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Elterwater, 13–15 November

Trip Summary

For the second trip of Michaelmas 2015, the club returned to the Lake District's Elterwater, in Langdale. We were staying in the former YHA hostel - comparative luxury compared to some bunkhouses! After arriving just before midnight on Friday, Matt A and David H got the first (and only dry!) walk of the weekend in, heading up Loughrigg Fell by torchlight.

The weather forecast was pretty horrific for the weekend, but it wasn't raining while routes were being planned on Saturday morning. Josh A was running a navigation course, other groups went onto the Langdale Pikes, the Weatherlam range, or just enjoyed the local area on scenic walks. Predictably, the rain began by the time anyone left the bunkhouse, the rain had set in for the weekend. Everyone had a decent walk though, and the atmosphere in the bunkhouse that night was top notch: we joined Andrew W in celebrating his 50th CUHWC trip, enjoyed mulled wine and/or scotch, and indulged excessively in the usual great food.

Next morning, the river had risen dramatically and started to flood the fields in the bottom of the valley. While we were umming and ahhing about whether to walk or whether to head back to Cambridge, the bunkhouse owner (a MR member) came round to tell us about the awful conditions on the region's roads, with many closed. With the rain continuing to fall, we made the decision to pack up and leave as soon as possible. Three cars left before 10, but returned almost immediately becuase of flooding. A couple more routes were equally impassable, but eventually they made it over Red Bank to Grasmere, and from there the roads were just passable back to Cambridge. The rest of the cars followed once this safe route had been established.

All in all then, a shorter than normal trip, but by no means short of adventure!

Trip Participants

David H (Trip Leader), Josh A (Safety Officer), Thibaud M, Nebibe V, Courtney D, Michelle C, Jiaxi L, Grasilda Z, Juliette M, Valerie A, Paul C, Romaric M, Andrew W, Matt A, Josh H, Mariliis TÖ, Rory L, Mark B, Olivia T, Angelika B, Adrien L, Zhengwei H, Christiane K, Patrick R, Sumita C, Zekang C, Christine K, Matthew G, William G, April C, Natthawut A, Charlotte N, Heidi F, Kirsten VF, Charles L, Andrew TY, Ptolemy J, Ben KM, Jorge G

Photos

Author: 
David H