Dec 16/17 - BG Recce No. 2 saw the number of original participants whittled down to two, Nick and Andy the only ones game for a pre-Christmas jaunt.
Joined by the intrepid Oli Hayes we enjoyed a 7pm getaway from Stockwell and a pleasant night of banter on the M6 to Burton. The end of leg 3 was our route of choice and the day began in earnest with a long climb up into the snows on Bowfell from our parking spot by Old Dungeon Ghyll.
We were treated to a winter wonderland with waist-deep snow in places making the going picturesque but ponderous. Oli's choice of footwear was glaringly inappropriate, but he managed to withhold any expletives until I plunged headfirst down a small drop and used my jaw as an unlikely, and unfortunately inept, braking device.
Most merit in familiarising ourselves with the BG route was removed by the remarkable conditions, but they were too wonderful to refrain from indulging in, so we pushed on round over Esk Pike, Great End, Ill Crag, Broad Crag and Scafell Pike until Oli's feet started to pay the price of wearing trainers.
The "Corridor Route" down from Scafell Pike to the saddle between Great End and Great Gable provided a glorious route of descent and the push back round from there to the car proved long enough to tire the legs and ready the soul for that finest of endings, a pint of Old Peculiar.
With Oli's parents holidaying in Kirby Lonsdale, a Saturday night curry, Match of the Day and a cheeky Sunday amble round to Ruskin's View proved a more civilised way to complete the weekend.
Happy Christmas.
