8xo6gK8_ze7JcmWWLc_iBZ9uXpTlVdugXIC7GNRJ1Q/s1600/renegade2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnnYDPzZtmXyQiC6uYgl7oC0x7NSMiUcqkB_qnPrYsHxbi7iY28ZKjvAHLUjUM6JuYIs4ytkOfI8fs-O6H_L9trvPlQcU8xo6gK8_ze7JcmWWLc_iBZ9uXpTlVdugXIC7GNRJ1Q/s640/renegade2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Relaxing in the Renegade 2 at the top of the corner of Engelskdiederet, Eidetind.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think DMM probably asked me if I wanted to review <a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/new-renegade-harness/">the new version of the Renegade</a> because I had given the original version a rather <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=1333">glowing review on UKC back in 2008</a>. It became my main harness after that and did sterling weekly service for the next five years. It still looks in pretty good nick now so shall emigrate to England, and my mum and dad's attic, where it will reside with various other bit of older gear as my "UK rack", helping me cut down on how much baggage I take backwards and forwards across Northern Europe.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZdFRd5dRbiYX2kIgYCK97MkuXWpZ0h7ZpRc4JakYtejGYkQWHqjGxfhu1zMNUk_405S3bduOapGYwObrAan2BjxaovuymJqGdi_3e0cnI0B9rbJMg_wkO-rmoqjgi3O2RcZ9tQ/s1600/DSC_0306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZdFRd5dRbiYX2kIgYCK97MkuXWpZ0h7ZpRc4JakYtejGYkQWHqjGxfhu1zMNUk_405S3bduOapGYwObrAan2BjxaovuymJqGdi_3e0cnI0B9rbJMg_wkO-rmoqjgi3O2RcZ9tQ/s640/DSC_0306.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Simon borrowing the Renegade - fully adjustable to fit different sizes</i></td></tr>
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<br />
I stand by my original opinion that the Renegade, before and now in its updated "2" version, is an excellent all-round harness. It's not the lightest, but it is supportive when you need to hang in it for a long time; it has loads of racking possibilities; it is very adjustable allowing you to put it over winter layers or lend it to a differently sized mate; and at least the original one I know was very well made because it lasted so well.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78hvwUqXFQ59xlBfqd3IL7kLo4lFoU1pI2PunyQBPC5YV5IgpyOL6shtHu_dmKDPrN9v1_LYEwJIzNBBy0s3bAO5FvfR32ZSNfM6xPAHDHQmHAfcBOhGMY_iwZztWeAx2sE-Cxg/s1600/renegade+rack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78hvwUqXFQ59xlBfqd3IL7kLo4lFoU1pI2PunyQBPC5YV5IgpyOL6shtHu_dmKDPrN9v1_LYEwJIzNBBy0s3bAO5FvfR32ZSNfM6xPAHDHQmHAfcBOhGMY_iwZztWeAx2sE-Cxg/s640/renegade+rack.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The stuff we lugged up Stetind, plenty of racks are helpful. The Renegade is the red and grey harness as the back.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some people, for reasons I never got, hated the racks on the Renegade 1. They sloped forward a bit, something that I never really noticed but others clearly did. On the Renegade 2 DMM have done away with the sloping style. They have though kept the same seven loop-layout that I love. There are climbers who I respect who say they've never felt the need for more than four gear loops even for complex trad climbing when you carry lots of stuff, but personally I love the ability to split big racks between the seven loops and know exactly where some bit of kit is going to be. When I went to Norway in August I took with me the Renegade 2 and another very nice Edelrid harness that I was reviewing for UKC. The Edelrid is great, nicely made and super-comfy for long days, but as we racked up for our big day on Stetind I took the Renegade 2 without much thought; I just knew I would want the familiar ability to spread a big rack out over the seven gear loops and find what I wanted quickly. I'm sure I would have done fine with the Edelrid too; but for the me the Renegade works so well for big routes and big racks, it is reassuring.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyvlGD7NibnZwVCzcpnlbYAtO35w8hxVFB_NSz6N7rgLJAdoXHKnvbpBbs4rBpzHjDc7pYHSlqasFH0fRD7P8QKLZr21Me92fTqP8g3PACjcGqyXxOi8VNIupZQ7BWrWoZF5HKg/s1600/P1100770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyvlGD7NibnZwVCzcpnlbYAtO35w8hxVFB_NSz6N7rgLJAdoXHKnvbpBbs4rBpzHjDc7pYHSlqasFH0fRD7P8QKLZr21Me92fTqP8g3PACjcGqyXxOi8VNIupZQ7BWrWoZF5HKg/s640/P1100770.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me sorting all the gear out on the summit of Stetind after 13 pitches of climbing; photo ©D. Smith</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course a review isn't a review if you don't try and break the thing, even if just a little. One change DMM made between the 1 and 2 versions is that the tubing to stiffen the gear racks used to be pushed over the sewn on tape that makes up the racking. Now the tubing is pushed into the tubular tape before the racking is attached. This perhaps looks a bit smarter and avoid small krabs getting caught at the top of the plastic tubing on the original harness (cue much patting your bum whilst gibbering "dammit, where's my effing nut key gone!?" when it's not hanging as expected in the middle of the back loop). Nevertheless at some point on Stetind my inelegant chimneying technique, most likely, led to one of the stiffener-tubes pushing through the tubular tape that should have been enclosing it. Needing a field repair the next day and not being able to just push it back into the tape, I trimmed about 5 mms off the plastic tube to allow it to go back in, and then put some finger tape over the damaged bit. This has been fine since. I don't know if I just got really unlucky managing to snag the rack leading to this or whether it's a design weakness and DMM are going to see some returns from other people, but users should perhaps keep an eye on the racks to check it doesn't happen to them.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ChS7Uh7mtsYXIom2QlExBNGMWfg4m_rkMsfQJdoK8QcJA0jQdWkPU0uRdtvxGbEA-w2BjExHtWBWAe3T3YCAD6O8XhIG9Fbf6NZ4k69-fyXDO9JDGZbX2spcsI2wM9KxIkJ87g/s1600/renegade+fault.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ChS7Uh7mtsYXIom2QlExBNGMWfg4m_rkMsfQJdoK8QcJA0jQdWkPU0uRdtvxGbEA-w2BjExHtWBWAe3T3YCAD6O8XhIG9Fbf6NZ4k69-fyXDO9JDGZbX2spcsI2wM9KxIkJ87g/s400/renegade+fault.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Where I broke the Renegade. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nevertheless, overall, the Renegade 2 is great. Everything I liked about the original Renegade: loads of racking; the free floating padding meaning the harness is always straight; supportive and strong; is here and the "2" irons out a few kinds from the original. A total weight-weenie might want something more compact and lighter but if you do a bit of everything the Renegade is still a great choice.<br />
<br />
<br />Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-34778546841558310712013-10-28T18:24:00.000+02:002013-10-28T18:25:54.066+02:00DMM Shadow, DMM Alpha and DMM Aero quickdraws - a review<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV4zK2YW3pIZWUSdtigtSbj14NViZ64Jsy3VSvJKdmrVKCWgaJunKyEdsAJGbR87AZrp_f0nhH1Ps_4zbDt-iL_-Ao08-bRsKw8LkvWr1dgp0gF_riKTUmtUaYoaGj3wEEZDykg/s1600/general.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV4zK2YW3pIZWUSdtigtSbj14NViZ64Jsy3VSvJKdmrVKCWgaJunKyEdsAJGbR87AZrp_f0nhH1Ps_4zbDt-iL_-Ao08-bRsKw8LkvWr1dgp0gF_riKTUmtUaYoaGj3wEEZDykg/s640/general.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Simon escapes the dour Australian winter for some sunny Finnish sport climbing: lower bolt clipped with an Aero QD, upper with an Alpha QD</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back in the summer <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2013/07/shropshire-lads-plus-mini-gear-review.html">DMM sent me the new version of their Renegade harness to test</a>, which is a good un' but deserves it's own post soon. They they also sent me some of their newest quickdraw models to try out at the same time. This post is going to focus on the quickdraws. Amusingly, considering I'm a pretty lousy sport climber, I got three plain gate models which most people now associate with sport climbing. More and more people use wire gates for trad and I think arguably wire gates make the best all-round krabs if you have only one set to do everything from summer, sunny sport climbing to brutal winter ice or mixed. Nevertheless, wiregates can <a href="http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/qc-lab-weakness-of-nosehooked-carabiners.html">mix badly with old school bent plate bolt hangers</a> at the top end of quickdraws and some, I think including me, believe that a well designed bentgate is easier to clip in extremis than even the best wiregate krabs. Hence there is still market for plaingate krabs. Personally when there isn't going to be snow and ice around (with the possibility of gates freezing) I also find that plaingate models like those below work great as general trad cragging as well as for sport.<br />
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<br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/aero-bent/">DMM Aero</a> quickdraws</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWDCbP_NNN8Bz18Do7GqxLpZRQC_a1A7f1svdRqsUWvGEpXCsFk4bWTexfZNBKtZrdOyl6S_QFiZC7wZ8MnsMtkbXBqD11Sa-_puEGKaksdWTXyvaqtzJcNT-nqhLOE20BGsN0w/s1600/Aero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWDCbP_NNN8Bz18Do7GqxLpZRQC_a1A7f1svdRqsUWvGEpXCsFk4bWTexfZNBKtZrdOyl6S_QFiZC7wZ8MnsMtkbXBqD11Sa-_puEGKaksdWTXyvaqtzJcNT-nqhLOE20BGsN0w/s640/Aero.jpg" width="433" /></a></div>
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The Aeros are DMM's budget plaingate krabs, they're kinda heavy by modern standards at 47 grams for the bent gate, but they are burly at 9kn gate-open and shop around and you can find them for as little as £12.50 for a full quickdraw. They don't come with the fancy variwidth dogbones that the more expensive quickdraws do, but with plain 16 mm nylon tapes that I find found perfectly comfortable to grab and cheat on! The gate is exactly the same as on the more expensive models and is fantastic - getting the rope in is easy even for a total clipping-klutz like me. So yeah, if you needed to carry a rack of twenty up some enduro-sports-monster pitch they're gonna be a bit heavy on your harness, but still nothing like scared-trad-climber-rack-heavy and you're more likely to be able to afford twenty of these!<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/alpha-clip/">DMM Alpha</a> quickdraws</b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhLVRNqLAbqMuARZpOxj_JvQEb4pQ6ehA5fLzYv06YZlg4rWDSDYFlPtydM8ODlIPagsvsZ1DGw6eTgwifWR8nG8mNjMMmbZOtjHBnse7banQGMq5A8VVDYjS0KS__QTNsjsQ9w/s1600/Alpha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhLVRNqLAbqMuARZpOxj_JvQEb4pQ6ehA5fLzYv06YZlg4rWDSDYFlPtydM8ODlIPagsvsZ1DGw6eTgwifWR8nG8mNjMMmbZOtjHBnse7banQGMq5A8VVDYjS0KS__QTNsjsQ9w/s640/Alpha.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gio doing a tricky move past the Alpha quickdraw</i></td></tr>
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DMM make two wiregate versions of the Alpha, a little one called the "Light" and a full size one - the "Trad", but I got sent the plaingate quickdraw - the straight-gate is called the "Pro" and bent gate the "Clip" - joined together by a variwidth nylon dogbone like the classic Petzl sports draws. This is DMM's full-on, top of the range sport climbing quickdraw, I felt a bit lame using it on 6as and the odd 6b or whilst trad climbing HVSs, but still I can say they are very easy to clip and reassuringly burly when you are working moves (yes, I work moves on 6bs - the shame...). At 45 grams for the Alpha Clip, they aren't a lot lighter than the aeros, so the technology has all gone into the ergonomics rather than weight saving, but on projects where the quickdraws are in place, that's what you'll be interested in anyway. So overall, super-luxury sport krabs - not very cheap - but you'll probably know whether the step up in price from aeros is worth it for you.<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/shadow-bent/">DMM Shadow</a> quickdraws</b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9WizWNRNETN0VasqdU0IKBTqYEd-Dfu3ZnXOlxPi-8YCiD8Gdw8uiXCua_aIczt-rXWT_pLLAU6OKAjU66m3jr_-LCwz0wuixEEUiKXIXU1YCd506YfgnhGTXz4bTEZqWiGUcQ/s1600/shadow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9WizWNRNETN0VasqdU0IKBTqYEd-Dfu3ZnXOlxPi-8YCiD8Gdw8uiXCua_aIczt-rXWT_pLLAU6OKAjU66m3jr_-LCwz0wuixEEUiKXIXU1YCd506YfgnhGTXz4bTEZqWiGUcQ/s640/shadow.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Shadow quickdraw (second runner down) on a trad route</i></td></tr>
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I got a bunch of Shadow quickdraws to review for UKClimbing from DMM <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=606">six years ago</a>. As soon as I got to use them for regular summer cragging, <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=1140">I liked them a lot</a> and my opinion hasn't changed in six years; they remain my favourite all-round rock climbing krabs. Those first six I got all those years back are normally the first six QDs I still use on just about every single-pitch route, be it sport or trad. The updated version of the Shadow hasn't changed hugely, the bent-gate version now shares the same great gate as the Aero and Alpha. They weren't hard to clip before, but I guess it's even a little easier now. The notching has changed very slightly on the straight-gate too; can't say I noticed a difference but DMM are sensible about these things and I'm sure its the result of suggestions from people who know what they are talking about. They now come with the variwidth dogbones, good for the sport climbers, although I've been perfectly happy with the narrower original dyneema tapes: fine to grab when dogging, but perhaps a tad more flexi for trad? It's not a huge issue though. The bent gate version is 43 grams, so the lightest of the three here. Not super-light by any means compared to modern <a href="http://www.redbull.com/en/adventure/stories/1331604347322/edelrid-19-g-karabiner">crazy-light krabs</a>; but these are big beefy easy to handle krabs that do everything well. The Shadows cost about halfway between the price of the Aeros and Alphas and I think are great value considering they make such good krabs for both sport and trad and, as my original ones will attest, they last very well too. The new colours look funky as well, although of course we're all too serious to care about such matters aren't we? One odd thing; the Shadows used to be rated at 10 kn for gate-open, now it's 9kn. 9 is plenty but 10 looks reassuring and I'm not sure why it has changed when I don't think the krab itself has changed much.Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-34401142799772312612013-09-19T17:18:00.000+03:002013-09-19T20:49:09.385+03:00Bikepacking - new bags, new camera.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvWO4EAJY0f1F51CBjHeVfJ1mTBkCAGPHVz39h9Jqx3RXaus1MxDhoFA2Yz3O397U4y28Oxh3_4-0yiiSidYYAIzN_f20k7fY-C4qYbGXw_7pchc1pVDykpipbpqS8tk5Pu2pyw/s1600/P1060015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvWO4EAJY0f1F51CBjHeVfJ1mTBkCAGPHVz39h9Jqx3RXaus1MxDhoFA2Yz3O397U4y28Oxh3_4-0yiiSidYYAIzN_f20k7fY-C4qYbGXw_7pchc1pVDykpipbpqS8tk5Pu2pyw/s640/P1060015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Autumn is here and the sky is full of skeins of geese</i></td></tr>
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So far all my <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/search/label/bikepacking">attempts at bikepacking</a> have been made with gear that on the whole I already had. I did buy a cheap bar bag that worked well but it won't fit the wider bars of my cyclocross bike. I also bought a seatpost rack, but that snapped on my last trip. Mainly I've just lashed dry bags to various parts of the bike. But with the <a href="http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/">bikepacking idea taking off in the UK</a> as well as elsewhere, the British firm Alpkit (who I've <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2012/06/alpkit-in-operation-kayak-touring-in.html">written about in the past</a>) are now offering custom frame-bags and are bringing out additional bikepacking luggage. I invested in the <a href="http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16786&category_id=324">Stingray frame-bag</a> for my CX bike and also bought one of their "beta" <a href="http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17046&category_id=324">Fuel Pods</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFhXmv19FGSmjMmEtx585j8WAL3yZixZ_QaANOSE5g4noDSqG8KxiSzgUwJAItXbWP6RISohYggOmm6qCeZibZ8BZskqrqzlNJE1sYZyB6IeDhNipqG0O0pK3F6OG14zbjoYX_Q/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFhXmv19FGSmjMmEtx585j8WAL3yZixZ_QaANOSE5g4noDSqG8KxiSzgUwJAItXbWP6RISohYggOmm6qCeZibZ8BZskqrqzlNJE1sYZyB6IeDhNipqG0O0pK3F6OG14zbjoYX_Q/s640/IMG_0003.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Packed up and ready to go</i></td></tr>
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Last weekend I went for an over-night trip to try the bags out. The morning before the ride had also seen the UPS guy deliver my new camera - a rather fine little Canon - so I was keen to try that out too. The photos in this post and video at the bottom were all taken with it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusVhW9CfXOSid3codV0ZyiCsZzop78qlhSuX_bGIJ2p2xkcpCu68iNralZZyvy7WyDdwlWtnpT7hHOy04wJirNfcDyvK-6izcJ93gfJJcOSHs6Wd1gZqOQDfOV01IrrcJW6H5FA/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusVhW9CfXOSid3codV0ZyiCsZzop78qlhSuX_bGIJ2p2xkcpCu68iNralZZyvy7WyDdwlWtnpT7hHOy04wJirNfcDyvK-6izcJ93gfJJcOSHs6Wd1gZqOQDfOV01IrrcJW6H5FA/s640/IMG_0032.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Quiet Finnish roads #1</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpGOjl3GQ4MiDX8tvP9qGW5HPZyVoTNlhck4yOlS-8Ys9C6iH6aaXcdWtKOLq8YdQxcNUdYqxRQqHIeAEalPIdPp9oQjNK_7zDJh2jEHCp5jzhtzhlT2inybrSFQpP2nHiDvbow/s1600/IMG_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpGOjl3GQ4MiDX8tvP9qGW5HPZyVoTNlhck4yOlS-8Ys9C6iH6aaXcdWtKOLq8YdQxcNUdYqxRQqHIeAEalPIdPp9oQjNK_7zDJh2jEHCp5jzhtzhlT2inybrSFQpP2nHiDvbow/s640/IMG_0099.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Quiet Finnish roads #2</i></td></tr>
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It's pouring with rain now but last weekend was far closer to the glorious summer Finland has had this year, rather than this newly arrived, business-as-usual autumn. The sun shone until it set and then through the forest canopy I could still see lots of stars. I rode about 85 kms to a little beyond the town of Karkkila, around 100 kms northwest of Helsinki on Friday afternoon. Just west of the town the land becomes more forested and less agricultural, and with lots of lakes. I wanted to camp on a lake edge; for aesthetic reasons and simply as a source of water, and despite there being lots of lakes around those parts, I was quite surprised by how many summer cottages there also are - so it took me a few attempts at following various quiet gravel roads to find some lakeside forest that kept me a respectful distance from people enjoying the last weekend of great weather in their summer places.<br />
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I had thought perhaps optimistically that the mosquito season was now over so took a tarp but no mossie net. At first in the evening there were more than enough mossies to be annoying but interestingly later at night they all seemed to dissappear allowing me to sleep with my head out of my sleeping bag comfortably. It was just below 14 degrees when I went to bed (my new cycle computer very handily has a thermometer on it) and just below 12 when I woke up, so I'm now theorising that there must be some magic point between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius where its gets too cold for mosquitoes!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR1z_njTDk134rBEXdFK-zR9sY9VSGSwiB7JLfSQOARvC4R6TYQXgm-Mmc5_L-RSGMqmJ6Ux3hvAPngh3gFA8cr6xECUmSyBcl0ILMjlvS3RCqRaGQwUP90usXr1XpkITOSWhrw/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR1z_njTDk134rBEXdFK-zR9sY9VSGSwiB7JLfSQOARvC4R6TYQXgm-Mmc5_L-RSGMqmJ6Ux3hvAPngh3gFA8cr6xECUmSyBcl0ILMjlvS3RCqRaGQwUP90usXr1XpkITOSWhrw/s640/IMG_0078.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The morning sun starting to burn away the mist</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Overnight camp</i></td></tr>
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A bit before midnight I could hear in the distance some interesting howling, that at least to me didn't sound like a dog. Noting this on Twitter as I lay in my sleeping bag, caused some amusement amongst other late evening Twitter perusers around the world, along with some useful research done for me on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hugovk/status/378607331225137152">most southerly sightings on wolves in Finland</a>, some terribly bad lupine-themed jokes, and even a friendly suggestion from the <a href="https://twitter.com/pekkasauri">deputy mayor of Helsinki</a> to make sure my tent zip was done up tight. This of course made the howls feel closer as I lay there under my door-less and indeed side-less tarp!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERFgVXZmojJFZ0HaZAQj0LZNdd24kcfuYkPivMt7G5Ic71nJvxNeBMgiUVBkPyIT7IIjPHgFzsWkBmUkzChqMUE-E_OChqYQSMaL07T4mGtrdxoJB9UILQ05iGe8uDdtP3FZv8Q/s1600/IMG_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERFgVXZmojJFZ0HaZAQj0LZNdd24kcfuYkPivMt7G5Ic71nJvxNeBMgiUVBkPyIT7IIjPHgFzsWkBmUkzChqMUE-E_OChqYQSMaL07T4mGtrdxoJB9UILQ05iGe8uDdtP3FZv8Q/s640/IMG_0069.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The only nighttime visitor</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dew droplets on a spider's web</i></td></tr>
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Morning arrived sunny and wolf-free with the forest glistening in its thick coating of dew. I had some breakfast and coffee and made a reasonably quick start as I had promised to be home by lunchtime in order to be ready for the family's annual trip to Linnanmäki, Helsinki's long established amusement park. Overall I was gone for less than 24 hours and rode about 170 kms, probably split evenly between surfaced and unsurfaced roads - the kind of riding that my CX bike is perfect for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjggRyn96F4TzrKfTNuBZUmWbgbz7DwRfdRytGqiXxncI-nkLsiy9UEJJ8c2jLM6uix0HjvZcQIPe8FzrBapMeEXw0hYMbCRQNKA7SFy3LjPKpVy-4ZP61lZsMFR8_3bGhzqIXw/s1600/IMG_0084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjggRyn96F4TzrKfTNuBZUmWbgbz7DwRfdRytGqiXxncI-nkLsiy9UEJJ8c2jLM6uix0HjvZcQIPe8FzrBapMeEXw0hYMbCRQNKA7SFy3LjPKpVy-4ZP61lZsMFR8_3bGhzqIXw/s640/IMG_0084.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Greeting the morning sun with coffee</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Packed and ready to leave where I camped</i></td></tr>
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There's been some good stuff written, originating in the UK, about "<a href="http://www.microadventures.org/">microadventures</a>", whilst from the US there's the idea of "<a href="http://www.bikecommuters.com/2008/06/24/what-is-a-s24o-only-the-greatest-thing-ever/">S24O</a>" - or sub-24-overnight bike trips. <a href="http://sub24helsinki.blogspot.fi/">It's taken off in Helsinki too</a> which is really great. The ideas are simply about encouraging people to get out, see some countryside and sleep under the stars. I think it's a great concept; not everyone has the time, money or family situation that allows them to go off for months to some far-off wilderness, but most of us can nip off for 24 hours, and some exercise plus a night out in the woods listening to the bird calls (and maybe even a wolf howl in the distance) has to be good for your health - physical and mental.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's probably not funny at all to Finns, but I would love to live in a place called "Ahmoo"</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhere in the Finnish countryside</i></td></tr>
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The Alpkit bags seem great so far. The frame bag takes quite a lot of gear but doesn't bulge enough to rub. I picked the thinnest option, 4cm bulging to 6cm width, as it was for a CX bike. On a MTB you might be able to get away with a slightly wider bag. The 'fuel pod' also worked well, although due to the hydroformed frame shape at the front of the cross-bar on my bike, I could do with the velcro tabs being a little longer, whilst the tab that goes around the stem could be thinner. They only had them in size large when I bought it, so went for that size by default. Nevertheless it's not that big, so I think the smaller option must be tiny with room just for some energy gels or similar. I wasn't sure when I ordered it, but I'm glad I got the bigger size.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Alpkit "Fuel Pod", size large</i></td></tr>
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Drops bars on a CX bike making attaching luggage to the handle bars trickier. A small-ish dry bag packed no bigger than to fit between the drops works OK, and for this trip I had some <a href="http://www.seatosummit.com.au/products-page/transport-and-storage/tie-accessory-straps/">much better straps to hold it on</a>. These are from the Aussie firm, <a href="http://www.seatosummit.com.au/">Sea-to-Summit</a>, which make some of the most intelligent little bits-and-bobs for camping and outdoor pursuits, as well as some amazing if very pricey serious gear like <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3747">this very high quality sleeping bag that I reviewed</a> for UKclimbing a couple of winters ago. They were sillily expensive for a couple of nylon straps - about €10 - but the alloy locking buckles on them work very well and didn't loosen despite hours of vibration, particularly riding on gravel road - so as long as I don't lose them they should pay off in the long term!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/74712121" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> </div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/74712121">Bikepacking: to Karkkila and back</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user647558">Toby A.</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-17001475754404491432013-09-03T14:24:00.001+03:002013-09-03T16:04:20.639+03:00Climbing Stetind’s Sydpilaren (South Pillar): a punter’s guide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The classic view of Stetind from the campground/car park to the Northwest, punters start from here.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>punter</b> |ˈpəntər |</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">noun</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Football & Rugby a player who punts.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 a person who propels or travels in a punt.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3 informal, chiefly Brit. a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">• a customer or client, esp. a member of an audience.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">• a prostitute's client.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">• the victim of a swindler or confidence trickster.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 sub-cultural, chiefly Brit. climbing: an active, often experienced climber with a genuine enthusiasm for the sport but who isn’t actually very good at it.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The less commonly seen North Face of Stetind. 1392 straight from the sea. No place for punters.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i>Climbing the South Pillar of Stetind</i></b> was one of the best days of my climbing life. Although the crux pitches are not much easier than the hardest routes I’ve ever managed, the whole day went pretty smoothly. So I thought I’d write a ‘bluffers guide to climbing Stetind’, aimed very much at enthusiast punters, such as myself, with some tips and info to try and persuade those who want to give it a go but aren’t sure how they would fare, to go for it. Super-alpine Übermensch and sponsored heroes will obviously piss up it, and need not read any further (indeed that lot should stop arsing about and get themselves on terrifyingly massive North Face of Stetind!).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The South Pillar </i><i>- between shade and light - </i><i>emerges between the clouds. The start is at the left end of the obvious grassy ledge system, the finish is the summit 13 pitches later.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So first, how good do you need to be to climb </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sydpilaren</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">? I’ve been climbing for over 20 years now, never at a very high standard but I am pretty experienced. My top onsight grade is E1 (trad 6a/6a+-ish in Euros). I did onsight Red Square at Nesscliffe but I think everyone knows that’s not really E2. My best sport onsight is 6b, but that was some weird smeary slab climb, on steep stuff again 6a or 6a+ are the non-giddy heights I normally reach. I tell you this just so that you know that if you can get up similar graded routes or harder ones, you are perfectly capable of the hardest climbing on Stetind’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sydpilaren</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I do crack-climb a lot and I do climb mainly on granite - both of these are obviously of assistance considering that <i>Sydpilaren</i> is essentially a granite crack climb.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking down to Dave seconding pitch 10, the first headwall pitch and perhaps the crux of the route.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stetind by any route is a climb and even coming down the normal route after the South Pillar needs some mountaineering skills. Overall it is a big day out for even competent teams and I think is closer in feel to an alpine route than to its famous, not-too-far-away neighbour, Vestpillaren on Presten, Lofoten. Vestpillaren has more of a super-cragging feel to it starting so close to the road. With Sydpilaren you are gonna need to get hiking first. With that mountaineering feel, the most obvious thing you need is a totally solid partner. I would recommend my climbing partner, Dave, but frankly it’s difficult enough finding days when he’s free to go climbing already, so you can’t have him. Find your own Dave.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Low on the approach, still in the trees.</i></td></tr>
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<u><i><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The approach</span></b></i></u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">turned out to be trickier than we expected, particularly as we had cloud rolling around. After a few hours hiking up from the road, you get to a distinct steepening with a waterfall coming out of the glacial lake to your right. At the top of this steeping you get the view over to the Sydpilaren. There is a huge boulderfield ahead of you. Both the <a href="http://www.cordee.co.uk/Stetind-Andamp%3B-Narvik%3A-Dancing-on-the-Devil%27s-Dancefloor-det-15-95-95-385.html">guidebook</a> and <a href="http://www.rockfax.com/climbing-guides/miniguides/stetind-south-pillar/">Rockfax miniguide</a> mention a huge flat boulder here, which is very easy to see, they then say follow cairns to an obvious gully that forms the start of the normal route. The problem is there are lots of cairns and no obvious gully. We went more rightwards and followed an obvious path continuing up; this turned out to be the wrong way - we were following the trail to the normal route and went much too high. We probably wasted an hour here hiking up, before finally coming back down and finding the start point for the traverse to Sydpilaren. The description only made sense as we came down at about midnight! I drew a sketch diagram for some friends who did the route a few days after us, they said it helped them so I have tried to reproduce it below.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC3jpyrh6-yKXdsmAF9o9Q8IYfC_1zYHJlv6KeAYdkRDoQLsqPi1K1OxJsZaLo0OaVR05g7_y76fYxzCwxg3Smc270-en36C0FA18ecOuUkfXdke0ue4pl0VFqcmgniPXeQvdMmg/s1600/P1050938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC3jpyrh6-yKXdsmAF9o9Q8IYfC_1zYHJlv6KeAYdkRDoQLsqPi1K1OxJsZaLo0OaVR05g7_y76fYxzCwxg3Smc270-en36C0FA18ecOuUkfXdke0ue4pl0VFqcmgniPXeQvdMmg/s400/P1050938.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking back across the boulderfield, where we went to right and got lost.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliaTk9ISXlMb1RdPu3fjZQejbuzo9aXp70radFxIUjM7DclGv3UscOe4RUDForBge0AsJbP8zHq5FDsX9HB2nHSbGgOcnNCEBuFFfK6joz1OX29_ulstuZzPZFc7smPcqf8dkhA/s1600/Approach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliaTk9ISXlMb1RdPu3fjZQejbuzo9aXp70radFxIUjM7DclGv3UscOe4RUDForBge0AsJbP8zHq5FDsX9HB2nHSbGgOcnNCEBuFFfK6joz1OX29_ulstuZzPZFc7smPcqf8dkhA/s400/Approach.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Excuse my pitiful artistic skills but it will probably make sense if you're there.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWKaRFAp_0mgOXB0JWx29liP36emxBJosC5yC481BDWQsD2LW-xbZ-Zb172b4tzOgN512hyphenhyphenEZmMZoXAghDY96xRfR0Ql1cRyomAsequABk4KDpCVouzENjMM9SNwT8RVxXD9k0w/s1600/P1050939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWKaRFAp_0mgOXB0JWx29liP36emxBJosC5yC481BDWQsD2LW-xbZ-Zb172b4tzOgN512hyphenhyphenEZmMZoXAghDY96xRfR0Ql1cRyomAsequABk4KDpCVouzENjMM9SNwT8RVxXD9k0w/s640/P1050939.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After the scary traverse scramble, crossing the moraine bowl, aiming for the curving ledge system that takes you to the start of the pillar on the skyline.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> We stowed some of gear at the point marked by the plastic pole and geared up. Then you traverse hard left following small cairns. The approach to the big moraine bowl is exposed and scary scrambling, it’s not hard but for about 50 mtrs a slip would be probably fatal. We very nearly used the rope.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqURV9-4b7ULauEtiHq5jl5e4lzKn_QZz4m0ns_r8ZiW9w6Zt6jvjW6xR4_muhH4st0DwsSp4raAQmn8RxJBhQuxfBI-xoWdoDWZ3RpYhe7NYPR6uv1vfoFH58_eyBts7dd9uXA/s1600/P1050946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqURV9-4b7ULauEtiHq5jl5e4lzKn_QZz4m0ns_r8ZiW9w6Zt6jvjW6xR4_muhH4st0DwsSp4raAQmn8RxJBhQuxfBI-xoWdoDWZ3RpYhe7NYPR6uv1vfoFH58_eyBts7dd9uXA/s640/P1050946.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Typical climbing on the lower pillar, slabby cracks and corners. Dave on pitch 4 I think.</i></td></tr>
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<u><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The climb itself</span></b></u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is made up of basically two sections - the first 9 pitches are on the slabby lower pillar and aren’t too hard. The hardest sections are given Norwegian 5- in the guidebook, about UK 4c, but those are just a few odd moves - most of the climbing is more in the V Diff-Sev range. Rockfall on pitch 8 has changed the route slightly; Dave took a belay on the big ledge below and left of the scar. Above we found a nice, safe, alternative bit of climbing that was slightly harder - probably Nor. 5 or UK 5a; see the picture below. This made our P8 shorter and P9 longer, but worked well. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0xeTOikCoZMq7MlEsOfx_U1JHjvSwUpZccIAnsZr3gm_5BC7_ZLAIoBJsDUU8XV5l3ai-RK_3FuVi8RsJHoRE4m3q2K6quXKzCSvTQCJiw46ecuTqrDG9oE27YkFW4CjL__ECA/s1600/P1100764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0xeTOikCoZMq7MlEsOfx_U1JHjvSwUpZccIAnsZr3gm_5BC7_ZLAIoBJsDUU8XV5l3ai-RK_3FuVi8RsJHoRE4m3q2K6quXKzCSvTQCJiw46ecuTqrDG9oE27YkFW4CjL__ECA/s640/P1100764.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me on the left-leaning thin crack. A little higher the crack meets the arete where a big step left takes you into an easier groove. Follow this to the Second Amfi. Photo: D. Smith.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the end of pitch 9 you hit a big ledge, the “Second Amfi”. The ledge is traversable, supposedly without difficulty, and it takes you out to the normal route from where you could either follow that to the summit or start the descent. I think knowing that is an option is really important as if you get freaked out by the headwall above, you know chickening out that way is a possibility. But don’t do that, man up, and do the headwall! It’s a pretty imposing bit of rock - noticeably steeper than the lower pitches - but the three pitches that get you up it are really great. The first one (P10 overall), given UK 5b in the Rockfax miniguide, is perhaps the most sustained, but I’ve seen some say it’s really only 5a. Whichever, the climbing is good and protection excellent so even if that’s the top of your grade, you should still go for it and just keep plugging those cams and nuts in. The next (P11) is only short - 20 mtrs or so - but I felt sustained and very airy. The climbing is great though, and again there are loads of solid runners to be had so it's not really scary. That lands you on a big comfy ledge from where you see up the slightly slabbier corner that makes up the crux of pitch 12. There is one distinct crux move on this pitch and the gear before it a bit more spaced. Nevertheless you can arrange a number of runners before doing the crux and the the move is all about balance anyway, fine for stout legged types as myself. Pitch 13 isn’t really a pitch, a few easy moves got us from the ledge where I had belayed at the top of P12 into a huge easy gully. We stopped belaying at this point and just walked roped together to the summit. It’s really easy.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB9PhvD7USXD-b-E_zSrZJ2H3pdGEk0yCd8UQBMe3LyScldJzZ29GuwfD_pqAqSC_8Ay9ujGiDwuxgc5a7xCD5NF_U9ZX7coEd8nFiR1e6pAeo53iIQJ-1uKDA1rnroag4kKpBg/s1600/P1100772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB9PhvD7USXD-b-E_zSrZJ2H3pdGEk0yCd8UQBMe3LyScldJzZ29GuwfD_pqAqSC_8Ay9ujGiDwuxgc5a7xCD5NF_U9ZX7coEd8nFiR1e6pAeo53iIQJ-1uKDA1rnroag4kKpBg/s400/P1100772.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Made it! Summit celebrations. Photo: D. Smith.</i></td></tr>
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<u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Summit</span></u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is huge - football field-sized, wander around and make yourself feel a little sick as you look down the west and north faces! Don’t forget to sign the very cool summit register in a bolted on box. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc90Q2ficsax_EoQU4SpG-H3GH_bxIzsEcrstYMNesu0sctwUBP7VnRMYz9NR-kjlQkNp7hHhQLIuWpZ1aYESKGxm0i5itlm5XWvJJ11G-1tJEDGYE8nSQgx3ykuOVijoXjyEevg/s1600/P1050969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc90Q2ficsax_EoQU4SpG-H3GH_bxIzsEcrstYMNesu0sctwUBP7VnRMYz9NR-kjlQkNp7hHhQLIuWpZ1aYESKGxm0i5itlm5XWvJJ11G-1tJEDGYE8nSQgx3ykuOVijoXjyEevg/s320/P1050969.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave signs the summit register.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1Z7ZQf7GeHJPP2LSA6VS_RyGJXYyT35SA-esj3H9YFNyCXbcIqKfKUu2L90DSIWFzme-rc8TP3EDt7dmKS1DAAxNLAmiCj3LJsj1EiAM9UoiW6p_GJulVQ45ujs1c4RA__CR_A/s1600/P1050966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1Z7ZQf7GeHJPP2LSA6VS_RyGJXYyT35SA-esj3H9YFNyCXbcIqKfKUu2L90DSIWFzme-rc8TP3EDt7dmKS1DAAxNLAmiCj3LJsj1EiAM9UoiW6p_GJulVQ45ujs1c4RA__CR_A/s640/P1050966.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking over to the descent ridge from near the top of the South Pillar. The descent follows the ridge down from the top left; the notch on the ridge is where you need to abseil. Then more scrambling takes you to the big cairn on the top of Halls Fortopp.</i></td></tr>
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<u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The descent</span></u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is well described in the guidebook. On the summit we changed back into our approach shoes and roped up alpine style with one of our ropes, maybe 25 mtrs apart. Then we made sure there was at least two runners between us as we moved. This was easy and quick to arrange mainly using our double set of cams. The summit plateau narrows and begins to drop, you really couldn’t get lost even in cloud. There are a few step downs that require care but it’s not difficult. Soon it narrows down to a pavement-width ridge, sickeningly exposed but not difficult, and after a few metres of space walking along that you hit the bolted abseil point on the top of the “Mysosten Block”. You abseil 15 metres down the south side to a big ledge. From here we continued alpine style again, with much exposed but straightforward scrambling to the huge cairn on the top of Halls Fortopp, the obvious peak SE of the main summit. Here you can stop stressing-out, un-rope and collapse on the floor with relief; only (lots of) hiking now remains between you and your choice of celebratory beverage back at the car park/camp area.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpRvMD12apYjZJwnMZND9irNFpk1QFLsWLw3SNBr4fG5ssS6-fas129-23MLE2EkwUQWLqvuMVGzR4NQU56qvygA7Q9RmrMlcBeeqI_QKrsUYUOBCH4XytOgslHavnGKFjm4zeQ/s1600/P1050974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpRvMD12apYjZJwnMZND9irNFpk1QFLsWLw3SNBr4fG5ssS6-fas129-23MLE2EkwUQWLqvuMVGzR4NQU56qvygA7Q9RmrMlcBeeqI_QKrsUYUOBCH4XytOgslHavnGKFjm4zeQ/s400/P1050974.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave about to balance across to the abseil point on the Mysosten Block.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All in it took us 16.5 hours car park to car park. If we had found the approach better we would have been quicker but not by much, and during the day we were moving for most of the time except whilst belaying. Of course some people will climb much faster than us, but I don’t think we were particularly slow either. Unless you are happy to simul-climb big sections I wouldn’t think many parties would be hugely faster than we were and we met people who had been quite a lot slower! As I said, it’s a big day.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCqS3OHYLm6Sn-0Qcxi9lNvVE8nmt-uT6gHQzH2Bp3f6tvibtQg12X6T-hT5yoaRsxkFzrt9bdi6RdO9WzXpdfqqu6r2JFiWRaVKeXEm1Lx_3df7H0n5IFjiE-jjhVYzL2Lmdhw/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCqS3OHYLm6Sn-0Qcxi9lNvVE8nmt-uT6gHQzH2Bp3f6tvibtQg12X6T-hT5yoaRsxkFzrt9bdi6RdO9WzXpdfqqu6r2JFiWRaVKeXEm1Lx_3df7H0n5IFjiE-jjhVYzL2Lmdhw/s640/DSC_0034.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our rack being sorted out the next morning.</i></td></tr>
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<u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gear</span></u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is always very personal to what you have, like and how many runners you like to put in. There are lots of pitches on the route that are 50 mtrs long and there is no fixed gear, so reckon on needing three pieces for the lower belay, however many runner you place on a 50 mtr pitch and then three more pieces to make the next belay, i.e. quite a lot. We took:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Wallnuts, (size 1 to 10); our basic wires.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10 Metolius ultralight nuts; a second set of wires - lighter than standards ones and they rack very neatly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6 Wild Country Superlight Rocks; these are amazing because they make even the Metolius nuts seem heavy, although with just one wire it's best not to look at them for too long after placing them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">12 quickdraws; three of these were slingdraws with tripled 60 cm slings - very useful. 8 were Edelrid 19G quickdraws which I was lucky enough to have been sent for review. They are very small but, man, are they light - weighing the same as about four or five of my normal quickdraws. They really were perfect on this route.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 DMM Torque Nuts; mainly because being a punter I feel a bit naked without at least a couple of hexes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Wild Country Rocks on Spectra; mainly because these are Dave’s lucky charms and he gets nervous without them regardless of how old they actually are and how worn the cord is!</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5 DMM Dragon Cams, purple to blue (#1 to #5).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5 BD Camalots, purple to blue. BD and DMM sizing now matches so, in short, we had two of each mid-range cams.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 Wild Country and DMM small cams - I think between #0 and #1.5 in Friend/4CU sizing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">About 4 slings, 2 120s and 2 60s, and about the same number of locking krabs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We probably could have had just two sets of nuts, and maybe only one of the bigger sized cams, but we used everything at some point and I would have been nervous having a significantly smaller rack. We’re lucky that between us we have a lot of lightweight gear - most of cams were racked on DMM phantoms for example - and by using the lightest option we had for everything, even though we took a lot of gear its still wasn’t horribly heavy.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For ropes we took two 60 mtr half ropes. Theoretically a skinny 60 single would work fine too and be light, but if for some reason you had to retreat back down the pillar it would be a ‘mare. I also like being tied to two ropes on stuff that is hard for me, but that’s being British I guess. Finally, in a very un-British move I wore my crack-gloves and Dave taped up. Whilst this isn’t really necessary, particularly for easier climbing, on long climbs I think I climb a lot quicker when taped-up. It also just helps your hands survive the week if you are climbing lots of granite every day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><u><i>Tactics:</i></u> Dave had the relevant pages of the Rockfax miniguide in his pocket, but they “escaped” during the approach meaning we never got to try its descriptions for accuracy. I had scanned and printed the relevant pages of the (rather big and heavy) guidebook and packed them in plastic bags, and that was what we used to get up the route. Stupidly when scanning it I hadn’t pushed the book down hard enough on the plate and it meant I couldn’t read the comments close to spine that accompanied the pitch by pitch topo diagram. Between that and losing the other topo we inadvertently added a sense of mystery and adventure to our climb!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me reading the descent description in the midnight gloom. Photo D. Smith.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We both used approach shoes which turned out to be the perfect choice. I had some very light fell running shoes with me in Norway too but I wasn’t sure how their very aggressive sole pattern would work on the easy climbing during the descent. Both of our approach shoes have soles designed for easy climbing and they worked perfectly on the descent, you don’t need boots. It wasn’t too cold or windy on the day we climbed but we figured if it rained we could get cold fast. Hence we decided not to take a bothy bag up the route, but rather to take both shell jacket <i>and</i> pants each. I walked up in one base layer and changed for a dry one at the gearing up spot. That with, at times, my superlight windshell over it was all I needed on during the climb. On the summit I put on my microfleece between those two layers as it was windier and cooler. Dave wore his shell for some of the climb to add a bit of warmth, but neither of us needed the hats and gloves we had also packed. We were both fine in just basic softshell trousers, but it’s nice to know you have the over-trousers had the wind really picked up or the rain began.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We both took the food we thought we’d want/need and 2 ltrs each of energy drink. We drank most of one 2 ltr bag on the approach and then took the second with us on the route. I tend to drink a lot, but as it wasn’t too hot this was enough until we got to streams on the lower descent. We left one rucksack and our walking poles at the gearing up point and took the other with us on the route, meaning the leader could lead without a pack. I think this system worked well; the second carried the pack, a lightweight 30 ltr model. It held two pairs of shoes, two sets of waterproofs, the drink, some snacks and some ab tat for emergencies. It wasn’t bad to climb with at all but leading pack-less was also great.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We were doing the descent in the late evening having summited at about 2130. We were too late in the year to see midnight sun, but even in at times cloudy weather we didn’t need or want headtorches. Even walking back down through the forest at about 1 am, it was still light enough to see the path.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally I’d say make sure you have some good beers and some good single malt stashed in your car as when you get back down, probably at some ungodly hour of the morning, you’ll want to celebrate.</span></div>
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Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-90041878091042867682013-09-01T23:36:00.000+03:002013-09-02T10:16:22.004+03:00Rock climbing in Arctic Norway; Narvik, Stetind and beyond.<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1c772ff0-d9ac-61e8-74cc-d53ee63255dc" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhere in Swedish Lapland</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Just three months on and we’re driving north again. May’s <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2013/05/lyngen-in-may-ski-mountaineering-trip.html">snowy trip</a> was sort of Dave’s half century ‘birthday party’; now it’s August and we’re hoping for dry, warm-ish rock to help celebrate my imminent 40th. We’re heading a bit further west this time, towards the Narvik area and Norway’s national mountain, Stetind. It was, almost to the week, ten years since Dave and I had last been this way - that trip I spent my 30th birthday splendidly drinking the night away by a campfire on a Lofoten beach and we had had seven days of great weather for climbing. The forecast looked good this time, but weather in Arctic Norway is always a bit of a gamble.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEa0yfaWu-AI3jp0oEgP8U14yXt_v54JWheb7gSLZ4s1Prx_IHVN_38lgqWhJuiOwrfP2CX7IJMUf-pQFkg0b58iS4UUcICBYZnQDpl9Jlc7M04KQEfPSjGRSQc02btjpplk3wcQ/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEa0yfaWu-AI3jp0oEgP8U14yXt_v54JWheb7gSLZ4s1Prx_IHVN_38lgqWhJuiOwrfP2CX7IJMUf-pQFkg0b58iS4UUcICBYZnQDpl9Jlc7M04KQEfPSjGRSQc02btjpplk3wcQ/s640/DSC_0050.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eidetind and other Efjord peaks</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s 17 hrs of grinding driving from the south of Finland to the North of Norway. On this journey the monotony was broken up by driving into Sweden a little after halfway - a route I’ve done fewer times than the road out the top of Finland at Kilpisjärvi. Swedish lapland is beautiful - you reach bigger hills sooner than in Finland and the Kalix river valley seems more interesting than the Tornio valley. Nevertheless, 17 hours is 17 hours and I think we were both happy when we crested the hill to see the sun setting behind the stunning Efjord peaks of the Kuglhornet and Eidetind. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GWQHY-sEI4SoLwZ07wEXlKQHr0FfJYMcrXgDHe-6hiNjem8Ghk9HhaARNynmianK-fizQ9uUhzRPPXxpKvFIzfRh8Eqf9_BGHdL1BI5g4ka9sEGg2s1bUDqGBZHH9pb8_UN9Ig/s1600/DSC_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GWQHY-sEI4SoLwZ07wEXlKQHr0FfJYMcrXgDHe-6hiNjem8Ghk9HhaARNynmianK-fizQ9uUhzRPPXxpKvFIzfRh8Eqf9_BGHdL1BI5g4ka9sEGg2s1bUDqGBZHH9pb8_UN9Ig/s640/DSC_0032.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Stetind lurks above the camp area</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the foot of these two hulks, turn left and down a few more kms to where a tunnel spits you out, quaking, below the truly stupendous north face of Stetind. There are no alpine meadows stretching gently up to base of Stetind’s precipices. It is just 1400 metres of granite, surely hewn by some Norse deity with a battleaxe and following an angry child’s scribbled drawing of what a mountain REALLY should look like as his blueprint, plonked down on the fjordside. Some routes start literally from the beach. We pitched our tents late in the evening. Other climbers were milling around but more trickled back down as it reached midnight and the wee small hours. Stetind is clearly a mountain for big days.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38ep74Xhe0rnlQPHnnM3zoT4hF9YYzxrolAyR3B77KUh6XWEgDxiltes7HvhZAAFnTL1KNRwZsySATjylv5yes_jmSAmcSa3dIPk7kdpoFCIej7_i4yhyphenhyphenh-cCeki2DGITu2Y_Vw/s1600/P1050859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38ep74Xhe0rnlQPHnnM3zoT4hF9YYzxrolAyR3B77KUh6XWEgDxiltes7HvhZAAFnTL1KNRwZsySATjylv5yes_jmSAmcSa3dIPk7kdpoFCIej7_i4yhyphenhyphenh-cCeki2DGITu2Y_Vw/s640/P1050859.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Walking up the </i>Verdenssvaet <i>("World Slab") approaching the Kuglhornet, Eidetind behind.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The next morning, <b>Sunday</b>, dawned bright but with some cloud still wrapping Stetind’s highest flanks. A decade ago we didn’t have internet access on phones to check the weather, but we do now and the forecast stayed good for the rest of the week. This clinched it and we decided on a warm-up route first, rather than throwing ourselves at the biggest objective of the week on the first morning - as we had done with Jiehkkevárri back in May. The Kuglhornet looked stunning when I had first seen it a decade ago but we had no idea how hard the routes were or how easy it was to descend. The guidebook gives all that info; perhaps killing some of the adventure, but also in another way opening up adventures to us. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT6ovjldgta3BU58ov7__IqXsispg74TglAthcRkZ2MllHZoMFDvBOY2cmK3eqfOCE1ode9N1UhZWLyjcvUmMRTGFqrUNMdVZ0rZTTEbJheI1a0mUHqTJ05DPb9XtdouLYxVOTw/s1600/P1050868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT6ovjldgta3BU58ov7__IqXsispg74TglAthcRkZ2MllHZoMFDvBOY2cmK3eqfOCE1ode9N1UhZWLyjcvUmMRTGFqrUNMdVZ0rZTTEbJheI1a0mUHqTJ05DPb9XtdouLYxVOTw/s640/P1050868.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The South Face of the Kuglhornet. The East Ridge, about 8 full pitches, is the right skyline. The summit is the highest point in the picture.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpcUgGXOJgRBbDxFQ896K3O_y9c7_CcGlao5wnqsTgMXVVf0jhfl23N3Ze7COfr6NNtZ_PFeTvNnaZ1K6K0WJ0I3P_GqXgqjyJQc38kUG278cBX49jjmCRk_8hhYHVUHS0IdbWQ/s1600/P1050889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpcUgGXOJgRBbDxFQ896K3O_y9c7_CcGlao5wnqsTgMXVVf0jhfl23N3Ze7COfr6NNtZ_PFeTvNnaZ1K6K0WJ0I3P_GqXgqjyJQc38kUG278cBX49jjmCRk_8hhYHVUHS0IdbWQ/s320/P1050889.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave high on the East Ridge</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We did the East Ridge - given 5- in the book although I thought rather easy for that grade. It is huge fun, and the views off the ridge, particularly over the north face are stunning, but it’s never particularly exposed for such a narrow ridge I don’t think the climbing was any harder that UK Severe. Looking off the summit overhang will make the hardiest stomachs lurch a bit. We got a tiny bit of drizzle on the top and were glad we weren’t on Stetind as that seemed to be catching all the showers going. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZUMmERgZdU9TWkAZDnm_6PK3QgoHLZ0j0zeB1vwb0K6pzjwuIyz9e-BopJOv6GMgFIkfTLA88Gbqbr6i1B5sLKcVjAbagUiMt3OXqryceWVkwBfcOOEbWZJq1EdT_zhNYF0m2A/s1600/P1050881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZUMmERgZdU9TWkAZDnm_6PK3QgoHLZ0j0zeB1vwb0K6pzjwuIyz9e-BopJOv6GMgFIkfTLA88Gbqbr6i1B5sLKcVjAbagUiMt3OXqryceWVkwBfcOOEbWZJq1EdT_zhNYF0m2A/s320/P1050881.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Upper section of the Kuglhornet East Ridge</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The descent is a walk, a bit steep and ‘jungle-ly’ at one point, but fine. There is supposedly a three rap alternative to the steepest bit that the guides use but we didn’t see the anchors. In the evening we accepted the inevitable, tomorrow would be Stetind day, so we better sort the rack and food out there and then and make an early start. One slightly shell-shocked looking Ukrainian climber at the campground had told us of their 24 hr epic, showing us his scarred fingers as evidence. Fortunately a Norwegian guide told us his friend had seen the Ukrainians the day before, moving carefully but VERY slowly up the mountain. Hopefully being experienced trad climbers and familiar with granite would help us move a little faster!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Showers over Hamarøy from the summit of the Kuglhornet</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCkteHWx0xtbEko3fbNYEHBGwjsgFMrjvIFK2G5vAeODzX4B5ySiziyacDhDSL1L7SctnNUdZDio5XQIuXTZR_QIgmXCriuSH_wCxTkq6llWJ5Mf-WU6pQVSzXchhs4a7YjGFYA/s1600/P1050937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCkteHWx0xtbEko3fbNYEHBGwjsgFMrjvIFK2G5vAeODzX4B5ySiziyacDhDSL1L7SctnNUdZDio5XQIuXTZR_QIgmXCriuSH_wCxTkq6llWJ5Mf-WU6pQVSzXchhs4a7YjGFYA/s320/P1050937.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The South Pillar of Stetind </i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Monday</b> morning dawned slightly cloudy, but still, and we were away from the tents at about 8.30 am. The walk up to the glacial lake is a scenic slog and we watched the cloud roll around the tight valley wondering what the day would bring. Lots of people had walked passed us before we left in the morning and we worried about queues; but when we got to the area where we were meant to traverse across to the South Pillar (6-) - arguably ‘the’ classic route on Stetind - the mountain was quiet. Could they all be doing the Normal Route leaving the entire South Pillar to us? This was the case as it turned out further amplifying the sense of size and loneliness on the route itself. Finding the traverse line to get across to South Pillar start, particularly with cloud rolling around, turned out to be hard. We went much too high at first and probably lost an hour before finding the right place. Here we racked and left one of the packs, spare gear and hiking poles. A big moraine bowl below the mighty south face (but above some terrifyingly huge, slick and wet slabs) lets you reach the start of the South Pillar, but to get on to this moraine is tricky. We eventually found the small path where you need to negotiate some not difficult but very exposed scrambling where we nearly roped up. After that it is just rough hiking for a few hundred metres to the base of the route.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUtUSWYizAJO-OvgxNm-eZGMM1EBdJ2xOghtA0-GqikE3MFVWGobLwe-p0liWO4lloGzT9NtmPbPewnDW1R9KHaxnsiVWpGtoOVkTQLEYBndYYjk_-7wNPPPt07rLJ4R8pXjajQ/s1600/P1050963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUtUSWYizAJO-OvgxNm-eZGMM1EBdJ2xOghtA0-GqikE3MFVWGobLwe-p0liWO4lloGzT9NtmPbPewnDW1R9KHaxnsiVWpGtoOVkTQLEYBndYYjk_-7wNPPPt07rLJ4R8pXjajQ/s640/P1050963.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At the top of the 9 easier lower pitches.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave somewhere on the lower pillar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The first section of the pillar is slabby, and mainly comprises of very pleasant long pitches of slabby crack climbing - the hardest little bits being no more than UK 4c. Pitch 6 is very long and has a complete bastard of chimney for anyone wearing a pack. Dave led that one, I seconded. Wearing the pack. Ho hum. Pitch 8 has suffered a big rockfall - you can see the scar from the roadside. The Norwegian guide told us you can still climb the original line but it’s loose, most traverse a bit left. There’s a good ledge there where Dave belayed, I climbed a fine, thin leftward leaning crack above. At the top of which you can lurch round the the corner into an easy groove and follow that to the huge ledge of the “Second Amfi” - the escape route to the normal route if you don’t want to climb the headwall.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1st headwall pitch, the crux of the route. Photo: D. Smith</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I wanted to climb the headwall. This was just as well because Dave had hurt his back badly earlier in the summer and had felt it twinge again lower on the route. He took an industrial-strength dose of ibuprofen and announced he was still willing to give it go if I was happy to lead it. Ten years ago we had met some Finnish mates in the car park who had just done the route; Teppo told me, “the headwall is Finnish 5+, you’d cruise it, no problem”. After not trying Stetind that time, his words had stuck with me for a decade. Now was the time to find out if I was about to get the biggest sandbagging of my life or not. So I’ll just tell you this: the headwall is Finnish 5+, you’ll cruise it, no problem. Go get her tiger.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Three wonderful, well protected, pitches later and it’s just an easy couloir to walk up and you’re on the summit. And what a summit: the cloud were still rolling around so we only got views in some directions, but it’s as close to flying as I’ve been and I think, perhaps, want to be.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDN0D7Zw-9-uDeRQh7bATiSj1Whk3ERKJKI4Lv5fh6FSomDtxaxqWcNqZGr4zNT2HsxeKvaZk4oi-CjOjmjyQnI9VDDDMxB7N4aPXqYlC5zdw3rTmiC_5NftB1sBGGAVadZSm5w/s1600/P1050968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDN0D7Zw-9-uDeRQh7bATiSj1Whk3ERKJKI4Lv5fh6FSomDtxaxqWcNqZGr4zNT2HsxeKvaZk4oi-CjOjmjyQnI9VDDDMxB7N4aPXqYlC5zdw3rTmiC_5NftB1sBGGAVadZSm5w/s640/P1050968.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Last of the technical climbing, the summit awaits.</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Descending from the summit via the normal route</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two tired and relieved middle aged men drinking beer</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We stayed roped up, moving together and placing some runners between us, for the descent down the normal route. It is sickeningly exposed at points, but never hard. One abseil from bolts gets you down that route’s crux pitch, then more scrambling to the top of ‘Hall’s False Top’, where you can unrope and start hiking down. Finding our cached gear was straightforward, and below that we also found the described approach gully that we had somehow missed in the morning. We got back down to the tents in the twilight that is 1 am in far north’s August. We didn’t take headtorches and fortunately you can get away without them. A celebratory beer was drunk to finish off the probably the longest climbing day of either of our careers. It had also been one of the best.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t think either of us felt like moving much come <b>Tuesday</b> morning, I washed in the stream, washed out some horribly sweaty clothes from the day before and made many cups of coffee. This adequately filled the morning. Oddly my thighs were killing from the hiking the day before. I hadn’t actually found it difficult at all, I guess I’m pretty fit from cycling, but clearly hiking uses slightly different muscles from pedaling a bike. In the afternoon we packed up, left the Stetind camp and took the ferry over to Hamarøy. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The rural idyll of Sleppen cliff, Hamarøy.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the afternoon we visited the local well-bolted sports cliff called Sleppen and did some routes. It’s a very chilled atmosphere but we found many of the routes total sandbags; completely the opposite to what the book suggests. We did one supposed 5-, which in about 15 metres had a number of moves WAY harder than the hardest moves on South Pillar!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave on the world's hardest 5-!</i></td></tr>
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A few of the routes are also closer to bolted boulder problems than ‘routes’, but we giggled a fair deal, hung around a metre or so above the ground having fallen off four metre high routes and generally had an amusing time about as different from the day before as imaginable. We camped on a beach in one of the most heavenly spots imaginable that night</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hamarøyskaftet</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wednesday, after an ‘invigorating’ dip in the Arctic Atlantic, we climbed the remarkable peak of Hamarøyskaftet, with an amazing summit and views out across the sea to Lofoten. The guide is about right, summing it up as a great hike interspersed with some boulder problems that would probably be fatal if you fell off them. We used a rope and were very happy to do so! It’s not a particularly technical climb, but it is great fun and good mountain day. We were buzzed by a RNAF trainer on the descent, close enough to wave to the pilot and see him wave back. He then pulled a very tight turn, came all the way back round the mountain and passed us again, closer, and this time flying on his side and giving us an even heartier wave - the definition of cool. In the evening we took the more southerly ferry back east across Tysfjorden to Kjøpsvik, where you drive up north past some more remarkable peaks and faces and back to the Stetind camp area.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Going up the Hamarøyskaftet...</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>...and coming back down again, Lofoten in the background.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Thursday</b>, we hiked up to the amazing peak of Eidetind. On the trip ten years ago Dave and I had climbed Eidetind by following our nose in strangely competent display of mountaineering nouse. We later found out we had climbed </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Klubbruta</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, described now by the guide as the most popular route in the region. It is brilliant, so I can see why. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zioAkUSc4dio6VbUPEmt_OOP1nhcK-POPqSEhGJIb4aIxqLNLqQmUVfkKoY9pEc0Kt6DjAE3latInsF2kpq3jKwX6DzFm0zrIc6Mu_unN3JTwSaTYWlujAhLOLOfm6oY7G1Hbg/s1600/P1060008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zioAkUSc4dio6VbUPEmt_OOP1nhcK-POPqSEhGJIb4aIxqLNLqQmUVfkKoY9pEc0Kt6DjAE3latInsF2kpq3jKwX6DzFm0zrIc6Mu_unN3JTwSaTYWlujAhLOLOfm6oY7G1Hbg/s640/P1060008.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me high in the huge corner system Engelsdiederet, Eidetind. Photo: D. Smith.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMbBFwMMVXYxZqTNmTJntlN4yY-RJEFxbN59Akn9DMwBl-W8KSCRINji0VP9cpTZ9kVeMB66zK-mteWpxHSnpfjjoZzLcQ4E3GYLUjEClS04DUfZVs9qfoiBAWm-lgHz1mK1Pag/s1600/P1060011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMbBFwMMVXYxZqTNmTJntlN4yY-RJEFxbN59Akn9DMwBl-W8KSCRINji0VP9cpTZ9kVeMB66zK-mteWpxHSnpfjjoZzLcQ4E3GYLUjEClS04DUfZVs9qfoiBAWm-lgHz1mK1Pag/s200/P1060011.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me at the top of the corner, abseils next.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This time we went for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Engelskdiederet</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 5+, or “the English Corner”. This is equipped for an abseil descent after five pitches - so this was our aim, having summited Eidetind before. We left bags at the base and climbed just with rock shoes. It’s great climbing following a stunningly strong line for those five pitches, but I did feel a bit like you’ve only climbed the corner to where the abs start from, not the whole wall. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps one to revisit in the future and to follow to the top of the mountain next time. In the evening we drove back east, through Narvik and up the pass back towards the Swedish border, camping in a beautiful spot above the tree line on the tundra.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-1M8hEuDPO_ronzNYo5VhY0zKlbesWhew_A2jEwvMJ2D6QjOvLeQl2zEU1wGGYI4v4d_9Z4wlzYOJ-9AwAcgaus3XZ_HmkivFKw1WJdJQFleTXTqCdfODxuVfOpTIS1slTnyzw/s1600/DSC_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-1M8hEuDPO_ronzNYo5VhY0zKlbesWhew_A2jEwvMJ2D6QjOvLeQl2zEU1wGGYI4v4d_9Z4wlzYOJ-9AwAcgaus3XZ_HmkivFKw1WJdJQFleTXTqCdfODxuVfOpTIS1slTnyzw/s640/DSC_0230.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tundra camping near Haugfjell</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Planning for a shorter day on <b>Friday</b> we went to the nearby Haugfjell area, an open valley and hillside covered in innumerable cliffs and crags. We went to Kjerringvegen, which seems to be the most developed sector - nice single pitch routes, sport and trad, overlooking a beautiful lake. I did </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Skidor är löjligt</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (“Skiing is Silly”), 5+, it being both the crag classic and a sentiment that as a poor telemark skier I can sympathise with.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggngHGdTK1y-kWoeeBm0UraBQlg4BD0wd-T9S_a5SlxJUaXVlKnDAnlnWLuxRoSORDssUlZX7z7ZUhdXjkLgJuVtS4ALmRMaGEjp7NAYuU100vS71syMF79Njghz4V-hirryLarg/s1600/P1100892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggngHGdTK1y-kWoeeBm0UraBQlg4BD0wd-T9S_a5SlxJUaXVlKnDAnlnWLuxRoSORDssUlZX7z7ZUhdXjkLgJuVtS4ALmRMaGEjp7NAYuU100vS71syMF79Njghz4V-hirryLarg/s640/P1100892.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Well, skiing <u><b>is</b></u> silly. Photo: D. Smith</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> We also did a number of the mid-grade sports line, including Dave cruising the steep, juggy line of Jepperuta, a great 6- (6a-ish?), steeper than anything else we had climbed all week. In the early afternoon we packed the gear, went and swam in beautiful if rather chilly lake, put some clean clothes on, went back to the car and began the epic, through-the-night drive home.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lazy Birds, 5+</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeaxnlOo6nploT5SPsOnYT4xT2x_Yr6Qs1zoyuRlPNboz6lhYmFebnaJA__wlBx3hu-XpSM9uRodsr0jrTkCRfMcj-JZhu3CI07Ag3MkInKJ_SNF7FEoKKrlTVj_Y3ldnJWm2yg/s1600/DSC_0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeaxnlOo6nploT5SPsOnYT4xT2x_Yr6Qs1zoyuRlPNboz6lhYmFebnaJA__wlBx3hu-XpSM9uRodsr0jrTkCRfMcj-JZhu3CI07Ag3MkInKJ_SNF7FEoKKrlTVj_Y3ldnJWm2yg/s640/DSC_0271.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Leaving Haugfjell, looking south towards Sweden.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks to Dave for a brilliant week once again and for being such a solid and reassuring climbing partner, and finally for letting me use some of this great photos.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinaglcYsxS0PZQyLcVDI7c7pinkiczRG2STI4yn29EQjDuAojHX_WsPYPz58j_lGyxEXnEccwTjx4avm-XwPZ6hgkcG3RnaWN3Yzu_046kHdEB82eOCXDourh1fU60AHGr3UOw/s1600/DSC_0295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinaglcYsxS0PZQyLcVDI7c7pinkiczRG2STI4yn29EQjDuAojHX_WsPYPz58j_lGyxEXnEccwTjx4avm-XwPZ6hgkcG3RnaWN3Yzu_046kHdEB82eOCXDourh1fU60AHGr3UOw/s320/DSC_0295.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhere in Finland at 4 in the morning, the long road home.</i></td></tr>
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Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-38043702367487178982013-07-17T22:24:00.002+03:002013-07-17T22:26:34.158+03:00Shropshire Lads, plus a mini gear review: DMM Renegade Harness and Aero Quickdraws<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFITSx3rBdcCOOkH_hto0_xlgUH2mMOvwxj3O8nFitMFFPprQTy4SAuiLQZiQ02KMl90k4PRJoXCreH2EU8jqkFnv8k7czF0RBbC9qTmtXoBcxxANY9ftNuDF2afuvbtDOp1NFtw/s1600/DSCF1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFITSx3rBdcCOOkH_hto0_xlgUH2mMOvwxj3O8nFitMFFPprQTy4SAuiLQZiQ02KMl90k4PRJoXCreH2EU8jqkFnv8k7czF0RBbC9qTmtXoBcxxANY9ftNuDF2afuvbtDOp1NFtw/s400/DSCF1204.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Shropshire Hills</i></td></tr>
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Released from family responsibilities for a day, I arranged with Tony to meet at Nesscliffe - perhaps Shropshire's 'proudest' crag. Having done Red Square a few years back, there's not much in the main sector easy enough for me to realistically try, but up on the Far Buttress I had heard that Batman (HVS) was a good climb. Whilst waiting for Tony to arrive at the cliff I floundered about in the rhododendron bushes trying to find the Far Buttress from the main sector - eventually stumbling over the large and obvious path that takes you easily and directly there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGEld-9QCm6ErqKU_-Mu50nJ7UObGqhGDd6xrKbs7fBKjZ1sPSO6Z60MdJCYsH13Ugc7eAv-XiKBTWGzVBxvt-YyWihDDuB5cpWuyKWb5l2UcN5XUivBcXTzFXOkaTlyX0mvBQg/s1600/DSCF1203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGEld-9QCm6ErqKU_-Mu50nJ7UObGqhGDd6xrKbs7fBKjZ1sPSO6Z60MdJCYsH13Ugc7eAv-XiKBTWGzVBxvt-YyWihDDuB5cpWuyKWb5l2UcN5XUivBcXTzFXOkaTlyX0mvBQg/s320/DSCF1203.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Batman HVS, the quiet end of Nesscliffe </i></td></tr>
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We both agreed the bouldering looked great too, but wanting to find some lunch sooner rather than later we limited ourselves to climbing Batman. It's rare I find routes that I think are easy for grade - a side effect of punterdom I suspect - but in this case I was pleasantly surprised to find it rather straightforward even with no warm up. But unless my climbing takes a remarkable turn for the better, that's probably Nesscliffe ticked for me!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd__DTnXw4QI-2-4EMihNkRJLU9hEDY8ykc-5iMEpvQXB4-FyRGIZEYu8CCu6fbunGZWMwMYQ0MpJ_sZpJw7PUhjRy6YSujZBZnOFl011A6w1gQEr2hQ0nQARFz7whOnQKr8_Wkw/s1600/DSCF1220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd__DTnXw4QI-2-4EMihNkRJLU9hEDY8ykc-5iMEpvQXB4-FyRGIZEYu8CCu6fbunGZWMwMYQ0MpJ_sZpJw7PUhjRy6YSujZBZnOFl011A6w1gQEr2hQ0nQARFz7whOnQKr8_Wkw/s640/DSCF1220.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The big cliffs of Llanymynech - spot the climber</i></td></tr>
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We then headed towards Llanymynech, stopping on the way for a rather pleasant and reasonably priced pub lunch in Knockin, reminding me of just how bad roadside food options are in Finland in comparison.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW3X2dhQcKoKHcEiOCuoTNsJGnZ0wpcCEL3HXj7dV_BTBxcQBp24HPv0pySC7MAQWPo8mwSSAML7Unu3t-AdivQlLMWd0ZoxACLbDbUSmhOCP9OLI-FNiHEr1IPW9p2LWU78KgA/s1600/DSCF1205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW3X2dhQcKoKHcEiOCuoTNsJGnZ0wpcCEL3HXj7dV_BTBxcQBp24HPv0pySC7MAQWPo8mwSSAML7Unu3t-AdivQlLMWd0ZoxACLbDbUSmhOCP9OLI-FNiHEr1IPW9p2LWU78KgA/s200/DSCF1205.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV9whsXqP0jq7HqBe1V0XTylYJDhWyNCZLUaEt-dTndB-K6SNhnyrj_QhCwx5VD8Yp7KQ02HRHtuECBGEC9uQnWwOE0-K73RoEuiQL4l2ifr9mzIDFIkh5pLiHx7oKVIgzz_8Uw/s1600/DSCF1206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV9whsXqP0jq7HqBe1V0XTylYJDhWyNCZLUaEt-dTndB-K6SNhnyrj_QhCwx5VD8Yp7KQ02HRHtuECBGEC9uQnWwOE0-K73RoEuiQL4l2ifr9mzIDFIkh5pLiHx7oKVIgzz_8Uw/s200/DSCF1206.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Tony was pretty impressed on arrival at Llanymynech - it is a big crag and the length of the lines makes up to some degree for the slightly iffy nature of some of the walls. We started on two 6a lines on the left of Foreigner Walls which were fine, then Tony got on the rather fine Smack the Juggler (6b+).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96AxPJcMPtytXdyEn1sz0G0rmgtK6d5kRmzVYYgeDTYMoFnAtOkj5g6zFvB5hjUM2AUaXzmQ6efwJX8uCWVrzU7u6T5pS6kK6WeE8u-JwvmZ4mHC2BAQveQ2eL5KEGH3kvHE9NA/s1600/DSCF1208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96AxPJcMPtytXdyEn1sz0G0rmgtK6d5kRmzVYYgeDTYMoFnAtOkj5g6zFvB5hjUM2AUaXzmQ6efwJX8uCWVrzU7u6T5pS6kK6WeE8u-JwvmZ4mHC2BAQveQ2eL5KEGH3kvHE9NA/s320/DSCF1208.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tony's first Llanymynech route, some slightly chossy non-descript 6a, but still all good fun.</i></td></tr>
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He slipped off the onsight but got it on his first redpoint attempt. I actually got through the crux seconding on my first go, but ran out of puff higher up so did it with one rest. One to add to my ever-lengthening list of climbs-that-I-really-should-do-properly-one-day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Unknown climber on Smack the Juggler 6b+</i></td></tr>
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In the same vein, having watched another team on the rather wonderfully positioned Bah Bah Black Sheep (6a+) at the far side of Grid Iron Wall, I wanted a go. I did reasonably well until the inevitable arm pumpage made me wimp out of a minor run out above the crux. After a little rest on the bolt and giving myself a stern talking to over being such a wuss, I pulled back on and finished. Tiger Tony, of course, then cruised it but I used the excuse of wanting to show him the rest of the quarry as an excuse to put it on my aforementioned list to come back to, rather than putting the effort in and trying a second time to lead it cleanly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8oAmwkop41Q-zrmoiavZIyCdpvzDeyTgAdASTCYqxU_yhP8KkPH13zE2AEq-tR2G4ZsSgAe6eOponz0CYKz9lljH8Lt7GnRDEe7yLDeB2_9UguIyd0q-BtHUBWKmWThbLWb3Ug/s1600/DSCF1221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8oAmwkop41Q-zrmoiavZIyCdpvzDeyTgAdASTCYqxU_yhP8KkPH13zE2AEq-tR2G4ZsSgAe6eOponz0CYKz9lljH8Lt7GnRDEe7yLDeB2_9UguIyd0q-BtHUBWKmWThbLWb3Ug/s320/DSCF1221.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Same unknown climber on Bah Bah Black Sheep, 6a+</i></td></tr>
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We then headed to Welsh end of the quarry and Bay Wall. I remember cruising routes there last visit, and Tony indeed shot up the first route he tried that I had identified as a 6b, commenting he couldn't really see what was different about it to the other 6as we had done. I then headed up what I believed to be a 6a only to grind to a halt and then fall off a bit where I couldn't really work out what to do next. After lowering off, we more carefully checked the topo and realised that, yes, incompetent my guidebook reading was to blame so that Tony had indeed cruised a 6a and I had fallen off the 6b. Ooops. Tony then shot back up to my high point on the 6b before pulling a couple of great long reaches through the crux to finish. Then I, not wanting to finish on a low, battled up the not terribly great 6a (Summer Bay Babe) that Tony had already done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some not very good 6a on the Bay Wall at sundown</i></td></tr>
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The sun was setting by this point and it was time to start our respective drives homeward, but I suspect we will arrange a rematch at Llanymynech in the future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The DMM Renegade 2</i></td></tr>
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The miniature gear review bit is just that the lovely people at DMM, deeper into darkest, craggiest North Wales, had asked me if I wanted to try some of their new products and this trip was the first chance to try them out. I've been a big fan of their Renegade harness since I <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=1333">reviewed it for UKClimbing</a> quite some years back now and it has been my go-to harness ever since, being used probably on average once a week for nearly five years. My original is very grubby and a bit fluffy but still going strong, but nevertheless I was honoured to be asked if I would like to try out <a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/new-renegade-harness/">the new version</a> in fetching red and grey. Putting it on was like meeting an old friend, it seems to fit me well and is as comfy as the Mk I. The Mk II keeps the design fundamentals like the floating waist padding and seven gear racks; but as some people claim to hate the slightly forward slanting gear racks on the Mk I, the Mk II has more traditionally oriented ones. I never found the first design a problem, but can happily report the new ones work great too. I need to wear it more but first impressions are the Renegade II is a great all-round harness with the few issues from the first version now resolved.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>DMM Aero quickdraw</i></td></tr>
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The second thing to try were some <a href="http://dmmclimbing.com/products/aero-bent/">DMM Aero quickdraws</a>. I've never tried Aeros before - DMM's slightly more basic plain-gate krabs. They aren't the lightest by a long stretch, but they sit in the hand well and both Tony and I felt they clipped as nicely as his swish BD sports quickdraws. Both ends have keylock gates making them great for clipping and stripping plus DMM are now using the same redesigned bent gate on the cheaper Aeros as on their more pricey plain-gate models and I think it is this rather well shaped and featured gate that really makes the Aeros easy to clip. They seem to be available for as little as 12 quid looking online, and in economical packs of five, and I suspect will serve well as hard-wearing sports 'draws, although I can't see any reason why they couldn't make up part of your trad rack of quickdraws either.<br />
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You can watch DMM's product videos for the Renegade 2:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/67114682?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=cc0033" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/67114682">DMM Renegade</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/dmmclimbing">DMM Climbing</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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And for the Aero krabs/draws:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/67114681?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=cc0033" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/67114681">DMM Aero</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/dmmclimbing">DMM Climbing</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<br />Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-37077584115947362952013-06-16T12:27:00.000+03:002013-06-18T15:56:51.844+03:00Kyrkskär - sailing and cragging in the Finnish Archipelago <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Round much of the UK, the border between land and ocean is pretty abrupt - there are a lot of cliffs where the land drops precipitately away into the sea. Indeed sea cliff climbing is a very special part of UK climbing, and something that isn't as common elsewhere as you might think. Finland is different - for a lot of the coastline the border is much more fuzzy - sea and land bleed into each other with the archipelagos of little islands, peninsular and skerries and the forest-fringed bays, channels and fjords in-between. Sea views of the type normal in the UK are oddly rare along the southern coast of Finland at least - from the mainland there are normally islands further out blocking your view to open water. Sailing is obviously a great way to explore all these channels and island and unsurprisingly popular. You might not need to think much of tides or waves or storms sailing around coastal Finland but you do need to read your charts/GPS plotter very carefully to watch out for the myriad of rocks, reefs and shallow water that abounds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Busy shipping lanes passing the approaches to Turku</i></td></tr>
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I'm a bit of a landlubber but still love being out on the sea, so am very fortunate that my friend and regular climbing partner Dave is an experienced and keen sailor and sometime I get crew for him. This generally takes the form of him laughing at me for being so slow on the winches and conversations along the lines of:<br />
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Dave: "haul in the tiddly-pong to tauten the widdly-dee!"<br />
Toby: "....errr?? You what?"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sailing in the Turku archipelago</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
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But when Dave told me a couple of years ago about an interesting looking crag he had seen while sailing I was even more keen than normal to get on the boat and be completely out of my natural element. We've now been twice and it's a beautiful place with some nice little climbs, so well worth a visit for any Finnish climbers who have access to a boat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wine on the rocks</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jellyfish - there were LOTS of these on the first visit</i></td></tr>
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Sea kayakers who know what they are doing could also get there reasonably easily starting from road 1830 south of Dalsbruk. There are plenty of other little islands between the mainland and Kyrkskär, so you could island hop with a maximum open water sections of only a couple of kilometres.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave on the first ascent of Iiris Corner (5/HVS 5a)</i></td></tr>
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The reason for the two visits was the climb that would become Iiris Corner - the most obvious and strongest line on the crag. On the first visit I hadn't brought along my biggest cam - the biggest we had was a #4 Camalot and despite it's rather big size, it still wasn't enough to protect the crux moves. On the second visit I had my big Rock Empire Pulsar (I guess about the same size as a #5 Camalot) and with some judicious shoving it up the wide bit ahead of him, Dave 'sent' the first ascent. You need the cam to protect getting on to the foot ledge at about two thirds height. Above this the cracks widens further but it can be protected - I'll say no more beyond take a 120 cm sling and your best wild west skills.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Your correspondent on the first ascent of Swimming with Jellyfish (5-/VS 4c)</i></td></tr>
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We've now recorded 7 routes on the island, including one unfinished project that we both fell off lots of time and didn't have time to try harder on! It now sports a jammed #2 DMM Wallnut to mark the limits of our scrabbling efforts and to tempt some better climber to the finish the line off and think of a good name for it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave onsights the first ascent of Wall Route (6-/E1 5b)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave climbs Corner Route (5+/HVS 5b)</td></tr>
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One of the great things about the crag is that there is very little lichen on it compared to most inland Finnish crags. We haven't need to brush anything, a real rarity around here, meaning besides Iiris Corner all of our routes have been onsight first ascents, which is always nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc2SMHqGuIpziSjkbBaRAPno7LillfjBKUzZt6PlH_YN8JB-QTMG86bz_SeWNILTZXDIbTJ9ft6FF_97DzDZUDd76yuHr1yQ9MD2UrgZYMJaCIpR52dA6XVU8gPWdeVC9NwhF7Q/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc2SMHqGuIpziSjkbBaRAPno7LillfjBKUzZt6PlH_YN8JB-QTMG86bz_SeWNILTZXDIbTJ9ft6FF_97DzDZUDd76yuHr1yQ9MD2UrgZYMJaCIpR52dA6XVU8gPWdeVC9NwhF7Q/s640/DSC_0069.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In the foreground the huge slit boulder, in the background the main cliff.</i></td></tr>
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The very obvious polished offwidth in the massive boulder that sits in front of the main crag still awaits an ascent. It overhangs at the bottom and is horribly smooth, but looks to ease off higher up. I <i>think</i> it would a be more of a boulder problem than a route but make no promises - if you could send the bottom section a rope and some gear for the top out might be nice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking northwest from the top of the cliff</i></td></tr>
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So, topos and maps are all on <a href="http://27crags.com/crags/kyrkskar">27crags</a>. Sailors should note that the wonderful natural harbour is actually on the island to the south, Tistronskär, but there is a tiny isthmus of stones that link the two. There is a summer cottage on Kyrkskär, so if you are coming from Tistronskär it is best to go hard left once you've walked over the little isthmus. You need to push through some trees and follow the shoreline around a bit, but this avoids walking into the yard-area of the cottage. Having said that, it seems to have been unoccupied both times we've visited, but just do the normal '<a href="http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=390532&lan=EN">everyman's right</a>' thing of respecting the privacy of areas around people's houses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Evening at the anchorage</i></td></tr>
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The anchorage is a great spot with rock slabs plunging down into the sea meaning boats can be tied up close to the shore. I've still not go my head around the seeming sailing "tradition" of graffiti-ing your ship's name on- or even worse?, carving its name into the rock at the anchorage! Considering chipping the rock is about as close as we get to a mortal sin in climbing, it's an odd one - but there you go. You can see that sailors have been occasionally visiting this wonderful spot for some time, I hope some climbers get the chance to go now but no need for us to leave any similar permanent traces (hence apologies for the jammed nut!).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Early autumn bounty, </i><span class="st"><i>chanterelles for tea. </i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Heading home - plain sailing</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Racing the afternoon ferry from Stockholm back up the Airisto channel</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Home at sunset</i></td></tr>
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<br />Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-9897061499372000542013-06-12T01:58:00.002+03:002013-06-12T10:42:49.947+03:00The oaks of Sweden-Finland: bikepacking to Porkkala, west of Helsinki.<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This is a nice video you can also see on the <a href="http://www.visitfinland.com/article/western-uusimaa-bicycle-tour/">Visit Finland cycling pages</a>, that good give a good impression of some of the areas I write about below.</i></span><br />
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An old colleague and friend, who masqueraded as an international relations analyst but I always felt was really old-school liberal historian at heart, taught me a lot about how to see Finland. When I was studying how Finnish security policy has changed since the end of the Cold War, he was always telling me to really understand it I had to look backwards.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Disaster strike early! My rack breaking - but necessity is the mother of invention, the rack was binned and my dry bag strapped reasonably well to my saddle.</i></td></tr>
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There's nothing radical in that of course, and I was always fascinated by the unique and often uncomfortable position Finland found itself in after WWII. But my friend kept telling me to look far earlier than that: before independence, before Finland's time as a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire, to when it was part of what he always called “Sweden-Finland”.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Your correspondent, proud in his unique "<a href="http://duckboards-are-evil.blogspot.fi/">Duckboards are evil</a>" bike cap.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Packed up for the second day of riding.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Great riding on forest paths in Porkkala.</i></td></tr>
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Nationalism is a modern phenomenon, we tend to see history through that prism but it is invariably inaccurate to do so. Just like most countries, there is very little natural about “Finland” as a socio-political entity despite what the nationalists would have you believe. “Finland” as an idea is a product of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennoman_movement">writers, poets, artists and philosophers</a>. The idea was built in response to Russian rule over these lands in the 19th Century, using the intellectual tools provided by the concepts of nationalism that swept through Europe – at the time a radical and often progressive idea that emancipated people from old feudal bonds to kings, princes and clerics.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Of course evidence of Sweden-Finland is on most signs still in Finland.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Espoo Cathedral, an obvious way point on the King's Road.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What came after "Sweden-Finland".</i></td></tr>
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My colleague's point was always that it was wrong to think of Finland before Russian-rule as simply being under Swedish rule; there was no Finland then as we think of it now, it was an integral and important part of the Swedish kingdom, hence “Sweden-Finland”.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Ivar_Arwidsson">Arwidsson</a>'s now famous saying of “Swedes we are no longer, Russians we do not want to become, let us therefore be Finns!” will be linked forever with the rise of Finnish nationalism, but it is perhaps a more plaintive cry than it might at first sound. Russian rule ripped people away from their past relationship to the Swedish crown. A near-century of Russian rule, and the urgent need to create Finland as an independent entity in response, means the past of Sweden-Finland retreats into the distance, often lost in the nationalist gaze. But it is still there if you look and here we finally get to the bikepacking.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Simple supper for a lightweight ride.</i></td></tr>
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Last week I went out for an overnight ride with the aim of reaching the <a href="http://www.uudenmaanvirkistysalueyhdistys.fi/index.php?k=13396">nature reserve and camping areas at the Porkkala</a>, the peninsular jutting out into the sea west of Helsinki. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porkkala">Porkkala's history</a> is interesting in its own right – the Soviet Union demanded it as part of the peace treaty to end it war with Finland during WWII, so from 1944 to 1955 it was under Soviet control. Finns who lived and farmed the area given to the USSR were evacuated.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp for the night.</td></tr>
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But before getting to the peninsular, my ride took me through other areas. First I skirted north west of the Greater Helsinki sprawl, riding mainly on forest recreation tracks and back roads, ending up in Nuuksio national park. Coming out of Nuukiso's southeast corner there was no more obvious off-road route to take to get me down towards Porkkala.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A massive flock of some water birds I couldn't identify, but quite a sight, near the end of the Porkkala peninsular</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KwmQOGU8Ms6N6yX9PREd4wfOyMQQBUHAdd09AyhPmZyGopl9Y7KQATkzuLpl_XL3aovoadwQsHKHw19Aks6oCEnKNRGy4c1XjtivmqZQcTeAmkh32d-HgysfRoZK1Truf9D1-g/s1600/P1050653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KwmQOGU8Ms6N6yX9PREd4wfOyMQQBUHAdd09AyhPmZyGopl9Y7KQATkzuLpl_XL3aovoadwQsHKHw19Aks6oCEnKNRGy4c1XjtivmqZQcTeAmkh32d-HgysfRoZK1Truf9D1-g/s320/P1050653.jpg" width="240" /></a>Instead I started following the <a href="http://www.visitfinland.com/article/western-uusimaa-bicycle-tour/">King's Road</a>, through the fringes of Espoo (really just a series of suburbs to Helsinki but due to the idiosyncrasy of Finnish municipal politics, it gets to call itself “Finland's second city”) and back out into the countryside towards Kirkkonummi. From here it was more empty country roads all the way down to the beautiful nature reserves and recreation areas at the end of Porkkala where I camped for the night. The next day it would have been nice to carry on westwards on the King's Road towards ultimately Turku/Åbo – the capital of the Finnish realms during the time of Sweden-Finland – but that will have to wait for another trip. Rather, I had to turn back north taking roughly the same route back again, although skipping some of the forest riding closer to my home in favour of some less interesting urban bike paths to save time and make it to an event at my kids' school I had promised to attend.</div>
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But what of the oaks and of Sweden-Finland? Well, as some might have guessed by now the king of the “King's Road” was the king of Sweden. The road ran from the eastern fringes of the Swedish medieval kingdom, roughly the current Finnish-Russian border, all along the southern shores of Finland to Turku, over the sea and Åland Islands, to Stockholm and on westwards to the Atlantic in what is now Norway. Now set up for tourists, particularly cycle tourists, the King's Road west of Helsinki shows that half forgotten Sweden-Finland past. Helsinki is mainly a city built in the Russian era and after during independence, but just a few miles to its west, out in the countryside, there is much to remind you of the links to Sweden and for me the <a href="http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/puut/english-oak">oak trees</a> are central to this.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The total for a 24 hr, one night trip.</i></td></tr>
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Go north into the Finnish interior and there are few deciduous trees beyond the ever present birches. But along the south coast of the country, often clearly planted centuries ago, lining old roads and driveways to manor house for example, you find oaks much like I've seen in the areas outside of Stockholm. Buildings like the manor houses and churches – Kirkkonummi church for example – are also clear indicators of those earlier times, but I love the long rows of oaks. Like the English countryside of my childhood, they are both beautiful parts of the natural world and also constant reminders of how people have for millennia managed and shaped that natural world. The oaks of “Sweden-Finland” are both beautiful trees, on the very geographical limits of where they naturally can grow, but also texts in which to read our social history.<br />
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Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-82342164524707192152013-06-05T11:23:00.001+03:002013-06-12T02:24:20.391+03:00Lyngen in May, a ski-mountaineering trip report (part II)Part II of this account is just a day by day account of what I did on this recent trip and might give some ideas for routes for anyone else interested in skiing in Lyngen. The maps below are screen grabs from the <a href="http://kart.statkart.no/adaptive2/default.aspx?gui=1&lang=1">Norwegian national mapping website</a>, and I've just drawn a line on them - it's not a GPS track so only shows approximately the routes I took.<br />
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<b><i>Sunday: Jiehkkevárri (1834 mtrs) via Holmbuktind (1666 mtrs).</i> </b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jiehkkevárri, taken later in the week from Ellendaltinden. The summit is the central high snow dome. Holmbuktind is the peak on the far left. The traverse between them follows the skyline.</i></td></tr>
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I would imagine this is going to feel like a big day for all but the most ludicrously fit; my friend measured about 2,300 mtrs of ascent. We had a very good avalanche forecast which made the double bowl that is the route up Holmbuktind feel OK. It gets pretty steep in a couple of places, some people took skis off for a short section coming up into the upper bowl, but I felt fine on skis even though I don't have heel bars on my bindings. Leaving the upper bowl and coming out onto the ridge there is another short steep bit, most seemed to take off their skis and I was happy to crampon that bit although some did just in boots. The ridge itself to Holmbuktind is easy enough going up but a serious place to ski coming back down, you wouldn't want to go off either side.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming out of the bowls onto the summit ridge of Holmbuktind</i></td></tr>
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From the summit of Holmbuktind you drop down (east) to the col between it and Jiehkkevárri (serious ground on your right). there was one short steeper section a bit after the col that I needed to put crampons on for, but after that its just knackering skinning for another couple of kilometres and some 200 mtrs of ascent to the summit. All of this is a glacier but we saw no signs of crevasses or bergschrunds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Skiing back across the </i><i>Jiehkkevárri across the plateau</i></td></tr>
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You reverse the route to descend. Going back up to the summit of Holmbuktind is pretty morale sapping but the ground gets too steep too quickly to try and take a traverse line below its ridge. Coming off the ridge and back down into the bowl there is probably the steepest bit - my experienced team mates estimated at 35 degrees. They swooped down it being good skiers. Being mediocre, I side slipped which was fine. After that its was all pretty fantastic skiing on spring snow right back down to the last kilometres through the afternoon gloop in amongst the trees. I fell over a lot here and used many rude words, taking skis off though is no help as you'll go crotch deep into the hell-snow. Trying to keep a sense of humour is probably the most important thing and tell yourself its only another few hundred metres back to the car!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Big drops either side - careful skiing back down Holmbuktind's summit ridge.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fantastic skiing above the sea.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The last of the great spring snow, back down to the trees.</i></td></tr>
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<b><i>Monday: Middagstinden (1072 mtrs). </i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Middagstinden from the house we stayed in. </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Steep skinning, Piggtinden's summit behind.</i></td></tr>
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This hill was right behind our house so an easy target after a long morning of drinking coffee and recovering from the big day before. Considering that this is still about a 1000 mtrs of ascent, we seemed to shoot up Middagstinden; I think we were up and back down in under three hours. Once out of the trees it's a pretty steady ascent up the west flanks. If you keep towards the ridge (south) you both minimise being on open slopes and get great views over to Piggtinden and it's amazing ridge. Skiing down was fantastic on first powder then great, firm spring snow. Once back in the trees I found what must be a track in summer and followed that back down coming out right by our house, avoiding the difficult slush skiing through the trees that had finished the day before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC1WwAW40vKTLsxCycVS-y0sQ2MqVjjYSIsLPN-lcXrCysiRjWH2Cv4mRzIdZfxDsj4G3ixOwAr5rEDppAlnBsZUH_DxxyBxhUNWSTFyNvipqCIjXmDDHS7gX-wuqXQpcX0FPRw/s1600/P1050421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC1WwAW40vKTLsxCycVS-y0sQ2MqVjjYSIsLPN-lcXrCysiRjWH2Cv4mRzIdZfxDsj4G3ixOwAr5rEDppAlnBsZUH_DxxyBxhUNWSTFyNvipqCIjXmDDHS7gX-wuqXQpcX0FPRw/s400/P1050421.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking back up at the great slopes we descended. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Tuesday: rest day. </i> </b><br />
<br />
Heavy rain at sea level. Some of us went to Tromsø for some shopping. I visited the the North Norway Art Gallery which was both interesting and free!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-dyE3f6fCWcbuLuZuZF12x32JF2_oDDnvMzz4V4PZhncuy4JfH8DvXxlzVhdcmkky8ZzpZ-y0UsMXFClkkOs6xII94s-gCI2OBLGgGwwxd7G9Lv5XN-P033XIeejp2mYWaVbgw/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-dyE3f6fCWcbuLuZuZF12x32JF2_oDDnvMzz4V4PZhncuy4JfH8DvXxlzVhdcmkky8ZzpZ-y0UsMXFClkkOs6xII94s-gCI2OBLGgGwwxd7G9Lv5XN-P033XIeejp2mYWaVbgw/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>They grow 'em tough up north.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Wednesday: the lower slopes of Blåtinden. </i></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDWsblczzIoh7tzhHPCBErkts1TEIR-k4ofsXQPrxa-aBZosZeNCU-yUDhijgK0FpItlBzurOy8KN4Bniv4s4gyr9GOefOedtkYC_EqgWvbtaWYqOli_rFQXP2bldhF_fageHJQ/s1600/Bla%CC%8A.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDWsblczzIoh7tzhHPCBErkts1TEIR-k4ofsXQPrxa-aBZosZeNCU-yUDhijgK0FpItlBzurOy8KN4Bniv4s4gyr9GOefOedtkYC_EqgWvbtaWYqOli_rFQXP2bldhF_fageHJQ/s320/Bla%CC%8A.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila6yjjdmN1iC1Px7iQsEYIQ6VkSckDIkwy8Wgp5ucpGUCiJJ260nkztUeUPHCrb-m210TSNUOFRGeFJymGVVPuMqyMxapP3Rd_M1jaZeHReIMwpDg07JoGJg0JfxhdU-xwI_UAA/s1600/P1050449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila6yjjdmN1iC1Px7iQsEYIQ6VkSckDIkwy8Wgp5ucpGUCiJJ260nkztUeUPHCrb-m210TSNUOFRGeFJymGVVPuMqyMxapP3Rd_M1jaZeHReIMwpDg07JoGJg0JfxhdU-xwI_UAA/s640/P1050449.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blåtinden from the lower slopes.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some of the team went fishing in the morning rain, so after lunch myself
and the fellow telemarkers of our group, Olli and Mikko, decided to go
and check out the skiing conditions. Blåtinden isn't strictly part of
Lyngen, its a well known ski peak in the Tromsø Fastland area, but only
about 15 minutes from where were staying. We went light without axes or
crampons and this meant we thought the upper slopes looked uninviting:
either wind-scoured and icy or loaded with the fresh snow that had
fallen in the last two days and blown in the hard wind from the now
scoured areas. We figured that all the rain at sea level was fresh snow
up high and it would have been moved a lot by the strong winds and
therefore we wouldn't be missing much besides slog and possible windslab
risk higher up. Nevertheless we met the unsuccessful fishermen, Dave,
Okke and Roger, as we headed down and they went all the way up reporting
that actually the conditions on the upper half were fine. Oh, well - a
summit for another time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMtRuiegqLZJIqyjtU0dSVK14sCPcQtJUPzJ_TLkVLclZUzs5VH9ejH2EKa_zkdEfepA_HnID0PZ1HK_QcSG8d85EWNhIMPKIfoJDnjBMSi9dOA1Pm7W9ckGwshEDZwFBpR3LUw/s1600/P1050453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMtRuiegqLZJIqyjtU0dSVK14sCPcQtJUPzJ_TLkVLclZUzs5VH9ejH2EKa_zkdEfepA_HnID0PZ1HK_QcSG8d85EWNhIMPKIfoJDnjBMSi9dOA1Pm7W9ckGwshEDZwFBpR3LUw/s400/P1050453.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Above Balsfjord.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PJXKcAd95BgRuX7dLeOxVZXfGVQvwQCvpb_Iancd2AdoG31HHVx10XvPuCqEsWK24bP9CxporRo_OZ120ixjHlSfH52PCdTniRIXxk_Rk1gAKN9j47N66xp76qzedFpLNmJxpg/s1600/P1050495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PJXKcAd95BgRuX7dLeOxVZXfGVQvwQCvpb_Iancd2AdoG31HHVx10XvPuCqEsWK24bP9CxporRo_OZ120ixjHlSfH52PCdTniRIXxk_Rk1gAKN9j47N66xp76qzedFpLNmJxpg/s400/P1050495.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olli making tracks down next to our track up.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Thursday: Tomastinden South Summit</i> (c. 1525 mtrs).</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimc6dkv9ohNnCd0V1emG4DP_wqQoLvcQrxrxM57xjty8IxYd_CAbf6s-bauo3oW7PtnbkSAfnWht8o4hv7i-UqxniQMOE2Lno778jKlKjfBJcI0DrhdonOywSqtXlSI1sI7_wyIw/s1600/Laksel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimc6dkv9ohNnCd0V1emG4DP_wqQoLvcQrxrxM57xjty8IxYd_CAbf6s-bauo3oW7PtnbkSAfnWht8o4hv7i-UqxniQMOE2Lno778jKlKjfBJcI0DrhdonOywSqtXlSI1sI7_wyIw/s320/Laksel.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid86TTn1Hg6D0JUGgHjyenN-sXazZXt3Is6bsnNp7fSbglAM-RevFVZlLO418qGDyvnl9Q-e8ODHuWdsjmwqx3_NYSPQOaLVnVHxG1B8GFy8Zs6X9fNDa2Sl885zOm2AJJwcjC0Q/s1600/DSC_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid86TTn1Hg6D0JUGgHjyenN-sXazZXt3Is6bsnNp7fSbglAM-RevFVZlLO418qGDyvnl9Q-e8ODHuWdsjmwqx3_NYSPQOaLVnVHxG1B8GFy8Zs6X9fNDa2Sl885zOm2AJJwcjC0Q/s640/DSC_0015.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tomastinden in the evening light. Don't worry you don't go up from that side!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The route finding is pretty easy on this one, from Lakselvbukt you go straight up the bloody, big couloir above the village (Tomasrenna). This we found mainly skiable although we bootpacked maybe the last couple of hundred metres. From here you emerge on to a wonderful glacial plateau, nicknamed the 'place of heavenly peace' surrounded by the Lakselvtindane peaks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggq4zTzvTSiPoyfO8VVUxFszBJbhqG8HW-hV7iSPJTNBTSnM63aqg_8xRK_Jluq-3d7l8LKmZQ6AAPwHkqKmvrmYm6LnIxHTzSu14h9zy9PEMzQgJ5y3u8WIn-bsNxSxqFYyCag/s1600/P1050528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggq4zTzvTSiPoyfO8VVUxFszBJbhqG8HW-hV7iSPJTNBTSnM63aqg_8xRK_Jluq-3d7l8LKmZQ6AAPwHkqKmvrmYm6LnIxHTzSu14h9zy9PEMzQgJ5y3u8WIn-bsNxSxqFYyCag/s400/P1050528.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The skin track in up the Tomasrenna</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9daIk2y_K6DUF8n2WR2V6KtrdkD343-HzqUgW5T8-a_va3u5pldu0wnJ-NveiZ46B_6NSMkA6XIfEt_8h4ebZVWit7T9Qiyyi0hR8n4G3BSZdPSFDfMyUQHSva9Mn8SdE4uHdYg/s1600/P1050531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9daIk2y_K6DUF8n2WR2V6KtrdkD343-HzqUgW5T8-a_va3u5pldu0wnJ-NveiZ46B_6NSMkA6XIfEt_8h4ebZVWit7T9Qiyyi0hR8n4G3BSZdPSFDfMyUQHSva9Mn8SdE4uHdYg/s400/P1050531.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The wonderful 'Place of Heavenly Peace'</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With the other telemarkers again I headed to the south summit of Tomastinden which appears to be the regular "skiers peak" - the <a href="http://www.lyngen.name/tomastind/tomastind.html">actual summit</a> is a few metres higher at 1554 but would require climbing gear to reach. Skiing back down from this peak was great in powdery snow then a schuss back across to glacier to the top of the Tomasrenna. I realised coming up that this was going to be beyond my skiing skills on the return, so I cramponed down the first few hundred metres before going back to skis. For strong skiers in our party this was amongst their favourite bits of skiing on the trip. For me, it was a bit to tough going to be really fun, but there is some satisfaction to be gained in just doing something difficult for you, and doing it safely.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxN1Ggv-PJms_Mi6atrEedM9YTS0V_ndMTFZrJ9muFr63dFSf8kg7PbRglpz80F644pjARsPiQ7dyZQRsOjqINuqR0UkUOeKq1RgnE1ezKlrd8LRteQBUslL0_YBOW1Y4Qz92wA/s1600/P1050542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxN1Ggv-PJms_Mi6atrEedM9YTS0V_ndMTFZrJ9muFr63dFSf8kg7PbRglpz80F644pjARsPiQ7dyZQRsOjqINuqR0UkUOeKq1RgnE1ezKlrd8LRteQBUslL0_YBOW1Y4Qz92wA/s400/P1050542.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Norwegian skier dropping down from Tomastinden's south summit</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJv4dAGZVSNWQB3r_krdcog_6MWGOtd0mcoELgEMEUU0XjYUzO_QbpJJw86c8H53lq8r2MGyU3SsiszxTcX_ZW-fzzKJfcnP-RQak9_ObxTt-R-VJf7ieLtMMUM2GTth19RfBHA/s1600/P1050553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJv4dAGZVSNWQB3r_krdcog_6MWGOtd0mcoELgEMEUU0XjYUzO_QbpJJw86c8H53lq8r2MGyU3SsiszxTcX_ZW-fzzKJfcnP-RQak9_ObxTt-R-VJf7ieLtMMUM2GTth19RfBHA/s400/P1050553.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olli and Mikko skiing back down the Tomasrenna.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Friday: Ellendaltinden</i> (1345 mtrs).</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7X1JWMOpOMM1_yH_1ZBr9ey06TUf17SHX_bcSOL9Xe3bGR8yCZEYtl2_UUa-zemPh0MNYEZbnyDqvVqf_RU78YyMm6ZkOxTzA4AvxE5eDSVrd_RPDV0UKcZbcPlds51vHhF2Zg/s1600/Ellen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7X1JWMOpOMM1_yH_1ZBr9ey06TUf17SHX_bcSOL9Xe3bGR8yCZEYtl2_UUa-zemPh0MNYEZbnyDqvVqf_RU78YyMm6ZkOxTzA4AvxE5eDSVrd_RPDV0UKcZbcPlds51vHhF2Zg/s320/Ellen.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1RyFMoyNgqpLd8gvHenGFc8OuNJDHNwPOtG0tUa65YHps-vX6vZoBEwUK7dXywelVgI6mk_MM5OaZBKiUPYbDEon3wlURMd-US8cspz4U-LtrlKmAgzPMLYe7nJVIW4-SslB4Q/s1600/P1050545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1RyFMoyNgqpLd8gvHenGFc8OuNJDHNwPOtG0tUa65YHps-vX6vZoBEwUK7dXywelVgI6mk_MM5OaZBKiUPYbDEon3wlURMd-US8cspz4U-LtrlKmAgzPMLYe7nJVIW4-SslB4Q/s640/P1050545.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellendaltinden (centre) and Langsdaltindane (right) from Tomastinden. The approach goes up the valley between the two.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After the 'big thursday', the Telemark team decided maybe to try something a bit easier for Friday. In one sense Ellendaltinden was difficult. Most of the skiing was straightforward although the last summit cone was covered in thick, hard <span class="st">sastrugi, so we left our skis at the col and bootpacked the last bit. But on the other hand, whilst beautiful, it was a long ski up Ellendalen - probably the the most distance we covered all week. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOVR6zF6Z1DtaqiSc_8a7aLqeb1Q0abwzbpIERGtIaQSMTc5oWKhxAp3mX1tsLrEvq7QaSlWcGFQn3eaLFScRsF3x49Nz_U1EqeMPfOzo8-xeVflZXp2W1psloNKkoq_FSxDXdA/s1600/P1050563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOVR6zF6Z1DtaqiSc_8a7aLqeb1Q0abwzbpIERGtIaQSMTc5oWKhxAp3mX1tsLrEvq7QaSlWcGFQn3eaLFScRsF3x49Nz_U1EqeMPfOzo8-xeVflZXp2W1psloNKkoq_FSxDXdA/s400/P1050563.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The valley approach starts along snowmobile tracks.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBXiG6Op1Y-fBBrHSX06qMDOXZrXhj-ICa0PAF_bqGIxntHmlQDLu9gmflgi0IAJebU_A8QPIzuky7kj5Zuyz_w3yaajsFU7oRReKphPTArniK6OCei45ipJz1F_fnalqOnXmEg/s1600/P1050574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBXiG6Op1Y-fBBrHSX06qMDOXZrXhj-ICa0PAF_bqGIxntHmlQDLu9gmflgi0IAJebU_A8QPIzuky7kj5Zuyz_w3yaajsFU7oRReKphPTArniK6OCei45ipJz1F_fnalqOnXmEg/s400/P1050574.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Higher, looking back down and westwards.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6MDgN0UfA-dWwPEOFzgZRyndyXENczSv4DaHdVRmS_vW4Soe2GfmK8COV0Q8LDK4XcZKWnj9WAa_92CDFImEHUS2raPOh6Phx_KNNjs_kljjp3LGak5e7W2sUcJ4unVoi0KTAwA/s1600/P1050577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6MDgN0UfA-dWwPEOFzgZRyndyXENczSv4DaHdVRmS_vW4Soe2GfmK8COV0Q8LDK4XcZKWnj9WAa_92CDFImEHUS2raPOh6Phx_KNNjs_kljjp3LGak5e7W2sUcJ4unVoi0KTAwA/s400/P1050577.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The mighty north wall of Langsdaltindane, around 700 mtrs high.</i></td></tr>
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<span class="st"> On the return a lot of this is just schussing, and in the afternoon sun we even had to pole a bit on the flatter sections. Nevertheless, its a fantastic viewpoint and you can seen right across Lyngen, and back in land to Sweden and Finland from the summit. Again, here the skiers summit is slightly lower than the true summit, but perhaps on by a metre or two; and getting over to the true summit <a href="http://kugo.no/2010/05/ellendaltinden-1345-moh-3/">looks really rather tricky</a>!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheItPrBL0ULAu01F3a3AN8DG1wvIobk1OVjNJhPWSbaaXMhgcAIZxrIgoZwE_FkcJY7pgpp-hKLCd3sKAF4TiBA_Gb23lAzIT3xTtA-ECdsf5q7UGHWU_Zbn5630OfPBlwLuerzw/s1600/P1050581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheItPrBL0ULAu01F3a3AN8DG1wvIobk1OVjNJhPWSbaaXMhgcAIZxrIgoZwE_FkcJY7pgpp-hKLCd3sKAF4TiBA_Gb23lAzIT3xTtA-ECdsf5q7UGHWU_Zbn5630OfPBlwLuerzw/s400/P1050581.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Swinging round to climb westward up the open easy summit slopes; great skiing coming back down.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihA3sSAu5j_ynx47_Z-Bwd4-YYFX1B4Anw3cuPRek88D-Zn8cg6m1LVdqGdZgGBb8H64yml6GBZeVPt4YCODH5ifREX5y0ZsPpelUv55RgDtlkVh_c55S2LiunEdfDdLHBw0udw/s1600/P1050598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihA3sSAu5j_ynx47_Z-Bwd4-YYFX1B4Anw3cuPRek88D-Zn8cg6m1LVdqGdZgGBb8H64yml6GBZeVPt4YCODH5ifREX5y0ZsPpelUv55RgDtlkVh_c55S2LiunEdfDdLHBw0udw/s400/P1050598.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mikko on the summit, looking south into the valleys that go up to Sweden and Finland.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDugunfO74Cq_nbdbOdIadfxicMWQneOjz6gFouvwxrH7xSYAZd9CAQ6n8uimpI1GtFi1eommPggquXuss2g6LlIMIvNIyRhyirRiuc-PrGa5UIYR5IlYP-9Xb4PYT2a_1AmkmxQ/s1600/P1050600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDugunfO74Cq_nbdbOdIadfxicMWQneOjz6gFouvwxrH7xSYAZd9CAQ6n8uimpI1GtFi1eommPggquXuss2g6LlIMIvNIyRhyirRiuc-PrGa5UIYR5IlYP-9Xb4PYT2a_1AmkmxQ/s400/P1050600.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hiking back down to the col where we left our skis.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XQBuXXOq5YkORigOuc-e9oqBIxSokx7DUdE7CvKeG2Qzsz_UsENp7uGoMvvHmoManbq4uXe6ULTDh-m8DzBjq-pycfRB3HRB0NGlI_4tQ9nst9rR2xVKmLENy2aKbWVqnU7UaQ/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XQBuXXOq5YkORigOuc-e9oqBIxSokx7DUdE7CvKeG2Qzsz_UsENp7uGoMvvHmoManbq4uXe6ULTDh-m8DzBjq-pycfRB3HRB0NGlI_4tQ9nst9rR2xVKmLENy2aKbWVqnU7UaQ/s640/DSC_0022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After six days of great skiing, everyone back down safely. Enjoying a beer in the afternoon sunshine. Thanks guys for the great trip!</i></td></tr>
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<span class="st"><br /></span>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-31089855824779459392013-05-21T13:09:00.000+03:002013-05-21T17:37:13.147+03:00Lyngen in May, a ski-mountaineering trip report (part 1)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XoBxzP7xrBFwxgzsCk7aaEHALRKorJNX6yvrxoNNiA8fBQDA1twkeC02io_MNb73YXXmJWMTx4hKsYoR0QRDum8fznV7OzyJiUar81LoqT_oW1nvzjI6eWiMxmGp1_3i5_d_qw/s1600/P1090965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XoBxzP7xrBFwxgzsCk7aaEHALRKorJNX6yvrxoNNiA8fBQDA1twkeC02io_MNb73YXXmJWMTx4hKsYoR0QRDum8fznV7OzyJiUar81LoqT_oW1nvzjI6eWiMxmGp1_3i5_d_qw/s1600/P1090965.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Telemarks off Holmbuktind (1666 mtrs), the summit ice cap </i><i>of Jiehkkevárrio (1834 mtrs) that we had just climbed is behind me. Thanks to Dave for this photo. </i></td></tr>
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I had never heard of Lyngen before moving to Finland despite having been pretty immersed in British climbing culture for a good number of years by that point. It's odd in a way because most of the first ascents in the region were done by British climbers visiting by ship around the start of the twentieth century. The region has seen some other British visitors as well down the decades, ascents of many of the major Lyngen peaks are described in Peter Lennon's “Scandinavian Mountains” from 1980s and Joint Services mountaineering teams did winter training in the area before that. Nevertheless, in the 1990s I don't remember any magazine articles about the area nor had I heard anything about British climbers visiting; it really seemed back then that, besides locals, the area was a Finnish playground – indeed it's much closer in driving time to Helsinki than it is to Oslo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2u2f1q3TY_PAYAl29GmfzUZcpfADiOsdnFgZumVJ2kSskVriM4E-JNWpQrRNiWQ_SqKd1pd3kES-uclMOAFHewfmS4GYiZKGggPDiSRkyaoGtzfO8-iKxKAIYrlsNbpEVD6nbw/s1600/DSC_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2u2f1q3TY_PAYAl29GmfzUZcpfADiOsdnFgZumVJ2kSskVriM4E-JNWpQrRNiWQ_SqKd1pd3kES-uclMOAFHewfmS4GYiZKGggPDiSRkyaoGtzfO8-iKxKAIYrlsNbpEVD6nbw/s1600/DSC_0116.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After 16 hours in the car, welcome to Lyngen (Piggtinden 1505 mtrs).</i></td></tr>
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When I first went I was awestruck by the place – both by its beauty and by its seriousness. It was relatively early in the winter - February I think; there was a lot of snow and a lot of avalanche activity. We camped and needed to melt snow for water all week. At night the temperatures got as low as -27. It felt like a total expedition experience and partly as a consequence of this we didn't get huge amounts done – just being; staying safe and comfortable in those kind of conditions takes some work. I've now been back almost ten times, sometimes to ski, sometimes to ice climb, even once in the summer to climb on rock. I feel I'm just about starting to get a feel for the place, but even though I've rarely camped since, finding you get much more done with a warm shower, meal and bed each night, it hasn't stopped feeling serious.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XLaOQ4sd0bMDlF77QnGmN8Mp34pyDay3bcI2vElLG-75Nyva6ZmgPB3VyvkVPcangPBuwCmeeUVGZSMkxIpT6RPJKCs47GRF9RiyPCsFXCeoNyuC5bxZpMUJc7qLKKWB4PQJPQ/s1600/P1050363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XLaOQ4sd0bMDlF77QnGmN8Mp34pyDay3bcI2vElLG-75Nyva6ZmgPB3VyvkVPcangPBuwCmeeUVGZSMkxIpT6RPJKCs47GRF9RiyPCsFXCeoNyuC5bxZpMUJc7qLKKWB4PQJPQ/s1600/P1050363.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is the Arctic. Crossing </i><i>Jiehkkevárri's ice cap on the way back over to Holmbuktind. Dave and Okke are just visible on the left giving the cornice/serac on the right a wide berth.</i></td></tr>
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If anything has changed in the 15 years that I've been going to Lyngen, it's other people going as well. On this trip we followed others skiers tracks most days – that wasn't the norm a decade ago where you would often be breaking trail and have the whole mountain as your canvas. Having not ski-toured in the Alps I can't really compare it, but I get the sense that despite Lyngen's huge rise in popularity, it is still not exactly crowded compared to more well known ski-touring destinations.
On this trip I was the youngest participant and I feel old more often than not, so we did sensible things as middle-aged men should.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix0HqC-IZ7irwDt9aDDHm_VDmoz4r-MEZF7YzN3S_yyWSclCPSzUwTeDW1y_uN5HFVZ6pg9eS1Z93IcTrBrDV2W7_Q-O2J9voV1IXTYzsK__KBxJFk4LRh6G-t_otvdM5Au2HzQ/s1600/P1050385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix0HqC-IZ7irwDt9aDDHm_VDmoz4r-MEZF7YzN3S_yyWSclCPSzUwTeDW1y_uN5HFVZ6pg9eS1Z93IcTrBrDV2W7_Q-O2J9voV1IXTYzsK__KBxJFk4LRh6G-t_otvdM5Au2HzQ/s1600/P1050385.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Late season; aesthetically pleasing tree wells but keep your skis out of them!</i></td></tr>
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We gave up a day to do the drive, making an early start from homes in the south of Finland, getting to our rented house in Lyngen by mid-evening. Yes, you can drive through the night and maybe get something done on your arrival but that's a young man's game. We ate wonderfully, in no small part thanks to the cooking talent of my trip mates. Wild boar, fresh halibut, shrimp straight from a trawler in Tromsø, authentic classic Chinese food from a former Beijing resident and even – I'm vaguely ashamed to admit – whale steaks. Yes, it would be illegal in the EU, but Norway isn't and they sell it in the supermarkets there. I just wish it hadn't tasted as good as it did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0vJ9wkBphWh315FHnFmyDCcfzIFWKOJ6D45upJG_ITh2MD0w5aF4Ypq9fSpFzIcFt0c2tHNyS1EakK4NIFjg22-8Mmubr-1y46ajWObkDNZ5ArPW-Ar2f23Law6_l08cRqUEog/s1600/P1050407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0vJ9wkBphWh315FHnFmyDCcfzIFWKOJ6D45upJG_ITh2MD0w5aF4Ypq9fSpFzIcFt0c2tHNyS1EakK4NIFjg22-8Mmubr-1y46ajWObkDNZ5ArPW-Ar2f23Law6_l08cRqUEog/s1600/P1050407.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skinning up Middagstinden (1072 m), Balsfjorden in the background. </td></tr>
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It was also our first trip in May – the date was chosen as much as anything else because the trip was a sort of a celebration of one of the team's imminent scoring of the big half century – but the decision turned out to be pretty successful from a skiing point of view too. We skied from the car each day which – in Lyngen – means from virtually sea level. Coming back down in the afternoons this meant that lowest slopes, often flat or near to it and through trees could be rather hard going with numerous falls into bottomless wet gloop. Not falling over is the obvious solution, although I'll blame it on my now rather old, narrowish skis rather than my poor skills. Higher we had everything from wonderful open slopes of sun-warmed spring snow, the odd icy sections and not inconsiderable amounts of powder. You can't ever stop thinking about avalanches in Lyngen – it is a serious place in that respect but earlier warmer weather had homogenized much of the snowpack making the base rather stable. We did see lots of full depth slips on lower slopes from strong sun, often off rock bands, but staying away from those areas was easy enough.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5v9qXM1ZZQcJObIKVIedhL7tyjhfp2Vi1S43NUeW-cZUM0FQxPxKxk6_jlBu8Oro1eCk2ZnvkhwSEnqDtQ7chZc-SHAGwWmVFGKM3CqgclMIS-s_oLCv_Vukley_Sl-h5Nexrg/s1600/P1050426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5v9qXM1ZZQcJObIKVIedhL7tyjhfp2Vi1S43NUeW-cZUM0FQxPxKxk6_jlBu8Oro1eCk2ZnvkhwSEnqDtQ7chZc-SHAGwWmVFGKM3CqgclMIS-s_oLCv_Vukley_Sl-h5Nexrg/s1600/P1050426.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nearly back to the road, as can be seen even at a height of only 100 mtrs there is plenty of snow left in mid May.</i></td></tr>
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Skinning in Lyngen is always an education in grind although I found myself going well on this trip and was fairly often was at the front of group. We had one rest day out of our seven days up there, and in the other six I worked out I did 6750 mtrs of ascent – I reckon 90 percent of that on skis; boot packing and cramponing was kept to a minimum. I think that cycling a fair amount helps prepare for this and mentally I don't hate the grind as much as when I was younger.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vGHi46esgyYXMlTvzu-_YJPRog-YGC-mjGrwBOVs31G1EiRHMVBJ0iSpyEByQgWn8hyphenhyphenC9G26SQQNA2mRQBCAupE_tHWmqdAnbhyphenhyphenx9K0zK1krbAM27QM960ikvkC6AYIfgkfI3A/s1600/P1050467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vGHi46esgyYXMlTvzu-_YJPRog-YGC-mjGrwBOVs31G1EiRHMVBJ0iSpyEByQgWn8hyphenhyphenC9G26SQQNA2mRQBCAupE_tHWmqdAnbhyphenhyphenx9K0zK1krbAM27QM960ikvkC6AYIfgkfI3A/s1600/P1050467.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mikko skinning above Balsfjord on the slopes of Blåtinden (1180 mtrs), although we didn't go to the summit that day.</i></td></tr>
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I had only skied for literally four or five days on alpine gear before I bought my own telemark gear, so I've been telemarking now for just shy of 20 years and can't really remember what it is like to have your heels attached. After this trip I think it might be time to bite the bullet and accept I just don't have the money and/or the access to good lift skiing to get better at telemarking and try AT kit as an alternative. I'm not a total disaster and my tele skills have been enough to take me for some of the best days I've ever had in the mountains. I also suspect that some newer, better gear would help a bit as well, my kit is over a decade old now. I can ski any piste in Finland confidently and relatively competently on the gear I have but mountain skiing is a harsh teacher. Crust, grabby snow, deep wet snow, even light fluffy powder can punish my okay-but-not-brilliant technique honed on the, mainly icy, pistes of Scotland and Finland. On this trip we also skied in a number of places where falling would be a bad to really bad idea. I cramponed down the first couple of hundred metres of one of the big couloirs where my friends jump-turned, and I side-slipped another steep section – maybe about 35 degrees – where again my friends on AT gear were skiing hard and fast. Being able to climb in ski boots is also a big attraction to clamping my heel back down. I can put my G12s on my tele boots and it's OK for steep snow but tenuous when on anything remotely technical. There's something fun about telemarking; even with its continuing rise in popularity it's still to be part of a special club – although perhaps that's a club of people who insist on making life more difficult than it needs to be!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM087t2IWXiCceDdldPVrv-n-PHQ0vr8u9wa-TPx1fo2A-H2v67pgw9eLajThaOQvZCzbj79aniTYE5dNTDXpUWkvg16j43I5Yp6H0GJy_V14O_wjHcO1fdevwcL9BXxBK7Pm46A/s1600/P1050520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM087t2IWXiCceDdldPVrv-n-PHQ0vr8u9wa-TPx1fo2A-H2v67pgw9eLajThaOQvZCzbj79aniTYE5dNTDXpUWkvg16j43I5Yp6H0GJy_V14O_wjHcO1fdevwcL9BXxBK7Pm46A/s1600/P1050520.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>About halfway up the Lakselvtindane massif; Lakselvdalen and Lille Piggtinden behind.</i></td></tr>
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The standout day for me was doing Jiehkkevárri, the highest peak in Lyngen at 1834 mtrs. It is something of a mountaineering challenge as despite being topped by a large flatish ice cap, there is no easy direct way to approach it. The 'standard' skiers route we took first goes to the top of its neighbour, Holmbuktind (1666 mtrs). It was fairly busy up there with lots of other teams making an ascent, but few others decided as we did to drop down to the col to its north and then begin the plodding re-ascent to Jiehkkevárri's eventual top, about another 3.5 kms on. You will have done about 2,300 mtrs of ascent by the time you reach its top.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9uZnWAg8oZg1QxbPdJpTUQFAgDEVxIIvvZo2D-5Lm0Qe2img5Bf4MSYyRM9IC_NFySCMZtwRMTQ34O2pNRpLRkHoMMfQVkbmqlyx-9INOkFkRJCbYDsirlnPL8jTJ6M5Q1-viA/s1600/P1050541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9uZnWAg8oZg1QxbPdJpTUQFAgDEVxIIvvZo2D-5Lm0Qe2img5Bf4MSYyRM9IC_NFySCMZtwRMTQ34O2pNRpLRkHoMMfQVkbmqlyx-9INOkFkRJCbYDsirlnPL8jTJ6M5Q1-viA/s1600/P1050541.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olli and some Norwegian guys on the "skiers summit" of Tomastind, just a few metres lower than the difficult to reach 1520 mtr main summit. The view is eastwards across the interior of the Lyngen peninsular.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Being an ice cap and flat there is nothing to mark the highest point beyond some ski tracks of earlier visitors and other signs of their passage: dropped lunch crumbs and yellow stains in the snow a few metres away. But that didn't matter. After numerous visits to Lyngen, spending probably a couple of months of my life in that magical area along with the hundreds of indifferent cups of coffee drunk in Finnish petrol stations to fuel that tedious 16 hour drive up; I had made it to the top. I might not be the most stylish or hard-charging skier going back down, but getting to the top of Jiehkkevárri (plus actually enjoying most of the skiing back down again) made me feel like I had got somewhere as ski-mountaineer and that's good enough for me.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VYVNOiNJKmr1AVzT3mmZDpM4HMEXvbbt5mmaAtkWYg6X8E3D85sIvKDPDA-NgkGMkbyFSUx9HRINNnv9YAsIFn1iujU_ZskF3l76M0swQOec4hDtsP8fOrKsOgeDuYpV_HMIFw/s1600/P1050554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VYVNOiNJKmr1AVzT3mmZDpM4HMEXvbbt5mmaAtkWYg6X8E3D85sIvKDPDA-NgkGMkbyFSUx9HRINNnv9YAsIFn1iujU_ZskF3l76M0swQOec4hDtsP8fOrKsOgeDuYpV_HMIFw/s1600/P1050554.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mikko and Olli picking their line for tele-turning back down Lakselvtindane's mighty Tomasrenna (The Tomas couloir).</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
(<i>I will soon do a part 2 to this post which will give some practical descriptions of the mountains we climbed and reflections on the routes taken.)</i>Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-79328271367560143352013-03-15T11:07:00.003+02:002013-03-17T11:47:14.888+02:00Dressed to distress; borders, bikers, Bolsheviks and black fingerless gloves.There was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-russia-must-pay-tribute-to-red-army-soldiers-who-died-in-1939-40-war-with-finland/2013/03/14/23e3cac4-8cda-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html">a little story from the AP yesterday</a> that I'm sure will have been read more closely in Finland than in most other countries; Vladimir Putin wants to commemorate the Soviet soldiers who died in the Winter War against Finland in 1939-40. According to the AP:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Putin said Thursday at a meeting with military historians that Soviet
dictator Josef Stalin launched the war to “correct mistakes” made in
drawing the border with Finland after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.</i></blockquote>
I'm not sure if many historians would agree with that analysis but that's by the by. Anyway, the Washington Post had <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-russia-must-pay-tribute-to-red-army-soldiers-who-died-in-1939-40-war-with-finland/2013/03/14/23e3cac4-8cda-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html">illustrated the story</a> with the somewhat tangentially connected picture of Putin giving an award to the head of some Russian biker group, Alexander "the surgeon" Zaldostanov for his patriotic youth work or some such. A quick google on Mr. Zaldostanov shows that he and Mr. Putin <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031752/Vladimir-Putin-leads-biker-gang-Alpha-Dog-photo-opportunity.html">have been friends for some time</a>, but more to the point the both seem keen on black fingerless gloves!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVX_unr4yQZJVWP9NdZXb4ef8IuQIjUHHrjLrY7wRBSqp941uhW6pvHGrPIZo2ScTx7URcaE1Il2OZwDR3u45Ay0sx61dvNqIEm9CtspbXNezdF28Vz3YUmzxgYzu7jCy2pxGIeQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-03-15+at+10.10.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVX_unr4yQZJVWP9NdZXb4ef8IuQIjUHHrjLrY7wRBSqp941uhW6pvHGrPIZo2ScTx7URcaE1Il2OZwDR3u45Ay0sx61dvNqIEm9CtspbXNezdF28Vz3YUmzxgYzu7jCy2pxGIeQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-03-15+at+10.10.40+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It's a long time since <a href="http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/search/label/global-mayhem-fashion">I last noted the black fingerless glove issue</a> in these pages, but it's a 'thing', honest guv'! My global-mayhem-fashion/black fingerless gloves all-encompassing theory of international relations is still developing, but tentatively I'm will to say, when they are worn (or worse - when just one is worn) be nervous.<br />
<br />
(There are more images of Putin with fingerless gloves on in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/39-photos-of-vladimir-putin-2013-3?op=1">this photo essay</a> along with some frankly disturbing shirts-off imagery.)Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-22672519045642648742013-03-13T13:29:00.000+02:002013-03-13T13:29:43.360+02:00Engaged with the worldI found some old notes today, typed hurriedly years ago whilst I was reading <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0330411926/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0330411926&linkCode=as2&tag=lighfromtheno-21">My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=lighfromtheno-21&l=as2&o=2&a=0330411926" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />by
Andrew Marr - a good book for anyone interested in journalism,
journalists and how their work interacts with and mediates our world. I
remember reading on climbing forum a couple of summers ago someone
asking "why is everyone talking about riots?" This person wasn't
interested in the news; cynical about all politics, she had made a
conscious decision simply not to watch or read any, and as a result was
unaware that there were major incidences of public disorder breaking out
across the UK including, if I remember correctly, in the centre of the
city where she lived. Whilst this struck me as misguided, it also seemed
an almost heroic decision to make - it must take quite some mental
effort to ignore all news, not to absorb any. I feel I get news, and
hence am engaged in politics, almost by osmosis these days - what you
eat, how you travel around, using a library, paying a bill all seem to
be political acts in some way as a result. Anyway, Marr writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I know people who barely read a paper and who think most broadcast news
is mindless nonsense. I think, however, they are wrong. They might go
through their weekly round, taking the kids to school, shopping,
praying, doing some voluntary work, phoning elderly relatives, and do
more good than harm as they go. But they have disconnected themselves
from the wider world; rather like secular monks, they have cloistered
themselves in the local. And this is not good enough. We are either
players in open, democratic societies, all playing a tiny part in their
ultimate direction, or we are deserters. (p.63)</i></blockquote>
Sometimes it is nice to switch off; to go for a walk in the mountain, for a ski in forests - but switching off forever? Is Marr right that this is desertion?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=lighfromtheno-21&o=2&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0330411926" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24900977.post-57409842585340467722013-03-05T13:04:00.003+02:002013-03-05T20:07:49.991+02:00Simond Alpinism Pants - a review.<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>I thought I'd write a review of these just because they are so good value for money. Doing gear reviews for UKclimbing, I get sent some amazing kit, but of course that sort of stuff is often very expensive, much more than many, including myself, can often afford. For obvious reasons, I've always been interested in kit that works well and doesn't cost the earth and <a href="http://www.decathlon.co.uk/alpnism-trousers-id_8010075.html">these softshell trouser</a> really fit that category.</i></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAK_QfyrxnEREUF3hZkuYV5pYtEDfpID2aniH4cJnmxGzjGB6TwvXEz_MdGSA7JyCyVxV4ODHT4f_UypsuXXTSPn2HR7wjVK9uvAU7jAPJoa7ihYvJVs1SFYngYsF-s96Eviouw/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAK_QfyrxnEREUF3hZkuYV5pYtEDfpID2aniH4cJnmxGzjGB6TwvXEz_MdGSA7JyCyVxV4ODHT4f_UypsuXXTSPn2HR7wjVK9uvAU7jAPJoa7ihYvJVs1SFYngYsF-s96Eviouw/s640/DSC_0043.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Warm, windproof, stretchy, tough and cheap. What more do you want?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.simond.com/en/1-Home">Simond</a> is a brand with huge heritage
amongst climbers, particularly those who have been in the game for a
couple of decades. The brand disappeared from the UK market over much
of the 1990s and 2000s, but anyone who has looked at pictures of the
groundbreaking Scottish winter routes of the 80s will recognise <a href="http://coldthistle.blogspot.fi/2011/08/simond-climbing-equipment.html">the distinctive (and oddly mismatched shapes) of the Simond Barracuda iceaxe and Chacal hammer</a>. When I was active in Scotland in the 1990s,
Simond Piranhas had taken over as the tools to have for the aspiring
ice jedi; I felt quite radically alternative when I bought a pair of
Charlet Moser Pulsars instead.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouA9RB0B8Zt-i17m9yRvwcHwAzhnR5pBauFKvjl28CVQZwX64ehkmXvqoScdHQSLqCCjqoC99ZLmpd1MqRly_ZJLFeABmXYTPay0YNKm6JdcWW9brzcR1-xS1JwHeN59QZnhBSA/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouA9RB0B8Zt-i17m9yRvwcHwAzhnR5pBauFKvjl28CVQZwX64ehkmXvqoScdHQSLqCCjqoC99ZLmpd1MqRly_ZJLFeABmXYTPay0YNKm6JdcWW9brzcR1-xS1JwHeN59QZnhBSA/s400/DSC_0004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Simond Alpinism Pants</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm not sure if Simond was actually
failing when the French sports superstore Decathlon bought them a few
years back, but clearly the massive heft of Decathlon has
reinvigorated the brand. They continue to make technical gear as they
always have (their ice gear is still for sale in an independent
climbing shop here in Helsinki) plus Decathlon is rebranding much of
its mountaineering oriented clothing and accessories as Simond. My
wife has near-to-identical softshell trousers to mine that she bought
a few years ago; just branded Quechua - Decathlons house brand for
outdoor equipment - whilst mine say Simond on them. It's interesting
as to whether Simond's legacy will mean sales to people who might not
have bought Quechua gear, I guess that's what Decathlon are counting
on. But, regardless of the name on your knee, <a href="http://www.simond.com/en/cat/Alpinism_clothing/prd/Pantalon_Alpinism_Man">these softshelltrousers</a> at 40 quid or (EUR 50), represent about as good value for serious
outdoor gear as you can currently find.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSVAKKO45hoQhQAj-KX_gJzASByzZqosWUCryVt4hRgncQhmP_wYmCEShMIjRp2unJoqkoJsoxPeWL7lUroGcFrCo53rshTFLyv0ueMa13Y-Iv9TQJwDu_tXl3cJD9lLFCiUQzQ/s1600/DSC_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSVAKKO45hoQhQAj-KX_gJzASByzZqosWUCryVt4hRgncQhmP_wYmCEShMIjRp2unJoqkoJsoxPeWL7lUroGcFrCo53rshTFLyv0ueMa13Y-Iv9TQJwDu_tXl3cJD9lLFCiUQzQ/s320/DSC_0002.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pockets and thigh vent details</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The basics: a heavyweight stretch woven
generic softshell material. Not using membrane softshell makes them
less windproof and water-resistant, but the thickness of the material
means that they are windproof “enough”, whilst keeping the
breathability and stretchiness that softshell should be all about.
For me these are definitely winter trousers where their warmth is an
advantage and their heftiness easy enough to ignore. In terms of
features they have plenty but not much more than I want. They have
removable braces to keep them up, but no belt-loops should you remove
them. All the pockets are zipped, two at the hip and one on thigh.
The fly is, wonderfully, a double ended zip, meaning “comfort
breaks” for the harness-wearing gentleman at least, are so much
easier to perform. There are zipped vents on thighs, backed with mesh
for less pasty flesh to show when open. I could probably live without
these, but can understand that when skinning up on ski tour in warm
weather they will help, indeed I used them whilst snowhoeing recently
in the sunshine. The ankle has a short zip and is adjustable with
velcro – this has a tendency to catch snow and come open in sticky
conditions. Inside the cuff is an internal gaiter; I've been pretty
impressed with these; they seemed sized to fit a mountain boot rather
than a massive ski boot and have a lace hook to hold them down. They
don't though have an eyelet for attaching bungee elastic which would
make them more usable. As they are, they will keep light and not too
deep fluffy snow out of your boots, but aren't much defence against
boot packing through deep snow or warm, heavy late season gloop. The
gaiters are, though, 'zip out' so can be easily removed for non-snowy
conditions or if you use an external gaiter. The finish of the
trousers seems great – no obviously weak seams or popping
stitching, and there are nice touches like 'zip garages' and every
zip puller having an extender on it to make them usable with gloved
hands. The only criticism is that velcro adjustment on the braces
seem sized for giants; I couldn't get them tight enough for me so had
to remove the velcro an re-position it so the braces would be
tighter.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ao46TDEZfOG-p-vMjxGpC2Td0f-OyeJEtc_sCfvr9RDHHkiAUpPlGNfBHAd38KI-42u3EEjVzx6wB8HTMt5a0DDTuLvIuGwsdbm1qHrWfSv6x_cx6ZszkpS4GJS1c-hB4E8XMw/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ao46TDEZfOG-p-vMjxGpC2Td0f-OyeJEtc_sCfvr9RDHHkiAUpPlGNfBHAd38KI-42u3EEjVzx6wB8HTMt5a0DDTuLvIuGwsdbm1qHrWfSv6x_cx6ZszkpS4GJS1c-hB4E8XMw/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Internal gaiter and crampon patch</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If you are climbing dripping icefalls
you soon realise the limitations of softshell; the Simonds will ward
off a reasonable amount of falling water and seem to dry out once you
are out of the 'shower zone', but they are not close to waterproof.
But with the exception of very drippy icefalls (which normally means
steeper and more complicated than I can climb!) or rain, I can't
think of many winter pursuits that the Simond softshell trousers
don't work well for. I've used mine since getting them in December
for ice and mixed climbing, snowshoeing, piste skiing, ski touring,
and tracked XC skiing. The big brands may well make something as good
or better; but for two or three times the price.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLuhx-NL1dS9v5FzjckkNIFDz9FcZFBa-GLtmyYe_HBHGlRLffB-dE87m6bID9imwbHnx-hhVtBXt3zMIk7E7OjqPiQ8buDdMRHugg3uPhYGtDv8vZ5hXqgPFUhxSrNXbnVGcNA/s1600/rajis-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLuhx-NL1dS9v5FzjckkNIFDz9FcZFBa-GLtmyYe_HBHGlRLffB-dE87m6bID9imwbHnx-hhVtBXt3zMIk7E7OjqPiQ8buDdMRHugg3uPhYGtDv8vZ5hXqgPFUhxSrNXbnVGcNA/s640/rajis-20.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And streeeetch... the author climbing at Rajis, photo courtesy of and ©H. Matilainen</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>(p.s. for any Finns reading this post who haven't visited a Decathlon anywhere else in Europe, they have spread <a href="http://www.decathlon.se/butiken.html">as far north as Stockholm</a>! Worth a visit if traveling through, and Decathlon - next stop Helsinki?) </i></div>
Toby - Northern Light Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14342195033125549912noreply@blogger.com0