The Frog Graham Round is a big challenge. It’s a hell of a thing to do even when it’s nice and sunny – but in winter? In winter it’s a completely different beast and not something to be undertaken lightly, but this is the sort of thing me and my adventure partner Matt have done before, we’ve been cold-water swimming for years but the Frog was something that eluded us. I first heard about the round when I was given a copy of Peter Hayes book “Swimhiking In the English Lake District” and loved the idea of going out on an unsupported swim/run circuit, just the sort of thing for me and Matt. As the FGR started to get popular we made our own plans for what we wanted to be the first winter attempt (mad as it sounds) and did try a couple of years ago (January 2017), but the freezing weather was just too much and eventually self-preservation kicked in and we abandoned on the shores of Derwentwater. We got close, but not close enough.
We still wanted that “First Winter Round” status though and had been planning our second attempt for a while, eventually deciding to go for a completely unsupported round on Sunday 9th December. It was really exciting rocking up in Keswick and we were completely up for it, the weather forecast was good, light winds, little rain and the valley temperature was around 2 degrees. We couldn’t have expected much better.
Whilst eagerly donning wetsuits, unbelievably we got a message through saying Tim Mosedale was actually out on a Winter FGR attempt and would be finishing shortly – if we went up to the Moot Hall we should see him finish. The news came like a hammer blow, I hoped someone was having a giraffe, but then I received a call confirming it was true. There was about 40 minutes remaining before our intended 10.00pm start. We climbed inside the still-warm van, the wind knocked right out of our sails.
A couple of minutes passed, both of us feeling sick inside. I opened the conversation:
Rob: That’s it then. We’re done.
Matt: No its not. Nowt’s changed.
We discussed the real reasons behind us doing the Frog: The route, the challenge, the great big day out in the hills and of course the swims. We talked about failing last time and dug up a few of our heroes, what would they do? Ross Edgley would just don his big smile and crack on, no messing – this sort of thing wouldn’t have stopped him at all. After our little chat the notion of turning around and going home seemed feeble.
So, with only 20 minutes to go we kitted up and trotted to the Moot Hall, then back to the van for the map left on the dash! Last-minute calls home delivered more encouraging words like “get a grip” ... “butch up” and “sounds like a lame excuse” etc. And so it was on that cold night that we set off on our second winter FGR attempt, shaken but not beaten.
All Smiles at the Start!
The long climb up Skiddaw went smoothly, only hitting the clag above Little Man. The Bassenthwaite wim was at a nice temperature, we lost each other towards the end but reached Beck Wythop at the same time, our little flashing bike light marking a safe landing. Barf through to Whinlatter went well, finding the tricky Ullister Hill despite rain and low visibility. As we pushed on the rain gave way to a light sprinkle of snow on Grisedale Pike, giving our winter round a touch of authenticity. The clag was down, but the wind was kind most of the way to Crummock Water, the mist just clearing as we dropped on to Low Bank. Another dark swim followed and we separated again, finding each other as I switched on my torch at Low Ling Crag. Mellbreak was as always a joy to climb (hint of sarcasm there) pulling ourselves up by the heather. Our knees started to squeak a bit coming down off High Stile, but a refreshing swim in Buttermere soon put that right and we reached Hassness feeling cold but OK. Both of us finished the long and steep climb up Robinson in good shape but the descent from Dale Head was a challenge. Matt had a 5-minute sleep on High Spy, but I felt I had to wake him up and crack on; very soon we were descending Catbells to Derwentwater. The lake looked calm and innocent apart from blue-green algae in the water and it was coating the rocks like wet paint. I thought it was too late in the year for the green stuff? Anyhow that wasn’t going to stop us, right then we had more important things to worry about!
Dropping down to Derwentwater
Matt and myself are very experienced winter swimmers and confident of our ability, but when you factor in 17 hours of hard exertion and the freezing water conditions, just about anything can happen. We didn’t hang around, knowing that if we cracked on we could get most of the swim done in the light. We made good progress to Otterbield and St Herbert’s islands, but by then I could tell Matt was struggling. I stayed with him to Rampsholme Island (by which time it was dark), but then pulled hard for the shore, knowing I couldn’t help him directly. I got a headtorch on and waded out as far as I could, conscious of the dangers of trying to help someone in the water. I found Matt in a bad way, fighting with me even though I was trying to help and get some warm clothing on him. Hypothermia was affecting us both, it had taken such a hold that once we were on dry land and moving I couldn’t even remember which way to turn for Keswick and that was after we had navigated well throughout the night.
We did eventually make it to the Moot Hall and collared a passer-by to take the all-important photo. She helped Matt zip up his coats, hopefully not compromising our otherwise unsupported round. You decide.
Hurrying in the direction of the hotel and safety we forgot to turn GPS off, hence a slight discrepancy – the watch says 19:03 but we’re claiming 18:55 for the SECOND winter Frog Graham Round and this has been reviewed by the FGR Club Secretary and confirmed. We’re also claiming the FIRST unsupported winter FGR and had a great time, despite difficulties at the end. It was a truly epic day and that’s what we came for.
Many thanks for all the good wishes, but especially to the FGR Club of which we are now proud members.
Cheers
Rob Davison (FGRC 047) and Matt Rigby (FGRC 048)
WARNING: Don’t try this at home kids. Anyone considering a winter round needs a great deal of experience and above all the judgement and flexibility to call a halt and come back another day. As I found out on our attempt two years ago, we had to call a stop 15 hours in and close to home, otherwise we would be going into the last swim in the pitch dark. Seeing how quickly hypothermia can get hold of you and knowing what we now know, we made a good call. For the record, Matt is the toughest guy in the world – and it is meant to be fun. So congratulations to Tim for completing the first winter Frog Graham, it was truly heroic. And also well done for making a good call and taking along a few friends to help - a wise choice and a much safer option. Not without its own set of challenges I should think.