SteveStrummerUK

sharke
Many happy days spent in the lakes in my late teens/early 20's...we used to go on these epic hikes spanning days, pitching the tents wherever we could for free (I think once you get about 1000ft it's a free for all?). A rucksacks full of clothes, dried meals and of course lots of weed. 
 
I had one of my scariest moments on Scafell. Like the rough-arsed Geordie troopers we were, we'd decided to go hiking and climbing in the depths of winter. And despite not having a single piece of sensible climbing gear, we figured we'd scoot up Scafell Pike via Lord's Rake. And the Rake was chest deep in hard snow. Not having spiked boots or ropes or anything like that we just kicked steps into the snow and held onto the wall to the right of us. I think about 3/4 of the way up I looked down and instantly wondered what in the hell we were doing there. Near the top of the Rake we had to cross the slope to get to an icy looking path which led to a gully we wanted to climb. My friend went first, baby steps, got to the other side and gave me the thumbs up. So I started after him, and near the end the snow just collapsed under me and I was in almost up to my neck. What a horrible feeling, to be up that high on an icy 45 degree slope which felt like it might collapse at any minute, stuck fast in a big hole with no way to get out of it. The more I tried, the deeper I sank. My friend on the other side had to balance precariously on this icy ledge and pull me out. Scary times indeed. Then we had to negotiate this horrible narrow ledge with ice on it and a huge drop on the other side, and everyone's legs were jelly because of my little "incident." I've never felt so out of place in my life. We really shouldn't have been doing this. And the gully was just as bad, full of snow and ice with huge cornices at the top which we had to somehow climb over. When eventually we got to the top there were 3 guys waiting for us who said they'd been watching our ascent with baited breath. They just said "are you guys nuts" and walked off laughing. What a buzz to get to the top and realize we were OK though. And a great night in the pub later...
 
It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I've sat out a few raging thunderstorms in small tents perched up in the crags too...deafening lighting explosions going off all around you to the point where you think the next one's going to make a direct hit. But when the storm passes and you stand there watching it move down the valley - wow what a sight. Such great times. 

Great stuff Sharke
 
Our recent Lake District holiday was the first time I've been back to the Lake District since spending a fantastic week at Brathay Hall on a biology field trip when I was doing my A Levels.
 
Thinking back to the folly of youth, in a desperate bid to keep fit during the cricket off-season, me and a mate of mine used to go hiking/jogging on the nearby Malvern Hills. I still come out in a cold sweat thinking about one particular winter day when we'd climbed North Hill. We stayed up there too late and were still trying to find our way down after sunset. Inevitably, as there aren't any pathways on North Hill like on the more popular Worcestershire and Herefordshire Beacons, we got lost in the gloom.
 
After some time, we eventually managed to get down safely, but on a subsequent excursion, we realised that part of our route on that previous descent had (completely unknowingly) taken us precariously close to the top lip of one of the quarries cut into the side of the hill. Taking a couple of strides the wrong way, or even just losing our footing could so easily have ended up in a plunge of a couple of hundred feet.
 
If my (distant) memory serves me correctly, the red line shows the safe route down, the blue line is where we'd been stumbling about in the dark before backtracking and finding the proper way down:
 

 
 
I also remember spending a night on nearby Bredon Hill as part of a school CCF exercise. A group of about five us, being the oldest, were left in charge.
 
So, being completely responsible and wishing to set a good example to our younger charges, we immediately set about making ourselves comfortable in the folly on top the hill, setting up a 'shop' to sell (and drink) the many bottles of vodka we'd smuggled up there, and organising a few three-card brag schools.
 

 
At about three o'clock, when we decided it was a good idea to get some kip (plus the booze had run out) we dispatched those underlings still standing back to their tents. However, instead of bedding down ourselves, one of our group had the wonderful idea of walking across the hill to the aircraft warning light tower, and lobbing rocks at it.
 
Mind you, the dark and large quantities of alcohol made it difficult to estimate how far we actually had to go to commit this act of wanton vandalism, and after about 20 minutes, we gave up the quest and returned to the folly.
 
When we eventually surfaced later that morning, one of our chaps realised he'd lost his watch on our escapade, so we trudged off toward the warning light to see if we could find it. It was then we realised just how close we'd come to a perilous drop on one side of the path we'd taken a few hours earlier. It wasn't on the same scale as the drop on the Malvern Hills, or as steep, but certainly enough to cause a few fractures I'd have thought.
 
 
As you say though, great times!

Ha it's so easy to come a cropper in places like that when you're drunk....but somehow the guiding hand of Saint Booze steers you clear. Reminds me of the time I went on a skiing trip with the school, age 14, to Ovronnaz in Switzerland. It was amazing - the supermarkets just didn't give a toss how old we were and we were buying crates of schnapps. I don't think I have ever been as drunk as that since....we got truly lit in the evenings. One night me and a few mates sneaked out of the school accommodation to get mortal, and we ended up walking for miles along these dark mountain roads. After a while we came across a large digger and I decided I was going to steal it. Lo and behold, the keys were left inside! So I managed to get it started up (what a thrill), but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to move. A few more of us tried but after a while we just gave up. The next day we walked back up there, and to our horror found that the digger was perched right on the edge of a cliff. The drop on the other side must have been at least 100ft. Saint Booze!
 
Many happy hiking trips in Britain with the school. For some reason the best memories I have are of hikes where the weather was awful. There is something deeply cleansing about hiking 20 miles across boggy land in the mist and rain...it just feels like you're on another planet. I loved every minute of it. Been to the Scottish Highlands and also the Cuillin Mountains (I have family on Skye) and it's all stupendously breathtaking. I know there are much larger mountains in other parts of the world but the Lakes and the Scottish mountains have a unique character and atmosphere - I think it has something to do with how tightly they're packed together. It has a proper Lord Of The Rings feel to it! 

 
 
I remember reading somewhere that if you fall or come a cropper when you've had a few, you are less likely to hurt yourself seriously than if you were sober. The theory is that you are more 'relaxed' when under the influence and therefore more likely to fall 'softly', as opposed to doing anything to try and break your fall when sober.
 
It should be added, of course, that you're probably much more likely to have such an accident in the first place when you've been on the piss
 

SteveStrummerUK
 
 
I remember reading somewhere that if you fall or come a cropper when you've had a few, you are less likely to hurt yourself seriously than if you were sober. The theory is that you are more 'relaxed' when under the influence and therefore more likely to fall 'softly', as opposed to doing anything to try and break your fall when sober.
 
It should be added, of course, that you're probably much more likely to have such an accident in the first place when you've been on the piss
 

There was a story in the local Newcastle rag years ago about a construction worker who fell 50 feet from some scaffold and walked away without so much as a limp. They took him to the hospital for a checkup where he admitted that he'd been smoking marijuana on his lunch break. The doctor told the press that in all likelihood, the fact that he was stoned saved his life because his muscles would have been relaxed on impact. Of course, like you say, this didn't take into account that he would probably not have slipped had he not been baked. 

Very nice, Steve. That may not be as high as the Rockies, but rugged terrain all the same.
I like your treatment of this shot. Deep, saturated color, without venturing too far into the surreal.
You are really getting a handle on those tools.

craigb
 
 
Picture looks great!  Still waiting on the poster versions of all your work though. 

Thanks mate
 
Sad to say, I don't think my pics would translate too well at poster size, for a combination of reasons.
 
First off, I really need to upgrade to a full-frame camera body. I've been eyeing up the (newish) Canon EOS 6D, or maybe a second hand Canon EOS 5D Mark II or III. The 6D looks pretty good value, although the focussing system only has one cross-type AF point (in the centre). Mind you, for landscapes, I usually swap over to manual focus with a small aperture and focus at the hyperfocal distance.
 
If when the Canon 6D Mark II arrives, it is fitted out with more cross-type AF points, and is reasonably priced, temptation may prove too difficult to resist
 
Secondly, I'd really need to get some quality lenses to match with a full frame DSLR. For what I enjoy doing, my ideal lens would seem to be the absolutely gorgeous EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, with the addition sometime of a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM. Must......... stop.............. drooling
 
Finally, I'd really have to leave Photoshop Elements out of the signal chain, so to speak. To be able to do anything more than sophisticated than quick fixes and cropping in Elements, it has to convert 16bit images down to 8bit. At normal print size and for the web, having fewer colours available doesn't make much difference, but at poster size, I'd imagine delicate gradations of colour wouldn't be rendered too faithfully.
 
 
 

RobertB
Very nice, Steve. That may not be as high as the Rockies, but rugged terrain all the same.
I like your treatment of this shot. Deep, saturated color, without venturing too far into the surreal.
You are really getting a handle on those tools.

Cheers Bob

the mutt's nuts that is Straummy

 
 
Thanks Daryk