In and Around Ballypatrick Forest

I managed to get out again this week, it took until Tuesday though as like most of the UK the weather was pretty grim, continual heavy rain on Saturday and high winds on Monday that took a few tiles of our roof meant I didn't do much but I'd arranged with Les to go out on Tuesday.

I’ve been using Mapyx Quo mapping software for a while now and had upgraded my Garmin Gecko 301 to a Lowrance Safari with Quo Mobil XT mapping software installed but to be honest I hadn’t used it much as I really can’t be bothered to spend a lot of time on hi tech kit, especially when it comes to mapping as I know my way around the local hills anyway. Les however had purchased Quo and was using it with a Garmin mapping handheld (not sure what the model is) We wanted to try them back to back and try e-mailing routes to each other so I decided on the route, Les having done last weeks walk and planned a walk in one of the local forest parks with a bit of off trail (in the forest) and open hill work thrown in for good measure.

I was a bit more organised this week and had everything prepared the night before as I wanted to replace the missing roof tiles before setting off. The weather was slightly better than it had been but I wanted to try something different clothing wise so this time opted for my Montane Extreme smock, Uniqlo windproof easy trousers and this time wore a pair of Gore Bike Wear gore-tex socks with the Adidas Terrex Seamless.

Although it was bright when we set off for Ballypatrick forest there were a few heavy showers on the way which didn’t provide much of a clue as to what lay in store. By the time we were parked up the sun was shining and with the shelter of the trees I was regretting choosing Pertex/Pile and wishing I’d opted for the lighter Paramo VAL. The intention was to follow the trails for a bit before aiming for the highest point in the forest, the unpronounceable (to me anyway) Carneighaneigh from which it seemed there would be good views towards Ballycastle across the sound to Rathlin and possibly even the Mull of Kintyre to the N East and Donegal to the N West, in addition there was an cairn of some description marked on the map. From the high point the plan was to descend back into the forest using rough tracks and avoiding the actual forest drive where possible to visit a Mesolithic cairn and then on through the forest and on to the open hill for a bit before hopefully navigating to a fire break which would lead us back onto the trails and from there to the car park. Like last week we were accompanied by Fly, a one year old this week Cocker owned by Les. Fly is a cracking wee dog, full of life and character and with an endless reserve of energy.

We Hadn’t gone to far before Les was ditching his jacket while I had to make do with opening every zip on the Extreme smock but as we started up the trail towards the high point the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up so I didn’t over heat too much.



At the high point the views were much as I’d expected although visibility wasn’t the best, one thing that really stood out was the reef just off the coast near Ballycastle, I’m not sure what it’s called but looking at the map it may well be Carrickmannon, it was a seething mass of white water clearly visible even in the less than perfect light. The cairn was a bit of an anti climax looking more like a croft had been knocked down and bulldozed into a heap but we went for a closer look anyway. We had just about reached it when the shower that had been heading our direction finally arrived so we simply dropped down a firebreak for a bit of shelter. There were a few hailstones but it lasted less than 5 minutes in the end.



With the clouds speeding away we set off again descending down a rough track back into the forest where once again due to the shelter of the trees I needed to open all the vents on the smock to stay reasonably comfortable. Quite a few trees looked like they’d come down in the previous 24 hours but I spent a bit of time looking for potential hammock camping spots.



It seems though that no matter where you go fly tippers will have been there before, I can imagine Amundsun arriving at the South Pole to discover a rusty washing machine and a kid’s trike. To be truthful though the bits and pieces that were lying around were slowly but surely returning to their natural sate or being gradually buried under a blanket of pine needles.



It didn’t take too long before we reached the Mesolithic 2 Horned Cairn, hmmm looks like a pile of rocks to me but I’ll take their word for it. Ironically while the sun had been shining when we were in the forest the moment we reached an area where tree felling had been in progress and shelter was scarce the skies darkened and the rain looked to be on it’s way again.





As happened on the top of Carneighaneigh by the time we’d taken shelter and Les had swapped soft-shell for hard-shell the rain had stopped. With much of the forest part behind us and the open hill getting closer we decided to look for a suitable spot to take a lunch break. Les had a new stove (Gelert Blaze) to try out so while we waited for the water to boil and with it the prospect of a Starbucks Via we polished off a couple of Ginster’s Cornish Pasties.



Setting off again the open hill provided us with the terrain I like least although one I‘m well used to, peat banks, knee deep ankle twisting heather and knee deep peat bogs. In terrain like this it’s every man for himself but it seems that regardless of the route you choose you lose. We’d just reached the top of Crockaneel or as close to the top as it’s possible to define on what is essentially an elevated bog when Fly rose a couple of grouse, 1st a brown then a smaller black.





From there we aimed to miss the edge of the forest closest to us heading on towards a fire break that would lead us back into the forest and from there back to the track. In the end we missed it by a few hundred meters but a quick look at the map suggested that if we followed a drainage trench between the trees we intersect the fire break and it worked out just fine.



Although it can be a bit boring on the forest tracks they’re kind of welcome after stumbling about on heather so there were no complaints even though our route had us following a short section that we’d walked at the start. The rain stayed away for the final few Kilometres and the sun mostly shone until we were back at the car park.



With regard to the kit the Montane Extreme Smock was much too warm but I suspected that would be the case, the Gore Bike wear Gore-tex socks are a bit of a mixed bag, there’s no doubt that they kept my feet dry although they don’t breathe particularly well once the trail shoes are saturated, that said on balance I still prefer unlined trail shoes/gore tex socks over gore tex lined shoes as they provide more protection, lined shoes only work if you can avoid water that’s more than ankle deep and avoid wet grass unless you’re wearing gaiters which in my experience don’t really work with shoes.

What about the Lowrance Safari and Garmin GPS units and the Quo mapping software? They work, I don’t really have anything else to say to be honest, while I could happily research a tent or stove from now until Christmas, studying the various pro’s and con’s, GPS hand helds or similar techy stuff doesn’t do it for me, it’s works and really that’s all I need to know, after that it’s about as fascinating to me as an electric kettle.

On a more Sombre Note

While Ballypatrick Forest Park like most other forest parks in Northern Ireland was a popular destination for family outings during the summer and on Bank Holidays in the late 1970’s to mid 1980’s it not unreasonably became much less popular after the murder of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser who’s body was found buried in a shallow grave within the forest. Although it happened in 1988 no one has ever been charged with the murder.

Day Tripping, Floating the Boat

There's been a real change in the weather this week, although I was working at the start of the week the presence of sunshine and blue skies had me looking forward to finishing my shift even more than usual. Spring has sprung and flowers are beginning to appear, I noticed Snowdrops well and truly emerged last weekend when I had the canoe out and it's actually quite warm.

I'd planned to have another day out in the canoe and sorted my kit on Wednesday night so that I could head out as soon as possible after attending to a few other tasks. I really wanted to check out some potential wild camp spots and get a bit more practice handling the canoe before the summer when I hope to make some longer trips.

I decided to take my old Trangia 27k this time, they're a great design and they've stood the test of time and while the weight might be too much for solo backpacking in a canoe it's pretty irrelevant. I packed everything into an Alpkit Goudron 20, including my well worn Montane Flux and with the canoe loaded up set off in bright sunshine.



While it's great having the river at the bottom of the yard, well my Mum's yard to be exact the downside is that if you have an out and back trip you go with the flow and come back against it. Although the river isn't very fast flowing there's one section where it's really shallow, less than a foot (30cm) deep in places and as a result it's too fast to paddle as the paddle bottoms out, there are also a few places where large rocks were placed across the river after it was deepened and straightened some years ago. Getting downstream over or between the rocks isn't a problem apart from the risk of a few scrapes as the drop is less than a foot but getting back means lining the canoe from the river bank or trying to pole back over them.

When I was out on Saturday I simply waded up the shallow section, I was wearing the Uniqlo Easy Windproof trousers and to be honest was amazed at how well the DWR worked and how dry and warm the tricot type lining felt after having been in knee deep plus water for a good few minutes. They worked so well that I didn't need to change into dry trousers when I got back home.

When I set off I was wearing a pair of Easy Windproof trousers, a zip neck fleece over a HeatTech L/S T-Shirt and a acrylic beanie cap but soon stopped to remove the fleece and beanie cap. I set off again wearing only the HeatTech T and a bandanna made from a Buff. The air was still and the warmth surprising for the 1st week in March and to be honest I really should have worn a pair of sunglasses to cut the glare from the water.



Every now and then a few waterbirds would take flight only to land again a few hundred meters ahead. At 1st only 2 or 3 would take flight but they must have landed again where there were others as each time I surprised them the numbers had increased until finally there was quite a sizable flock.



I stopped a few times to check out some potential pitches, a fence runs along both sides of the river bank marking the boundary of the farmland which is really just rough pasture. While the river bank is generally quite narrow and covered in weeds and tall grass on the river side of the fence there are a few places where it's wide and reasonably flat with short grass, there's certainly enough room for a tarp/bivvy bag.



Further downstream the farmland gives way to bog/moorland and here I found a nice spot. Out of sight of houses and with the bog as a barrier there was a nice flat grassy area backed by a stand of Whin bushes although it was on the farmland side of the fence. I decided that I'd stop here for lunch on my way back.





Just beyond I passed the small fir tree plantation I'd stopped at at the end of last year on my 1st outing on the canoe, again this would be an ideal spot, especially for using a hammock.

I'd already passed 2 of the rocky steps but on rounding the corner I spotted another two only about 30 meters apart, rather than shoot for it I stopped and walked down for a look 1st, I decided that I could make a clean run without too many scrapes and in the end managed both without scraping at all. It was now about 2.30pm and I was starting to get a bit hungry so decided to turn around and make my way back. I didn't manage to pole my way past the 1st rock step, I almost managed but further attempts were less successful so I walked along the river bank and lined the canoe through. I decided to try poling on the next step and this time managed it before once again swapping pole for paddle and making for the place I'd spotted previously to have lunch.




I picked a reasonably flat spot and got the Trangia set-up to boil some water for coffee before making some pasta but found that I'd forgotten to bring a mug. Fortunately I hadn't stripped the Trangia down so with the full set I simply used one of the pans as a giant mug.





Although I'd taken an instant pasta meal I decided to cook it in the pot rather than in a freezer bag, I'd already sliced a Pepperami so added it to the pasta and sauce and let it simmer while I ate some smoked cheese and drank my coffee.

I re-discovered 2 things,

1. a Trangia is a really nice system if the weight isn't an issue, it's tough, works well and doesn't need attended which allows you to relax or carry out other tasks.

2. eating from a freezer bag is okay, eating from a bowl or in this case pot is much, much nicer, no need for an extra long spoon or sauce covered fingers trying to get the last remaining pasta twists or strands of spaghetti out of the corner of a bag.



I was in no hurry to leave as it was so nice to just sit around relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet, the ducks I'd seen earlier would probably have agreed!! I boiled some more water for another coffee before packing up and getting going again.

I soon reached the final 2 rock steps, again I tried to pole it and again ended up lining the 1st and poling the second. I need a lot more practice poling, I've watched people doing it on Youtube and they make it look easy but I don't find it easy at all. A short paddle and I reached the shallow faster flowing section that I'd waded on Saturday but this time I managed to pole it, it took some time to be honest and I did end up going backwards, sideways every way except forwards at times but eventually I made it. With only a few hundred meters to go I stopped one last time, just a few moments to enjoy the surroundings even if it only was rough pasture.

Although it wouldn't be on any dream list of trips to take it was still enjoyable even if my arms and shoulders were feeling the effects by the end. It's easy to sit at the computer and plan grand trips but in the end any break from the daily grind is worthwhile.

Tievebulliagh, The Hills and Glens of Antrim

I finally made it out today for the 1st time this year, I'd hoped that things would fall into place and I'd be able to visit the Cairngorms but it wasn't to be, in fact getting out today wasn't a certainty but as the walk had been planned by my mate Les I just needed to turn up. I had a few things to attend to this morning which required a trip into town so we decided to meet up at the layby near Essathoan waterfall at 12.00.

Our destination was Tievebulliagh, a nicely shaped (depending on where you view it from) little hill just to the NNW of Trostan. I'm not quite sure why we were going there, it was either because Les wanted to get some photpgraphs or because his mate Bert wanted to find the Neolithic axe factory, Tievebulliagh being a source of Porcellanite, but regardless I was happy to tag along.

Some sources claim that Tievebulliagh is one of only 2 places where Porcellanite is found and that axe heads from Tievebulliagh have been found in the Outer Hebrides and as far as the south of England, whether that's true or not I couldn't say but almost every source that refers to Porcellanite mentions Tievebulliagh.

When we met up at out start point the sky was overcast but it wasn't raining and was reasonably bright although there was a stiff breeze coming from the West/South West. As I'd been given the task of navigator I'd planned to take a fairy direct route over the Easten shoulder of Trostan before dropping down to a flatter section and then following the base of the broken outcrops to where the 'Axe Factory' was marked on the map. With that done my intention was to continue around the base of the broken rock before attaining the summit via a short steep grassy slope on the North side. With the summit reached we would then decend following the edge of the outcrop to pick up our outward route before returning via the summit of Trostan.

I'd aquired some new kit over the past few weeks, a consolation for the disapearance of the snow we had at Christmas, rather than a stove I took a new flask. I found it by accident in a cookware shop in town, made by EMSA with a 5 year guarantee it's hermetically sealed and is rated as being able to keep water hot for up to 12 hours. I'd tried it at home, filling it with boiling water after pre heating/priming it and the water was still at 58°c after 17 hours.

The other item I wanted to try out was a pair of 'Easy Windproof' trousers from Uniqlo. They'd been mentioned on the Bargain Alert thread on OM by 'Moonlight Shadow'. I really only bought them as I was ordering some Heattech thermal baselayer tops and longjohns as they looked like they'd be a good option for canoeing.

The rest of my clothing consisted of a L/S Heattech T-Shirt over a short sleeved version, on top I wore my Paramo VAL, a polar Buff rolled into a cap and SealSkinz Activity gloves took care of the extremities and I carried my Montane Flux as extra insulation to be used Paramo Torres style over my VAL during stops.



We set off at quite a pace but quickly settled back down to something that could be sustained for more than 5 minutes, at first benefitting from the forest track but before long leaving the forest to make the gradual climb up wet grassy and sometimes heather clad slopes to the shoulder from which we'd see our destination. Decending down off the shoulder the going was somewhat worse being heather covered almost all the way to the lower slopes of Tievebulliagh. We had to make an effort to maintain height and bearing as the wind which had increased by now together with the natural tendency to loose height when traversing causing us to drift off to the east. That was something that I wanted to avoid as I really hate loosing height after the effort of gaining it in the 1st place, especially when there's no good reason for doing so.







We reached the broad grassy ridge where it merged with the start of the broken rock/cliffs but rather than follow the base of the cliffs we decided to continue up the ridge following the edge. The view wasn't the best due to the low cloud and the wind was quite strong, certainly strong enough for Les and myself to stay back from the edge although we did move closer as we became more used to it. It was pleasant to be on soild ground and short grass rather than the boggy heather covered ground we'd crossed to reach this point and with the Summit in sight thoughts started to turn to lunch.



We stopped briefly on the summit while Les took a few photographs but the light was such that it wasn't worth messing around with tripod and filters. Looking down to the base of the hill we could easily see evidence of the axe factory looking like a clachan of giant molehills.



The broken rock/cliffs don't extend all the way along the ridge and from the summit it's just a short steep drop down to the axe factory, there's a choice of routes/techniques, straight down the grassy slope folloing the fall line, a zig/zag traverse down the slope or straight down a scree chute. Initially I opted for the zig/zag method but switched to the scree chute as it was easier.





Down among the mounds we stopped for lunch, the flask was produced together with Tunnocks Caramel wafers which went down a treat with a Starbucks Via. With lunch taken care of we set of again, this time skirting the base of the rocky outcrops. We all seemed to take different approaches. I chose to gain the required height right from the start and then maintain it until the base of the outcrop merged into the start of the long grassy ridge, in the end we all arrived at the shoulder at pretty much the same time.



By now the cloud base had dropped significantly and the wind if anything had picked up and swung around to a more southerly direction bringing with it light rain as we started to make out way across the featureless heather clad plateau. Visibility was still generally reasonable but from time to time it closed in, we were aiming to hit a fence line but in spite of trying to avoid drifting down to our left the endless zig/zag route through the peat banks meant we did drift off slightly. After crossing the fence the ground started to rise so with a fresh set of batteries fitted to the GPS (I'd forgotten to change them before starting out and hadn't been using it as we could see where we were going anyway) we checked our position and after a final steep pull we once again reached the shoulder of Trostan and soon picked up our footprints from earlier. We didn't waste much time as the rain which hadn't really increased in intensity had become persistant, the visibility had become worse and the wind was showing no signs of abating.



Dropping down off the shoulder the edge of the forest soon became visible on our right and we simply followed the fence line down to a break in the forest with only a short distance along a firebreak to reach the forest road at Essathoan waterfall. Within 20 minutes we were back at the cars and once gear had been packed and wet jackets replaced with dry ones we were on our way.

The Gear

I hadn't gone out with the sole intention of testing gear, I expected everything to work fine although to be honest I hadn't expected it to rain and if I had I may have chosen not to wear the Uniqlo Easy Windproof trousers and would have worn my ME Ibex softshell instead. As it turned out the Uniqlo trousers were absolutely fine, they looked dry apart from the bottom of the legs (I hadn't worn gaiters) although even then they didn't feel wet inside. I'll look at the Easy Windproof trousers in more detail in due course.

The Paramo VAL performed faultlessly, I hadn't needed to vent it and was comfortable wearing the Heattech baselayer, the hood on the VAL did an excellent job of shielding my face from the wind driven rain.



The flask worked as expected and finally the Sealskinz Activity gloves kept my hands dry and mostly warm, I knoew they weren't totally waterproof as I'd already given them the 'Bucket Test' and they did leak a little at both thumbs but they provided enough grip and dexterity for me to operate a DSLR and generally enough insulation to keep my hands warm.

All in all it was a good day out even if the weather did limit the views towards the end.

On Ski in the Antrim Hills *Updated*

At long last I managed to make it out, it just seems that everything else has been dragging me down recently what with working extra hours and various other commitments. I tried to get out on Monday as I wanted to make the best of the snow in case it didn't hang around but in the end didn't make it, with my car booked in for MOT on Tuesday I didn't get out and then my shift started on Wednesday.

It may have worked out better in the end though as we hadn't had much snow after the initial fall last Saturday but low temperatures kept it hanging around and eventually we had further snow showers on Friday which added a few more cm.

The plan was simple, drive up to Glenariff on Saturday morning, take the trails and forest tracks to gain the open hill and head for one of the tops before returning to the car. In the end I didn't get up until 10.30 as I was knackered after my shift but made an effort to get started ASAP.





It was quite foggy at low level but the roads were clear and as I gained height the fog cleared and I reached the forest park at about 11.45. Finding a parking space wasn't easy as all the lay-by's were full of snow, a Land Rover would have been useful. In the end I parked at the entrance to the forest park, the main gates being shut, and drove backwards and forwards to create a clear path for when I came back. I put on my skis as soon as I left the car and skied into the park before putting the skins on to climb up the path to flatter ground. I was too warm to begin with as I was wearing North Cape Long Johns under a pair of ME Liskamm trousers, a Uniqlo L/S t-shirt over which I had a North Cape zip neck and a Montane Dyno softshell. I stopped for a breather at a wooden shelter and should really have put the softshell in my rucksack but laziness prevented me.





I knew that I'd be pushed for time to make one of the tops so decided to simply stop at one of the small loughs, one of which was on my route anyway. It was quite chilly between the trees but warm where the sun shone through the gaps and fire breaks as I made my way along the waymarked trail before branching off onto one of the forestry tracks.





I made slow progress but eventually arrived at the edge of the forest and set off on a service road built to serve the nearby reservoir before turning off onto the open hill. The snow was deep in places but not of sufficient depth to completely cover the tussocky grass nor was it consolidated enough to completely carry my weight even with skis on.







Eventually after stopping a couple of times I reached Loughgarve in bright sunshine. The lough was frozen over as was the outflow so set about making something to eat as I was getting hungry by this time having somehow forgotten to pack any cereal bars or chocolate as on the move snacks.





I set up the MSR Reactor and started to boil up water for an instant pasta and a hot drink. Although I was in the sunshine I was right on top of a rise and once stopped I started to cool down but I'd brought my Uniqlo down jacket and after digging it out of the rucksack it provided the required insulation. Looking back down I could see that the reservoir was frozen over and to the west in the distance the fog was still lying on the lower ground towards the nearby town of Ballymena. I didn't spend too much time sitting around as I was keeping an eye on the time although I did take a few photographs.







With everything packed away I replaced the down jacket with my new Berghaus shell jacket and started to make my way back down to the service road. To be honest it took almost as much energy decending as I kept breaking through the snow and I was really wary about getting crossed up and twisting my knee again as had happen in January. My knee is weak as it's been hurt too many times, it's something I just have to deal with but it does make me overly cautious even though I've now got the benefit of release bindings.

Once I reached the service road I removed the shell jacket and continued along the road towards the forest track. The light was starting to change with the sky taking on a slight amber tinge and looking out over the Irish Sea towards Scotland I could see a band of, well something, rain/sleet/snow whatever but it wasn't heading in my direction. Once back in the forest I was able to take advantage of my tracks from earlier and soon got the benefit of a downhill run although it's fair to say that I could use a bit of glide wax.

Back on the waymarked trail I removed the skis and strapped them to my rucksack as there are a few short sharp climbs and a few steep winding decents on a very narrow track and my grip wax wasn't providing much grip for the ascents I didn't want to take out a tree on the decents. I stopped once more at the wooden shelter before making my way back down to the main road leading out of the forest park where I put the skis on again for the final few hundered metres back to my car.







I was pretty knackered to be honest but even though it was a quick outing I really enjoyed it. I love the snow and if it stayed around for the next 2 months I wouldn't be complaining. I'd have loved to have had a tent and camped out, that would have been brilliant.

The Gear.

Most of the gear I took has been used before with only a few new items to try, I love having kit that's tried and tested as I can just wear/take it and know that it'll work. The only stuff that was new was a pair of Karrimor Windgrip gloves with grip patches on the finger tips, thumb and palm. I wanted to get a pair of the Mountain Equipment gloves that Maz mentioned as they look to be just what I've been looking for but the Karrimor gloves were £9 from Field & Trek and as I was ordering some sleeping mats I added the gloves. They're nothing special to be honest, you can feel the seams on the inside but in use they aren't too noticable. They seem to be reasonably water resistant but aren't as warm as normal fleece gloves unfortunately, £9 is enough.

Another new item was a Lowrance Endura Safari GPS navigator but I'll look at it in more detail at a later date.

And finally a snow shovel, plastic with a removeable telescopic handle and branded as Garant I bought it at the start of the year in B&Q in an end of winter season sale. I didn't expect to need it but wanted to try it out. I used it as a table.

The rest of the kit was as follows.

Base layer.
Uniqlo Heatech L/S Top
North Cape Long Johns
North Cape Zip Neck Top

Mid layer.
Mountain Equipment Liskamm Softshell Trousers
Montane Dyno IBQ Thermaskin Sofshell jacket

Shell Layer.
Berghaus Pro Trek Gore Tex Jacket
Trespass 'Prusik' Full Zip Over trousers
Marmot Shell Gloves (unlined)

Head, Hands & Feet
Knit, fleece lined Earflap hat c/w 'Fur' trim (Tesco, about £8 IIRC)
Karrimor Windgrip Gloves
Wool Mix knee length socks (Horizon Merino Mix IIRC from TK Max)

I also took a spare pair of Mountain Warehouse windproof fleece gloves and an Uniqlo down jacket. I didn't have a choice of footwear as I was wearing my Gron-ell leather ski boots and Berghaus Yeti gaiters.

I took the MSR Reactor with a 100g cartridge and Primus foot rest, polymug and PET bottle, Barska Blackhawk 8x25 binoculars, Skins and wax for my skis, 1st aid kit, Trekmates bivvy bag (knee paranoia), Brusletto Nansen and my Micro Crampons. I carried it all in a Karrimor Alpiniste 45+10 rucksack. I like the Alpiniste, it's the 08 model which is much better than my late 90's/early 2000's model which is over weight and has way too many features. The Alpiniste has a very supportive hip-belt and together with the Fformatt back pad is stiff enough to take the weight of my skis even if it's only partly full. At 1350g it isn't superlight but the load carrying ability makes up for it.

As I mentioned most of the gear had been used previously, the North Cape base layer works a treat and as I bought it at £5 per item it's a double bonus, the heattech base layer from Uniqlo also works well, the ME Liskamm trousers are really good and if anything happened them I'd simply get another pair. I mentioned that to my wife earlier and she suggested that I should get another couple of pairs while they're still available, she changed her mind when I told her the price!!

The Uniqlo lightweight down jacket just continues to impress me, it's warm and packs down small, it's light and it doesn't leak down, in fact as far as down leakage goes it's far superior to my Mont-Bell ultralight down pants which retain down like a net retains water.

The MSR Reactor works, ok it's a bit bulky and a bit heavy compared to some but nothing I have that's lighter can come close to matching the performance/fuel efficiency.

Finally the Montane Dyno softshell, this one surprised me when I got it as I'm not really sold on the idea of softshell for anything other than legwear. That it's virtually replaced my old favourite, the Mountain Equipment Ultrafleece jacket says it all although the extra pocket is perhaps the one main advantage over the Ultrafleece jacket. It uses a fabric that isn't from one of the main producers, the fabric is IBQ Thermaskin made by the Spanish company IBQ. The Dyno in Thermaskin is no longer available, Montane seem to have adopted pretty much the same Polartec/Pertex fabrics as everyone else, the upside of that is that you can choose your softshell from any of the major brands and decide on fit/features rather than on fabric.

The Ski Setup

I looked at my ski kit a couple of years ago (see here) when I dug them out of the loft after they'd been left unused due to succesive mild winters and other commitments. At between 20 and 25 years old they certainly aren't cutting edge but at my skill level they do the job.

The skis are Asnes Sondre Telemark with waxing bases and full metal edges and a 9mm sidecut, they would have been classed as mountaing touring skis back then with the Nansen Mountain being a wider model with a 20mm sidecut. Mine are 200cm and measure approx 64/55/58 tip, waist and tail.





The bindings that were originally fitted were Rottefella Super Telemark 75mm Nordic Norm 3 pin. They were light but offered no release although voile had at that time just released a plate with a release mechanism to which you could attach the Rottefella binding. I didn't buy the release as it would have added another £50 or so to the cost. I now have a Voile releases cable binding fitted after injuring my knee last year, the story behind the release binding can be read here The main difference in use is that they don't have the 3 pins that locate in the corresponding holes in the toe extension on the sole of the boot but rely on a cable which goes around the heelof the boot. I wasn't sure how I'd get on with the cable binding but I actually prefer it as it removes the problem of snow getting into the holes in the sole extension when walking around without the skis.





The poles are again what would have been considered a mountain touring standard, made by Swix the 'Mountain' model has a hardened ally shaft, wide leather wrist straps and a wide basket with a hardened tip. Mine are 135mm.



The boots are leather and very stiff, made by Gro-nell they don't have a Gore-Tex liner but like many boots from back then they have a fast drying cambrelle lining. I've never waxed the boots as I didn't want to soften them but always used Berghaus Yeti gaiters. The great thing about leather boots is that once broken in they're super comfortable, fortunately I found them comfortable straight from the box.



The waxes came as part of a kit that the instructors put together based on a Swix wax kit but with some waxes swapped out for ones more likely to be of use to me in the UK, apart from the 2 hard waxes I have a tube of Klister which is really sticky, a cork for rubbing the wax in and a scraper for taking it off.



Finally I have a pair of Coll-Tex synthetic skins, these have a re-useable self adhesive back and are simply stuck to the base of the skis after hooking the buckle over the ski tip. The provide traction when it's too steep for the wax to grip.



How Heavy is it?

Pretty heavy by todays standard I guess, I haven't checked but curiosity will no doubt have me taking a peek at some Nordic ski gear websites.

The actual weight of my setup is as follows;

Skis and Bindings - 3560g pair

Boots and Gaiters - 2628g pair/size 9

Poles - 477g pair

Skins - 240g pair

Waxes etc - 240g

Total - 6145g