COVID-19 My Coronavirus Mount Everest Climbing and Fundraising Challenge

Posyrose said:
Hello again! I have been struggling to go for a walk and do my stair climbing because of the amount of pain I'm in. As the walk is more effective in lifting my mood and quietening my anxiety, I have been proritising that.

I am a day behind in posting my conquests.

Today is a highly significant hill/mountain. It is the highest point in the Peak District and the starting point of the Pennine Way - Kinder Scout
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It's a flat plateau,it doesn't look like much but steep to ascend (as I can attest)- like these dearedevils
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Most importantly, all of us who walk the fells, go for country walks and enjoy the national parks have to thank a plucky group that engaged in a 'mass trespass' in 1932 (of privately owned land (for hunting and shooting etc of wealthy landowners). This led to The Peak District becoming the first of the UK's national arks and the 'right to roam' on footpaths across private land in the UK.
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Well done for reaching it! I wish we were closer to the Peak and the Lake Districts. I find them stunning because they are so open,

The Alps are stunning, but you are very much confined in them and always surrounded by higher peaks. And once you have been in a proper thunderstorm caught in one of those valleys with the thunder echoing along the walls moving up and down the valley for half the night, you know just how confined...
Each area has their own beauty!

I hope that your pain is settling down soon!

I did run up the stairs a bit too strongly yesterday and have been paying with rather stiff legs today...
 
Wiebke said:
Well done for reaching it! I wish we were closer to the Peak and the Lake Districts. I find them stunning because they are so open,

The Alps are stunning, but you are very much confined in them and always surrounded by higher peaks. And once you have been in a proper thunderstorm caught in one of those valleys with the thunder echoing along the walls moving up and down the valley for half the night, you know just how confined...
Each area has their own beauty!

I hope that your pain is settling down soon!

I did run up the stairs a bit too strongly yesterday and have been paying with rather stiff legs today...
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Some of the Lake District valleys surrounded by fells can feel oppressive to some and the Dark Peak part of the Peak District is wild and rugged but not really pretty. The White Peak is more attractive but not so imposing.
 
Very proud about having reached the top of Scafell Pike (the highest point in England at 978 m) in just 3 weeks flat!

It's a great place to have my lunch, basking in the sun (until it is time to hang out the next load of piggy laundry) and a smidgen of glory, seeing that I have started out with very flabby legs and never expecting that I would get there so quickly!

I am leaving the stunning views from the summit for @Posyrose because this mountain is her specific personal goal.
This is the closest I have ever got to it trying to sneak a peek at the peak from the shores of Wast Water; but the weather was against us. The flank of Scafell Pike is on the right side smothered in clouds. But this is what she has meant with the dark side of the fells!
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Posyrose said:
Well done @Wiebke! That was quick.

Thanks for leaving the summit photos for me.

I may not be able to do the full set of stairs today. But hopefully enough to reach the next hill top.
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You don't have another 7500 m left to climb in order to achieve your goal! I MUST have been mad! :yikes:

Unlike you, there is nothing wrong with my legs apart from a lack of muscle... although my legs have been feeling rather stiff and weak over the last couple of days. You do it in your own time and at your own speed, as much as your health allows; that is your own biggest obstacle so everything you can do around that is great in the first place. But I hope that you can enjoy the warmer weather while it lasts with another walk!
 
Wiebke said:
You don't have another 7500 m left to climb in order to achieve your goal! I MUST have been mad! :yikes:

Unlike you, there is nothing wrong with my legs apart from a lack of muscle... although my legs have been feeling rather stiff and weak over the last couple of days. You do it in your own time and at your own speed, as much as your health allows; that is your own biggest obstacle so everything you can do around that is great in the first place. But I hope that you can enjoy the warmer weather while it lasts with another walk!
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Unfortunately I was not up to a walk today, but have been enjoying the sunshine reading in the garden and watching the piggies' antics!
 
I have broken the 1000m (3210 ft) mark!

Celebrating my first big mile stone with a look back from the top of the Wisenberg (the Meadow Mountain at 1001 m) towards my home village with Basel in the background.

You can really see why the part of the Jura I have grown up in is called the Table Jura with its flat, open hill tops broken by steep sided wooded valleys.

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Wiebke said:
I have broken the 1000m (3210 ft) mark!

Celebrating my first big mile stone with a look back from the top of the Wisenberg (the Meadow Mountain at 1001 m) towards my home village with Basel in the background.

You can really see why the part of the Jura I have grown up in is called the Table Jura with its flat, open hill tops broken by steep sided wooded valleys.

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I'm going to make my sponsorship donation to TEAS today as I know Debbie is struggling with their vet bill.

Well done on hitting this milestone of 1000m. 😍
 
YvonneBlue said:
I'm going to make my sponsorship donation to TEAS today as I know Debbie is struggling with their vet bill.

Well done on hitting this milestone of 1000m. 😍
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YvonneBlue said:
I'm going to make my sponsorship donation to TEAS today as I know Debbie is struggling with their vet bill.

Well done on hitting this milestone of 1000m. 😍
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I've done my own donation to Debbie last week. This is a long distance fundraiser to hopefully net Debbie some more money over the coming months as I pass more landmark heights.
 
This one is for @Bill & Ted !

I've managed to get to the top of Ingleborough, one of the 'three peaks of Yorkshire'...not the largest of the three but the one that I've climbed the most times in real life.
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It's surrounded by a limestone pavement and the rare plants that grow there are protected. Here's a picture
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Finally, the famous Ribblehead Viaduct (part of the Settle to Carlise line) lies in the shadow of Ingleborogh

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Posyrose said:
This one is for @Bill & Ted !

I've managed to get to the top of Ingleborough, one of the 'three peaks of Yorkshire'...not the largest of the three but the one that I've climbed the most times in real life.
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It's surrounded by a limestone pavement and the rare plants that grow there are protected. Here's a picture
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Finally, the famous Ribblehead Viaduct (part of the Settle to Carlise line) lies in the shadow of Ingleborogh

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WELL DONE

It's one of the areas that are still on my 'want to see' list but unfortunately a bit far for us to travel to these days, at least by car.
I hope that we may go there by train one day.
 
It's beautiful and fairly quiet. I've climbed Ingleborough a few times a long time ago, but the last two occasions I went with my sister and a friend, I walked across the limestone pavement but had to wait at the bottom of the hill, as I wasn't up to it. At least the setting was an interesting place to spend some time.

I may have to do fewer stairs per day at the moment, as I'm just in too much pain to do 15 flights a day. These bad spells usually pass. I've done over 750m though, so making good progress. After all, it's not a race.
 
I have made my way to the Black Forest village of Höchenschwand (not far from St Blasien), which is the highest village in the Black Forest (1012 m) and one of the most dramatic because on clear days you can see the Alps chain 125 km (ca. 80 miles) away right over the top of the Jura mountains and the Swiss Midlands hidden under the haze.
It is one of these utterly magical and breathtaking things in life that you never forget and that make you feel rich and blessed in your heart.
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I have seen the Alps from the nearby village of Ibach once but more often from a bit further down (and closer to home) from a nook on the forest edge near the village of Bergalingen/Rickenbach in the Hotzenwald (as the southern part of the Black Forest is called), where you have the added bonus of seeing the French Vosges mountains to your right across the Rhine valley as well - that is three mountain ranges from the slopes of the fourth!
The clearest view - when you feel you can literally reach out and touch the Alps - is when a strong Foehn wind is blowing across the Alps from a high pressure system over the Meditarranean to a depression over the UK or Northern Europe. We were often packing everybody up and driving across to the Black Forest for our Sunday family walk and picnic whenever conditions were right.

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Posyrose said:
It's beautiful and fairly quiet. I've climbed Ingleborough a few times a long time ago, but the last two occasions I went with my sister and a friend, I walked across the limestone pavement but had to wait at the bottom of the hill, as I wasn't up to it. At least the setting was an interesting place to spend some time.

I may have to do fewer stairs per day at the moment, as I'm just in too much pain to do 15 flights a day. These bad spells usually pass. I've done over 750m though, so making good progress. After all, it's not a race.
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You are already three quarters up on Scafell Pike, you are aware of that? You take things at your own pace. This is not a race! :tu:

I have seen a similar limestone cracks environment in the Yorkshire Dales on one of my holidays with hub when we travelled home via Wensleydale. I found it a highly fascinating ecosystem with all these gemstone like intensively coloured tiny plants and flowers living inside the crags.
 
Wiebke said:
I have made my way to the Black Forest village of Höchenschwand (not far from St Blasien), which is the highest village in the Black Forest (1012 m) and one of the most dramatic because on clear days you can see the Alps chain 125 km (ca. 80 miles) away right over the top of the Jura mountains and the Swiss Midlands hidden under the haze.
It is one of these utterly magical and breathtaking things in life that you never forget and that make you feel rich and blessed in your heart.
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I have seen the Alps from the nearby village of Ibach once but more often from a bit further down (and closer to home) from a nook on the forest edge near the village of Bergalingen/Rickenbach in the Hotzenwald (as the southern part of the Black Forest is called), where you have the added bonus of seeing the French Vosges mountains to your right across the Rhine valley as well - that is three mountain ranges from the slopes of the fourth!
The clearest view when you feel you can reach out and touch the Alps is when a strong Foehn wind is blowing across the Alps from a high over the Meditarranean to a depression over the UK or Northern Europe. We were packing everybody up and driving across to the Black Forest for our Sunday family walk and picnic whenever conditions were right.

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that view is spectacular!
 
Wiebke said:
You are already three quarters up on Scafell Pike, you are aware of that? You take things at your own pace. This is not a race! :tu:

I have seen a similar limestone cracks environment in the Yorkshire Dales on one of my holidays with hub when we travelled home via Wensleydale. I found it a highly fascinating ecosystem with all these gemstone like intensively coloured tiny plants and flowers living inside the crags.
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The limestone is an amazing ecosystem, you're so right.

Yes Scafell Pike is getting nearer. I'll be going slow and steady for the time being. I'm really enjoying the sense of achievement and re-acquanting myself with the hills by looking through the pictures, so it's all good!
 
I'm doing well. I've calculated my climb properly and am now at 810m above the top of Dale Head in the Lake District which stands at 753m.
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The view from the top of Newlands Valley is worth the climb

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Every June I stay in one of the white buildings visible on the left hand side of the valley. My next objective is Blencathra, which is the left hand mountain on the horizon.
 
I would love to see the Lake District again but these days it is a bit too far away for hub... :(
 
I have bagged another significant UK landmark today - the top of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 1085 m (3056 ft).

Anyway, I have seen the mountain from all sides over the years (or on the odd occasion not seen it at all) but have only got about 4/5 up on the little train in splendid weather when we had to stop by the narrow ridge above Llanberis pass because of wind speeds. Snowdonia is still one of my favourite parts of the country.

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(Snowdon from the Menai Strait)

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(From the Ffestiniog railway running from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog)

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(View from the Llyn peninsula to the west of Snowdonia)

That is about as far I as we got on the Snowdon train... with a stunning view to the Menai Strait (seen as a river and the whole of Anglesey - we went up on a clear day similar to that
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Making it to the top one day is another one on my bucket list!
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Wiebke said:
I have bagged another significant UK landmark today - the top of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 1085 m (3056 ft).

Anyway, I have seen the mountain from all sides over the years (or on the odd occasion not seen it at all) but have only got about 4/5 up on the little train in splendid weather when we had to stop by the narrow ridge above Llanberis pass because of wind speeds. Snowdonia is still one of my favourite parts of the country.

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(From the Menai Strait)

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(From the train running from Port Madog to Blaenau Ffestiniog)

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(From the Llyn peninsula)

That is about as far I as we got on the Snowdon train... with a stunning view to the Menai Strait (seen as a river and the whole of Anglesey - we went up on a clear day similar to that
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Making it to the top one day is another one on my bucket list!
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That milestone has to be worth a donation from forum members to help out TEAS!

Well done! Now you've done it on foot....if only virtually 😊
 
Today I managed to do some extra stairs, as I haven't been in much pain, so I've reached 915m. Only a couple of days until I reach my target Scafell Pike. Not far away is Blencathra in the Lake District (868m) which is my favourite mountain. This picture is taken from Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick.

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It's shape is very distinctive and you have to scramble up its knife-edge buttresses, rather than walking. The toughest bit is the well-named Sharp Edge - very scary!

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I really walk for the views and the ones from here are amazing!

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Scafell Pike is amongst those somewhere!
 
Well done! Not long now...

I loved the stone circle when we visited it but with my fear of heights of anything past the third rung of a ladder these days, scrambling on a rocky ridge is not something I'd fancy - stunning views or not!
 
Wiebke said:
Well done! Not long now...

I loved the stone circle but with my fear of heights of anything past the third rung of a ladder these days, scrambling on a rocky ridge is not something I'd fancy - stunning views or not!
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There is no way you'd get me up there now! However I do push myself hard to go for walks, even just to the local park. Yesterday I was really anxious that I wouldn't be able to walk home as my pain was bad.

I'm finding it easier to do fewer flights in one go, often doing three or four when I need to go upstairs anyway (not counting that one obviously ).
 
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