Meet Report: 6-8 January 2017.

Those booked in on the meet were asked to share transport where practicable on account of the limited parking above LHG and many heeded this request. The first arriver called in on the Australian renters of the neighbouring NT cottage and explained that over twenty mountaineers were arriving and gave them the dismal weather forecast. Within a few hours they had moved on to Ireland before the end of their planned stay. This alleviated the parking situation and only one car needed to be parked at by the ford.

Friday’s heavy drizzle turning to light rain was braved by one who explored the ridge from Cathedral Quarry over Betsy Crag and Great Intake and onto Birk Fell, returning via Yewdale and the drying room.

The evening passed with new arrivals greeted by shouts of ‘Happy New Year’ and provided with freshly made soup and bread. A number of minor improvements were made to the hut. Tasteful charity shop curtains in subtle greens and browns had been sized and re-hemmed by Carol for the main room’s window. Michael, David and Andy fitted the replacement downstairs dehumidifier, moved the old one upstairs and added to it a timer and temporary heater. A duckboard was placed outside the shower and three replacement fluorescent tubes were fitted in the main room.

Our newly installed President laying the table for his evening meal put out hus garlic bread. Returning with his plate of food he found the bread half-eaten by the hungry seamstress who had mistaken it for communal fare.

All jobs completed and the dry start to Saturday, there was no excuse for lingering indoors. The largest party crossed the end of The Carrs to the Three Shire Stone and Red Tarn just in time to hear the cry of shock as a semi-naked young chap plunged into the tarn for a brief dip. At this point, our Treasurer continued on to descend via Oxendale into Langdale.

The others traversed Cold Pike and Crinkle Crags. The Crinkles bad step was variously tackled by one circling left, three scrambling up and the lithe one tunnelling through the caver’s route. Arriving at Three Tarns, some colourful kit was spotted nestling under a sheltering block. Investigating in case it was an injured walker this was found to be four abandoned unpacked sleeping bags, two liners, a tent and a range of clothing including a bra, all weighted down with stones. Too wet and heavy to carry out we tidied them up and noted their location. The ensuing speculation regarding what lead to their abandonment kept them amused all the way the band to the ODG for a welcome pint. Later, Fix the Fells volunteers were contacted with the stash’s ten-figure grid reference and a request to remove it all. The return to LHG was made in the gathering gloom of night via Blea Tarn and the Ting Mound.

Meanwhile, our Treasurer met our Hut Sec by the ODG. The latter, finding the cottage fully booked, had taken B&B at High Park. The former used the Cumbria Way to Elterwater, before returning to LHG by dusk. By Slater Bridge he met our Webmaster who on discovering that our Treasurer did not eat cheese, returned to his car for a replacement starter.

The Past President’s party headed west to Fell Foot, doubled back to Wilson’ Place and up to Stang End. Harvey, went up Greenburn and onto Wet Side Edge and once above the valley mists but below the higher cloud enjoyed some dramatically sunlit views of the fells. The Dovers also passed the Three Shire Stone then crossed both Cold Pike and Pike O’Blisco. Andrew Duxbury made a solo round of Holme Fell, Tarn Hows, Black Crag, Colwith, Loughrigg and Elterwater. The remaining senior threesome checked on a forthcoming venue, High Moss in the Duddon valley, and went on to Broughton.

The kitchen team made a gentle ascent of Wetherlam via the mines and Swirl How. One nursing an injured ankle and the other recovering from the dreaded Christmas lurgy, they made great play of needing to get back early and cook and hence avoided a proper mountain day. Everyone else thought the resulting dinner was well worth their sacrifice especially as returning parties were revived with tea and flapjacks.

Thanks to a lot of hard work several years ago by the then Hut Warden, Gordon Humphreys, and a small team of workers, everyone could be decanted into the Barn while the cottage was set out for the Saturday evening meal. All were well catered for and the ensuing evening was as convivial as ever. Thanks go especially to Robert Crowther and Andy Syme who also catered for the recent Christmas meet.

With two banished to the Barn, sleepers in the cottage enjoyed a quiet night. A slightly slower start on Sunday saw some heading home for family responsibilities. A couple of groups set off with the intention of traversing Helm Crag above Grasmere. The largest group drew on local knowledge rather than their GPSs and maps so ended up on the wrong side of the valley. On discovering the error, as some of the party had not been that way before, they continued up past Lang How then Little and Great Castle Hows in wetting cloud before descending to Easedale Tarn and via Sourmilk Gill for Grasmere.

Though we rarely get really good weather for mountain walking early in January, the LHG meet is rightly popular and the location allows for a good variety of outings. Your scribe believes the meet started around 1957 as a late February meet following on in the calendar from the well-established Hill Inn and, later, Marton Arms meets. It must have been around 1980 that the switch was made to January and at one point in that decade the number attending reach 47 requiring two sittings for the meal and the use of the two other NT cottages. This year’s visit was altogether more relaxing.

Attendees:

Mick Borroff (President), Alan Clare, Derek Clayton, Ian Crowther, Robert Crowther (joint leader), Paul Dover, Phil Dover, Andrew Duxbury, David Hick, Richard Josephy, Pete McLeod (G), Harvey Lomas, Michael Smith, Richard Smith, Andy Syme (joint leader), Richard Taylor, Martyn Trasler, Carol Whalley and John Whalley.