Challenge Switch Up for the Weekend!
Matt has made the decision to postpone the Cairngorm 4000s until slightly later in the year due to the inherent risks and hazards that the current conditions pose in the Cairngorm National Park.
The weather has been savage up there and with further snow, ice and strong winds forecasted it looks pretty grim. It wasn't this though that forced the postponement, it was the avalanche reports and forecasts. SAIS has reported as many as 16 avalanches in the last 10 days in the Northern Cairngorms (where the challenge takes place) and some pretty serious ones have fallen directly onto the route around the challenge.
Cairn Gorm and Ben Macdui pose a significant risk during the time period the team would be up there and the cornices around the rim of Braeriach and the route over sgor an Lochain Uaine combined were enough to shift focus but the team are fully prepared for a challenge so researched different challenges they could undertake before falling on the Lake District 3000s.
The Lake District 3000s is a 45-mile round route that encompasses the 4 English Peaks above 3000ft. The route will start at Moot Hall in Keswick and take on Skiddaw as the first peak before looping down through the corridor route towards Sca Fell. After submitting Sca Fell, it will be over to Scafell Pike (England's highest peak) and this part of the route between these 2 big Fells forms the most difficult part of the route. Tackling Broad Stand in these conditions could be a fatal if a mistake is made so there could be additions to the route to get around it if the rock isn't suitable for climbing. The final part of the route would see the team travel over to Helvellyn and back to Keswick to finish.
It is a 24-hour challenge and is notoriously difficult, the winter brings additional challenges too!
Check back in here for a report early next week.
The weather has been savage up there and with further snow, ice and strong winds forecasted it looks pretty grim. It wasn't this though that forced the postponement, it was the avalanche reports and forecasts. SAIS has reported as many as 16 avalanches in the last 10 days in the Northern Cairngorms (where the challenge takes place) and some pretty serious ones have fallen directly onto the route around the challenge.
Cairn Gorm and Ben Macdui pose a significant risk during the time period the team would be up there and the cornices around the rim of Braeriach and the route over sgor an Lochain Uaine combined were enough to shift focus but the team are fully prepared for a challenge so researched different challenges they could undertake before falling on the Lake District 3000s.
The Lake District 3000s is a 45-mile round route that encompasses the 4 English Peaks above 3000ft. The route will start at Moot Hall in Keswick and take on Skiddaw as the first peak before looping down through the corridor route towards Sca Fell. After submitting Sca Fell, it will be over to Scafell Pike (England's highest peak) and this part of the route between these 2 big Fells forms the most difficult part of the route. Tackling Broad Stand in these conditions could be a fatal if a mistake is made so there could be additions to the route to get around it if the rock isn't suitable for climbing. The final part of the route would see the team travel over to Helvellyn and back to Keswick to finish.
It is a 24-hour challenge and is notoriously difficult, the winter brings additional challenges too!
Check back in here for a report early next week.