After completing my SML assessment last month, I was on a bit of a high and felt inspired to get out into the hills more this winter. Steve Spalding had suggested that I head down to the Lake District to do some winter walking. Keen to take his advice, we headed down to Keswick on 29th December for a couple of nights. I knew there had been a large dump of snow in the last week so I was pretty psyched to get up a proper mountain in the snow. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very favourable and we spent most of our time wandering around the streets of Keswick. The best of the weather came on our last day but it was rather blustery. As we were meant to be driving back to Edinburgh later that night and because the weather wasn't perfect, I didn't want to attempt anything too serious. After all, I didn't have much experience when it came to winter walking... but I wanted more.
I suggested that we have a go at getting up the Saddleback (Blencathra). Emily quite fancied getting out into the snow but said that she wasn't up for anything too serious and neither was I, as I knew I had to drive back to Edinburgh later. So Blencathra seemed like the sensible choice.
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| Enjoying the cold at Gategill, Blencathra behind |
We were packed and on our way just after 10 am and it was a short drive from our B&B to the Threlkeld turnoff. We parked near the farm at Gategill and got out to gear up. It was cold. I could feel my ears hurting as I packed our bags. We slipped our way along the minor road up to the farm and up the track through the woods. The going was slow and it was a bit of a slog as the snow got deeper. It was soft and powdery and icy underneath the fresh layer (about 10 inches deep). Now out of the trees, we headed up the steep slopes of Hall's Fell - the snow got deeper. We had crampons in our bags but the snow was deep rather than icy, so I didn't think they would improve things. The summit was covered in cloud from about 500 metres. Emily was doing really well and we pushed on through the snow. When we reached around 550 metres, the wind really picked up from the East. It was constant and bitterly cold. We did up our jackets as high as we could and tried to shield our faces from the wind. The wind got stronger as we climbed slowly higher. It was so strong now that it was difficult to walk and stay upright - relentless wind. I knew it was no good and I knew Emily wouldn't stand it for much longer so we turned back and headed down the hill.
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| Looking up to Hall's Fell from Doddick Fell, Blencathra |
When we reached the bottom, I suggested that we head further East towards Doddick Fell and see what it was like. After following the traverse path to the East above Doddick, we turned up the steep slope and into deeper snow once again. However, it wasn't long before we were in the same situation; getting battered by the freezing wind. It was no good, we were fighting a loosing battle. We headed back down in defeat - cold and battered. Emily made numerous snow angels on the way down, making the most of the deep powder.
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| Heading up Doddick Fell, Blencathra |
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| Looking up to Blencathra summit between Hall's Fell and Doddick Fell |
We took a bit of a battering but it was a good experience and gave us a taste for what full in winter conditions can be like. We were in good spirits as we headed back to Edinburgh with pink faces...
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| Emily enjoying the snow, Doddick Fell |
