Trail magazine November 2012

waterproof SpeCIaL!

Britain’s Best-selling hillwalking mag

november 2012 £3.99 www.livefortheoutdoors.com

Scramble two classics

Striding + Swirral edgeS

W I L D S L E E P

L a k E D I S t r I c t

S k I L L S

The one that cleared space on the fridge for a lovely picture on the Cantilever...

A

SNOWDONIA

wake up on THe SummiT

deScend Safelyrainproof kitSave Soggy electronicS

Cadair idris HiGH sTrEET

CaT bEllsQuinaG

gearwalking + winter JaCketS • trOUSerS

to keep you dry

22 pages of

kit

...of buachaille etive mor!

CapturIng50 yearS of

mountaIn adventure

exclusive photos

13 hill routes

LIve Fo

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UTD

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2

5 phenomenal icons in one day!WaLES tryfan

& tHE gLyDErS

out thereBeen there, climbed that? Send us a picture!out there

4 Trail november 2012 november 2012 Trail 5

out there

november 2012 Trail 5

Send us your shots, share your adventures email your photos to us, along with a description of what was special

about your day, and we’ll publish the most inspiring examples! Put ‘out there’ in the subject box, and send them to [email protected]

Cuillin Ridge Isle of SkyeArlene, during a 2-day overnight traverse of the

Cuillin Ridge. She says: “Couldn’t have asked for better weather, my guide was fantastic and I was so pleased

to have completed all 11 Munros no problem. I had heard about the queues at the Inaccessible

Pinnacle but we didn’t see a single soul up there, which made it all the more special.”

No longer a Munro 10Which Scottish mountain has been demoted?

Trail’s Wasdale weekend 12We’re going for a walk/beer. Come and join us! Dream peak 14Sutherland’s Quinag, dramatic sentry of Scotland’s far north. You know you want it...

Behind the picture 16A brutal vignette from the Cuillin – and the lengths artist Jamie Hageman went to in order to create it.

contents Where this month’s issue will take you...

Descending safely 44 How to get down off the hill in one piece

Ask Trail 46 STAY DRY SPECIAL! Saving soggy electronics, making packs rainproof, avoiding damp arms, cleaning gear, drying boots, stashing a jacket

Trail talk 18 The world of hillwalking – according to you lot

Subscribe and get a gift! 32 Fancy a 2 or 3 litre Platypus hydration system? Sign up for Trail today and we’ll send you one

Why we love... 146 ...summits. “Are we nearly there yet?” Erm...

100% pure Snowdonia 20 Walk the very best of north Wales, in a day Buachaille bivvy 34 Join Trail for a wild night on the summit of Britain’s most recognisable peak Images of the edge 52 Climber, photographer and movie cameraman John Cleare shares the stories behind some of his most iconic mountain shots

a dv e n t u r ess k i l l so u t t h e r e

p34

NOVEMBEr 2012 Trail 9

And so to bed – on Buachaille Etive Mor!tom bailey

Quench your hill thirst with a Platypus hydration system, when you subscribe to Trail – page 32.

p20

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g e a rGear news 64The must-have hill kit that’s coming soon

Petzl Nao 66 A headtorch that’s brighter than any of us

Hillwalking jackets 68 One piece of gear that you can’t do without!

Winter jackets 80 For all-year-round foul weather repellence

Overtrousers 92 6 of the best ways to waterproof lower limbs

Walking jackets that won’t break the bank? We’ll drink to that!

Mat maestro Therm-a-Rest branches out into sleeping bags – page 64.

Where this month’s issue will take you...

Lake District 107Route 1 HaweswaterWalk a lovely but less visited long, narrow ridge

Lake District 109Route 2 Kentmere fellsFind space to stretch out in the Far Eastern Fells

Mid Wales 111Route 3 Drygarn FawrHead to one of the area’s most remote mountains

Lake District 113Route 4 Castle Crag/High SpyHidden treasures and great views, revealed

NW Highlands 115Route 5 QuinagOne day, one dramatic massif, three Corbetts

Southern Uplands 117Route 6 Rhinns of KellsSavour a feast of fellwalking in the Galloway Hills

Killin 121Route 7 Tarmachan RidgeRoute 8 Ben Lawers RidgeRoute 9 Sron a ChlachainThis pretty Scottish hillwalking base brings you six Munros – and six pubs to match!

Machynlleth 127Route 10 Pistyll y LlynRoute 11 Cadair Idris Route 12 Waun-oer Fancy a long weekend walking in mid Wales? Then why not head to this ‘attractive and quirky’ market town for three very different routes...

Lake District 133Route 13 Helvellyn via the Edges Our Classic Route brings you a hands-on challenge that includes the famous ridges of Striding Edge (‘the best-looking scramble in Britain’) and Swirral Edge

a dv e n t u r es

r o u t es

NOVEMBEr 2012 Trail 9

Classic Route

with 3D maps

p68


Where? North WalesWhat? Seeking the postcard spots

100% pure SnowdoniaYou might have seen it before, but when it’s all that’s best about north Wales, maybe you should see it again…

Words Ben Weeks PhotograPhs MattheW RoBeRts


Where? North WalesWhat? Seeking the postcard spots

Up and over Bristly Ridge, leaving the perfect mountain form of Tryfan behind.

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Ask us A question!So you’ve got a problem that needs solving, but don’t want to lose face with your mountain mates? Don’t worry, Trail’s expert team is here to help…

GrAhAm thompsonGT has been Trail’s technical editor for over 20 years, and he’s a fountain of knowledge on all aspects of walking kit.

simon inGrAm

jeremy Ashcroft

LyLe Brotherton

Trail’s editor is a Mountain Leader trainee, and he’s been on more mountains than most of us could dream about.

Mountaineering editor Jeremy has a wealth of experience in the UK and overseas, and he’s here to solve your problems.

Lyle is one of the world’s leading navigation experts and the author of The Ultimate Navigation Manual, pb Collins.

If you’ve got a question about hill-walking. Get in touch and ask our team.

Post your queries to: Ask Trail, Trail, Bauer, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA.

Even better, email us: [email protected] and put ‘Ask Trail’ in the subject box.

(Sorry, but we can only answer the questions that appear in the magazine.)

peter mAcfArLAnePeter’s our lightweight expert, and he can give you all the advice you need about saving weight on the hill.


Stay dry specialtrail skills

46 Trail november 2012

I recently ruined an iPod when I left it in the top pocket of my rucksack during a rainstorm. Try as I will, my stuff always

seems to end up wet. What’s the best tactic for trying to save wet electronics? Jackie Markham, Worcestershire

Obviously a waterproof case or pouch – or even a freezer bag – is the preferred avoidance tactic. But Team Trail has lost enough

phones (and cameras, and iPods) to the rain to know that accidents do happen. Whatever your device, this is a good way of limiting damage…

DON’T turn it on. It’s tempting to panic and check that your gadget is okay – but water and electric currents don’t really mix,

and you can end up doing far more damage by way of a catastrophic short circuit. For this reason, you must remove the battery if possible (this will help the drying process too). Also remove the SIM card if applicable; the contents of this card are often irreplaceable, and if wiped dry quickly enough it will probably be fine.

Once most of the water has been removed, the trick is to use something hydrophilic (water-attracting) to draw the moisture

out of the phone. There are some specialist products for this, like the Bheestie Bag (www.bheestie.com). Desiccant like silica is ideal, but it’s hard to get hold of; so stop at a supermarket and buy a bag of uncooked rice to use instead. The more components you can separate before doing this, the better.

The longer you can leave it to dry, the better. Keep turning the components – as if cooking a sausage on a barbie – every hour,

then leave it overnight. Then, when you think it’s dry, leave it for another few hours.

1

3 4

What can I do if my phone gets wet?

q

A

keeps you dryA condom is great protection – for your phone! It keeps it dry and safe.

ASK


Stay dry specialFor years I’ve struggled with waterproof liners and bin bags to

try to keep the contents of my rucksack dry – and while it works fine, what I really want is a bag that’s waterproof. Given the amount of spray-in waterproofing treatments available, is there any reason why I can’t just use them on my rucksack? Chris Short, Leeds

This depends. Broadly speaking, you can waterproof the fabric of most rucksacks using a spray-on waterproofing treatment such as

Granger’s Superpruf (www.grangers.co.uk). This is a silicone-based waterproofing spray which air-dries, making tumble-drying unnecessary, and with most outdoor rucksacks being made of robust, tightly woven fabric, that’s that. But while this will greatly reduce the ingress of water into your rucksack, it will probably still leak. Why? The seams.

High-quality stitching found in good rucksacks will limit the amount of water that can penetrate the seams, but – as a seam is basically a break in the fabric full of many little holes – you can’t expect any seam to be infallible. Seam sealer such as McNett SilNet (www.mcnetteurope.com) can help solve this, but you’ll be doing well if you can access and proof all the seams on your sack as there are loads of them, and they’re in awkward places – which is the reason rucksacks generally aren’t made to be waterproof in the first place. This fact, combined with the presence of pockets, lids, and other entry points, means you’ll probably end up with a rucksack that is more waterproof than it was, but still isn’t completely stormproof.

Trail recommends investing in a waterproof pack liner or, if that’s too cumbersome, individual fold dry-bags for various aspects of your kit – which has the benefit of making your rucksack an organised, modular affair. Pack liners and dry-bags are made by Exped, and can be found at www.exped.de

The phone now needs to be dried off. Blowing is bad; sucking is good – hence a lot of people (carefully!) use a vacuum

cleaner and avoid hairdryers when dealing with seriously waterlogged devices. But neither may be available, so you may have to do this by lightly patting with an absorbent cloth.

Once it’s out of the rice, leave it for a few hours at room temperature on some absorbent material like loo roll. Then, after

examining it, try reassembling the phone and turning it on.

2

5

What can I do if my phone gets wet? Can I use waterproofing treatment on my rucksack?

q

A

keeps you dryKeep those little packets of

silica gel that come in the box with new purchases.

Put them in your dry- bags to help absorb

moisture.

68 Trail NOVEMBER 2012 NOVEMBER 2012 Trail 69

group test

tEst graham thompson PhOtOgRaPhs tom Bailey

what we testedSprayway Odyssey/AZARIA £160Vaude ORtleR £165Berghaus HuRRIcAne £180Kathmandu BReccIA £200Mountain Equipment FIReFOx £200Patagonia stOR £220Páramo VIstA £220Rab BeRgen/VIddA £220

When crossing the UK’s moors and mountains a general-purpose hillwalking jacket is essential. In this test we look at examples costing £150-220.

hillwalking jackets

NOVEMBER 2012 Trail 69

hillwalkiNg jackEts

hillwalking jackets

Whether or not you’re befuddled by features and fabrics, our test will help you choose a walking jacket.

october 2012 Trail 63

words and interview simon ingramaLL photographs john cleare

mountain leGenDS part 3


IMAGES OF THE EDGE

G r a n d c a t h e d r a lk a r a k o r a mAn incredible view of the avenue of pinnacles lining Pakistan’s Baltoro Glacier, including the Lobsang Spires, which are the most arresting part of this image. Many of these remain unclimbed.John Cleare: “The Karakoram is a very exciting range to photograph. Distances are huge, but the mountains are so spectacular... peaks like the Grand Cathedral and the Muztagh Tower. They often get mixed in with the Himalaya, but they are not. They are Trans-Himalayan – desert country.”

Photographer John Cleare captured British mountaineering in bloom – and the pictures he has amassed rank among history’s most enduring images of adventure. Here he exclusively shares the stories behind his most iconic shots.

�

october 2012 Trail 63

W i l d o p e n

words dan aspel photographs matthew roberts

mountain leGenDS part 3

Rock-climbing legend, adventurer, Kangchenjunga-summiteer: Joe Brown at 81, June 2012.


There’s a mixture of the alternative and the classic in this selection of routes. While traditionalists can head up the ever popular Helvellyn, those in search of something different can enjoy long-lost Quinag in Sutherland, the Galloway Hills or one of our spectacular routes in mid Wales or the Lakes. As ever, happy walking!

Trail Routes 1-12 use OS mapping and gradient profiles, and are available to download at lfto.com/routes

1 Haweswater 10.9km p107 2 Kentmere 15.4km p109 3 DrygarnFawr 15km p111 4 CastleCrag/HigHspy 17.7km p113 5 Quinag 13km p115 6 rHinnsoFKells 34km p117

ultimate weekend – killin 7 tarmachanridge 12km p122 8 benlawersridge 15.5km p123 9 sronachlachain 6.8km p124

ultimate weekend – machynlleth 10 pistyllyllyn 6.6km p128 11 cadairidris 8.1km p129 12 waun-oer 14.5km p130

classic route 13 helvellynviatheedges 13.5km p133

p107 p110 p118

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GRADIENT PROFILE

00

METRESABOVE

SEALEVEL

140012001000800600400200

MILESKILOMETRES

Start Pistyll y Llyn Hafodwnog Finish

1 2 3 4

11

22

33

44

5 6

SN756962 Continue up the lane around to the

right to enter the farmyard. Pass a barn on the right and then swing left, signed to the Falls. Follow this track until it forks and take the top (left) branch to continue in the same direction. Stay on this until a stile, beneath a gate, leads onto rough ground. Keep straight ahead, with a fence to your left, and you’ll eventually reach a gate on the left that leads into a small plantation. Continue to a gate that leads onto open ground and keep ahead again to

the mill ruins of Llechwedd Melyn, where you’ll see the rusty remains of a turbine.

SN755949 Pass the fenced-off shaft and

cross the stream then bear half left to follow the path of least resistance uphill, roughly parallel to the tributary stream, until you reach a coppice at the top. Here join a good path and bear right to start the final climb above the falls. The path becomes incredibly airy as it ascends, eventually tracking above some huge crags

before topping out on a tussocky plateau.

SN753941 Bear south-south-west to a kind of

stile in the fence ahead and cross this to enter the wood. Now follow the vague path through the wood, gradually climbing to join a forest track. Turn left onto this and follow it until it eventually leaves the forest at a gate. Turn left and follow the broad track left and right and then, as it tracks across the head of the valley, pass a huge water pipe. Next bear left, off the track, to follow a narrow path along the ridge top.

SN762945 Continue along the ridge top

until you are running parallel with the track again and cross a stile before bearing half left to start losing height. Drop until you pass above a fence corner and follow the contour lines to cross a patch of marshy, reedy ground. Now bear half right to follow the edge of this up to a gap in the fence. Go through and follow the ridge top until you verge with a fence on the left by a gate. Keep the fence to your left and continue to the end, where you turn left. Cross the field, parallel to the fence above, and then bear right to drop steeply to a gate. Go through and follow a good track down into the farmyard. Turn right to return to the car park.

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Distance 6.6km (4 miles)

Total ascent 400m

Time 3 hours

Start/finish small car park, road end, south-west of Glaspwll (SN756962)

Terrain rough and boggy pastures and good forest tracks; one very exposed path

Maps OS Explorer: (1:25,000) 215; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 135

Public transport buses south from Machynlleth only as far as the A487 0871 200 2233; www.traveline-cymru.info

Guidebook Walking Around the Plynlimon Hills by Roger Handley, pb Kittiwake

Manchester

Middlesbrough

Kendal

Skipton

Sheffield

PeterboroughBirmingham

Derby

Betws-y-Coed

Pembroke

Brecon

Bristol

Plymouth

Poole

Bodmin

Minehead

BrightonSouthampton

Oxford

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

EdinburghGlasgow

Aberdeen

Inverness

Fort William

Oban

MallaigInverie

Shiel Bridge

Ullapool

Braemar

Killarney

TraleeDingle

KenmareCork

Waterford

Dublin

Belfast

Londonderry

Donegal

Hay-on-Wye

Llangollen

IngletonBentham

Lancaster

Stranraer

Ballantrae

Ayr

Dumfries

Portree

MULL

ISLE OF SKYE

ISLE OF LEWIS

Lairg

Thurso

Invergarry

Aviemore

Newton Stewart

Jedburgh

Leeds

York

Northallerton

Barmouth

RhylConway

Cardigan

Aberystwyth

SwanseaCardiff

Gloucester

Exeter

ISLE OF ARRAN

JURA

ISLAY

HARRIS

Bodelwyddan

Liverpool

Carlisle

Penrith

Windermere

Keswick

in association with

To get this route and maps on your phone now, go to

www.viewranger.com/trailRoute code TRL0308

Pistyll y Llyn

6.6km/4 milesmid walEs10 route

always take a map out with you on the hill

Short waterfall

walk

factsstRenuousness

naViGationteChniCality

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Pistyll y Llyn seen from above, on the descent.

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SH732115 Leave the car park through the gate

next to the toilets and turn right to head up the broad tree-lined lane that leads up to Dôl-y-Cae. Go through the kissing gate in front of this and turn left to walk beneath the house and over a bridge. Now turn right through a clearly signed gate and follow the steep, purpose-built Minffordd Path up into the trees. The flagstone steps make reasonably easy work of the gradient and soon you’ll emerge through a gap in a wall onto the open hillside

SH727120 Keep ahead for a few steps and then

bear left when the path splits by a bridge. Now continue around the hillside and climb easily into the mouth of Cwm Cau, where the

Cadair Idris

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Start Cadair Idris Finish

1 2 3 4 5

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6 7 8


1

path splits again. Keep right to walk past a large rocky rib to the shores of Llyn Cau. Once there, bear right to walk

along the retaining moraine bank to the outlet in the north-east corner.

SH717125 Cross the outlet – it can normally

2

Good paths, easy scramble

be jumped at its narrowest point – and follow a good path along the northern shores of the lake. You’ll hurdle a couple of awkward rock ribs and then climb a little to arrive at the broad foot of a gulley, directly above the north-west corner of the lake. This is the Stone Shoot; but don’t worry – its bark is much worse than its bite.

SH711124 The way ahead is obvious:

follow the path into the ever narrowing gulley. It steepens near the top and is definitely hands-on, although never difficult. There are a few different lines but all end up in the same place. A steep final pull gains a deeply cut niche in the ridge that leads between Craig Cau and the main summit of Penygadair. Turn right to follow the main cairned path steeply up to the summit, where there’s a trig point and a bothy that can be very welcome on a bad day.

Leaving point 5, Cadair Idris summit.

always take a map out with you on the hill 8.1km/5 miles

route 11mid walEs

Distance 8.1km (5 miles)

Total ascent 930m

Time 5-6 hours

Start/finish Dôl Idris car park (SH732115)

Terrain good paths and a steep but easy scramble

Maps OS Landranger (1:50,000) 124; OS Explorer (1:25,000) OL23

Public transport buses between Machynlleth and Dolgellau. Traveline Cymru 0870 608 2608 www.traveline- cymru.org

Guidebooks Day Walks in Snowdonia by Tom Hutton, pb Vertebrate Graphics; Mountain & Hillwalking in Snowdonia Vol 2 by Carl Rogers, pb Mara Books

stRenuousnessnaViGation

teChniCalitytrail 100 Count

■■■■■

■■■■■

■■■■■

1

facts

To get this route and maps on your phone now, go to

www.viewranger.com/trailRoute code TRL0309

in association with

4

SH711130 To descend, retrace your steps back

to the top of the Stone Shoot, and keep straight ahead to clamber up onto the summit of Craig Cau. Keep straight ahead, over a stile, and keep following the obvious, rocky path as it traces the edge of Cwm Cau, eventually veering south-east. Now follow it all the way to a gap in the shoulder, where a cairn marks the main path dropping left to descend into Cwm Cau. Stay with the path as it tracks right to rejoin the path you walked in on. Now simply retrace your steps back down to the car park.

scramble

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Documents

Trail magazine November 2012