UKC

Why do The Lakes always appear to be mentioned in deference to North Wales on UKC? Is this an accurate representation, historically founded?

In reply to Greenbanks:

Ssssh! best to keep it that way.

In reply to 3leggeddog:
You have a point - though I do feel miffed at what I feel is the second-class treatment that the region gets

In reply to Greenbanks:

In a word, Gogarth

In reply to Greenbanks:

It's people thinking they're climbing 'mountain' routes in Wales, when in reality they're climbing 5 mins from the road in Llanberis pass. The illusion is comforting to people. It suits me fine. North Wales is in fashion, it's good, why shouldn't it be in fashion?

In reply to Greenbanks:

Because the Lake is crap, wet and miserable.

Now leave me alone to enjoy it!

In reply to Greenbanks:

It's further from London, which as all northerners know is the centre of the Universe..........

In reply to Greenbanks:

Hasn't the Lakes played second fiddle to North Wales for decades - and not just on here? It's always seemed grossly unfair to me. I remember reading an article with Lakes guru Allan Austin where (if I remember correctly) he reckoned that the Lakes just hadn't got crags/routes to match North Wales. I couldn't see that then and I still can't now (so at least I'm consistent!)

Interestingly, in the 1970s the Lakes was heaving. Every Saturday night saw dozens and dozens of climbers in Ambleside, getting rat-arsed, fighting and dossing (the church porch was my favourite; I met a better class of people, as Sunday worshippers stepped over me to get into church!)

And then the Lakes just seemed to go out of fashion. True, you'll generally be walking further and true the grades are stiffer and true routes seem far less well protected but little things like these shouldn't stop us enjoying the grandeur of the place.

Mick

In reply to Greenbanks:

I sometime wonder what would have happened if the proposed Sty Head Pass road had been built - would the Lakes now be considered worse for walking but better for climbing?

In reply to Greenbanks:

Welsh climbing is like entertainment...easy to appreciate. Lakes climbing is like art and requires more from the participant but, perhaps, is ultimately more memorable.

In reply to Greenbanks:


Some of my best climbing days have been in the Lakes. I love it's special and beautiful landscape - even when it's pissing down - but in all honesty, I do think Wales has more and better routes of a wider variety overall.

In reply to Mick Ward:

Yes - was the 70's and early 80's the golden age of Lakeland climbing - I never seemed to be on a crag without having an attendant Whillance, Lamb, Cleasby, Matheson or other doing daring things...one quiet plod up to Esk was cruelly disturbed by an earnest, galloping Birkett on his way to claim a new route, whilst I recall Colin Downer giving us moss showers as he unearthed new things and we teetered up Great End Corner.
Climbing to a silhouette of trees on the horizon or carpeting the drop below has always appealed - I guess that's why the Lakes does it for me

In reply to Goucho:

Not being a hard climber I tend to compensate with the landscape (a novel excuse for being only average) - the Lakes seems to me gentler on the eye and what I see as I gaze around searching for the next hidden in it is like balm on my troubled mind

In reply to Greenbanks:


Completely agree, it does have a special atmosphere to it, and is very pretty, and dare I say comforting?

When I think of the Lakes, I see it in shades of green, but when I think of Wales, I see it in shades of grey - if you get my drift?

In reply to Greenbanks:

Wales is far better than the Lakes - in fact the Lakes is rubbish.









































Leave it empty for me thanks.

In reply to Goucho:
Excellent summary comparison: shades of green v shades of grey

In reply to Goucho:

How many shades of grey?

In reply to Greenbanks:


Did a very early ascent of this with Andy Parkin, just behind Mick Hillas and Graham Summer. Graham dropped a block which nearly decapitated Andy and me. Course he didn't shout, "Below!" or any of that malarky. Just grinned evilly as we tried to keep our composure.

Meanwhile across the valley, some dude called Ron was doing the second ascent of Footless Crow. (But what did he ever do on grit?)

Happy days.

Mick

In reply to Greenbanks:

There's magic in the Lakes, a bit like in the Highlands. North Wales is great and exciting but I don't feel it in the same way.

In reply to bouldery bits:


What?! The things that puts me off most heading south to the lakes are the congested roads, overcrowded, overpriced campsites and tourist crowds. The climbing may well be brilliant, but I can rarely face the attendant hassle.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Is, was and generally always has been. The Lake's has always been out of it. No problem with that though

In reply to Mick Ward:
Yes - happy and exhilarating days. The risks we all took prior to the H&S and blame culture arrived. The Lakes was my forging ground....

In reply to Greenbanks:

I remember 70's in the Lakes with fondness. I lived in the area at the time. The Carlisle / Penrith scene was lively with a degree of competition going on with the South Lakes lads. The Eden valley was also being opened up. I even managed to get dragged up some good routes by some better climbers who were wanting to do new routes or early repeats of easier Extremes and managed a few easier FA's of my own.

I never actually climbed in North Wales until about 10 years ago and had a great weekend ticking some 'Classic Rock' routes and meeting up with some old mates from the Eden Valley club, my daughter and her pal, and my old climbing partner from the UAE.

In reply to Greenbanks:

......... we teetered up Great End Corner.

I was also on an early repeat of Great End Corner -- 6 of us from the EVMC went across and did the 2nd, 3rd and 4th ascents one fine evening ( could have been 3rd 4th and 5th) - Al Beatty, Phil Rigby, Harold Edwards, Dave Bowen? Ron Kenyon, and me. I was often Ron's portable belay.

I can't imagine the amount of gardening that was done in the 70's on that crag - and throughout the lakes - would be tolerated nowadays without the conservationists going ape shit.

The 'gardening' practice I got in stood me in good stead for my 5 years in the UAE - though there was a lot less vegetation to remove over there!

In reply to Lord of Starkness:
Yes, the Lakes was absolutely crawling with top teams in those days. I remember seeing a Matheson ascent of Rough/Tumble on Dow and thinking how modest I was in my own aim that day - puffing my way up Nimrod as an unfit second
And in the South - dodging gamekeepers and green- warriors on White Scar and "Tremudrocthwaite" attempting repeats of Moonchild and such - well out of our league of course