Summit 4 Heroes Scottish winter training

The North Face Hyper-Track Guide Running Shoe

Jez Bragg recently completed a wee run wearing a pair of these shoes. His awe inspiring Te Araroa trail run covered 3054km along the length of New Zealand in 53 days. A pretty impressive resume for this new trail shoe from The North Face.

I’ve had a pair for around 8 months and have been very impressed with the fit and comfort provided by what is a very lightweight shoe. I’ve moved through a number of brands as my feet have changed over the years. From Salamon to La Sportiva and now to The North Face. More running and less rock climbing in the last few years have meant my feet have spread and are now pretty broad across the forefoot. Many trail and fell shoes are designed on a narrow last and I always split or damage fell shoes where the upper joins the sole by my big toe joint. The H-T Guides fit my very British mountaineers foot incredibly well and I’ve never had any issues with blisters or pressure points. The forefoot is very wide but the upper controls the foot very well and it doesn’t roll off the sole unit even during traverses.

My running style is also moving towards a natural or barefoot style as a way of protecting my knees. Figured it was easier to change my biomechanics than lose weight! The H-T Guide has a small 8mm heel raise and a low profile sole so makes an ideal half way shoe.  The low ankle cuff initially felt insecure but has now moulded to a perfect fit.

The shoes only failing is the grip. For dry trails and rock it works perfectly but for UK conditions any depth of mud will create a good Bambi impression. I’ve experimented with it on the fells but took a couple of heavy falls on wet grass.  Interestingly Jez used this shoe in the bad weather and snow of the 2012 UTMB and didn’t report any issues.

Because of the grip issue I haven’t taken them anywhere too demanding but with around 400 miles run, mainly off road, they’re bearing up very well for a lightweight shoe.  They’re no sign of any damage to the uppers and the sole are wearing well. The North Face suggest these shoes are suitable for road running as well and I’ve seen  nothing that would contradict this. However the question has to be asked - why would you want to run on the road?!

For trails and footpaths in dry conditions the Hyper-Track Guide is almost unbeatable giving a very responsive and highly agile ride. A bit more care is needed in typical UK conditions but it still has its place and is currently my favoured shoe for training and racing.

Summit For Heroes

 Duncan & Billy on some steeper ice

This week I'm out with Pete, Billy & Duncan from the Summit For Heroes team helping them begin their preparations for an attempt on Everest in 2016. They'd already been out for a couple of days on the hill so today was about consolidating their new skills, developing some movement skills on mixed terrain and introducing ropework. We used the Aonach Mor gondala to reach the snowline and explored the area around the Nid ridge. Careful route choice kept us in the sun for most of the day!

Busy on the Ben - Tower Ridge

 A busy Orion Face

 

 An even busier Point 5 Gully - 90 mins waiting time!

 

Observatory Gully

 Jude enjoying perfect neve on Tower Ridge IV 3

 French team on the Eastern Traverse

 Max Hunter solo on the Eastern Traverse

  

Team heading into Tower Gully

 

  Max Hunter topping out on Tower Ridge

Having lunch on top of Great Tower - Photo from Max Hunter

Jude approaching the crux of Tower Ridge - Tower Gap

 

Prayer flags on the summit trig point

 

Walking off in the sun

Crowberry Gully IV 4

 Great ice on the Water Slide

 

Entering the depths of Crowberry Gully

 

 Great stepped neve & ice in Crowberry Gully

 

 Stunning evening light from the summit of the Buachaille

 Original design for a snow bollard! :)

Twisting Gully Right Hand IV 5

Jude topping out in to the sunshine on Twisting Gully Right Hand (IV 5)

Looking across to Stob Coire Nan Lochan and a climber topping out on Twisting Gully

Climber belaying at the top of SC Gully (III 4)

The Clachaig and Loch Leven from SCNL

Twisting Gully Right Hand (IV 5) follows the obvious icy groove tight against the left hand side of the main buttress

All their own work - Ledge Route alpine style

 

Pitching the 'zag' on Ledge Route

The clouds stayed away today and we were back to our usual alpine conditions. Joe & Tom were keen to put everything they'd learned in to practice so we headed back up to the Ben and the classic Ledge Route (II). We delayed our departure by climbing the ice direct to the first 'Zig'. This allowed a couple of teams of 'death ropers' to get clear although Max Hunter also had a few issues with them.  

Note - moving together with 15-20m of rope between you and no running belays is called death roping for a reason. It doesn't make you safer and will have a very negative effect on the health of everyone in your party if one of you were to fall, not to mention anyone else you may cheese wire on the way down!

Our direct start gave 40m of grade III ice to get the blood pumping before the boys took over. They used a combination of pitching and a variety of moving together techniques to make an excellent and safe ascent while I soloed alongside enjoying the views and the sunshine. I have 8 days work left this season which coincidentally looks like how long this stunning high pressure system is due to last :)

 Clouds rolling off the summit of the Ben

 Joe gaining the sun after a chilly belay

 Spot the dots - Plenty of climbers on Orion's Face, Observatory Buttress, Hadrian's Wall & Tower Ridge

Direct belay on the crux of Ledge Route (II)

Topping out on Ledge Route

Stunning views from Carn Dearg