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How bad an idea would it be to ride up helvellyn this weekend coming? Is there a lot of snow yet? I should probably ask tomorrow instead what with the weather coming in. Thinking up keppel cove and down the dollywagon path which I’ve done several times before but in nicer weather. Don’t think we’d have enough time for the dockray route – let alone the bogs that would probably be there by now?
The backup plan would be walking up instead or riding around grizedale – there haven’t been any sanitised bridlepaths over there have there?
If you need to ride a bit lower down -
Park Glenridding - Hartsop - Hayeswater reservoir - wee push up the Knott - Satura crags - Angle tarn - Boredale hause (corking descent from there!) - Rooking - Ullswater bridleway.
Then about 5km of road to Pooley bridge, and then Askham fell - bridleway descent to Howtown - Ullswater bridleway - Glenridding.
Nice day on a bike that, with onbly a very short section of hike a bike.
.
Nobeer - book marked that thanks 🙂
Photos of Helvellyn today showing the snowline around 2500ft: [url= http://www.lakelandcam.co.uk/ ]clicky[/url]
Weekend weather forecast is looking a bit rough for the high fells, I'd be keeping options open but the low level riding around grisedale / claife / tilberthwaite is always a good fallback plan.
I'm guessing helvellyn would be a really bad idea now?
Depends on if there's any snow and how long it hangs around for.
My 2p on Nobeer's route:
remember that the section along The Knott to Boredale Hause is cheeky. When I last walked it there were laods of tyre tracks being cut through the grass by those not skilled enough to ride the footpath. there's no shame in having to push a wee bit on a footpath. There is shame in eroding a new chicken line around the 'difficult' bits and creating a mess of the footpath.
Not a bad ride either 😉
Yeah that's what I was hoping to find out, what the snow would be like up on the summits.
Gonna go for a walk in the Langdales but wondering whether to take bikes for the Sunday.
We attempted Helvellyn yesterday, but had to take a detour onto Raise and Sticks Pass because of thick cloud and freezing cold wind. Total white out at times combined with 2-3 foot drifts made for an interesting descent!
Not sure I'd be heading up there again in a hurry, but it could always clear - the kirkstone pass web cam shows significantly less snow, but I reckon it'll stay about on the summit for a while
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There is snow at 200 metres so going up that high would need fine weather in my mind.
Nobeerinthefridge detailed my idea of a perfect day's riding.
Many thanks Justinbieber, exactly what I was hoping for out of this thread! Think we'll leave the bikes out of it this time...
Justinbeiber - Met your mates at the top of helvellyn today. they were on bikes. we should definitely have taken our bikes! lesson learnt, always take bikes! 😀
🙂
Who was that you met then?
I was at the top of helvellyn this morning too and made it up there for sunrise. Ever the optimist, I took my bike 😳
You met me and two of my mates, we went down Birkside, it was pretty busy but a good descent.
Ha ha, yep I'll stop being a pessimist. Passed a couple of guys pushing a nomad and a capra up towards swirrel edge too.
Bungalistic - you didn't head down Keppel then? there were a couple of bikes heading down the bottom of that.
Still, there's always a next time
No it wasn't us going down Keppel, that's the way we usually go up if we're descending Sticks or Dollywagon. There's better descents off Helvellyn than Keppel. I've not tried Swirrel, either up or down.
We came up Swirral on Sunday morning - it was interesting to say the least. Once you got past the initial carry down I think the descent would be quite good fun, but you'd lose so much height in the scramble that I don't think it would be worth it.