Elterwater, Lake District: February 2010

Once again it was time to head to the hills where the weather is unpredictable, the natives friendly and the sheep are scared. Last year, the event was held at a new location: Elterwater. This year, we also based ourselves there.

Thursday 4th February

I set out with my friend Keith in the early afternoon on our long trip from London to the Lakes. I had been going since we started this annual event in 1995 and had missed only one (last year's in fact) but it was Keith's first trip to the Lakes and he had brand new clothes and boots to try out.

We arrived in Elterwater at about 8pm after a five and half hour drive but we couldn't find the Hostel so we decided to call in a pub to ask. As luck would have it, most of the others were in the pub eating and drinking. To boot, it was John McCabe's birthday and he bought us all a drink. We stayed in the pub for a while and had a meal and more drink before going to the Hostel that was almost next door!

Back at the Hostel, John was presented with a birthday cake with a lot of candles (I didn't count) and we all had a piece (of cake, not of John!). There was a more drinking and a game of Scrabble before bed. Some of the words in the Scrabble game were a bit suspect and definitely not in everyday use. However, they were allowed following some lexical discussion. Some people stayed up really late till about 4am but I was tired after all that driving, whisky and unusual Scrabble words so I went to bed at the decent hour of midnight.

This time, there were about 33 people on the trip, some of them new to this annual feast of eating, drinking, walking and talking.

Friday 5th February

In spite of the late night, most people were up and at it early. The industrious cooks produced the usual magnificent breakfast while others made their plans for the day. Outside, it was misty but dry. Our group - comprising David B, Barry, Patrick, Keith and me - set out about 10am and drove to New Dungeon Ghyll where we parked in a nearby convenient (and free) lay-by after having discovered how expensive the car park was to use.

Our mission today was to go to the top of Harrison Stickle. As we ascended, mud turned to snow and ice and the mist enveloped us more and more. We eventually reached a frozen tarn where the mist was like a thick blanket; we could hardly see anything. Somewhere along the way we stopped for lunch surrounded by snow. We eventually got to the summit at about 3pm, the mist lifted a little but there wasn't much of a view. We started back down almost immediately.

On way down we got a bit lost and then got a lot more lost. There was a lot of head-scratching and map consulting until we found the right path. By now it was about 4pm and darkness was approaching. We had about 4 miles to walk before 5pm when it would be dark. Just in time, we got to the Old Dungeon Ghyll where we stopped for a drink and found some of the others. Keith, Patrick and I then went back to the hostel leaving David B, Barry and the others drinking. They said they would stagger back the 4 miles to the hostel.

The evening meal was served about 8.15pm and was prawn curry with all the accompaniments courtesy of Sue and John B and very nice it was too. It was followed by a selection of puddings courtesy of Gaff.

Later, we had a game of monopoly that Barry won having acquired most of the prime properties by stealth. After that, Keith decided to do a 500 piece circular jigsaw. I helped out till 1.30am and then left Keith to continue with it aided by Tony and Barry.

Saturday 6th February

A bit of a later start today owing to the inability to get up of some of the jigsaw crew! As I entered the dining area, I saw the large, circular jigsaw completed on one of the tables. A couple of pieces were missing but that didn't detract from the magnificent achievement even if it did take all night.

We had the usual hearty breakfast and our team, comprising the same individuals as yesterday, set out at about 10.30am. We drove to the New Dungeon Ghyll again but this time there was no space on the road to park so we had to use the expensive car park. We had to dig around in our pockets for the small fortune that was the car park charge. Our destination today was Crinkle Crags.

Up we went - it wasn't too long before we started walking on snow and ice. The weather today was much better: blue skies and sun and we could see the view! The snow became thicker and it proved difficult to make progress. We had lunch sitting on rocks surrounded by snow but under blue sky and in sunshine. It had become quite warm. Keith decided to take his socks off for some reason. We saw someone carrying skis and thought he was going to ski down the snowy slope but he didn't. I think he was carrying them just for show (rather than for snow).

On we went after our refreshment. We had a change of plan and decided to go to the top of Bow Fell instead. The ice and snow continued all the way to the top and it became more and more difficult to make progress. When we got to the top, we were rewarded by some great views. We could see Scafell Pike and many other prominent peaks jabbing at the blue sky. We stayed at the summit for a while enjoying the view and the warm sunshine. Other climbers began to arrive at the summit both Human and Canine in nature.

After we had had another snack and drink, we decided to start back. Keith and Patrick decided to take some short cuts and slid on their fronts and backs down the snowy bits. I had a go too but found it difficult to stop! I don't think that David or Barry tried it though. Eventually, we got back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll for some rest and refreshment. Keith had some problems with his feet and so I took him back to the Hostel so he could put some new ones on. I went back later to collect the others. When I got there, the bar was heaving with lots of beer drinking hill walkers who were now exercising their arms rather than their legs. By now it was dark and there were lots of stars to be seen.

There was a rugby match on tonight and many had gone down to the pub to watch it so there weren't too many people around early on in the evening. Everyone made it back eventually, well everyone except one. Chris R had detached from his group earlier and had gone off on his own. As it got later, we started to get more worried until finally Chris appeared then we all started to think about food.

Dinner was late, very late - it was served at about 9.30pm - something to do with ovens and men's inability to deal with them. When it came it was lasagne with garlic bread and salad and was very good. The main course was followed as usual by some of Gaff's puddings and other dessert choices so there was plenty to choose from.

After dinner, some of us had another game of Monopoly. This time, there was Keith, Barry, Patrick, Viv and me competing to buy properties and hoping to bankrupt our fellow-players. In the end, Viv won in spite of Barry's best efforts! I got knocked out early so didn't care too much!

While we played, others were trying to complete a cryptic crossword puzzle and there was a game of chess going on that "Grand Master Barry" was taking part in as well as the Monopoly game. Some didn't get to bed until very late (or very early depending on how you look at it).

Sunday 7th February

Time to go home, all the fun was over until next year. Everyone was tired and achy and it was cold and frosty outside.

After breakfast and a bit of cleaning up, people started to disappear. Keith, David B and I were soon the only ones left. We finally left at about 11.30am. The adventure had finished for another year.

These and a few more more pictures from this event can be seen on the Flickr photo sharing website: Click here