Meet Report: 9-12 January 2020.

The usual Low Hall Garth January Meet recruited well with a handful of prospective members also signed up. Robert Crowther had done his calculations and already bought the non-perishable foods when he heard that there was no water supply to the cottage. Our Secretary and others tried alternative venues without success – clearly a post-holiday weekend away was what many were doing that weekend. Expecting a full house, Robert had no real alternative but to cancel the meet at just a few days notice.

This did not deter everyone though. Come wind or rain, and there was plenty of both forecast, many quickly made alternative arrangements.

Prospective members from Hull, Tom Spencer and Laura Baynes, booked into Keswick Youth Hostel together with Johanna Michel, a visiting student from Germany. Meanwhile, Helen and Michael Smith had decided on a three-days at the Patterdale Hotel.

In Kentmere on Friday, the Smiths scrambled up a mossy Raven Crag (Grade 1 and just above The Grove for those who recall the Christmas meets there), traversed Yoke and Ill Bell in cloud to descend steep soft snowy slopes to the reservoir.

Ill Bell

There was precious little luck around the meet weekend. The Saturday weather was foul. The German visitor had hoped to reach the highest England can offer but the Pike was threatening ­5°C and gusts over 80mph. The more modest objective of a circuit of Carrock Fell was attempted but abandoned when remaining standing at 358m proved tricky. A valley walk to within sight of Skiddaw House along the Cumbrian Way was substituted. That succeeded in getting all five sufficiently wet to call it a day. Restorative coffee and cake at the Youth Hostel was called for.

Persistence in the face of adversity was rewarded on Sunday afternoon with some sunny patches, only the briefest spell of light drizzle, wind speeds halved, and good views below 700m. The Hull group tackled Skiddaw in bitterly cold winds to a cloud-shrouded summit. Then with Laura’s ailing vehicle they were trailered back to Hull. The Smiths traversed Ullswater’s Place Fell from north to south, seeing only a handful of walkers before reaching the summit.

Place Fell

Monday’s forecast heralded the afternoon arrival of storm Brandon. A short low walk was called for and Helen picked out a round of Dubbs Reservoir and Latrigg Tarn opposite Town End and Troutbeck for some exercise before heading home.

Back at Lowstern, timed to coincide with the meet were meetings of the Club’s Committee and Meets Sub-Committee. Various members were either already at Lowstern for these or on the way there so the meetings went ahead.

Plenty of hillwalking was done by those gathered there. On Thursday, Helen and Michael spotted first a fox above Attermire then, below it, one of the juvenile choughs seen aroud there over recent months. Friday saw Chris Hilton make a pre-dawn moonlit ascent of Pen-y-Ghent over icy rocks before driving off for a day’s work.  Later, from Twistleton Lane, Mick Borroff and Martyn Trasler were joined by John Sutcliffe for an anti-clockwise round of Kingsdale. This less-travelled ascent via the five-mile wall to the misty snow-capped summit of Whernside was new to both Martyn and John. After descending to the Kingsdale-Dentdale col, they returned via Yordas Cave and the Keld Head rising.

Instead of walking in Little Langdale as planned, the Whalleys were on Ilkley Moor but wi’ats as John put it. Their round took in the Twelve Apostles stone circle. Ex-member Peter Hodge was also out the same day walking above Austwick.