Snowdon at night, 20th-21st August 2016

This was the last of three events in a row working for RAW Adventures, who had been hired to provide mountain safety by Action Challenge, who were staging the event for Macmillan, the cancer charity, for their fundraising.

I had been up Snowdon the day before (up the PYG Track and down the Llanberis Path with new-found friend Liz), and it had been blustery, wet, and foggy. During the night the weather had worsened, and by morning half the tents at Llwyn Celyn Bach camp site had either blown down or were looking very sorry for themselves: it did not look at all promising for the night ahead. I started to formulate plans in my mind as to how far up the mountain it would be safe to take my group, hoping I could get them to Clogwyn bridge but wondering if even that would be too far.

Late in the evening, the winds eased off a little and became less gusty, and with a favourable general synopsis and a favourable detailed forecast from a local and well-informed source, we set off at midnight via the road that passes west of (behind) the camp site, the footpath which crosses Afon Arddu and emerges just above Stefan's café, and the Llanberis Path.

At Hebron Gate the participants were organised into groups and Mountain Leaders assigned to them: I was the lead ML for a mid-paced group of 29 participants, working with International ML Lotte and assistant ML Martin.

As we advanced at a deliberately slow steady pace long the Llanberis Path the visibility grew steadily worse, and I experienced a strange disorientation. Although I know that the path was rising in front of me, and I could feel this in my leg muscles, it looked as if I was constantly walking along the edge of a bowl or small depression, steeper-sided on my left than on my right. When I turned round to check on the progress of the group behind me, the bowl still appeared to be steeper on my left than on my right, which felt bizarre. If anyone reading this understands this kind of optical illusion, do please get in touch: I would be fascinated to learn more about it.

I felt very strongly that Lotte, Martin and I worked really well as a team. We kept a deliberately slow steady pace, initially set by me at the front, but tweaked even slower based on feedback to me delivered by Martin from his and Lotte's observations, and all without use of our radios. We kept the group good and tight, which is essential for safety in such conditions. We conferred about the state of the group and the state of the weather at Clogwyn and again at the junction of the Llanberis Path with the PYG Track, deciding at each point whether to turn back or to continue.

It had long since been clear that we had enough time to reach the summit before the turnaround time west by RAW Adventures, and given that the other indications were favourable, we advanced upwards, reaching the summit three hours and forty minutes after leaving Llwyn Celyn Bach camp site, which would have been a creditable time in broad daylight and fair weather, but considering the filthy conditions and that I had deliberately been holding the pace down, was remarkable. Visibility was so bad that Lotte, Martin and I had to tell the participants that we had arrived.

After a few minutes we turned round and went back the way we had come, with Martin in front setting a faster pace than on the ascent, me in the middle, and Lotte at the back. We kept the group together until Hebron Gate (as it was still dark and foggy), but then let them chose their own pace, as the route ahead was way-marked and marshalled.

Lotte and I ended up at the back of our group (but not the back of the whole show) helping three struggling participants (or more accurately, one worn-out participant and her two companions) off the mountain and back to Llwyn Celyn Bach.

My particular thanks to Lotte and Martin for first-rate teamwork in difficult conditions.

At the marquee, I scoffed a well-deserved breakfast, then as it was clear I was no longer on duty, slipped away to my tent, feeling tired but very pleased with the work I had done, and slept until mid morning.

My plan had been to stay the whole day in Llanberis and return home on the Monday, but as I had woken up feeling full of beans, I decided to pack up and go straight away, which gained me an extra day at home, and reduced the risk of an attack of anti-climax (from which I suffer after excitement).

I arrived home, back in the West of England, in time for supper, at the end of a tour of the UK taking in Yorkshire, Fort William, and Snowdonia, and had taken two weeks and two days, covered three weekends, and involved driving 1,190 miles (including 21 to pick up a much-loved hat I had left accidentally in Capel Curig).

I have the bank holiday weekend free, which I really need, then it's back to the Lake District for a piece of work for Charity Challenge.

Ben Nevis at night, 13th-14th August 2016

This was the second of three events in a row working for RAW Adventures, who had been hired to provide mountain safety by Action Challenge, who were staging the event for Macmillan, the cancer charity, for their fundraising. It was also my fourth time on Ben Nevis working as a Mountain Leader, and my second time on Ben Nevis at night working as a Mountain Leader.

The weather was, of course, wet and windy, but not too bad to attempt the ascent. RAW Adventures gave us a turn-around time of four hours after departure, which I consider to be a very sensible precaution. We headed across the suspension bridge near the visitor centre, past the Ben Nevis Inn, and up the track to the junction adjacent to Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, where the participants were organised into groups, and Mountain Leaders were assigned to guide and look after them. Sally (a different Sally from last weekend) and I were assigned together.

We sent on at a steady pace, across Red Burn, and out onto the zig-zags, and managed to get within 50 metres of corner 6 by the turnaround time. Wanting to give the partipants in our group a well-defined point to say they had reached, Sally and I led them the few extra paces to the corner, paused for a minute or two to adjust layers, then we all turned around and headed back, much to the relief of the almost everyone in the group.

As we descended Sally and I let the group, which we had previously kept tightly bunched, gradually spread out as each particiant found his or her preferred pace. Eventually, Sally was quite a way behind me, and when I heard news that she was looking after a man whose knees had locked up, I raced back up to meet her and him, where I administered my "magic bananas" (instept lifters made of Fimo), which freed up one knee and made things a lot easier for him. For more information about this condition, see the page on this blog about knee trouble.

Sally and I and the rear marker for the whole event walked the man off the mountain. There was nothing he could do but tough it out and carry on going down as best he could -- it's a miserable and fairly painful process, but he kept his grace and humour. He was the last participant down, and we were the last Mountain Leaders to finish; the four of we had been on the mountain and in the weather for eleven and half hours.

I returned alone to my tent in the Glen Nevis camp site, feeling tired, but not as tired as I had expected, and satisfied with my night's work, and slept well until mid afternoon.

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Yorkshire Three Peaks, 6th August 2016

Back to the familiar environment of Horton in Ribblesdale and the Yorkshire Three Peaks, this time working for RAW Adventures, who had been hired to provide mountain safety by Action Challenge, who were staging the event for Macmillan, the cancer charity, for their fundraising.

We had fine hot sunny weather for the day, which is not actually prefect hiking weather: it was so hot and still that there was a serious risk of heat stroke, so we kept urging the participants to keep on drinking. Despite there being plenty of water available (laid on by Action Challenge), the extra litre I was carrying to give to thirsty participants was half gone before I had started the first mountain.

I helped a nervous particiant with no head for heights but plenty of courage up the steep face of Pen-y-Ghent, then strolled off with various participants I met on the way towards the Ribblehead Viaduct, where a very welcome lunch awaited me, my buddy Sally, and a struggling participant that she and I had been looking after. While we were eating, a call came on the radio for Sally and me to walk with the struggling participant via a low-level shortcut bypassing Whernside to the next checkpoint, at Philpin Farm: all in all, this seemed like a good idea.

At Philpin Farm transport was arranged to take the participant to the finish line, and Sally and I were assigned to a group that waiting to carry on to Ingleborough. We had a fine well-paced walk to the base of the final ascent to saddle on Ingleborough, then a good steady climb to where the route eases off, at which point Sally was assigned to stay, and I was assigned to walk to the finish line without going to the summit, and encourage any participants I found along the way, which I did.

My journey back to Horton was interrupted by an instruction to wait in the Sulber Nick area, then to walk back the way I come (back towards Ingleborough), to support the last participant off the mountain, who by then was coming across the plateau in the dark. In the end, there were five or six or us (Mountain Leaders) looking after her, making sure she made it back safely and in good cheer.

At the finish I wolfed down my supper, and as there wasn't time to go to the pub, I slipped into my tent and sent straight sleep, feeling good after a good day's work.

DofE bronze expedition, 21st & 22nd July 2016

This was the culmination of several weeks' work with the same small group of youngsters; I was working for Peter de Boer and Claire Corrigan of Bristol City Council.

In the indoor sessions we had covered all the preliminary topics such as what kit to bring, how to load a rucksack, nutrition, campcraft, and the basics of navigation. On 25th June we had all gone for a practice hike to bring it together in the field, especially the navigation.

Because of this preparation, the actual practice expedition was a constructive engagement with the matter of walking and camping, rather then the unnecessary struggle that sometimes happens. It helped that the weather was favourable, especially on the second day, but it also helped that the youngsters were not rushed off their feet, and actually had time to learn and practice the skills I wanted them to develop -- credit to Bristol City Council for allowing the practice hike in June.

Because of the layout of the Mendips, I was not able to travel by road between checkpoints on the second day, so I had to stride out briskly and unseen on alternative and inevitably longer trails to reach the checkpoints ahead of the youngsters -- I made it to the last one with only about 90 seconds to spare.

After the debriefing, my work was done, so I said my goodbyes and wished the youngsters well for the assessed expedition three weeks later.

Goatchurch Cavern, 6th & 7th July 2016

Two more half-day sessions in Goatchurch Cavern for Aardvark Endeavours. On Wednesday 6th July it was with a group of teenagers doing the National Citizenship Service, and on Thursday 7th July it was with children from a local primary school. All good stuff, and perhaps some of them will take up caving when they are older.