Helvellyn

The first mountain that I ever climbed was way back in 1984. It was in the English Lake District and goes by the old Nordic name of Helvellyn which apparently means pale yellow moorland. I was with my Brother-in-law and we climbed the steep path from Wythburn church next to Thirlmere in blazing sunshine. I remember that we were wearing jeans and heavy leather boots, this was before the days of designer light weight walking gear.

Since then I've climbed numerous mountains throughout the UK and Europe in all weathers but Helvellyn is still my favourite. From the west it appears like a giant beached whale with smooth convex sides however upon reaching the summit it drops off vertically for several hundred feet. Even on this eastern side there are paths though, along the knife edge ridges of Striding edge and the slightly less exposed Swirral edge. I've climbed these paths in both summer and winter and they are both a bit of a 'bottle' tester (Five people have died on Striding edge this year).

Last week Mrs C and I were holidaying in the Lake District with our friends and I had previously promised that I would take Vince up his first mountain. Being a complete novice in the hills what better mountain could there be than dear old Helvellyn. We were staying in Grasmere so took the path alongside Little Tongue up to Grisedale Tarn which gave us fabulous views back towards Grasmere village. Apart from a couple of short sharp inclines the going was fairly easy.

After a short rest break we began the steep traverse up to Dollywagon pike where we got our first glimpse of Helvellyn summit and off to the east Ullswater and the Pennine Fells in the far distance. During this ascent we got into conversation with several other walkers  (it was a good excuse to take a rest). One man in particular stood out from the crowd as he was carrying a mountain bike on his back. His intention was to ride the length of the whale back and descend into Thelkeld village then cycle along the road to Keswick.

After claiming Dollywagon Pike Vince's first mountain summit we followed the path across Nethermost Pike (his second) to the top of Helvellyn. We had fantastic views down to Striding edge which as usual had a long crocodile of walkers making there way steadily along it's knife edge ridge. Although it was a clear sunny day there was a cold breeze blowing across the tops from a westerly direction encouraging us to put on fleeces, windproof jackets, hats and gloves.

We sat in the lee of the cross shaped shelter wall and ate our lunch, then posed for a few photos before retracing our route home. It was hard going on the descent as I could feel every jolt in my knees (one of the problems with getting older). A couple of hours later we celebrated his first mountain climb, up the third highest peak in England with a couple of well deserved pints in the Travellers Rest.