March 2, 2017

By Andy Smith

Sticks Pass Solo with a twist
8

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, temperatures were mild and it hadn’t snowed for a good few days, so naturally I emailed my colleagues to say I’d be ‘working from home’ that day.

I threw the bike in the back of the truck and set off for a solo mission. I’d been driving a while before I made my decision. At the roundabout at Bowness I swung a right and made my way over to Glenridding taking in the incredible beauty of Kirkstone Pass in winter.

I left the truck in Glenridding car park, layered up and spun up to the road to the Youth Hostel, Sticks Pass was waiting for me. Just beyond the hostel I stopped to grab my first pic. It was simply breathtaking.

Those that know the route will know that after the hostel it’s a steady climb up the valley until you reach a right fork. Then it’s a well used zig-zag climb up Keppel Cove that usually takes half an hour or so with a bit of hike-a-bike. Not today.

After a quick snack I headed up in the direction of Raise, again no tracks to follow. Thankfully I have ridden it many times before. On the way I had the craic with a skier, he looked quite puzzled by my choice of transport, he asked where I was heading?

‘Down Sticks’ I said. ‘Do you know how deep it is down there? I doubt you’ll be riding but good luck anyway’ he shouted and we parted ways. I trudged on, hiking and riding where I could to get some pedal turns in.

At the summit I took another breather, it was all downhill from here and I wanted to be in good shape mentally to enjoy every minute. Again I had the craic with a couple of snowboarders who’d come up from Raise for the view, a paraglider who was preparing for his own high, a few hikers and mountain runners, all of who seemed surprised to see me, all were intrigued by my journey, but all of them knew why I was there.

When I felt I was ready I descended to the cross roads, the snow made this descent so much fun as it had filled in the gaps and made it much more flowing than usual, I was absolutely loving it and looked back to see a couple of the guys I’d been talking to with thumbs up. This was one of those days that couldn’t get any better, I felt on top of the world.

After hitting the crossroads I turned right down Sticks and for a good few minutes I was whooping and hollering, sliding and gliding down the trail. That is until I hit my first drift and came to an abrupt halt. I jumped off the bike, threw it on my shoulders and waded through it waist deep before setting the bike down and trying to ride another section. This happened time and time again except there was less riding and more trudging. After a few more minutes I was probably only a third of the way down the valley, the sun had been cut off by the hills, the snow was frozen hard and there was ice everywhere. Every step was a huge effort.

I knew from here in I would be carrying my steed all the way down the mountain. Still, everyone loves a challenge. You may have noticed the lack of photos at this point, that’s because it was so incredibly exhausting and mentally challenging getting down the valley, I never once thought to record the endeavour. A few times I literally had to use my bike as an ice axe to negotiate some super narrow, steep sections that were almost impossible to pass on foot never mind on a bike. The drops into the river seemed steeper and higher than usual to, it was all very precarious. It would eventually take me over two hours to descend. It usually takes about 15 minutes max.

I finally made it to the bridge that crosses you over onto the flat plains and to the quarry descent.

I threw my bike down and sat for some time wondering if I’d been stupid for attempting what I had or just another experience to tick the box on. I never felt in any real danger and I’m always the first person to bang on about how important it is to check the mountain weather before you set out but this time I got caught out by the sheer depth of the snow.

Anyway, I still had the quarry descent to enjoy and the snow was much lighter at this altitude. I set off with a smile on my face knowing I’d been caught out but knowing I’d come through ok. I rode the final descent the smoothest and quickest I’ve ridden it, I was clearly pumped by the days experience.

Back at the truck with the heated seats and blowers on I slowly thawed out. It was an incredible day, I’d basically hiked up and hiked back down with a few pedal turns where I could. But It’d been a really cool solo adventure. I’d also met some really fascinating people who were all out enjoying the mountain in different ways. We all had one goal, to conquer the mountain and return home safe.

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March 2, 2017

By Andy Smith

Sticks Pass Solo with a twist8

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