Hill Walking with Bonington... (Sunday 16th June 2013)

Ok it's not quite the South Face of Annapurna or the North Wall of the Eiger, however the opportunity to climb Sharp Edge with the legendary mountaineer Chris Bonnington was certainly one not to be missed. Having been out with Chris and the LUHC a year ago on warm and sunny day in the Howgills at Cautley Spout, this years destination was the small village of Mungrisdale in the north Lakes. There was a good turn out from the LU Hiking Club for the occasion and we even had four dogs in total; two of course being Toffee and Jess Axe.

On a march along Souther Fell with Blencathra in the background, Chris Bonington setting the pace

All twenty plus of us set off at a decent pace up the valley, with Chris having chosen the route for its promised variety of terrain. It certainly did not disappoint; we almost certainly followed the finest line to the summit of the mostly rounded Bannerdale Crags. Approaching via the north east ridge leading through the heart of the crags after which the summit is named, the ascent gave much interest with broken scree and heathery steps leading up through an area of old mine excavations. The stillness and warmth of the air had however brought the midges out and we were soon striding out along the broad grassy slopes of Mungrisdale Common towards Blencathra. 

We had our very own South Col moment at the unnamed saddle at 610 m with Sharp Edge in splendid profile leading direct to the summit of Blecathra's subsidiary, Atkinson Pike. Chris was keen for Sharp Edge, and of course many of us opted to join in. It was a wonderful traverse of the ridge, topped off with talk of the recently celebrated 60th anniversary of the Everest 1953 Expedition. We took a long lunch break on Blencathra, with the mild conditions giving us the opportunity for a good number of obligatory summit group shots. The route down took us onto the altogether different terrain of Souther Fell; home, according to my Cumbrian expert Andy, to a ghost army once seen marching along its broad ridge in the dead of night. We performed a fine march along its grassy apex, congregating on the summit briefly before an extraordinarily steep grassy decent back down to the Glenderamackin in fine sunshine.

A fine day in the Lakeland Fells always ends at a good village pub, Chris Bonington with myself, Imogen, Mum and Dad at the Mill Inn, Mungrisdale.

It was a great day out and was great to see Chris keen to keep up the grand tradition of ending a fine trip into the hills with a visit to a fine Lakeland village pub. The Mill Inn at Mungrisdale provided fitting finish to our day with such an inspiring character. Many thanks to Sir Chris Bonington for being such a great honorary president for the LUHC and for joining us on another fabulous annual walk. His kind words and encouragement for aspiration in the mountains is an inspiration to us all.