BB0834 : YIFT

Wednesday 29th October 2008

Following the map just led us to the strangely ornate water tanks, looking more like goods wagons on an abandoned railway. Eventually we found the escape route onto the fell at the wrong side of the pub.  However if we had headed down the valley from the church rather than up the valley, we would not have had this problem.

Our objective was YIFT.  “What’s that?” you might ask.  Well, some time ago I mentioned to Stan that I could never remember which way round were Froswick, Ill Bell and Yoke. I even made up a little mnemonic but it didn’t work.  Then Stan said “YIFT”.  By the simple device of adding in Thornthwaite Crag, not only did it become an easy word to remember, it actually works.  Add words to it if you like, e.g. “You in front there” or something much ruder, but for me, the simple YIFT works every time. This is important as the YIF part of YIFT represents three distinct hills in a line that can be seen from much of the South Lakeland Area.  But not today.

 Troutbeck Valley and YIFT

Daughter Emma and her fiancé Scott were with us and I wanted to take them on a route with good views. It was supposed to be a half decent day with the risk of showers coming in late in the afternoon.  For this reason, Stan advocated YIFT rather than TFIY.  That was good advice, as befits one who has just become a grandad.  However, the snow flurries through which we had to drive before even reaching Troutbeck took us by surprise.  They were supposed to be over in the west. Fortunately, they stopped before we set off walking. We eventually found the Garburn Road, which we took almost to its zenith before heading left towards Yoke.  As we got higher, the cloud lowered and we soon found ourselves in mist that turned into snow flurries.

Yoke is a steady climb but no views today.  After the drop, Ill Bell is rather steeper.  I tried to take a team photo at the summit but the camera kept falling over in the snow and wind.  Sensing that the party was getting cold and fed up with all the faffing around, I decided to postpone.  

Another drop and steepish climb brought us to Froswick and still not much to see.  Down again and then a climb about which I had quite forgotten to the Roman Road and decision point.  To T or not to T?  The weather was getting worse but Thornthwaite Crag was not far off and offered a wall behind which to shelter for lunch. A full YIFT was agreed.

I might as well have picked up a snowball for all the good it did.  

Useless.

I was amazed as the ones we use when skiing are wonderful, but these just did nothing. So I gave up on lunch, packed up and struggled into my winter mittens.

By this time quite a crowd had built up at the Beacon, some quite unsure of how to get to Patterdale.  A nice Labrador seemed to sense I was in trouble and tried to comfort me.

It was now snowing and blowing quite hard.  It was the sort of day that, for once, made Tony's habit of sitting for hours in freezing water seem almost therapeutic.

We set off to find the Roman Road down to Troutbeck.  We missed it at first as Stan was so busy chatting but, to be fair, he quickly realised we had gone too far and got us back on the right track, down out of clag.

Troutbeck is a long valley and quite a walk back to the car.  Near the village, we tried the direct path but it was awash so we had to carry on with a road slog.

Back in the warmth and dryness of the car we all had second lunch, or in my case, more or less first lunch.  It had been a long walk.  At 12.8 miles and 3,670 feet of climbing it is the toughest we have done since BB0818.  I am little suspicious of these numbers as my Garmin doesn’t always record accurate positions- perhaps too sensitive to “body shadow” being first generation, but it is close to what I made it by a manual plot.

Emma and Scott kindly said that they had enjoyed the walk despite the length, the cold and the lack of views; it had been a bit of an adventure.  If you want to see what we missed, check out:          

Don, 29th October 2008

If you have Memory Map on your computer, you can follow our route in detail by downloading BB0834.

For the latest totals of the mileages, heights and Lakeland Fells Books Wainwrights see: Wainwrights.

If anyone wants to claim other peaks, please let me know and I will submit them to the adjudication committee!

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Archive

2008 Outings

• BB0801 :
  Avoiding the Graupel;  
  Wednesday 16 January
• BB0802 :
  Lyth in the Old Dogs;
  Tuesday 22 January
• BB0803 :
  That's Lyth;
  Sunday 27 January
• BB0804 :
  Tony's Memory Lane;
  Wednesday 30th January
• BB0805 :
  Fell's Belles!
  Thank You Mells
  Wednesday 6th February  
• BB0806 :
  The Langdale Skyline
  and a Fell Race!
  Wednesday 13th February
• BB0807a:
  An Outbreak of Common Sense;
  Thursday 21st February
• BB0807b:
  Askham Fell and
  the Lowther Estate;   
  Thursday 13th March
• BB0808 : 
  Thanks to the MWIS
  Wednesday 19th March
• BB0809 :  
  High Street and Kidsty Pike
  but no Fairy
  Friday 28th March
• BB0810 :  
  Prelude to Spring
  Wednesday 2nd April
• BB0811 :  
  Spring in Lakeland
  Sunday 6th April
• BB0812 :  
  Wet, Wet, Wet Sleddale to Mosedale Cottage
  Thursday 10th April
• BB0813 :  
  What's It All About, Tony?
  Thursday 17th April
• BB0814 :  
  The Hidden Mountain
  Tuesday 22nd April
• BB0815 :  
  The Bowland CROW
  Thursday 1st May
• BB0816 :  
  High Cup Nick:
  The Gurt La'al Canyon
  Wednesday 7th May
• BB0817 :  
  Travelling Light
  Wednesday 14th May
• BB0818 :  
  Pensioners’ Day Out
  Thursday 22nd May
• BB0819 :  
  The Northern Tip
  Thursday 29th May
• BB0820 :  
  The Bannisdale Horseshoe
  Wednesday 11th June
• BB0821 :  
  Black, White or Grey Combe?
  Thursday 19th June
• BB0822 : 
  Thunder on the 555
  Thursday 3rd July
• BB0823 : 
  We'll Give It Five
  Thursday 10th July
• BB0824 :
  Shelters from the Storm
  Thursday 17th July
• BB0825 :
  The Big Wind-Up
  Wednesday 23rd July
• BB0826 :
  Tony’s Third (and wettest) Alfie
  Wedmesday 30th July
• BB0827 :
  A Visit to Mud Hall
  Tuesday 19th August
• BB0828 :
  The Tale of Randy Gill
  Tuesday 27th August
• BB0829 : Mosedale Cottage Revisited
  Wednesday 3rd September
• BB0830 : Mist Over Pendle
  Wednesday 10th September
• BB0831 : Luncheon Chez Monty
  Thursday 2nd October
• BB0832 : Escape from the Madness
  Thursday 9th October
• BB0833 : Only on a Thursday
  Thursday 16th October
• BB0834 : YIFT
  Wednesday 29th October
• BB0835 : Reflections on Thirlmere
  Thursday 6th November
• BB0836 : Reet Grand Randonnées
  15th - 19th November
• BB0837 : Back to Real8ty
  Wednesday 26th November

 The Comback Trail

• CBT01 : Helm, direttissimo
  Monday 22nd September  
• CBT02 : Cunswick Fell and back in the dark!
  Monday 29th September  

BOOTSKIboys

• BskiB08 : Bootski Boys in the Sella Ronda  
  23rd February - 1st March

Click on the photos for an enlargement or related large picture.

Wainwrights

Bryan has kindly produced a log of which Wainwrights have been done by which BOOTboy in the "modern" era, i.e. since the advent of BOOTboys.  

To download the Excel file click on Wainwrights.  

If anyone wants to claim other peaks, please let me know and I will submit them to the adjudication committee!

BOOT boys

This page describes an adventure of BOOTboys, a loose group of friends of mature years who enjoy defying the aging process by getting out into the hills as often as possible!

As most live in South Lakeland, it is no surprise that our focus is on the Lakeland fells and the Yorkshire Dales.

As for the name, BOOTboys, it does not primarily derive from an item of footwear but is in memory of Big Josie, the erstwhile landlady of the erstwhile Burnmoor Inn at Boot in Eskdale, who enlivened Saint Patrick's Day 1973 and other odd evenings many years ago!

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