Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...

RxR said:
Rroff, do you find hypothermia has that same sneaky creep? The strength of it took me by surprise on a 1.5 hr hike thru a long 'canyon' in a minus 23°C windchill. For the first hr it was just cold, then, sudden delirium.
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I know you haven't asked me but, yes absolutely. Especially as cold is a relatively normal feeling.
 
Went up Helvellyn today via swirral edge, I was supposed to go up striding edge and I don’t know how I managed it but I took a wrong path and got too far ahead to head back towards striding edge , not sure how I managed to get disorientated , I’ve been up via striding a few times now :/

to make matters worse it was very misty near the top and struggled to find the easiest path up swirral, ended up scrambling up through bits with a fair bit of scree, quite daunting!

I’ve been in agony and knackered now, think I must be getting older
 
PermaChanged said:
Just signed up to climb Kilimanjaro in February next year, I don't do any hiking, I sit on my butt upwards of 12hrs a day at the moment and haven't done anything even close to this magnitude before!

I've run a ToughMudder back in 2017 but I think that's the closest thing and it really isn't comparable at all!

I'm relatively fit, I train in the gym almost daily and box regularly too, but I need to condition my feet and legs to be ready for the long periods of being on them.

I love a challenge however, and this is my biggest one to date and I'm confident that'll I'll be ready to roll - just need to pray the altitude doesn't overly kick my ass.
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I'm pretty unfit and the opposite of what you do re. the gym and stuff. Did Kili about 10 years ago now though, so I'm sure you'll be fine! I struggled, but managed for the most part (didn't summit unfortunately). Let me know if you have any questions in advance if doing it, happy to help if I can (though it was 10 years ago now, so may have changed!)
 
Cheers guys. I know I can't (realistically) do anything to prepare myself for the altitude but what I can do is ensure I'm in as good a shape physically as possible.

I don't want to hire an altitude tent, but could be tempted going the diamox route.
 
RxR said:
Rroff, do you find hypothermia has that same sneaky creep? The strength of it took me by surprise on a 1.5 hr hike thru a long 'canyon' in a minus 23°C windchill. For the first hr it was just cold, then, sudden delirium.
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Personally don't have much experience with proper hypothermia - seen a couple of mild cases 3rd hand but that is it. I tend to be overly cautious and prepared to the point people accuse me of being paranoid LOL - but invariably I have the last laugh staying warm and/or dry while others suffer. Hence I'm often vocal about how quickly conditions can change on mountains.

Never been in a situation where I have no choice but to push on once I start feeling the cold sapping me.
 
So guys, I'm after some recommendations please - as mentioned earlier I'm planning to climb Kilimanjaro in February. I don't own any clothing which I feel will be particularly useful on the climb, except maybe some 500 mile socks which are double walled (or whatever they're called).

I've found a checklist online of what to take; https://www.climbingkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-final-checklist

Any brand or specific item recommendations however will be gratefully received.

Note; I have ordered some MOAB 2 Gore Tex mid height boots.
 
Just FYI - I ended up renting a lot of the gear. Hiking poles, waterproof jackets, the heavy jackets, baclavas etc. I tihnk I bought Boots, socks, thermals, couple of t-shirts and a couple of hiking trousers, and that was it. Probably worth checking how much you can rent, unless you intend to get into it properly and use it for other things as well.
 
Anyone done any hiking whilst managing a long term knee injury?

I've ruptured my ACL, but exploring the option of not having surgery and instead building up the muscles around my knee to the point where support is sufficient. From the specialists I've seen recently, they've indicated that as hiking doesn't involve quick turns then I should be fine (i.e. you typically look at where to plant your leg as opposed to turning direction at speed).

Just wondering if anyone has gone down this route before.
 
I did my ACL and couldn't walk down the road without the worry my knee would give way (and it did), after 8 months working with it to help while waiting for surgery I certainly wouldn't have wanted to walk on any uneven ground in that state, no confidence in the joint at all and the sensation of the knee giving way is sickening enough when walking around on a pavement. I was 27 when I did it though, and not having reconstructive surgery was not an option as that's a hell of a lot of life left without that stability, who knows what problems that can bring in old age or if you are laid up with another injury at a later date.

I did have the ACL reconstruction and was up Old Man of Coniston 4 months later, albeit it was a struggle as I was still rehabilitating the muscles, but my knee felt stable and had no issues since.

Is there a particular reason why surgery isn't being considered?
 
Fubsy said:
I did my ACL and couldn't walk down the road without the worry my knee would give way (and it did), after 8 months working with it to help while waiting for surgery I certainly wouldn't have wanted to walk on any uneven ground in that state, no confidence in the joint at all and the sensation of the knee giving way is sickening enough when walking around on a pavement. I was 27 when I did it though, and not having reconstructive surgery was not an option as that's a hell of a lot of life left without that stability, who knows what problems that can bring in old age or if you are laid up with another injury at a later date.

I did have the ACL reconstruction and was up Old Man of Coniston 4 months later, albeit it was a struggle as I was still rehabilitating the muscles, but my knee felt stable and had no issues since.

Is there a particular reason why surgery isn't being considered?
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There are varying degrees of seriousness to every injury - I think I got a relatively 'clean break' as although there was a fair bit of swelling, I had no bruising. MCL had a grade 1, which is progressing nicely and a crack to the meniscus - but there's nothing floating around in there. I've had very little issue with balancing either, and five weeks on there has only been one real knee-buckling event. There's the last bit of swelling to go down and then I'll have a much better idea.

A good mate of mine went through the operation and has had no end to the issue. The OP was done too tight, his hamstrings kept on re-reading for months after and he thinks he's now got an infection at one of the screw sites. He was 'out of action' and on crutches for a month after

While I don't mind having an operation i have a 7 month old baby to look after, and we're about to start a massive renovation on our house.

Talking to both muscularskeletal specialist and the physio, it seems that fewer people are having the op done and instead focusing on muscle strength. But also that studies are showing that the longterm impact of op and no-op aren't too dissimilar when it comes to future knee health.

It was interesting to hear the specialist mention that a number of the England WC squad are missing ACLs, same with netball, etc.

I'm 35, don't have much need of an ACL on a daily basis, just curious how it may impact future hiking. Specialist and physio have told me it's certainly not essential for hiking as long as I don't suffer balance/buckling issues. If I do, then I'll need the op.
 
Had a play in the langdale.valley today. Up to Pavey Ark the hit the Langdale peaks before coming down. What an amazing place and the weather was superb!
 
MM-Seat said:
Had a play in the langdale.valley today. Up to Pavey Ark the hit the Langdale peaks before coming down. What an amazing place and the weather was superb!
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last time I went up there I got near to the top of the first part where the tarn is and some evil gits up there were cooking bacon, you could smell it miles away :mad:
 
MM-Seat said:
Had a play in the langdale.valley today. Up to Pavey Ark the hit the Langdale peaks before coming down. What an amazing place and the weather was superb!
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Beautiful up there. Did you head up onto Harrison Stickle and Pike o'Stickle after Pavey Ark?

Looking down into the Mickledon and then up the valley to Bowfell is a beautiful view.
 
MM-Seat said:
That tarn was partially frozen yesterday.
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A friend and I walked across the tarn one Winter many years ago now when we are younger (and dafter !).

Love the Langdale Pikes been going there since I was about 10 with my Dad.
 
MM-Seat said:
Yes and loft crag. Old man or Crinkle Crags is next on the list!
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Excellent - I love it up on that plateau looking down into the valley. We were up there for Beast from the East and the whole area was three foot under snow!

Crinkle crags is great too. If you've got a full day/enough light, then leaving from the Old Dungeon Ghyll to head up Pike o'Blisco, then onto to Crinkle Crags before doing Bowfell is a brilliant trip. Whilst coming back down into the valley on the Band is easier, I do like to walk down via Angle Tarn.
 
https://www.lavanguardia.com/cienci...ermia-sobrevive-paro-cardiaco-seis-horas.html
lucky -
When Audrey Mash arrived at Vall d'Hebron hospital , her body was at 20.2 degrees.
....
They checked the weather forecast for the next day in the AccuWeather app. He announced an acceptable time, did not say it could snow. Audrey and Rohan decided to get up soon to climb Torreneules peak before returning to Núria. Lucy and Judith preferred to stay asleep and return for Camí dels Enginyers, which is shorter.
...
When they reached the hill, at 2,563 meters of altitude, they found a white hell. The snowfall was intense, the wind so strong that they could barely stand up and zero visibility. “Suddenly nothing was seen, no relief, it was all white. We did not know what to do. We could suffer a fall at any time. We found a rock no bigger than a chair and crouched next to it to protect us from the wind. We stayed there for two or three hours waiting for it to abate, ”says Rohan, who was well equipped for a storm and endured the wait well. Audrey, who was wearing a non-waterproof windstopper jacket, began to feel increasingly cold.
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Did Scafell Pike last October with a friend and looking at doing Snowdon - does anyone have any experience doing it in late March? Thinking the second to last weekend specifically. Are there any preferable routes when snow is present? Will be packing crampons as a matter of course.

I'm studying alongside working full time at the moment so it's difficult to find free weekends for this. My next free weekend after would be 25th April when weather would no doubt be better.

Looking to stay in Beddgelert and was planning to do the Rhyd Ddu path.
 
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