Western team
December 2010 update by Iain Gray
End of year update from the Western team
The arrival of snow in hollow stones in early November brought our mickledore path repair to an end with just a few minor tasks still to be completed. One task we did achieve was to drive the power barrow down the hill, rather than wait for the next helilift in spring.This was a quite arduous feat of navigation-hopefully it won’t catch on as an extreme sport.
Power Barrow at the top of the path>
(above) power barrow at the top of the path before snow arrived
The challenge is to reach the distant lakeshore without injuring either the barrow or ourselves, or alarming any passing walkers. Although the climate did not allow the results of the landscaping to fully develop, the transformation is already quite impressive as the following before and after pictures show.
The starting point> The starting point>
A huge mass of debris has been cleared and buried before being overlaid with soil and then seeded.(below)
Debirs being cleared and buried>
As the new path ascends on the right the old route is obscured with soil and vegetation covering yet more redundant debris.(below)
The “before” shot is looking up the eroded path line which in the “after” view looking down several tons of material have completely covered the problem area.
And so we finally reach our goal: the breakfast rock, the end of the path –for this year at least. We will be returning next year to continue- primarily with drainage work- beyond the rock for a relatively short distance. Throughout the year one thing has sustained us in our labours- the knowledge that the rudimentary comfort and reassurance of the traditional team shed is always close at hand in the unlikely event of adverse weather reaching wasdale.
To find out more about the work carried out by Iain and his team, return to the Western team diary archive