samslife

Snowdonia Weekend

Sam — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:18:23 +0000

Pictures from last weekend spent in Snowdonia (click images below to see more).
Accommodation was provided by the Pen-y-pass youth hostel. The Tyn-y-Coed is also most definitely the new Bryn Tyrch.

Saturday: Snowdon Horseshoe

Sunday: Carneddau

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend, and best wishes to Andrew, Alison and Gemma who all celebrated significant birthdays.

Trail Race Up The Beast 2009

Sam — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:43:49 +0000

Last Wednesday evening I took part in the “Trail Race Up The Beast” fell race, from Maeshafn, Mold. Having done this last year I’d hoped it would seem easier, but disappointingly it was just as bone crunching as last time

The route is of mixed terrain – muddy forest, onto track, the ascent of the “Beast”, then a lovely soothing green pasture descent, a touch of road, then the steps of doom(!) past the quarry (No! Not the steps!!). All in all, a challenging run which continually tests, not giving a chance to get into a steady rhythm. This is the second year of the “Beast” race and I am already looking forward to another thrashing next year.

This time I finished 17th/45 in 32:30. The results are here.

Big thanks to Peter Douglas for his pics of the race. Keep up the good work Pete!

A grimace or a smile?…

Sam’s Big Run

Sam — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:26:59 +0000

As mentioned in previous post, I spent an exceedingly enjoyable day running on the hills in the Lakes. It was blisteringly hot and I picked up some vest-shaped sunburn as a souvenir.

Location	Split	Accumulative
Seathwaite	0:00	0:00
Glaramara	51:25	51:25
Great End	53:21	1:44:00
Ill Crag	13:55	1:58:00
Broad Crag	9:39	2:08:00
Scafell Pike	9:46	2:17:00
Lingmell	16:53	2:34:00
Great Gable	57:23	3:32:00
Green Gable	12:02	3:44:00
Base Brown	10:59	3:55:00
Seathwaite	28:27	4:23:00

Week in Keswick, Lake District

Sam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:12:45 +0000

First real holiday of the year. I recently spent a week in the Lake District, Keswick to be exact. A huge thanks to Kate for organising the accommodation and to the wonderful chefs that provided delicious meals each evening!

My knowledge of the Lakes before this week had been somewhat lacking. I did a number of walks there some 10 years ago whilst in Uni, but apart from trips to Langdale during the last few years I really hadn’t a clue on geography, notable peaks or valleys. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been vastly educated somewhat over the week long stay.

Diary for the week…

Monday: Blencathra from Halls Fell, then on to Bowscale Fell (Fiona)

Tuesday: Red Pike, High Stile, High Crag, Haystacks from Buttermere (Fiona). Thanks to Rebecca for the lift back!

Wednesday: Run (Ade) from Keswick – Walla Crag (7 miles). Walking in Wythop Woods (Andrew), 6 miles.

Thursday: Sam’s big run (see next post).

Friday: Linear walk… Rowling End, Causey Pike, Sail, Crag Hill, Grasmoor, Wandope, Whiteless Pike (Fiona).

Saturday: Helvellyn via Striding Edge, from Glenridding, return via Swirral Edge, Catstye Cam, Brown Cove.

Sadly I began the week with two flat camera batteries, hence no pics. But Ade has kindly sent me these – click the image below for more.

Langdale Weekend

Sam — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:08:44 +0000

Pictures from last weekend, spent around Langdale in the Lake District. I have resolved myself to learn more about the Lakes!

Click on the photo above to see more…

LAMM

Sam — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:25:06 +0000

Pictures from the LAMM (Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon) in which my friend Clive and I took part in over the weekend. The location was kept a total secret (more or less) right up until the start. All we knew beforehand was that it was to be held somewhere in Scotland. This turned out to be Morvich in Kintail.

We did the B course, which involved 44km of distance and 3250m of ascent and descent over very mountainous and rugged terrain. It was a wonderful weekend spent out on the hills, with amazing scenery, and a satisfying feeling of freedom gained from carrying all the kit for the overnight stay the whole way. Scrambling up ridiculously steep slopes, pioneering routes through wilderness, running along tops and down isolated wide open valleys… More of this please!

I must say a huge thanks to Clive for getting me into this, and expertly navigating us round the course. Lots of fun!

Click on the photo above to see more…

Cader Idris Race, 2009

Sam — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:49:13 +0000

A favourite for me this one. 10.5 miles and 2927ft of ascent/descent. It was an extremely hot saturday, so warm that even walking from the car to the start required strenuous effort and brought on the hunt for shade from the midday sun.
The race had a slightly higher turnout this year. Was very hard going due to the blazing heat, and suffered near exhaustion by the finish. Wasn’t as quick as last year, some 12 mins slower, finishing near the 2 hour mark.

Thanks to Alastair for the excellent pic.

Counting Crows

Sam — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:21:05 +0000

Last night I’ve went to see Counting Crows in Manchester with my sister. Haven’t been to a standing gig in ages and it was fab. Great atmosphere, and excellent perfomance. Very much enjoyed the night.

Arenig Fawr and Camping

Sam — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:04:09 +0000

I spent the bank holiday weekend camping in Snowdonia with my good friend Andrew. We arrived on Saturday evening and checked into a campsite near the Bryn Tyrch hotel in Capel Curig. I recently acquired a new one-man hyper light tent – MSR Carbon Reflex 1, so this was an excellent opportunity to put it through its paces. After several thirst quenching beverages in the Bryn Tyrch we retired to our tents, and received rain and strong winds during the night. My tent held up very well with no issues. On Sunday we were joined by some companions and did an excellent walk to the summit of Arenig Fawr – my first venture into the Arenig mountains. The weather was very annoying and interchangeable, hot/cold, windy/sunny/wet.. We celebrated the walk with a tasty curry in Bangor. During Sunday night I realised I’d been rather optimistic taking a 1-season sleeping bag and got very cold. Monday was essentially a wash out, the rain was perpetual until we returned to Chester. A day mostly spent in Penrhyn Castle near Bangor was the solution. Nice weekend.

Pink

Sam — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:56:55 +0000

Went to watch Pink last night in concert at the MEN arena, Manchester. I’ve been a partial fan of her music over the last few years, but was very impressed with the show indeed. She’s an amazing performer – simultaneously singing whilst performing trapeze and circus acts was rather impressive!