Hedd, Ad and Stu headed to the Lakes on Saturday 22 August to tackle Helvellyn for the first time.
It was an early start from Warwick/Coventry for Hedd and Ad, and we arranged to meet Stu at Knutsford services on the M6. Stu was a bit late arriving, owing to a night out with Ross (now back from Oz) in Worcester.
We eventually rejoined a busy motorway and headed north. The section from the M6 to Glenridding was a nightmare, with loads of drivers sightseeing instead of driving, but we eventually got to Glenridding, and after a bit of faffing, parked in the overflow carpark.
The ride starts gently enough, but soon turns from tarmac to track near a youth hostel. The first few miles were fine, although the fact that Helvellyn was hidden from view was a little unnerving!
Sudders relaxing on the easier part of the climb
Stu struggled witht the early sections, with his strategy of carbo loading on Guinness and kebab meat in tatters! We reached a fork in the track, and unfortunaltly we had to take the right hand steeper trail. This is where it got tough, with a fair bit of pushing as the trail zig-zagged. Althought this was tough, it wasn't too bad and there were a few sections that we could ride up.
Colgie on one of the steeper sections of the climb that we couldn't ride up!
At this point, we also had the compensation of the view opening up behind us back to Ullswater, and our first view of the Helvellyn summit. This was pretty spectacular, but also a little daunting - we still had alot of work to do!
Our first view of the Helvellyn summit
The final section was rideable, which was a real boost as it allowed us to pretend to passing walkers that we'd ridden all the way up! After a final blast up to the summit of White Side, we enjoyed our first descent of the day. Although this was brief, it was a great way to blow away the cobwebs before the final part of the climb up Lower Man to the Helvellyn summit.
The descent from White Side, with views of Lower Man and the Helvellyn summit
As we were climbing up Lower Man, we realised not only that the wind was very strong, but also that it was gusting such that occasionally it was completed still. This should make the Lower Man descent pretty interesting!
Sudders nearing the top of the Lower Man climb
The views from the Lower Man summit were absolutley fantastic in all directions - time for a few photos!
The view towards Thirlmere from the Lower Man summit, with Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake beyond
The view back to Ullswater from the Lower Man summit
And we were pretty pleased to be there! Sudders triumphant at the Lower Man summit
From the summit of Lower Man, it was just a quick spin to the Helvellyn summit, which is actually a huge plateau. We wandered about and enjoyed the view for a while before heading to the shelter for some well earned M&S flapjack and phonecalls home to get the cricket score!
Colgie and Sudders looking huge in the Helvellyn summit shelter
After a bit of rest, we headed back to the trig point for a few more triumphant photos....
Team orange at the Helvellyn trig point, with Ullswater beyond
Hedd and Colgie at the Helvellyn trig point
Sudders takes in the view of Red Tarn belowThe wind meant we didn't hang around for too long, and we were soon heading back across the summit plateau the way we came to tackle Lower Man as a descent.
The stunning Lower Man descent - with apologies for the pause at the top (front wheel caught between rocks)
We then headed back over White Side, and climbed up to the summit of Raise. This was fine, although it got really rocky at the top, making it difficult to find a line. The initial descent from Raise was also good fun, starting rocky but soon settling down for some tight switchbacks. Stu had a minor off, as you can see below....
Stu descends from Raise towards to the top of Sticks Pass
We all agreed the next (and final) descent was probably the best we'd ever done. It was really long and included absolutley eveything.
Sudders riding Sticks Pass, Helvellyn from Hedd Roberts on Vimeo.
The top section looked as though it had been resurfaced, it was fast with some little rises to jump off. Just as you gained confidence to go faster, the trail got steeper, and then degenerated into a grassy, rocky mess.
Colgie going well on a steep section near the top of the Sticks Pass descent
Colgie descends Sticks Pass The descent then levels out for a while on singletrack and then through the remains of a mine before speeding up again, first on good tracks and then on the most challenging rocky section, where Hedd managed to bend his rear hanger (beyond repair as it turned out!) and get a puncture!
From here, things speed up again all the way back to the youth hostel we passed on the way up - absolutely awesome!
From here it was downhill all the way to the Car Park. It was 4:30pm, and Colgie needed to get on the road. It was too late to tackle the planned extension, so Hedd and Sudders headed to the other side of Ullswater and tackled the Ullswater singletrack - out and back stylie!
A taster of the Ullswater singletrack
This was good fun, but the "out and back" nature meant the the "back" bit was always on our minds, especially with tired legs. We carried on for about 45mins before about turning and heading back to the car.
We were away by about 6pm after another great day in the mountains!
Here are the details of our Helvellyn route: http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=16980
