Mass Ascent of Little Chamonix

Walking near Derwent Water

The weather wasn’t great, which seems to be the norm in this summer, but we were determined to get out and make the most of it. Andy and Angela had come to visit and I wanted to let them have a chance to see some great views, albeit through the Cumbrian mist…

We started the day in Keswick to catch up with Anna and Ian and to have a look around the shops, which is always a good idea to kill a bit of time while we waited for the rain to move on. As it brightened we made our way to the bottom of Catbells. Pete and Ian took the cars off to Shepherds crag, while me, Anna, Andy and Angela took a very pleasant stroll, along the bottom of Catbells, around Derwent Water, and through a couple of small rain showers. We met Pete, Ian and Kelda half way. It was a lovely walk with wonderful views.

Refreshments at Shepherds Cafe (where we bumped in to Terry) and we were ready to tackle the adventurous part of the day. Pete and Andy, followed by Anna and Ian, made a great ascent of Little Chamonix, while me and Angela were on photo duty. This was Andy’s first real climb, and to be honest I had expected him to struggle on more than a few moves, but he looked liked he’d been climbing for ages. Climb with your eyes I cryptically said before he set off. He understood, and at each move I could see he searched around, decided what to do, and made the move. Great hand work, and great foot work, and not a whimper was heard, except when he took off Pete’s excessively smelly rock shoes!

The sun stayed out for the whole route, making it feel as hot as it should be in August, but we could see the rain coming again. We just had time for even more refreshments at Shepherds before it started raining, so we decided it was time to go home and have dinner.

Another good day, despite the rain.

A mass ascent of Little Chamonix