Adventures on Nethermost

The ramblings of a subconscious mind are hard to fathom, but somehow yesterday's Tennyson became today's Eagle Crag. 

I have another assessment this weekend (if they seem to have been going on forever its because there are 7 spread over 5 months) so I really needed to do some online home study modules. But it was sooooo nice. But it's been such an odd week already. But I have no car on Friday. Just but. 

So I went for a play in the hills. Rehab doesn't just happen by itself you know! 

Almost on autopilot I found myself in Grisedale. I've wandered far and wide but not yet found better. I thought of many options, too busy for Helvellyn, too soon for my most favourite place - so Nethermost beckoned me on. 
The guidebook lists an utterly implausible scramble up Eagle Crag. On the walk in I laughed at the idea, at the foot of the rock I laughed some more.
 No thank you Sir, every ledge covered in loose vegetation, the potential fall hundreds of feet, not so much implausible as just plain unpleasant. But there are other places to play. 
I've long been fascinated by the map's tale of remote mines on the flanks of this stern hill, so I went à wandering. I'm very happy on scree, but others probably shouldn't follow, it moves a lot. The mine workings when found (extra collage) show just how hard a life that must have been, an almost impossible site to do an almost impossible job, for what must have been very little reward. I paused and thought how lucky we are now for all those who went before. 

Looking down the valley (the view in extras) I was, as I often am, put in mind of Tolkien;
"Durin found a glen of shadows between two great arms of the mountains, above which three white peaks were shining, so magical that here the Dwarves built their greatest treasure" 


From the mines I took a thankfully dry steep Ghyll up past the top of Eagle Crag and onto easier ground. Ahead of me Nethermost's East ridge, today's main blip, looked every inch a Lakeland Classic. And it was all just for me :-) 
It's not until you reach the summit cairn and the main route onto Helvellyn that you'll see another soul, they may wonder why you're grinning so much. 


I snuck in a cheeky descent of Striding Edge, against the flow and taking the true tops that so many seem to miss, a great finish to a grand day out. 


Footnote
Tomorrow marks 10 months since the op. My subconscious clearly knows these things as this was one of the last routes I did before I threw the dice. Today hurt about the same as pre-op, albeit differently. I'm oddly pleased with that as it matches the surgeon's early statement that in fixing one thing he'd cause more injury, he'd just intend I'd heal better from it this time. Fingers still crossed that's the next stage.