2018 Targets

Lists to tick

My target ticklist is a combination of unclimbed Nuttalls, TRAIL 100s, WASHIS, Simpsons, Dawsons, Deweys, Mosses, Wrights,Bridges and Buxton & Lewis summits.  At the start of 2018 there are 459 individual summits on my ticklist.

In 2017 I added the Dawsons, Deweys, Mosses and Wrights to my list which increase the total by 137 summits.  My previous goal of completing the list in 2023 has been extended to 2026 because of this, which now gives me 9 years to reach the target.

Still to be ticked at the start of this year are 201 of the 445 Nuttalls and 38 of the TRAIL 100 summits.

This coming year

In simple numbers, 11% of my remaining summits based on my remaining 9-year plan should be an achievable target for 2018, as long as I have some significant multi-summit days out.  11% means 51 summits, but I’m going to round this up to 1 per week.

Which means I’m aiming for 52 summits, amongst which should be 23 Nuttalls and 4 TRAIL 100s.

Because of a number of years of not meeting targets with regard to specific summits, this year I won’t be naming any but I do hope to claim a few that lie further afield.

It’s time to start studying the maps!

A 2017 Summary

At the start of 2017 I had 334 summits on my combined ticklist of TRAIL 100 summits, Nuttalls, WASHIS, Simpsons, Bridges and Buxton & Lewis summits.  2017 was the fourth year of my fairly arbitrary 10-year completion target and I had aimed to tick 48 summits on my combined list which would include 30 Nuttalls and 6 TRAIL 100s.

And now, for the fourth year in a row I didn’t reach my targets and, yet again, by some distance!

Overall I :

            went on             9                                   walks

            walked              77.7                              miles

            ascended          29,206                          feet

            walked for         53 hrs 43 mins            (including rest stops !)

            reached            16                                 individual summits that I hadn’t been to before

            reached            6                                   individual summits that I had been to before

            reached            12                                 summits on my combined ticklist

            reached            1                                   previously unclimbed TRAIL 100 summits

            reached            5                                   previously unclimbed Nuttall summits

            drove                2074                             miles on trips to and from walks

2017 only saw one change to the Nuttalls list.  Carnedd y Ddelw in the Carneddau was demoted following a resurvey but it didn’t have any effect on my list as I had ticked it way back in 1988!

Notable walks included Ben Lomond, Bowfell to mop up a couple of Nuttalls, Arenig Fawr and High Cup Nick which saw another Nuttall put in the bag.

My targets of Snaefell, the 6 Cheviot Nuttalls and Pillar Rock were unsurprisingly untouched – maybe it’s time not to name specific targets!

During the year I added a few more lists – Dawson, Dewey, Moss & Wright – to my own list; another 137 summits!  They are all of 2000-foot mountains in England & Wales and are recognised by the LDWA.  My reasoning for including these takes a little bit of explaining so maybe I will write a blog about it in the future.

So after my walks, a demotion and list additions, my ongoing ticklist increased from 334 to 459 summits!

I think that 2018 will see a different approach when setting targets.

A Daear Ddu Day Out

The club’s post-Christmas walk took aim for a familiar mountain this year 16 of us met up at the Siabod café to consume some calories before making strides along the tracks leading to Moel Siabod’s Daear Ddu ridge.

on the approach

I wouldn’t necessarily say that conditions were full-on winter, but there was enough snow on the higher ground to give the walk a seasonal feel.  We had soon passed through the long-deserted quarries and successfully negotiated the boggy area of ground just west of Llyn y Foel before reaching the base of the ridge.

the Daear Ddu ridge

nearing the ridge

If there is an obvious start to the route gaining the Daear Ddu ridge it wasn’t clear as there were a few possibilities presenting themselves.  However once on the ridge, progress was steady with route-finding options available to vary the challenge if you felt the need to with some of the rock steps presenting some thoughtful decisions when selecting footholds in particular as they were partially obscured by snow.  The group had now extended itself along the ridge and I stayed towards the rear to ensure that nobody was left behind.  I think that if I had been on a solo trip I would have put on my crampons just to make life a bit easier.

approaching the summit of Moel Siabod

The ridge leads inexorably to the summit trig point at which the strength of the wind let itself be known.  The highpoint was not a place to linger and enjoy the view so everyone started their descent promptly.  We followed the path – boggy in places – that leads towards Plas y Brenin and once amongst the forest the trail took us back to the Siabod café where cake was the chosen restorative for many!

Snowdon Silly Season

Even on a murky day in December, Snowdon still sees plenty of people heading for the summit.  A small group of us decided to forego the ways of the masses and after alighting the Snowdon Sherpa bus at Pen-y-Pass we headed for an ascent of the Y Gribin ridge.

The easy Miners’ path took us to the outflow of Llyn Glaslyn which we forded and then started on the scramble.  It was raining, but not heavily, and as the route started to steepen, the rock became uncomfortably slippy and the mist obscured the top of the ridge, giving rise to doubts about its ease or more likely, difficulty.  Caution seemed the sensible decision and we made our way back to the Miners’ path before taking on an off-piste scree slope to reach the PyG track.

Which is where we met the masses we were originally hoping to avoid.

On the approach to the zig-zags the path started to fill out with snow.  Although the path was not overly crowded, there were still plenty of inappropriately dressed walkers.  Trainers, wellies and even deck shoes were the footwear of choice for many who were slithering the way down the path, as often as not on backsides rather than on feet.  No doubt they would probably get off the mountain without incident and have a great story to tell in the pub but it wouldn’t have taken much of a slip for a serious accident to spoil their day.

Even in my winter boots there came a point where I decided it prudent to put on my crampons.  As I was strapping them on, I heard a voice behind me that said “good move”, from a similarly shod and obviously experienced walker.

I almost felt overdressed in my winter boots and crampons, but the ease with which I made progress soon overruled that thought.

At the top of the zig-zags we decided that there wasn’t much point following the railway up into the clag to the summit so we turned right and made our way down the Llanberis path.  I’ve been to the top seven times so far so I didn’t feel as if I was missing out on anything.  And a couple of beers at the club’s hut made an acceptable end to the day.