Anyone been up recently? I've done a couple of Lakes rides in the past and when we've got to the top it's been a completely different climate and a foot of snow on the ground! We're planning on going up on Saturday but just wanted to check we're not in for any surprises.
Was up near high street on Saturday and the ground is completely saturated. Most of the routes up there are hard pack though. Lot can change between now and then.
Its always prudent to check the weather line prior to going high in the lakes anyway. They are still doing fell top assessments on a daily basis.
http://www.lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk/
Top will be rocky and good, lower Kentmere a compete shitefest.
Saturday? It's hard enough predicting tomorrow's weather never mind 5 days away!
We are riding from Mill Yard at Staveley following a session at the Beer Festival...Probably going up Nan Bield.
Thanks all.
Not after a weather forecast, just wondered if conditions are extreme or not after previous bad experience!
By shitefest, am I correct to assume you mean it will be very muddy?
Rode it from Staveley in May last year in some cracking weather, but I could see the potential for sections being horrible after lots of rain and not much Sun. Much of Green Quarter Fell and Cocklaw fell will be a grassy, muddy bog and as tomaso points out, Kentmere will be "interesting" too.
I'm sure a local will come along and confirm shortly, but you can see from this pic how grassy Green Quarter Fell is. There's a good chance that will be very hard going when wet and muddy.
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7070/26294434813_70be1a8e04.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7070/26294434813_70be1a8e04.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/G4xRon ]Lakeland hike-a-bike May 2016[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/stilltortoise/ ]stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr
River Kent was in flood at the weekend, so it will be very wet from Kentmere reservoir down to the road at Stile End. Plenty of mud and puddles and all the bits will be in full effect.
Weather for weekend looks fine.
We are out Friday night for a quickie and get let you know conditions.
Has rained for about 5 days solid. might be a touch moist. 🙂
Fresh snow on it this morning, several sub zero days forecast for the fells now.
How does Helvellyn hold up in the wet? Is it mostly rocky or plenty of bog/grass slog? (route depending obviously)
Helvellyn is all rocky or hardpack, with minimal (if any) grassy sections unless you come from the north over the Dodds.
The bottom of Nan Bield is pretty much always a muddy, rutted, slippery mess, and that's what makes it such fun!
Helvellyn is all rocks with the exception of the Dodds beyond Sticks. Bruts Moss on BW from the Coach Road to Great Dodd has the ability to swallow a biker whole and belch contentedly afterwards... even in summer.
scruff
The north ridge of Helvelyn is very grassy/boggy if it's been wet. BUt that only matters if you like riding up hills. If you prefer hikebike then just go up one of the other routes. The north ridge is brilliant if you like climbs, it's nearly all rideable.
Just read a Lakes ride report from the weekend: three days of biblical rain. Confirmed by my brother who rang up last night: "wet" and "rain" were the only two words that weren't profanities.
@thegeneralist - by "north ridge of Helvellyn" do you mean the ridgeline north of Helvellyn, i.e. the BW up from the Coach Road to Great Dodd?
@thegeneralist - by "north ridge of Helvellyn" do you mean the ridgeline north of Helvellyn, i.e. the BW up from the Coach Road to Great Dodd?
Yep pretty much, although I didn't go up the Coach Road, I did it from Dockray and Lucy's Wood as I was heading up High Street afterwards. But the boggy bit is probably the same.
There's a very boggy, peaty bit that skirts Watson's Dodd (well the whole of that area is peat bog) but I thought the BW that pops out on the ridge near Calfhow Pike was also meant to be boggy or full of rushes which is what I thought you were talking about.
It is snowing in Patterdale this morning and the fells looks a nasty mix of snow, rain, low cloud and cd from Morecambe looking across the bay.
Postie Rich is out today around Staveley acting on his bike and may have some on the ground information.
The view across Morecambe Bay this morning gives an indication of the amount of snow and the level.
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Planning on going up and doing Nan Field tomorrow, anyone ridden up there today for what conditions are like, other than tad muddy.
Snow on higher parts of route
It was a cracking ride on Saturday except for the 2 foot deep snow drifts on Harter Fell. Lower down the ground was surprisingly dry.
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Tomaso, what time were you up there?
We went ahead with the ride as planned, what a day!
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/914184803 ]Strava link to ride w/ photos[/url]
Tomaso, passed you (methinks) as you were heading down to the col at Nan Bield Pass. I was the idiot who commented, "What tyres for granular snow?" Of course, I should have said "What tyres for melt freeze grains." Cracking day 😉
@number18 - Did you actually fall off a cliff at the 13 mile point, look at your elevation plot 😀
Cracking pic of Haweswater Tom.
Hope for similar conditions this weekend!
dlr - Member
@number18 - Did you actually fall off a cliff at the 13 mile point, look at your elevation plot
It seems to have plotted the correct route but got the elevation completely wrong. Not only that cliff drop but it seems to think I did 6000ft of climbing too.