Severn Trent Mountain Challenge 2016

July 9th 2016

31 mile hike

Gain - 5968 ft

The Severn Trent Mountain Challenge is an annual hike set up to raise money for WaterAid. I participated in this event through my previous company, BWB Consulting, with a few ex-colleagues. The route was similar to when I did it in 2014, albeit with the first (northern) loop reversed.

Unlike last time I had managed to book accommodation well in advance, and we stayed in YHA Castleton Losehill Hall. This was a lovely large old building, and although our two-person room wasn't the most spacious, it did at least offer us our own facilities. Having arrived fairly late we went straight into our respective bunks. I was hoping for a great night's kip but unfortunately my body had seemed to decide that now of all times was the right time to develop a cold, and I woke up on Saturday morning very grumpy with a raging sore through and slight blocked nose. There was only one thing to be done at this point though, so I packed my bag ready for the day's hike and we drove the mile or so to the start at Hope Valley College.

We set off from from Hope at a good 20 min / mile pace in cloudy but pleasantly warm conditions, tackling a huge first climb and reaching the checkpoint to admire the views. Once at the checkpoint on Winhill we then walked almost back on ourselves on a gentle descent towards Snakes Pass, passing by the familiar Crookstone Barn checkpoint. Unfortunately at this point the rain became heavy enough to warrant both the waterproof jacket and trousers, turning "pleasantly warm" into "unpleasantly sticky".

Having crossed the main road we headed up a steep bank and then down the other side, to be greeted with views of the Lady Bower Reservoir and the Ashopton viaduct which we proceeded to cross. From here it was a steady climb up Wheal Stones to White Tor. This was perhaps the grimmest bit weather-wise as we were expose don a wide plateau in windy and wet conditions. Needless to say, four hours in I had wet feet, cold hands and an appreciation of how chicken must feel to be "boiled in a bag"! Even the checkpoint marshalls at the top looked decidedly miserable about their exposed position - I can only imagine that they must have drawing the "short straw" when tasks were being delegated...

The descent down to Derwent Reservoir wasn't anywhere near as steep as it had felt coming up a couple of years ago, and the shelter and easing rain at low level was certainly welcome! Indeed by the time we had rounded the dam to begin walking north along the other side of the reservoir, the waterproof jacket and trousers were tentatively off and my hands once again had dexterity (necessary to take my trousers off as they are a very tight fit over my boots!).

The enjoyable stretch around the reservoir (some lovely foxgloves!) ended rather suddenly with a wooded climb, halfway through which we came across another BWB team, who had started about ten minutes before us. We all strolled on together, each group by this point having some members struggling a little more than others (if only you could swap amongst groups...) and checked in Birchin Hat. Having not been up high for a while, I could really feel how the wind had picked up, making the next two miles along the top a bit of a slog, albeit with excellent views.

From here we retraced our steps across Snake Road and then went East via Crookstone Barn towards the Ringing Rogers. By this point we had developed quite some discrepancy between team members' speeds, with half our group of six wanting to run the remaining six miles, and half wanting to slow-plod it. Ringing Rogers therefore turned into a very windy and cold scramble across the side of the hill, with an unfortunately placed checkpoint meaning we had to break without shelter to await our team. This I think is actually the biggest part of the "Challenge", particularly for a big group like ours.

With Edale in sight, a colleague and I, now desperate for some real facilities, decided to run the descent once it got a bit less technical (the top was very challenging). Edale Village hall is always further through the village than I think, but we finally made it, taking a comfort break (and in my case eating a banana, kit kat chunk and double decker). Forty-five minutes later our team was reassembled and we were ready to go for the last three miles. I think we were all glad that the finish was looming and the climb up to Hollins Cross (a great viewpoint in the saddle of two larger hills) was less arduous than some before it. The way down presented another trail run challenge, followed by a mile or so back to Hope along the road. Feeling distinctly better than I had at this point the previous time, I covered this distance relatively quickly and was suitably relieved to be able to take my boots off at the finish!