UKH

IainR of this parish set off at midnight on a solo unsupported Paddy Buckley Round.

Good luck Iain!

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Have a good run Iain :+)

x

In reply to a lakeland climber: ....and he wants everyone to know.....

In reply to a lakeland climber: good going Ian!!!

Good luck Iain. Saw something in twitter about this - no secrets anywhere!

In reply to a lakeland climber: At least he won't sweat too much!

Excellent stuff. I'd wondered if this might be in the offing in the next few days from some of Iain's posts.

All the best, Iain.

In reply to a lakeland climber:

GL Iain. Any updates? I'm guessing the weather won't be great this p.m.?

In reply to Padraig: Cheers, thanks for all the support, finished in 25.5 hrs..

I put this on the FRA forum.. I'll write a proper report soon enough.. today will be spent eating..


Great day. Ended up 25.5

Was on for 24 until about 17 hrs when a final blizzard on the boundary ridge section in the dark just killed my pace. I'd bee out for 17+ hrs and when I had to nav I just couldn't, I literally couldn't read a map.. sorted it out but lost time. In the dark with all the snow you just couldn't make out any forms. The last leg took almost 9 hrs which slows how slow I was on that.

Started off really well, stunning night for Hebog. Strangely Hebog had snow down to 550m so the descent was super fast, but then verglass on nantlle ridge made the scramble pretty scary. Snowdon went well enough, total white out, but hard neve with footprints meant I could just follow and got up quick. The first two legs were done well under 8 hrs. Maybe I pushed too much as I knew those legs could be quick and the Glyders and Carneddau would be issues.

Then the glyders and that was slow from Glyder Fach onwards.

The first mistake was running down the GF descent gully with no crampons, it was soft snow at the top then much harder lower down.. that was fun..

Tryfan was fine, just slow wearing crampons.

Carneddau killed me, climbed well to PYOW but the snow on the ridges was deep with a weak crust then you stepped through, I lost time to both the ridge legs but think i worked too hard just to not lose too much.

Then climbed siabod ok but it was dark for this section and the moon didnt rise till late last night. Almost jacked it in at the quarries, but it was a stunning night suddenly, so finished off. As id had enough of steep frozen scrambles and no chance of 24 i oped for a longer circular route to cnicht and took the descent very slow as by then i had almost no torch light. I took 2 myo xps and 9 batteries but each set only lasted 5-6 hrs so just scraped by.. at one point i started to worry lack of torch light could finish the round.

The boundary ridge was also just below freezing level, so there were a few scary moments as you fell through some of those deep bogs, used poles for that section amd they were a great help.

Glad i finished, awesome experience. I'd been busy friday so although I'd laid in till 10 it meant I'd already been away for 14 hrs before I set off so it was a good 36 hrs no sleep.. the drive back wasn't fun. deffo proper winter conditions, doubt i'll do it again to try to get the 24, I just wanted to do a proper winter round. I still think 24 could have been possible with a bit of luck.

This was my 3rd attempt. one each winter for 3 years, I wasnt going to do it this year as i've done so little fell running but felt good at the OMM so thought I may as well have a crack and I was lucky to get such good conditions, proper winter, yet fairly decent weather. I had almost no rain, just cloud, blizzards and strong winds.

In reply to a lakeland climber: Someone came up to me on the Carneddau and said 'are you Iain'.. and that they'd seen this on UKC..

In reply to IainRUK: awesome stuff iain, really and truly motivating. Sounds like a full fat experience.

In reply to a lakeland climber: Strong effort Iain. Inspirational.

In reply to IainRUK:

That sentence speaks volumes. Nice one Iain

In reply to a lakeland climber: Top stuff Iain. Well done.

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Good effort Iain.

In reply to IainRUK:

Well done, Iain!

In reply to Phil1919:

apart from noone knew about it...

"That was out of the blue!! Good luck wherever you are!! "

A comment on the FRA forum..

People had guessed as I'd been asking about conditions, and then I mentioned to Matt Ward late on Friday.. and said on facebook what I was going to do..

I'd told maybe 3 or 4 people locally. In fact I didn't even tell my mother until a late text on the night.. just in case my car got reported as it would have been left for 2 nights in a remote car park..

You should go for it..

You do a solo unsupported round for you.. noone else.. as there is no documentation, no proof. The satisfaction is entirely personal.

In reply to IainRUK:

Well done Iain. It takes some doing being on the go for 24+hrs especially since being solo and unsupported means you are starting with a large amount of provisions that would normally be carried for you by helpers.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber: I did use food drops, just had noone meeting. I put 4 carrier bags out.

In reply to IainRUK: Does winter have a definition in fell-running circles? Clearly tough conditions for you and well done for trying. But had you tried in late March in mild weather it would have been much easier (even trivial!?) for you wouldn't it? Would it then have counted as a winter round?

In reply to MG: With the Paddy there are no rules.. For the BGR its winter = 1st Dec through to something arbitary like the first period of good weather after 10th Jan..

Then Mid winter is 2 weeks surrounding the longest day or something..

Their rules are here..

http://www.bobgrahamclub.co.uk/index.php?page=winter

In reply to a lakeland climber: On this it has the definitions, it actually uses self-sufficient as a 3rd..

http://www.gofar.org.uk/definitions.html

In reply to IainRUK:

As a matter of interest what kit did you wear/take with you?

In reply to Removed User:

My axe is a light weight camp.. XLA210 I think.. 210 grams.. kahtoola aluminum crampons. Inov8 300's mudclaws, seal skin socks, mammut alpinist gloves, OMM 25 L sack.

rab powerstretch fleecey top thing, gore running leggins, helly hensan boxers, then a montane pertex wind proof and a goretex berghaus jacket.

I carried a rab synthetic duffet but never used it. also carried waterproof bottoms and thicker mitts as I do suffer cold hands.

In reply to IainRUK: 3 years running (no pun intended)! Respect Iain, good going.

In reply to IainRUK:

'You should go for it..'

Perhaps I already have.

In reply to IainRUK:

Good effort Iain, well done.

In reply to Phil1919: Brilliant. Then you'll know why I did it.. 24 hrs in stood on Moelwyn Mawr summit, huge moon overhead.. only us that have done such rounds would realise that anyone who suggests one done such rounds for self publicity is a muppet..

So its great to know that you are part of that group and well done for doing so. I thought you were one of those who snipes from the safety of anonymity with zero experience of the subject.. so I'm sorry.

In reply to IainRUK: How about the largest number of Marylins in 24 hrs as a challenge?

In reply to IainRUK: No matter what the challenge, if you're starting in the dark and finishing in the dark and going for over twenty hours - it would be hard to keep going just to impress other people. It needs a deeper motivation than that to keep moving, something from within that garners a deep satisfaction at some future point.

Nice work Iain. Blows me away it really does.

In reply to MG: Didn't Chris Upson get this? In the Lakes? I'll need to check..

In reply to mrchewy: There were a few hours when I genuinely loved it.. today i walked the dog and stood smiling looking up at garn and elidir... last night was something special that will live with me forever.

In reply to IainRUK: Ha - I bet the dog's glad he didn't have to do it!

In reply to IainRUK: Respect Ian, well done. I was out on the Brecon Ultra course last night and the weather was very special indeed (and kind!)

Sorry if I missed it, what was your total distance?

In reply to IainRUK: Great effort Iain - a fantastic achievement.

Self supported just ramps up the isolation and commitment - an outstanding effort, especially in those conditions.

And I'd ignore the bluffers and blusterers....

Snowshoes on the Carneddau next time?

b

In reply to Wonrek: Its quoted as 62 miles.. The Bob Graham was said to be 72, mapped as 62, but GPS's as 65 miles or so..

I'd guess the PBR is similar, mapped as 62.. could be more.. I'm logging it in my running log as 62..

In reply to IainRUK:

Yes, Chris Upson managed 24 Marilyns in ten minutes under 24 hours in 2003:
http://bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/tac/tac59/afundayo.htm
70 miles and almost 30,000 feet of ascent. As far as I know, that's still the record, but I'm no expert on hill-running stats so it's possible that the bar has been raised even higher in the subsequent decade.

Congrats on the winter Paddy - good effort.

In reply to IainRUK:

I can barely begin to imagine how chuffed you must feel.

Fantastic, awe-inspiring achievement. Well done.

In reply to IainRUK: On that terrain that's an amazing accomplishment. Hope the legs are feeling good today

Mine are a little stiff, looking forward to a recovery run later which my non running (and some running) friends think I'm bonkers for doing....

but we know differently

In reply to Wonrek: Great effort Iain

In reply to IainRUK: You're missing my point somewhat, but no worries.

In reply to Phil1919: He's not the only one Clint. What is it? That Iain didn't want it made public but ALC put it on a public site? Sorry for anonymous post, can't remember my login at work. Profile is Rich.

In reply to Anonymous:

His point is - you don;t know he has/hasn't done. He's not posting it to the world

In reply to Anonymous:

It had already appeared on two public sites before I posted here, the first was some 9 hours earlier.

The FRA forum on Iain's round is very positive as opposed to the underhand sniping appearing here.

ALC

In reply to Simon_Sheff:

So what? It sounds like a fantastic achievement - why not celebrate it?

Fantastic effort Ian, well done.

I can't imagine how you keep going solo and unsupported. Where's the little voice that says 'stuff this for a game of darts'?

In reply to a lakeland climber: You expect it. Its quite funny, noone knew where I started from really, I think some had guessed Aberglasyn. I got back to the car park in the early hours of the morning.

Nobody there as you'd expect, I saw noone from sunset through to the next morning so my time is totally on my word, so if I'd have wanted some fake glory I think I'd have opted for a better time..

In reply to a lakeland climber:
don't judge the whole thread by the attitude of what seems to be just one person (and a misunderstood joke by another).
That excepted, the UKC forum is just as positive, rightly so

In reply to Richard Alderton:

Oh he was there... a few times on the out and backs he was there.. Moelwyn Mawr was the last one where I could have just turned right and missed it out.. even at Cwmorthin quarries I had a major wobbly and almost just walked down to croesor, but I knew I was looking for excuses to quit.. I was lucky the weather suddenly improved then.

In reply to IainRUK:

Amazing achievement - good stuff. I was wondering what you were up to after your post on the 'weekend looms' thread.

In reply to a lakeland climber: This place could strip the polish from patent leather shoes sometimes...

It doesn't matter how it became public - it did. After Iain asked about conditions when I'd been out and about on the Wed and Thur, I assumed quite wrongly that he was going to do the Welsh 3000s but for the life of me, I couldn't think why he'd want to set off at midnight.

Top work all round and he deserves every bit of praise for wanting to push his boundaries and chasing his dreams.

In reply to a lakeland climber:

VERY well done Iain! Inspiring.

In reply to IainRUK:

I thought you might have started from Llanberis actually. I don't think I'd like to be running around in the dark above the slate mines above Croesor. However that would put the Glyderau in the dark which is hardly any easier.

To Toreador: I know. I find Iain's achievement far more impressive than the first/second/third ascent of some arse-scraping eliminate boulder problem that makes it to UKC's news pages.

Only three people have done a winter PBR, not sure how many have done a summer round - 100 or so I think. Only 28 have done a sub 24hr Bob Graham (http://ww.bobgrahamclub.org.uk/index.php?page=winter) and I don't think anyone has done a sub 24hr winter Ramsay Round yet - Shane Ohly is closest I think in just under 30hrs. These rounds are *big* days out, I've helped out with winter BGR attempts and they were full on.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber: I did that last time, but had a good chat with Martin Stone and he reckoned do boundary ridge/moelwyns at night... its tricky but fairly safe really..

In reply to IainRUK:

I was linking up two threads - this one and the one that's appeared about the Croesor-Rhosyth through trip. I've read a report on the latter and the air shafts have the grill *at the bottom" so if you slip into one of them you'd be chipolata'd! I don't know how many there are or how obvious they are on the surface but it's not something I'd like to experience.

ALC

Brilliant effort Iain, very inspring!

In reply to tony:

I was answering the question....

In reply to Richard Alderton:

And even more congratulations to Iain, spelled correctly! Sorry.

In reply to a lakeland climber:
Indeed. I had a small part in a Winter BGR attempt on Leg 2 (the easy one then). That little leg was an all time great day (night) in the hills for me. I remember reading about Mark Smith's 25h round (2011?) - such a marvellous experience, it's almost a shame to get bogged down in the actual time taken.

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Yep, it's as recently as 2009 that we got our first (currently only) recorded sub-24 winter Tranter, and the Tranter is *much* easier than the Ramsay. So Iain's Paddy, in comparing favourably to any winter Ramsay attempt I'm aware of, is a very significant achievement indeed!

In reply to a lakeland climber:

I've seen pics of the mine shafts in the area, so they are there, but I was hoping they are on another part of the mountain...

They did play on my mind a tad..

As the paddy is now so well reccied if they were on the route I think they'd have been highlighted by now..

Mark's done 2 BGR's, his second, outside of 24 hrs, is the one he now looks back on more favourably then the first.

I had said I wouldn't say my actual time had I gone under 24 (i've no idea if I'd have held to that) as I don't agree with winter records, as they are so conditions dependant, even having snow is so variable on its impact. It certainly can speed up a few parts of the round but then bad snow, which luckily I only had 3-4 miles of, is sapping..

Someone just texted to let me know noone has ever done the 3 rounds in winter within the same winter season....

In reply to a lakeland climber: We've just published an interview with Iain about this on UKH: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=5139

Nice one Iain!

In reply to IainRUK: Well done Iain, excellent effort!

In reply to IainRUK: Outstanding effort Iain, just for getting out there, never mind completing it!

In reply to IainRUK: Same time next week then Iain...

In reply to a lakeland climber amd Iain -

Reading this thread has set me up for the day - glad it went "public". Why the sniping though?
Thanks for sharing and well done that man!!

S

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Great effort Iain. Can I ask, how much of this did you need to run/jog to make this time? I've heard from people that with the bgr, you don't actually need to run, just keep a brisk walk and never stop or slow down. Just wondering if this is also the case?

In reply to IainRUK:

Top effort Iain well done you!

In reply to Dave 88:
theoretically true, but in practice, the vast majority of people will have to run. you get tired and will want to stop. also its much easier to run downhill and not have to walk so quickly uphill.

In reply to IainRUK:

Congratulation! I don't know much about these UK rounds, living in another country, but from what I can gather it's a great achievement. There is something really satisfying about solo attempts. There is this winter ultra close to were I live along the main ridge of a mountain range, crossing the whole province of Valencia. Like every year, it's held a day before the biggest anual deadline at work and I will miss it. I am thinking about doing it quietly as a solo attempt a few weeks afterwards.

In reply to IainRUK: And a nice mention on the latest Talk Ultra podcast about your PBR.

Nice plug for your blog and website too (if you hadn't already heard it)

In reply to Wonrek: yeah, someone sent it through, had never listened to Talk Ultra before..

In reply to IainRUK: Wasn't me lol although listening to TU does pass the hours stuck behind a desk instead of on the trails