trail magazine - spring 2012

How to...

summit frigHt

snowdonia

Find a bothy Handle altitude Create your own OS map!

Ben NevisThe night Britain’s highest turned nasty

Make a first ascent Fancy bagging and naming an unclimbed peak? It may be easier than you think! p12

Roughing it in the Rhinogs The clever way to bag Wales’ 3 wildest hills

spring 2012 £3.99 www.livefortheoutdoors.com

Lake District

3 days 7 summits 1 route

Walks + maps 13 UK mountain

routes with full OS mapping inside!

MASTER NAVIGATION

Your expert guide Part 1

skills special

Try this awesome long weekend!

£80-125 waterproofs 40-50 litre rucksacks

Sleeping bags

gear testsBritain’s Best-selling hillwalking magazine

24

Create your own OS map 101:25k or 1:50k sheets, centred where you walk

Make a first ascent 12Plus: how you’d spend £1.3m on the outdoors

Behind the picture 14 The 1932 Kinder Mass Trespass (below), revisited

Dream peak 16 Y Lliwedd, a grand bit of Snowdon architecture

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

Master navigation 44 Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a grizzled old pro, this new three-part expert-led series is for you

Ask Trail 50 How to handle altitude; the ups and downs of feathers; where to find a bothy

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

Subscribe to Trail 30 A Silva Ranger compass is yours if you do!

Why we love... 146 ...one thing that all mountains offer: heights

Lakes long weekend 20 Seven summits in three days, courtesy of our Wainwright-inspired super-route

Rough Rhinogs 34 Truly wild camping in Wales’ hidden mountains

Ben Nevis turns nasty 52About to bed down for the night on top of a wintry Ben Nevis, Trail checks its iPhone...

a dv e n t u r es

y o u r t r a i l

s k i l l so u t t h e r e

p20

8 Trail spring 2012 spring 2012 Trail 9

tom

ba

iley

High above Buttermere on Trail’s Lakes long weekend: turned out nice!

Ben Nevis, aborted: page 52.

p14

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OMM map pouch

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

Snowdonia 101Route 1 SnowdonA walk in the woods that ends on Wales’ highest

Dartmoor 103Route 2 Wistman’s WoodFall under the spell of some precious ancient oaks

Brecon Beacons 105Route 3 Fan y Big Tree-lined cascades and stunning skyline walking

Lake District 107Route 4 Walla Crag Combine woodland with ‘sensational views’

Cairngorms 109Route 5 Beinn a’ BhuirdPining to tackle a far-flung Cairngorms giant?

Peak District 111Route 6 Bole HillA surprisingly tough trail with a silver (birch) lining

Loch Rannoch 115Route 7 Sgor GaibhreRoute 8 Meall BuidheRoute 9 Black Wood of RannochChoose your headquarters, walk for three days! This issue’s first Ultimate Weekend gives you three routes from a rugged Highlands base

Borrowdale 121Route 10 GlaramaraRoute 11 Watendlath & Ullscarf Route 12 Cat Bells Fancy a long weekend in the Lake District? See what this classic valley has to offer, including a trio of top routes that involve eight Wainwrights

Pennines 127Route 13 Cross Fell This issue’s Classic Route features ‘an epic day walk with a haunting atmosphere all of its own’ that almost reaches Munro height

r o u t es

spring 2012 Trail 9

Classic Route

with 3D maps

p68

g e a rHail Wales! Pilgrims prostrate themselves on Rhinog Fawr’s summit: page 34.

Gear news 63The must-have kit that’s coming soon

Mammut Brecon 66 A 3-season Euro boot – built for the UK hills! £80-125 waterproofs 68 Staying dry when walking is an absolute requirement. Here’s how if money’s tight...

40-50 litre rucksacks 78 Planning on being outdoors overnight? Then you’ll need one of these for your kit

Sleeping bags 88 Snooze flash: six great 3-season schlafsäcke

p78

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


Bannau Sir Gaer Brecon BeaconsRuth, enjoying winter walking in Wales.

Her friend Steve says: “Over the past couple of years, gale-force winds, fog, thigh-deep snow and any other weather you care to mention has stopped us getting the best of our 4-hour round trip to the Bannau Sir Gaer plateau. A Friday off work and north-easterly winds gave us perfect winter conditions to enjoy this thankfully under-visited part of the Brecon Beacons.”

out there

spring 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]

out there


Y lliweddsnowdoniaNot one known for hiding its light, the crescent form of Y Lliwedd (pronounced er chleweth) could easily be the grandest piece of mountain architecture on the Snowdon Horseshoe... were it not for the rather more conveniently located – and certainly comparably spectacular – Crib Goch mirroring it across Llyn Lydaw. The two stand like estranged twins cut from same-but-different stone, with Crib Goch perhaps more thrilling for ridge-walkers, outshining 898m Y Lliwedd’s more technically prosaic cliff-edge crest. Delve deeper, though, and you’ll discover spectacular routes in the ribs of its north face for those with ropes and iron nerves.

do it! ›› turn to page 101

d r e a m p e a k

spring 2012 Trail 17

Y Lliwedd and the distant Arans during a full temperature

inversion, from Crib y Ddysgl. © The PhoTolibrary Wales / alamy

Where? Lake DistrictWhat? Your ultimate long weekend

LakeLand’s Best 3-dayerGot a long weekend to spare? Looking for the ultimate route to fill it? Walk this way…

�


Words Phoebe Smithphotographs tom bailey

ake a look at an OS map – any will do – and it’s guaranteed you’ll spot the familiar green and black dashes that denote a walking path making their way across the contours, over peaks, through valleys and alongside rivers. Our fair country boasts a network of over 1,300 long distance trails – each offering stunning terrain ripe for exploration. But how many of us have the time to pick one and do the whole thing, in a one, two or even three week hit? It’s just not practical – from getting time off to finding accommodation in each of the many places you need to stay. But there is a way that you can enjoy the sights, sounds, thrills and sense of accomplishment that come from longer routes – all in a three-day hit.

T

Where? Lake DistrictWhat? Your ultimate long weekend

LakeLand’s Best 3-dayerGot a long weekend to spare? Looking for the ultimate route to fill it? Walk this way…

Getting high on Haystacks above Buttermere on an

exquisite three-day route.


Words Ben Winston photographs tom Bailey

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Where? Snowdonia, North WalesWhat? Hills less trodden

Roughing it in the


WOrDs DAN ASPEL pHOTOgrApHs TOM BAILEY

Discover the untamed core of the Rhinogs range in one truly wild camp.

Where? Snowdonia, North WalesWhat? Hills less trodden

Rhinogsumour has it that a full traverse of the Rhinogs range is the only way to go. Rumour is wrong. A swift circular route across the two main peaks – Rhinog

Fawr and Rhinog Fach – will hit the richest vein in these mist-cloaked mountains. Once you make this choice, the route leaps off the map. But beware, for in the Rhinogs nothing is as it seems. The landscape is murky, suggestive and desolate, and steeped in shadows. There may not be another soul for miles, but you’re never truly alone...


Discover the untamed core of the Rhinogs range in one truly wild camp.

r

�

Looking north-west to Tremadog Bay from the slopes of Rhinog Fawr (main),

with the summits (right, from top) of Y Llethr, Rhinog Fach and Rhinog Fawr.


outdoor advice from our hillwalking experts

Safe and competent navigation truly sets you free to explore the great outdoors – and the best part is that the skills are easy to learn and you’ll never forget them.

This three-part series is designed for anyone who ventures into the great outdoors. Whether you are entirely new to navigation, need your skills brushing up or are a seasoned old campaigner, it is important to keep things fresh in your mind and use current best practice.

Over this series you are going to discover how to interpret maps, master a compass and start to use global satellite navigation (GPS). There are also expert tips to keep you on track and short videos of all the techniques to ensure you learn them thoroughly. Then, once the series is finished, we’ll hide some special navigation ’caches’ in the hills: be the first to find them using your new skills, and the contents are yours!

Master naVigatiOn

part 1

LEARN HOW TO... Orient a map Take a bearing Use your compass

ben

win

sto

n

skills

Navigation skills set you free. Turn the page to begin lesson one...

sp e c i a l

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44 Trail spring 2012

masterclassmaster NAVIGATIONtrail skills outdoor advice from our hillwalking experts


Often, navigation can be a matter of using a map alone, relating what you see on it to your surroundings.

understanding... map scales

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good navigation sets you free in the outdoors. here’s your expert guide...

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Let’s get the tricky part out of the way now: map scales! Scale is the relationship between distance shown on the map and actual distance on the ground.

Scale is given as a fraction or a ratio – 1/25,000 or 1:25,000 – and it’s always printed on the map.

A map with a scale of 1:25,000 means that every one unit of measurement on the map (like a centimetre) is the same as 25,000 of those units (in this case 25,000cm, or 250m) in real life.

The first number (map distance) is always 1. The second number (ground distance) is different for each scale: the larger the second number is, the smaller the scale of the map.

‘The larger the number, the smaller the scale’ sounds confusing, but in fact it is easy to understand. In the small-scale map (such as 1:250,000) there is less room; therefore, everything must be drawn smaller, and some small streams, roads, and landmarks must be left out altogether. The large-scale map (1: 25,000) permits more detail but covers much less ground. It is personal choice whether you use Explorer or Landranger maps, but bear in mind Explorers give much more detail than Landrangers and are essential for navigating in lowland countryside: they show field boundaries – important for route-finding through farmland.

Building on your natural skillsAs soon as we learn to walk we become skilled in navigation, initially about the house, then in the garden. Slowly we build up a mental picture of where we are, and we venture further.

We acquire navigational skills, passing known points on the way home such as a newsagent’s, a park gate or a zebra crossing. These are called ‘collecting features’. But if, for example, we end up at the railway line or on a particular street, we know we have passed our home. These are called ‘catching features’.

Subliminally we are constantly aware of our environment and we know exactly where we are in it. Being taught to navigate for the great outdoors simply formalises this process, giving it a structure to which we can refer. It also teaches us to use tools, such as maps and compasses, which are specifically designed to assist this process.

the map

...while OS 1:25,000 scale maps are called Explorer maps. There are 403 printed versions.

Ordnance Survey produces superb maps. The 1:50,000 maps are called Landrangers, and 207 of these cover Great Britain and the Isle of Man...

YOUR NAVIGATIONMASTERLyle Brotherton is one of the world’s leading navigation experts. The author of The Ultimate Navigation Manual, pb Collins, he trains Search & Rescue teams plus Special Forces across the world. He is also a member of a Scottish Mountain Rescue Team. Read more about Lyle at www.micronavigation.org

Familiar environments are comforting tools

for getting used to mapreading.

Nav expert Lyle will help you

find your way.

You will find references to three types of north in the margin of maps used by walkers. At first it appears confusing, and many books give lengthy explanations; but it can be explained quite simply...

True northIf the earth was an orange and you stuck a pencil through it vertically, the point at the top where it rotates is the North Pole; this is referred to as ‘true north’. It’s located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. It’s also marked in the skies by the position of Polaris – also called the North Star.

Grid northThis is the north used on all maps used by walkers. To produce rectangular or square

maps, grids have been created, and the vertical grid lines on these maps point to the north known as ‘grid north’.

Magnetic northBaseplate compasses contain a magnetised needle, which rotates freely on a pivot inside a sealed capsule of liquid – and this needle aligns itself with the local magnetic field, pointing towards magnetic north. This magnetic field changes across the world, so when working with a map and a compass you need to take account of the difference between grid north and magnetic north, which is known as ‘magnetic declination’ (aka ‘magnetic variation’). It is shown on the key of your map.

masterclassmaster NAVIGATIONoutdoor advice from our hillwalking experts

understanding... contours


understanding... the three norths

Magnetic north

Grid north

True north

�

Good navigation sets you free in the outdoors. Here’s your expert guide... We are all familiar with maps looking down on the world in 2D (two dimensions), from a floor plan of the interior of your house to a local street plan. But for the great outdoors we need more than simple boxes and streets, we need to know the shape of the land; and to help us see these shapes the maps we use have contour lines and are called topographic maps.

Each contour is drawn as a continuous, irregularly shaped closed loop and it joins land at that specific height above sea-level on the map. If you continued to walk the same contour line you would eventually end up where you started – even if that involved a 100 mile walk! They allow us to imagine in 3D (three dimensions) the shape of the land and how steep it is.

The ability to glance at the map and quickly relate it to the surrounding terrain helps you move freely over the land. A major advantage of this technique is the ability to know in advance what the land that you will be travelling through is going to look like.

In mountainous areas, on Ordnance Survey maps contours are typically at 10m intervals. In lowland areas with little relief on 1:25 000 scale maps they can be shown at 5m intervals.

The exception are Harvey maps – commonly used by hillwalkers – where the contours are shown at 15m intervals.

Know contours in our navigation mashterclass.

Hill Shown on a map by contour lines in circles (the inside of the smallest circle is the hilltop).

Re-entrant Contours depicting a re-entrant are U- or V-shaped, pointing towards high ground.

Spur Contour lines on a map depict a spur, pointing away from high ground.

Cliff Vertical or near -vertical slopes are shown by contours very close together or touching.

Saddle A saddle is normally represented by an hourglass shape in the contours.

Valley The contour lines forming a valley are either U-shaped or V-shaped.

Where? Ben Nevis, west HighlandsWhat? A cautionary tale

Words Jeremy Ashcroft PhotograPhs tom BAiley Chased off

sPring 2012 Trail 5352 Trail sPring 2012

Where? Ben Nevis, west HighlandsWhat? A cautionary tale

how a winter campon our highest peak didn’t

quite go according to plan...

The BenChased off

Graham and Jeremy strike camp as the first now

flurries arrive.



group test

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a decent waterproof jacket.


hillwalking jackets

A jacket that keeps you dry is a basic requirement on the hill, but budget doesn’t have to mean

compromise as these affordable options prove.

TesT and sTudio phoTographs Graham ThompsonouTdoor phoTographs Tom Bailey

£80-125 Hillwalking

jackets

what we testedColumbia Mission Air ii £80Kathmandu MonroviA £85Target Dry Pioneer £95Keela PinnAcle £100 Montane AtoMic £100The North Face venture £110Berghaus vinson £120Sprayway nyx £125


group test

40-50 litre rucksacksMulti-day walking demands a larger pack for your extra kit, and a 40-50 litre capacity rucksack will be just the ticket. So whether you’re wild camping, hut-to-hutting or walking between hostels or B&Bs, try one of these for size…

TesT Phoebe SmithPhoTograPhs tom bailey

what we testedKathmandu Voltai £100Deuter aCt lite 45+10 £120Osprey aura 50 £120Mammut Hera element 40+ £125Mountain Hardwear Wandrin 48 £130Karrimor lynx £135Lowe Alpine nanon nd 50:60 £135Berghaus Bioflex 45 £140


backpacking sacks

(Thankfully detachable) adornments aside,

these sacks are great for multi-day trips.

Trail Routes use OS mapping and gradient profiles, and are available to download at lfto.com/routes This month, take a walk in the woods on the way to some stunning hills. Fancy an Ultimate Weekend? Visit Scotland's atmospheric Loch Rannoch or Lakeland's beautiful Borrowdale. Then head to Yorkshire to summit Cross Fell – the Pennines’ highest peak.

1 Snowdon 14km p101 2 wiStman’Swood 14.6km p103 3 FanYBiG 13.5km p105 4 wallacraG 20.5m p107 5 Beinna’Bhuird 32km p109 6 Bolehill 11.2km p111

ultimate weekend – loch rannoch 7 SGorGaiBhre 24km p116 8 meallBuidhe 23.7km p117 9 BlackwoodoFrannoch 11.8km p118

ultimate weekend – borrowdale 10 Glaramara 9km p122 11 watendlath&ullScarF 16km p123 12 catBellS 19.3km p124

classic route 13 croSSFell 30km p127

P115 P103 P121

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ll routesThe BeST hiLLWaLkS

wriTTen by experTs

P101

NN446578 Clockwise is best, with morning light

for the views over Rannoch Moor, and evening light for Rannoch and Schiehallion from Beinn Pharlagain.Though this circuit isn’t the quickest way to grab the two Munros (and a Corbett), it’s so natural that it is starting to develop its own small path. Head north-west up a stony, grassy track, with an SRWS signpost at its foot. After 2km it joins Allt Eigheach. There’s a footbridge with an arrow marker, the track itself continuing to a ford 200m upstream. Across the bridge a rough path continues left of the river, rejoining the track beyond its ford.

NN435604 The grassy track runs up to the right

of a plantation, then turns left (arrow marker) across its top. It then slants uphill. At about the 400m level, the main track turns more directly uphill: eroded at first, but soon quite inconspicuous. It runs up the rounded ridgeline to the base of steeper ground. Here leave it, to head north up grassy slopes onto Sron Leachd a’ Chaorainn.

NN425633 The grassy ridgeline runs north,

easy going with a small path. After several humps, the emerging rocks turn from

end drop rather steeply, still south, to a lower ridgeline at the 700m level. Follow this south to its end, then drop south-west towards the river. As the slope eases, faint quad bike tracks lead left, down-valley. Eventually they reach the track at its ford over Allt Eigheach. Follow the Road to the Isles track ahead back to Loch Eigheach.

24km/15 milestrail route se highlands7

ultimate weekend Always take a map on the hill

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GRADIENT PROFILE

METRESABOVE

SEALEVEL

140012001000800600400200

MILESKILOMETRES

Start Sron Leachd a’ Chaorainn Carn Dearg Sgor Gaibhre Meall na Meoig Finish

00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

22

44

66

88

1010

1212

1414

16 18 20 22 24


Sgor Gaibhre

Distance 24km (15 miles)

Total ascent 1200m

Time 9 hours

Start/finish parking pull-in at Loch Eigheach, at foot of Road to the Isles track (NN446578)

Terrain track, rough paths, grassy ridges with small paths

Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) 385; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 42

Public transport walk start is 2km from Rannoch Station. Nasty weather? Consider a linear walk from Corrour Station via Road to the Isles track past Corrour Old Lodge

Guidebook The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills, pb Scottish Mountaineering Club

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 TRL0221

2

3

4

schist to rounded granite and a longer rise leads to the summit cairn of Carn Dearg.

NN417661 Descend north-east, with a clearer

path as you’re now on the standard Munro-baggers’ route. The path runs down across the wide, peaty col called Mam Ban, then up onto Sgor Gaibhre.

NN444674 Leaving the popular path, turn south

down a grassy ridge, with a small, intermittent path. After 2km, the drop to a major col has glacier-smoothed granite slabs. From the col head up a rounded, boulder-scattered ridge south-east. A lochan lies in front of the rocky rise called Meall na Meoig, the main summit of Beinn Pharlagain.

NN448642 Failing a GPS, in mist, geology

can help on this confusing plateau with three summits and two lochans. Meall na Meoig is granite. Head south-east, keeping well to the right of a larger lochan (Lochan Meoigeach), to pt 838m, which is schist. Now head south-west to pt 807, also schist, its summit a knee-high granite erratic.

NN445632 Head down east of south over

another slight rise. From its

5

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sTrEnUOUsnEssnAVigATiOn

TECHniCALiTYmUnrO COUnT

COrbETT COUnT

■■■■■

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21

factsgrassy ridges

6

Rannoch Station from the track to Carn Dearg.

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NN504564 Cross the road bridge and take

a small track that runs south to the left (east) of the river. After 2.5km, the track passes through a gap at the west end of Leagag. In another 1.5km, just before it turns left over a bridge, keep ahead, over a ladder stile to a lesser track. After 1.2km this emerges from the scattered, open plantation via another ladder stile. In another 400m it ends.

Meall Buidhe

23.7km/14¾ milestrail

routese highlands 8

Distance 23.7km (14¾ miles)

Total ascent 1300m

Time 9½ hours

Start/finish Bridge of Gaur: parking at village hall (NN504564)

Terrain tracks; hill slopes, ridges and plateau of rough grass, mostly pathless; almost all peat and heather is avoidable

Maps Harvey Mountain Map (1:40,000) Perthshire; OS Explorer (1:25,000) 385 and 378 (need both); OS Landranger (1:50,000) 51

Public transport Broons bus 85 from Rannoch Station or Kinloch Rannoch to walk start

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ultimate weekend

PROFILEGRADIENT

4

Always take a map on the hill

facts


2

in association with

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

www.viewranger.com/trailRoute code TRL0222

1

rough and remote

GRADIENT PROFILE

METRESABOVE

SEALEVEL

140012001000800600400200

MILESKILOMETRES

Start Meall Buidhe Meall a’ Phuill Cam Chreag Leagag Finish

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cross two ladder stiles onto a grassy track. Turn right over the bridge across Allt Camghouran.

NN522533 Continue for 200m up from the

bridge, then turn sharp left up a wide, peaty path. This slants up left around the steep, rocky end of Leagag. Where it levels at a solitary alder tree, turn uphill on grass. Follow the rim of the craggy drop up to the small cairn on Leagag summit.

NN518539 Head north-west then west along

the peaty, rocky plateau to the cairn at its west end. Descend west, and cross a peaty col to a final low rise. Bear down left to join a rough path not far below. It leads around the hill and down to rejoin the outward track.

keep east past a well-built cairn to Meall a’ Phuill. From here Cam Chreag appears as a wide sprawl across rather a lot of peat. It’s better than it looks.

NN507488 A few old cairns mark the best

line across the watershed. Descend east, keeping to the left of dissected ground on the south flank, down into the wide, peaty col. A few moraine humps (with old, low cairns on) are the best way across. Up the slope opposite, peat gives way to rough grassland. Cross the glacier-scoured west top to Cam Chreag’s main top, with its large cairn.

NN536491 Head north, along an enjoyable ridge

with low, rocky knolls. After a heathery descent, pass

to the right of the small Cul Lochan and head up the slope opposite. A small cairn marks the summit of Cross Craigs.

NN537523 Continue north-west down

the rather rocky crest for 400m, to where it

levels. Here turn down left, south-west, then bend

round to the right below the steep ground. Aim for the foot of the glen of Allt Leac Ghiubhais. Here deer fences converge into a corner. Cross the foot of Allt Leac Ghiubhais above the deer fence, then

sTrEnUOUsnEssnAVigATiOn

TECHniCALiTYmUnrO COUnT

COrbETT COUnT

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NN489513 Bear down left to cross

the main stream and head up south-east by a side stream. As the slope steepens, head up right onto the spur south of the stream. After a levelling at 700m, continue up grassy slopes to Meall Buidhe’s cairn.

NN498499 A small path leads south around the

rim of Glas Choire. From the south summit, the path leads

down steepish grass east. Leave the path and

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Descending Cam Chreag north ridge, heading towards Leagag (right of the walker). Meall Buidhe is on the far left.

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trail magazine - spring 2012

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