Pheeww.... What a climb !!! Unforgettable in so many ways. The most beautiful day, most amazing scenery, and the most exhilarating but tiring of climbs.
We expected to be climbing for 7-8 hours... but with porridge & cooked breakfast we fairly blitzed the ascent and got the summit in just short of 3.5 hrs. The last 300m of vertical ascent were snow covered and difficult underfoot. My God - what a view from the top ! Visibility 40-50 miles and no cloud or haze to speak of.
After a 20 minute rest and a pot noodle we started our descent and spent the next hour or so refamiliarising ourselves with the people we had passed on the climb as they struggled to the summit.
£40 collected during the day made the pain of the descent worthwhile. Personally I found the descent harder than the climb and this feeling was reinforced when a blister on my right foot burst and made for an uncomfortable last 30 minutes. The pain was quelled with a medicinal pint of Guinness before heading back to the hotel for a relaxing sauna and soak in the hotel leisure suite.
This evening we walked into town and ate at the Grog & Gruel pub where the staff remembered us from our brief visit last year...
Top day, a fantastic climb and a real sense of achievement as we ready ourselves for our last climb tomorrow in the Lakes.... bring it on -Scarfell Pike.
Good night... same time tomorrow... Tim
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