Adventure Racing Ball, 23-24 Feb 2013

For at least the second year in a row (I wasn't around before that to really know) the Adventure Racing social weekend event was held at the Thurston Outdoor Education Center in Coniston, Lake District.   Sarah had convinced me again that we had to go, and even came back early from her holiday in Spain to head up there for the weekend!  Now that's dedication.



Photo courtesy of Kate McKerrow

After what seemed like 9 continuous months of rain, we finally had a dry week leading up to the Ball.  Which meant that the trails were just normal muddy rather than in raging floods.   Rather suprisingly, I kept my feet dry on the Saturday social bike ride, where Sarah and I found ourselves at the slow end of the slow group while enjoying the scenery.   Or at least that's what we used as our excuse when the rest of the group had to wait up for us!  






Saturday evening was the traditional ceilidh (pronounced kaylee), it's a Gaelic social evening.   Between sets of the band Striding Edge, we had the yearly awards presentation, with the announcers keeping the crowd in stitches.  I think the the dancers were happy to get a break and cool off a little, too.   Even though all attempts to start a fire in the cold barn had failed, so it was pretty chilly in the building!

On Sunday morning everyone was feeling the effects of a late night, and after a slow breakfast, small groups of people heading out for walks, runs, rides or whatever took their fancy for the day.   Sarah and I headed off with Pete to take a nice hike up to the top of Old Man of Coniston.   I guess the snowy peak appealed to us.  It was a beautiful day.  Really, it was.  At least, until we hit the snow line and wondered if we would need crampons to get to the summit.   We even got a little off trail and found a cave with some pretty cool icicles...amazing how much they look like stalagtites just inside the cave.   The rest of the way wasn't too slippery or icy, so we made it to the summit ok, with good views of the hills around us and just the peaks covered in snow.   We did take a different descent route to avoid a particularily steep and slippery section.   It was nice to see snow again, although now I'll say, I'm officially ready for spring again!