With hog roast weekend nearing closer, and fancying a piece of the S2S action, I spoke with my good friend Andy M7BOA and we decided to have a go at Black Hill (G/SP-002) this was, however, despite my posting an alert going to be the subject of a Denby Dale RC Field day station, that was announced with a week to go to activation day… Denby dale were very polite about it by the way, but We decided to step aside and re-plan for another summit. so plans were changed, and alerts altered! we decided in G/SP-001 Kinder Scout!!
Now, many of you will remember, last time I attempeted Kinder Scout, I ended up throwing myself in a gully on Ashop moor and having to be rescued by mountain Rescue with a smashed leg! this is something that weighed heavily on my mind, in more ways than one, its what kept me off the hills for most of 2023, and left me with a feeling of unfinished business… but this also stirred a new feeling in me, something I have never experienced going onto the hills… The Fear! but with a week to go at this point, I put it to the back of my mind and we made our plans…
The plan was, myself and my lad William would go via the route I came a cropper on 18 months ago. Snake pass summit, over Ashop moor and up the corner of Kinder, then follow the path along towards Kinder downfall, turning left just after Sandy Heys, to activate at the trig poinf at SK077893 - The Edge! for this walk i Reckoned about 1 hour and 20 mins (big mistake, more later) And after the activation follow the same route back. Andy M7BOA was travelling by train and was going to Solo up from Edale via Grindslow and Crowden tower, accross the downfall then meet us at the trig, with a return straight down the P/Way via Jacobs ladder and Upper Booth. All we needed now was the weather!!
the morning of the activation was upon as, and with an early start to collect William from his Mum’s we were up at snake pass head for around 0800, we were met with a heavy mist and wet weather with poor visability and miserable conditions, now if i hadnt read the mountian weather reports and knew it was going to clear up, at that point the activation would have been off, we agreed to re-asses the weather the other side of Ashop moor before we made the ascent onto Kinder! now i reckoned on half an hour for Ashop moor, its fairly flat going on stone slabs, and with the fear hanging haevily on me we gingerly set off along the slab pathway that was literally my downfall last time…
The slabs are endless and punishing made more so by the conditions, but we were soon past the gully I came a cropper on, pausing for thought as we went it was at this point the fear ws at its wost, but i gingerly stepped accross the gully, and made it to the other side safely… just like that the fear lifted, like a weight coming off me, I finally felt free of the curse of 18 months ago! at that we pressed on, in pretty horrific conditions. Driving rain and a proper wind chill mader this feel like a winter bonus activation, I kept having to remind myself we were in June! But slowly, and thankfully the cloud began to lift and we could see the Behemoth that is Kinder Scout looming out of the mist.
Ashop Moor was a huge underestimation on my part, i think the ZigZagging of the stone slabs robbed time, and added un-neccecary distance it had took us over an hour to reach the Tee junction at Mill Hill, but with the weather improving as predicted we decided to press on, cross the Col to the bottom of the ascent to Kinder, and then up the steep Scramble to the top! by this point the P/Way path has been joined by other paths coming up the hill, and its got alot busier with other walkers, which is re-assuring! we pressed on up the Charged Rocks and were rewarded with fantastic views! Notice how the clouds have gone… quite a contrast!
By this stage we were well late for our alerted time, but making good progress on tired legs we located the fences that marked the way up to the trig, and after a bit of an awkward navigation we located the trig, sat on its plinth! by now, over an hour late, I decided due to time constraints to forget the HF, and concentrate on VHF so the Slim G was deployed and the FT4X hooked up and the activation was on!
Straight into the S2S contacts from North wales I rapidly got the 4 needed to Qualify the activation, and ended up with 13 S2S and 17 all told, not massive, but i only had about 25 mins, as we needed to get back! I was a bit gutted not to have more time, i could have easily doubled that total I would have thought but hey ho! We needed to get back!
M7BOA (left) and myself
Some idiot on a trig!
The way back was relatively uneventful, just very busy with walkers till we got to Ashop moor, the slog across the moor was even worse on the way back, on extremely tired legs and bad cramps… but eventually 2 hours and 10 mins after leaving the trig we were safely back at the car EXHAUSTED!!
I really did underestimate the scale of this walk, I reckoned on an hour and a half up but it took 2 1/2 hours almost the same back… but I conquered it! I also realised I had made the same mistake the day I fell, and maybe the fall saved me from a worse fate, as I would have been benighted in a snowstorm on Kinder… not good! but it doesnt do to dwell on these things…
Thanks to everyone I worked, and the usual Chasers, without you guys we wouldnt do what we do!
Alan & William
