Iain & Kirstin decided to try and find a piece of the action on Sunday and were well rewarded despite a rather long a rather long walk in to Carlin Gill in the Howgill fells.
This shot shows Carlin Gill with the ravine of Black Force in the distance and this was our destination.
This is the view up the Black Force ravine from its junction with Carlin Gill. Black Force is the waterfall that can be seen in the middle distance, visible by people travelling south through the Tebay Gorge on the M6 when in spate. This is somewhere not many people know about; and one of only a handful of winter routes in the Howgills.
Soloing is fine when you are confident, the ice is good and you are doing so at several grades lower than the hardest grade you climb, so, Iain was happy to do this here although he wouldn't recommend you try it on your first outing. He was certainly insistent that Kirstin climbed the pitch roped as it was her first climb at this grade.
The finale to the route was this short but delightful pitch which brought one up into the secluded hanging valley of Little Ulgill Beck - time for a well earned sandwhich and a brew!
Up here it was truly winter, well below freezing with a strong easterly wind scouring the windward slopes and depositing vast quantities of windslab on the lee slopes - so much so that it would have been quite possible to snowhole up here if one picked a place with care.
Work is starting to pick up again with a number of people booking Navigation Skills Training Days and Winter Skills Courses. If people don't book up for Winter Climbing Courses then Iain & the Kendal Mountaineering services team will have more time to get out and climb themselves - but here's hoping for a good balance of work and play this winter season!
The walk from Black Force back to the car took a few hours, but both Iain & Kirstin felt it had been worthwhile. Iain also had his eye on another waterfall - The Spout; and he'll be back to check that out soon.
We had followed vague footsteps on our way into Black Force that day and found more in the ravine. Just above the final pitch were the clear remains of a snow bollard.
Clearly, a few others do know about this little gem in the Howgills!
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