Climbing The Old Man Of Coniston

(It’s a mountain in the UK’s Lake District, in case you were wondering)

Looking down across the Lake District from the Old Man Of Coniston © Simon Whaley

I’m an old-fashioned kinda guy. If I’m going to all the effort of knackering myself out by climbing 2,635 feet to the top of a mountain, I want to see the damn view from the top.

The trouble is, the UK’s Lake District has its own weather system. That’s down to all the mountains, obviously, so it’s no good listening to the forecast on the local radio or television station, because the mountains have their own idea.

They are such a tease. You can wake up one morning, see clear blue skies, and think, “That’s it! I’m climbing a mountain today!” And by the time you get halfway up the sodding thing, a bank of cloud has rolled in, smothering the summit and the view.

This happened to me the first three times I climbed the Old Man of Coniston. Yes, that’s right. Three. Friggin’. Times!

The Old Man of Coniston … in cloud © Simon Whaley

Every time, just as the top was within touching distance, the cloud descended.

Now, you may think, well, if the cloud descended that quickly, a breeze could just as quickly send it on its way again. And…