2022 - Landmarks of the Mountain Year

© Dan Bailey

It's been yet another big news year, and not much of it good, from war and climate change to economic meltdown and a pandemic that refuses to become history just yet. As ever, the hills have been a refuge from all the gloom. Some noteworthy things have happened in the outdoors over the last 12 months too. Here are our stand-outs...

January - Ramblers revamp

It may be among the outdoor organisations with the longest of pedigrees, but the Ramblers prove that you're never old to refresh what you're doing, unveiling a new logo as part of an updated identity that aims to reflect its increasingly diverse membership, following walking's rise in popularity in recent years.

The walker's charity has an increasingly diverse membership  © Ramblers
The walker's charity has an increasingly diverse membership
© Ramblers

"Our new identity presents the Ramblers as the inclusive, vibrant community we are, unified by an important cause" said Carol Flint, Head of Brand for the Ramblers. "We're delighted to share it with the world – it reflects that we're so much more than a lifestyle club for walkers." 

Some outdoor organisational re-brandings are clearly more successful than others...

  

The Rambers are currently campaigning to expand the freedom to roam in England, and offering support to Dartmoor National Park in their effort to preserve the right to wild camp on the moor.

April - Ultra race 'vandalism' pile-on

The Highland Kings ultra race is widely slated, after rocks on Goat Fell are found daubed with bright waymarkers. The exclusive race, that's billed as a 'luxury ultra marathon' and charges several thousand pounds per entrant, claims on its website to be "one of the most sustainable endurance events in the world". 

'Biodegradable chalk' was apparently used, though some question how long it will take to wash off, and its impact on lichen  © Lucy Wallace
'Biodegradable chalk' was apparently used, though some question how long it will take to wash off, and its impact on lichen
© Lucy Wallace

In a storm of negative publicity, the company carry out post-race clean-ups, promising it wouldn't happen again. 

"Moving forward, we are always looking at best practice and working with the local community is of paramount importance to us, and so feedback such as this is extremely helpful" they tell us.

The next race takes place around Argyll and Lochaber in April 2023.

April - Paddy Buckley Record for Finlay Wild

Lochaber based powerhouse Finlay Wild pops down to Wales to set a new fastest time on Eryri (Snowdonia's) classic big hill running challenge, the Paddy Buckley Round. Running solo and unsupported, he comes home in a time of 15h14m45s, convincingly breaking Kim Collison's record of 16:20:40.

Done it!  © Rachael Crewesmith
Done it!
© Rachael Crewesmith

Finlay is no stranger to this style, having completed (and broken) the Ramsay Round record using the same solo unsupported approach. The difference it makes carrying your own kit, stopping to fill up your own water from streams, and having to be entirely self reliant in terms of navigation cannot be overstated, compared to having a support team doing all the fiddly stuff for you.

May - Wainwrights double bill day

Another big hill running scalp for American hotshot John Kelly when he beats Sabrina Verjee's record for a continuous round of the Wainwrights. His time of 5 days, 12 hours, 14 minutes, and 42 seconds throws down an emphatic marker for the round of all 214 Lakeland fells, which covers 500km and 36,000m of ascent.

Same day, different order of Wainwright achievement, when Knaresborough Striders become the second running club known to have completed the list of fells in a single day, after members of the club between them summit all of them within 24 hours.

Club members between them climbed all the Wainwrights in a single day  © Knaresborough Striders
Club members between them climbed all the Wainwrights in a single day
© Knaresborough Striders

July - Ban the burn, say campaigners

With evidence that current controls are being flouted, environmental groups call on the Government to enact a complete ban on burning on peat moorland in England.

Burning for grouse moor management keeps huge areas of uplands in an impoverished state  © REVIVE
Burning for grouse moor management keeps huge areas of uplands in an impoverished state
© REVIVE

It's estimated that the 12% of the UK's land area accounted for by peat bogs holds more carbon than the forests of Britain, France and Germany combined. But across England just 13% of peatland is in good enough condition to absorb rather than emit carbon - and burning, especially on deep peat, is one of the key factors responsible for its degradation.

"It's clear that the new peatland burning regulations in England are not working and that burning is still taking place at a massive scale on peatland vegetation and inside protected sites" says Patrick Thompson, senior policy officer at RSPB.

"We are in a nature and climate emergency. Intensive and damaging land management practices such as burning continue to harm and further threaten these vital carbon and nature-rich ecosystems. This is why the RSPB is calling for a blanket ban on burning on all peat."

The RSPB has asked members of the public to record incidents of peat burning via a new app:

July - Tranter's Round record broken twice in 24 hours

Hill running records can be a bit like proverbial buses - you wait ages for one, and then several come at once.

First we report that Finlay Wild has set a new fastest time on the 59km round of the Mamores, the Grey Corries, the Aonachs, Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis - his third record on the route, and the first time below 9 hours. But the ink is barely dry on the page (yes we're aware we don't use ink) when news comes in that he's been scooped by visiting American Jack Kuenzle, with a blistering time of 8:38:23. That's something for keen beans to aim at then....

August - C2C gets official stamp of approval

The Coast-to-Coast, the classic long-distance walk across Northern England, will be accorded official National Trail status. Conceived by Alfred Wainwright, the 317km route linking St Bees in Cumbria with Robin Hoods Bay on the North Sea coast runs across the grain of upland England to take in three National Parks - the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors, as well as a snippet of the North Pennines AONB.

While it has grown to become one of the most sought after long distance walks in the country, it has always been an informal route. Adoption as an official trail will bring increased investment in trail infrastructure and publicity and, it's hoped, generate knock-on benefits to businesses and local communities.

September - Two legs good, say boffins

According to scientists, walking is good for you. Hold the front page... 

Making strides in our understanding of walking and health...  © Dan Bailey
Making strides in our understanding of walking and health...
© Dan Bailey

Monitoring 78,500 UK adults with wearable trackers, this is the largest study to objectively track step count and pace in relation to health outcomes. It found that lowered risk of dementia, heart disease, cancer and death are associated with achieving the apocryphal 10,000 steps a day - and doing it at a brisk pace is better still.

September - Kuenzle claims Bob Graham Round scalp

Jack Kuenzle is at it again, beating megastar Kilian Jornet's Bob Graham record with a new time of 12:23:48, in a world-class display of hill running prowess.

When asked about his speed, one of his supporters simply responded 'aye, he's quick'. Pacers struggled at times just to keep up, including some alternating summits to give each other a rest, whilst simultaneously ensuring that there was a witness with him at all times.

Named after its originator, the Bob Graham Round climbs 42 Lake District fells (most of the biggies) inside a 24-hour period. Covering a distance of roughly 66 miles and 28,500 feet of ascent, it's one of the classic big three UK mountain challenges, along with the Paddy Buckley and Ramsay Rounds. Kilian Jornet's July 2018 time of 12 hours 52 was the first to break Billy Bland's 13hr 53m record, which had stood since way back in 1982.

November - (Snowdon) name swap

Committee members of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park Authority vote that the park should prioritise the Welsh names of Eryri (Snowdonia) and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in both Welsh and English contexts. While individual hill-goers can continue to call them what they like, the change has prompted some interesting discussion.

Yr Wyddfa or Snowdon? It's time to reflect....  © Dan Bailey
Yr Wyddfa or Snowdon? It's time to reflect....
© Dan Bailey

We asked the National Park to explain more about their thinking:

  

November - Boost for re-wilding in Ennerdale

The ecosystems of the Lake District may be largely sheep-wrecked and denuded, but there are green shoots of recovery in a few pockets. Most significant of those is arguably Ennerdale, where a new National Nature Reserve has been created. The ninth largest reserve in England, 'Wild Ennerdale' is one of the first 'Super NNRs' recognised for their landscape-scale approach.

Covering 3000 hectares of fell, forest, lake and river habitat, the reserve will build on the work that the Wild Ennerdale Partnership began 20 years ago to allow natural processes to shape the ecology and landscapes within the Ennerdale valley.

December - a new way to fund path upkeep?

Well-maintaned trails cost a lot of money, but though there's a big payback in social and economic terms there's a bit of a lag in recognising the benefits. To help make up for a shortfall of European and Government money, a project gets underway in Scotland that aims to change the way we think about and pay for path renovation. One day coming to a Munro near you...?

 

December - Winter Bob Graham Round solo record falls Twice in 24hrs

At 106km (66 miles) and with roughly 8600m (28,500ft) of ascent over 42 Lake District fells, the Bob Graham is a major ask at any time of year; winter adds considerably to the challenge - but if you really want to enter an exclusive club, try running it entirely alone. To date only four people are known to have completed a solo, unsupported Winter Bob Graham Round, and two of them did it within 24 hours of each other mid December.

On Thursday 15th December, with almost perfect hard-frozen conditions underfoot, Paul Wilson set a fastest time of 22hrs 54mins; but on Friday James Gibson, running in the opposite direction, trumped this considerable achievement with a new record of 21hrs 12mins... We're pretty impressed by both of them!


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