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75 Challenge

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The Whys and Wherefores

Having reached the tender age of 75 years sometime back in January, it seemed apt to mark this three quarters of a century milestone with something challenging (relatively speaking) and hopefully generate a little bit of funding for the Murambinda Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe, via the locally run charity, the Friends of Murambinda Hospital,(FMH). 

The Challenge

The challenge is, simply, to walk up Roseberry Topping, from home, seventy five times during the year. This will be done at the rate of three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), before breakfast, allowing us to go for our usual daily stroll in Guisborough Woods later in the day.

The activity will be tracked with a suitable App on my phone, and a daily picture will be posted here to 'prove' each topping out - however, I am not into taking selfies, so water-tight proof that it was me that took the photo will not be there - you will just have to take it on trust!

Anyone is welcome to join me on all or part of the walk. However, I will be walking at my pace, so if you want to go faster, or can't keep up, then sorry, that's the way it is. For each days walk I will post my proposed starting time the previous night (a bit like the railways do for their last-minute timetable of the day). This will be the time I will leave the Stokesley Road - Heron Gate (East bound) bus stop. The start time will be roughly 1 hour prior to sunrise.

 

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The Route

Co-ordinates are from the What 3 Words App.

What3Words.png

Start: Stokesley Road - heron Gate Bus Stop (reclusive.whimpered.study)

Westwards along Stokesley Road to the cut through to Staindale (circus.diary.select)

Staindale, turning right, still Staindale, then left into Newtondale, to the cut (singers.acoustics.truffles)

West along the cut and left onto Farndale Drive, then right into Lyndale (exit.exotic.terminogy)

Down the footpath to the south end of the Guisborough Forest Walkway (hardback.grills.adverbs) [0.7m, 13mins]

Through the gate onto the walkers only (no horses, no bikes) footpath up to the forest track near Bousedale House (yard.ventures.parading).

Turn left onto this track and keep going until it crosses High Bousdale Beck (shudders.equipment.computer)

Turn right onto the footpath, forking left to go up the steps, arriving at the path to Roseberry Topping (keyboard.develop.dwarf). This is part of the Cleveland Way. [1.79m, 31mins]

Turn right onto this path and keep going, bearing left towards 5 bar gate to take the path up Roseberry Topping closest to the wall. Climb the steps until reaching the Summit of Roseberry Topping (portable.amounting.masking) [2.6m, 51min]

Retrace steps, but keep going until meeting the forest road (Highcliff Road) , turning right onto it. (pythons.decreased.suffix) 

Head up the road, swing left to follow the contours round under Hanging Stone, until reaching the path down to The Blue Lake (clenching.funny.fells)

Take this path down to join Hutton Village Road (arrived.bared.removers)

Return to the start via The Avenue, turning right onto Stokesley Road to the bus stop. [5.78, 105mins]

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Walk profile.jpg

Daily Nominal Figures

Distance: 5.78 miles

Duration: 1hr 45min

Climb: 812 feet

Route Profile

This route, inevitably, includes steep climbs and descents (it's worse coming down than going up), very muddy tracks, uneven steps, but no stiles. Good footwear is therefore essential. It also includes some fabulous views and the chance of seeing a variety of wildlife, including deer.

​

The summits of the Matterhorn  and Roseberry Topping are 14,364 feet and  721 feet, respectively, above my starting point.

A climb of Roseberry Topping is therefore 0.052 of that of the Matterhorn.

If I complete the challenge, that equates to 3.76 ascents of the Matterhorn.

This does not, of course, take into account the ups and downs of my route.

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The Reckoning...

17

Monday

27/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:24

108

5.75

98.25

807

0.884

mins

mi

mi

feet

First walk of British Summer Time - at last! A chilly start (0 deg.), but little or no wind, and potentially sunny. No deer today, but four Mad March hares seen by the moor gate near RT (see photo in gallery below). A light dusting of snow at the higher altitudes, with full sun as promised! A beautiful morning to be up and about!

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

16

Friday

24/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

05:37

108

5.77

92.48

799

0.832

mins

mi

mi

feet

Windier and colder than I was expecting, and not as sunny either. Still, at least it wasn't raining. Three deer in the same field again, but other than an rabbit in a front garden in Newtondale and a couple of squirrels, that was my lot for wildlife. Since the trig-point features so prominently in this walks photo, it has undergone a bit of a 'clean-up' to remove the worst of the graffiti.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

15

Wednesday

22/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

05:40

111

5.8

86.71

747

0.78

mins

mi

mi

feet

Greeted with a shower just after setting out, but didn't last. The wind in the tree tops going through Guisborough Woods, was a bit concerning, but the steepest part of the climb was in the lee, so not too bad - just hit me when getting towards the top. Eight deer today, plus a couple of rabbits and two ferrets(? ) moving pretty fast, so hard to identify - oh, yes, and a migrating frog on on the track.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

14

Sunday

20/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:08

112

5.77

80.91

796

0.728

mins

mi

mi

feet

Accompanied by youngest son, on a glorious morning. It was surprising how having company made the hills less steep, and the miles roll away. Four deer in the field, still, but that was all we saw.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

13

Friday

17/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:25

110

4.88

75.14

654

0.676

mins

mi

mi

feet

A later start after a long day yesterday. Summit busy with three people already up there. Three deer grazing in the field again, with another four crossing the track down by Blue Lake, only one of which I managed to photograph. Statistics for today's walk look a bit dubious, for some reason.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

12

Wednesday

15/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

05:51

113

5.77

69.35

792

0.624

mins

mi

mi

feet

Cold and frosty morning, and icy underfoot. Three deer grazing in the field again. Surprised another one on the track down by Blue Lake - a good place for a down-hill ice-skating event! Approached RT just as the sun was beginning to hit the summit.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

11

Tuesday

14/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:11

109

5.79

63.58

756

0.572

mins

mi

mi

feet

Mon: Forecast of 45mph winds and rain.. Tues: Full sunshine, no rain. What they call a 'No Brainer'. It was indeed sunny and virtually no wind. A bit wet underfoot from the torrential rain yesterday. Saw three deer quietly grazing in a field on the way up, plus another about a third the way up the final climb, which bounded off as I approached.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

10

Friday

10/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

05:39

132

5.76

57.8

726

0.52

mins

mi

mi

feet

Earliest start yet. Hadn't intended to go this morning as the weather forecast was dire, bit one look out of the window at 5.20am changed my mind. Hit the top at 6.44am, as did the precipitation - or rather horizontal very wet snow - not nice, so beat a hasty retreat. Plenty of deer tracks in the woods, but no sign of their creators. Slow walking in the snow pushed the time up somewhat.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

9

Wednesday

08/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

05:54

105

5.82

52.07

779

0.468

mins

mi

mi

feet

Greeted by temperatures of -3, a clear sky and the 'Worm Moon' (Full moon from last night) edging towards the western horizon, as the sun was coming up in the east. One man, flying a drone there already, soon to be joined by three others.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

8

Sunday

05/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:20

105

5.78

46.25

867

0.416

mins

mi

mi

feet

Brought Monday's climb forward to today as the weather forecast for Monday is not good (sleet, but nolonger sub-zero temperatures). Hit the top at 7.10am but still no sun, although promised. On the way back saw something - not the right size/movement for a deer, so may have been a badger.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

7

Friday

03/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:21

104

5.79

40.47

772

0.364

mins

mi

mi

feet

Wanted to see the dawn, so an early start: sunrise was at 6.50am, I was at the top at 07.11am, but the sun was not to be seen. What I did see was a Barn Owl on an early morning prowl and three more deer, this time near the path leading down to The Blue Lake.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

6

Wednesday

01/03/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

08:38

105

5.8

34.68

796

0.312

mins

mi

mi

feet

Looking out of the window it really did not look a good day to be going, but once out and about it wasn't too bad. It even cleared a bit when I got to the top.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

5

Monday

27/02/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:58

106

5.78

28.9

756

0.26

mins

mi

mi

feet

Reached the top just in time to meet some low passing cloud, so a bit damp and limited view, but otherwise not too bad. Only saw one other person in the vicinity.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

4

Friday

24/02/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

08:03

106

5.78

23.12

809

0.208

mins

mi

mi

feet

Still a bit chilly and windy. A bit muddy underfoot from yesterdays rain. Found my scarf, lost on Wednesday! Had the summit all to myself for about 10 seconds before being joined by three other people.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

3

Wednesday

22/02/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

07:25

106

5.78

17.34

797

0.156

mins

mi

mi

feet

Not brilliant weather, but not as bad as forecast. Saw five deer!

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

2

Monday

20/02/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

07:21

107

5.78

11.56

734

0.104

mins

mi

mi

feet

Feeling Covid free! (but still testing +ve.) Clear, but a bit windy on top. Spotted one deer, near path down to Blue Lake, but it didn't hang around long enough to be photographed.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

Friday

17/02/23

Not done

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:15

0

0

5.78

0

0.052

mins

mi

mi

feet

Covid (the aftermath) and high winds

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

Wednesday

15/02/23

Not done

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

06:15

0

0

5.78

0

0.052

mins

mi

mi

feet

Thwarted by Covid 19

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

1

Monday

13/02/23

Full route to summit

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

14:30

105

5.78

5.78

721

0.052

mins

mi

mi

feet

A much later start than intended - TLC for ABC with Covid, then dental appointment. Beautifully sunny afternoon.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

-1

Friday

10/02/23

Start to Cleveland Way, return via Blue Lake

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

08:05

72

3.93

0

400

0

mins

mi

mi

feet

Second preliminary to check feasibility. The full route, excluding the leg off to Roseberry and back.

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

-2

Wednesday

08/02/23

Start to Bousdale Beck and return via Hutton Village Road

Start Time

Duration

Distance

Total Dist.

Climb

Total Climb

07:43

58

3.09

0

200

0

mins

mi

mi

feet

First preliminary to check feasibility

Matterhorns

RoseberryTopping-cropped.jpg

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A short note on my fitness.

A number of years ago I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - a condition in which the septum, the dividing wall in the heart, grows abnormally and blocks the valve which inhibits the flow of blood out of the heart. Gradually my daily walks were reduced to walking along the old railway line from Pinchinthorpe towards Nunthorpe, making the most of the frequent conveniently placed benches, with their splendid view of Roseberry Topping.

 

Due to the continuing deterioration I was eventually offered treatment in the form of Alcohol Septal Oblation. This procedure involves injecting 5ml of alcohol into exactly the right place in the heart, accessed via an artery in the wrist.

 

In December 2020, Dr Purcell and his team at the Freeman Hospital carried out this procedure, under sedation, with miraculous result. A far as I was concerned, my heart had been 're-set' to the state it had been in at least 10 years previously - not, however, the rest of my body I regret to report. But as the saying goes 'Use it or lose it', and so having regained full blood flow I have been able to keep fit and active, with a reasonable exercise regime, and can now seriously undertake this challenge.  

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