So this old man decided to meet another far more famous old man for the first time..... Coniston Old Man via Goat Crag and then onto Dow etc and descent via Walna Scar Road back to Coniston itself.
I arrived in Coniston at about 9.30am and quickly realised I'd need to change my plans. The snow had started to fall and with no crampons or ice axe, scrambling up Goat Crag was not an option! So I decided to take the main path up out of Coniston and passed the copper mines.
Lower down the valley the snow wasn't sticking, but as I got past the old mining bridge, it really began to take hold. The path was still quite well defined but visibility in any direction was becoming less and less the higher I climbed. Underfoot, the ground was now becoming quite treacherous and I knew the descent was going to be tricky, one slip, one turn of the ankle and I was in trouble.
I met very few folk out on the hills (3 other walkers in a group coming down having been defeated and not reaching the summit and one other loan walker who I ended up walking part of the way with and enjoyed the company for a short while. A faster walker than me though, he left me at a rest point not far from the east ridge and that was the last I saw of him. I contemplated retiring at this point. I was finding it hard going (that stamina thing again!) but was also more than a little worried about my car being stuck and not being able to get home which I needed to do!
I decided to press on though. I am nothing if not determined and I generally don't let things beat me without a bloody good fight. To be fair, it was indeed a bloody good fight, The Old Man gave me a right battering! The east ridge was a struggle, hands and knees in places but I managed to reach the top only to see, well, nothing! It was just white, everywhere!
I couldn't see the summit cairn and decided it wasn't worth seeking out. The winds were picking up and total white out conditions were a very real possibility and so I retreated back down the east ridge to the main path and traced my steps back down the way I'd ascended and into Coniston again.
On the descent I passed one loan walker on his way up although he said to me he'd already decided he would stop at the east ridge and then come back down. I also met a young couple who asked me for directions. They were to put it mildly, not really dressed for the conditions (she had on a skirt and tights......full make up though so that's ok!!). I tried to convince them to forget it and join me in the pub but they were having none of it. I seriously doubt they'd have made it much further on but I do hope they were ok and also that MR weren't called out because of them!
On returning home (having stopped in at The Ship Inn for hot soup and a pint of course!), I got chatting on line to a couple of guys who'd also ventured out (there weren't many of us!). Both had almost gotten into difficulty. The first had experienced total white out on the very same mountain I was on. He'd had to use his compass to take a bearing or two for the first time in 20 years! The second had ventured into Glencoe. He gave the wrong location to friends and family but didn't realise until he, thankfully, made it safely back to his car! Lessons to be learnt here and it made me realise that actually, I kind of know what I'm doing up here!
I'm getting fitter too! I found it hard going, I really did.......but this time last year, I'm not sure I'd have made it even half way up.......The Old Man and The Old Man got on just fine!