A Scary Scafell

Very early on Wednesday, February 19th Feb we fuelled our bodies like true pioneers!

A brave team of 10 met at the wonderful Wasdale Head Inn to head off into the wind and rain to conquer Scafell Pike.  From the very off, it definitely felt like we'd 'upped the ante' and training had got a lot more serious. By the time we had gathered around the route map and had a team photo, I was already drenched.

We set off with determination up the well marked gravel path. Looking back there was a beautiful view of Wast Water (the deepest in the Lakes I've heard) but it was shrouded in mist. Optimistic thoughts of how beautiful this whole area will be in the very early morning of June 25th spurred me on.

Aside from the freezing temperatures,  driving rain and steep terrain our first challenge was a river crossing. Under normal circumstances, this torrent of water would no doubt be a trickling brook but it took considerable teamwork to coax us all safely across. On our way up we initially exchanged a polite hello with descending walkers but as the altitude increased and the lake slid out of view in the mist we started to glean as much information as we could from our fellow mountaineers. ‘You’ll definitely need snow goggles’, ‘the wind is blowing horizontal up there’, ‘it’s impossible today we have had to turn back’ … not the type of encouragement we were hoping for.

We met the snow line and bravely continued but the group was starting to divide and some anxiety was creeping in. Henry called us into a huddle for a team meeting. Some of us were loving the thrill and challenge of it all whilst others kept their sanity and saw the situation for what it was - perilous!!

So the group divided 6 continued and 4 went back. It was hard to take any photos, read the map or even eat sandwiches in the near white-out conditions. Following the cairns at a good pace, we ascended to the summit. It felt triumphant, exhilarating. I was so glad to be alive.



I felt like Lieutenant Dan up the shrimp boat mast in the hurricane in Forrest Gump.

I never once doubted our capability or the skills of our mountain leader. We even rescued a couple of other adventurers who joined us at the top.

Then, a classic rookie error,  we set off on our descent with too much confidence. We found ourselves following the wrong path. The decision was quickly made we needed to go back up and correct our mistake. For some people, this was a low point but we held our nerve, took a compass bearing, traversed the mountain and got back on track. From there on in we travelled quickly down the mountain into the well marked path to rejoin the rest of the team.

The trip brought up a whole raft of emotions. Maybe we learnt some things about ourselves and our teammates but hopefully, we are now all more determined than ever to complete our challenge.

Overall what an experience! A day we will never forget … followed by 3 days of the worst DOMS I have had for a long time. The sooner  I forget them the better.