Following Tom (3): Great Calva
- Graham Kendall
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
This video is the third in a series, called FOLLOWING TOM. It is a series of "reconnaissance" or training videos for the 2026 X-Lakes, based on trying to repeat the most tricky sections of Tom Hodgkin's run & fly Bob Graham round in June 2024.
In this video, I try to repeat the "Northern Fells" section, focused on getting over the back to the quagmire of Great Calva, via Skiddaw and Blencathra.
The conditions were strange. Nil wind walking up Jenkin (Skiddaw) which suddenly became an icy whiteout in 18mph gusts on Skiddaw summit. So I had to trudge all the way to Great Calva - awful - which is a boggy heather-peak, quite a long way from the front ridge. A top-to-bottom from Great Calva got me to the back of Blencathra, and by the time I had walked up it was -5*C, 20mph gusts, and cloud on the top as the light faded.
I chickened out, and walked back to the car.
For the 2026 X-Lakes, race director John Westall has said that the 2-day event will be based broadly on the Bob Graham round, as a race to goal. We don't know the exact rules yet, or the turn points that John will set. These details will probably be set by John closer to the time, and based (probably) on the weather conditions and safety factors.
But, I thought it would be good training - and fun! - to repeat the hardest "transition problems" from Tom Hodgkin's magnificent round. If nothing else, I hope that it might encourage pilots to come and try the X-lakes in 2026, in this new format, and to help pilots who don't live locally / don't have time to practice in the Lake District through the year.