Tackling Whernside - the highest of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks

 

Whernside is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent.

My first climb of the Three Peaks was Pen-y-Ghent in autumn 2017 a couple of months before my 70th birthday, followed a year later by Ingleborough. After meeting Helen not long after the Ingleborough climb, and discovering she enjoyed walking, we started our lengthy odyssey of weekend walking on the South West Coast Path in Devon and Cornwall. 
Finally in autumn 2019 I persuaded her to join me in climbing Pen-y-Fan and Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons. 

Although Coast Path walks continued apace, we then had "the pandemic years" which put a severe brake upon completing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. However - now that we have returned to more normal times in terms of lockdowns and restrictions - we've finally been able to get away together up to Yorkshire and complete the Three Peaks Challenge ... in 5 years!

So - what is there to know about Whernside at height 736m or 2385ft? 

Our climb started at 961ft near Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle railway. 

In terms of height gain it was 1423ft. The steepest gradients on the descent was 41.1% and on the ascent 17.8%. The path up to the summit is a very long (4 mile) gradual climb - with the steepest gradients in the final 3/4 mile to the summit. 

And, with it being the highest Yorkshire Peak, the summit presented us with breathtaking views far and wide. 

Most noticeable at first were Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent - the other two of "The 3". Interestingly, seen from a higher place they didn't have anything like the dramatic visual effect they have from their own footings. 

Further afield we could see north towards the Lake District, across to the west with Morecambe Bay emerging from the haze, and many other dales and fells. 

We were blessed with amazing weather on this day. Earlier, whilst driving up from Settle, we noticed Ingleborough top was hidden by cloud - and I feared the worst for our Whernside climb!
However, the clouds evaporated and the sunshine took over bit by bit as we ascended.

Finally we knew it was time to start the journey down the mountain. I'd read a very good account online from someone who was well versed with all the climbs in the area, and I had something of a warning that the descent was much more of a challenge than the route up the mountain. 

We'd also heard from someone local that major repairs had been done to the pathway down, due to erosion. But at the start there was not much evidence of what we were about to encounter once the pathway you can see disappeared from view over the "descent horizon."

I started thinking back to my climb on Pen-y-Ghent, where I was blissfully unaware of descending via the "red route" that was something of an exhilarating scramble! "Please let it be manageable," my thoughts pleaded!

Thankfully, the universe provided us with a stern, yet stepped challenge which - as per my stats mentioned earlier - at 41% gradient in parts is still approaching a 1 in 2 incline. 
This takes a heavy toll on the knees in particular and we were to both feel the effects still several days later. My various forms of neoprene support from pelvis downward provided me with just enough strength and confidence to keep going for over 1.5 miles, whilst Helen by comparison seemed to almost skip down the large bouldered steps and then pause to look back and up at my measured descent!

Upon a closer look at the picture left, you may be able to trace the line of the steep, rocky pathway zig-zagging back up the hill - as far as the eye can see. Neither Helen nor I took any pictures on this part of the walk - it was a matter of keeping good balance, looking where the next steps would be, and not wobbling in the wind. Oh look - I haven't mentioned the wind have I? As usual on mountains, particularly above 1500ft, the air moves in a different and more solid way!  

Relief came eventually as the climb down levelled out into crossing fields and walking down lanes towards, and then under, Ribblehead viaduct. 
Finally we reached our parked car and to much grunting and aaagh-ing removed our walking boots.

We'd actually done 10 miles according to my phone's "pedometer" app and it felt like it too! We'd visited Ribblehead Station before heading out however, so that was probably why we'd done more mileage. I look quite fit and ready in the above picture on the station platform. I don't have any evidence to show how weary I looked later!

For Parkinson's -
The day before we'd joined the York Parkinson's Group at Ripley for a sponsored "Walk for Parkinson's".
Many of Helen's extended family were there in support of her sister, Lyn, who joined the Group in York following her diagnosis with Parkinson's. 

Amazingly, we witnessed Lyn tackle and complete a 6 mile walk - and so it was later that day we decided that our walk up (and down) Whernside would be dedicated to her extraordinary achievement.
If you would like to donate then please follow the link below to my page on the Group as part of Lyn & Tim's "Team L&T".
Thank you in anticipation!

https://events.parkinsons.org.uk/fundraisers/peterwright14287/walk-parkinsons-ripley