A Scar, a Rigg, a Pike, Stone Arthur and the navigational properites of a cheese Omlette

Heavy snow, all night long meant that there was a good chance we wouldn't even get near the lakes.  My car was parked up at the top of the road so we didn't have that challenge in the morning and sure enough when we woke the whole place was a white out several inches had fallen and it looked incredibly icy.  We decided to take the motorway the whole way instead of cross country as we knew we would have a better chance of reaching our destination that way but even then we werent sure we'd even reach the Lakes.

The motorway was still snowy in places and icy so it was a slow journey across on the M65 to the M6.  The M6 North surprised us in having very little snow and we made good time as we drove up the clear and dry road.  All that changed as we headed off at the Kirkby Lonsdale exit.  Almost from start of the road towards Windemere it was tricky going and once we'd got past Ings the road heading back to the motorway on the other side had practically dissapeared.  The positive thing was that there was some spectacular scenery with the sky lighting up and the trees frozen in time.

We finally made it to Ambleside having now decided that our original walk for today would have to be abandoned as there was no way we were going to get over Kirkstone Pass to Glenridding so we decided to pay a visit to Rydal water as the light of the morning was so beautiful we might get to get some good pictures on the lake with the reflections.  The challenge here was where to park.  Normally we'd pitch up at the side of the road or choose one of the many car parks that dot the road between Ambleside and Grassmere however today that was proving a little tricky as snow piled high at the sides of the road and the entrances to most of the car parks were up and over banks of snow and then downhill into the car parks.  Yes we may at a push get in but there's no way we'd ever get out.  So we spent a good while driving up and down the road considering our options.  We decided to park in the main town car park at Ambleside as the entrance to that was, yes up a little hill, but pretty flat once in.  So after 2 running attempts my car finally made it up into the car park and at least it would be safe for the day.

We decided on a walk that we could do from Ambleside and soon we were all kitted up and heading along the road towards that path upwards but not before being splashed a few times by vans and cars as they sped along the road.....Idiots!  The trees at the roadside were beautiful with their snowy coats.

The path up the hill was immediately steep and energy sapping and even before we'd gone a 1/3 of the way up the hill I was feeling the effects of not feeling quite right.  Walking in the snow is hard work at the best of time but when you're not fueled correctly and you  have a sore throat and head and generally feeling a bit crap then its magnified and my slow pace was telling that something wasnt right.
However I plodded on upwards and every twinge accentuated.  I was too hot one min and too cold the next and probably not the best company at all but there was nothing for it but to keep moving forward. The views opening up behind us, in front of us and to the side of us more than made up for my miserable disposition.

On the way up we passed quite a few people on the same route today and surmised that it was probably because Ambleside was the only place in the whole of the lake district that there was a suitable place to park.  Tons of people passed up both going up and down and 1 chap even passed us on skis.  The weather was definitely with us and at one point I even had my jacket off but as soon as we got higher the biting wind meant that jackets stayed firmly on and even hoods came up to protect us further from the cold cold air.
The landscape was beautiful and as much as it was hard work walking in the sometimes very deep snow it was a joy to see it carpet the view in front of us and covering the surrounding peaks.

True to form the weather soon came in and we were standing on the top of Great Rigg trying to eat our sandwiches in a white out.  The forecast was for the weather to turn worse in the afternoon but it mean that we would have to turn back as we wouldnt have time to complete the full walk today.  I was feeling a bit better after having a few tablets and some lunch but I was still extremely tired so we headed back down Great Rigg in the hope of finding a path off to the right that would take us down to the little peak of Stone Arthur.  Feeling a bit better it was nice to have the freedom from the lethargy that I felt on the ascent and was a joy to skip through the snow.  It was REALLY deep in some places and it was reassuring to have the ice axe handy just incase the snow swept us away.

So down onto Stone Arthur it was and what a lovely little rocky outcrop it proved to be.  Second lunch consumed our focus was now getting down and back to the road before it got dark.  We realised looking at the landscape below us that we were a long way from Ambleside and the car, infact, we were about 1/4 of a mile away from Grasmere in the wrong direction.  It looked like we'd have to have a long walk back to the car.  I wonder if there is a bus ?

Our findings were right and just as we got down off the hill and onto the road the heavens opened and the rain started to fall.  True it would clear the roads and make our drive home safer but we still had to get to the car and we had about a 5 mile walk back through Grasmere and over to Ambleside before we'd even reach the car.  Oh joy!

Finally after a grueling walk back to the car through the rain and mostly with heads down I was relieved to make it back to the car without having to have been prodded with the ice axe to go faster.  A quick trip to the toilets to change into dry clothes and we were ready to head for home with the car heaters on FULL!

A funny incident on the way home came about after a conversation about omlettes.  Chris was describing how to make the perfect omlette, a detailed description of how the cheese stays melted on the inside and yet crispy on the outside and all the time during this conversation we never realised that we'd actually headed into Kendal town centre, not the road to home at all and a mad moment as we'd been so engrossed in the conversation we'd taken the completely wrong road.  Oh well, we got to see the River Kent and then we headed for home.

Next weekend will take us into the wilds of Scotland ........... Can't wait!

A wintery wander over a Pike and a Dodd!

The weather was not set to be perfect which didn’t deter us at all as we were well equipped with all our winter gear should it get particularly nasty so when the 6am alarm went off we found ourselves excitedly heading north and instantly surprised at the lack of snow on the route and even less when we arrived in Glenridding for the start of our walk today.

It was dry, cold and a bit icy with a smattering of snow but dry none the less and the gale force winds that were forecast didn’t seem present at all.  So off up the path we went in the direction of Sheffield Pike.  1 noticeable difference today was that I was the one carrying the route on the phone and was in charge of keeping us on the blue line.  Now granted, even with a weekends navigation course under my belt, I didn’t have the best of track records at keeping us on the right track and have had a few “off piste” moments in my repertoire but today I was going to pay attention and try my best not to get us lost.

Thankfully the paths were pretty clear and the cloud cover wasn’t down enough that we couldn’t see our direction so that helped immensely and soon enough we were at quite a height with Sheffield Pike looming on our right after a snakey, icy path up to its summit. (just between you and I there were a few moments when I thought I'd gone wrong but phew! it was ok lol)

Sadly at the summit cairn the upright stone showing a date and other information had been blown over and even though the wind had gotten up and it was bitterly cold we managed to secure it with a bit of dry stone dyke type positioning and wedging it firmly in place.  Firmly might be a bit optimistic but it was still standing upright when we left.

Down off Sheffield Pike and over to Heron something or other the visibility was poor but with a few checks now and then we were still following the blue line that would lead us down onto Glenridding Dodd.

The views all around were spectacular and the cloud was hanging low over the surrounding hills.  It was quite a steep ridge descent down onto Glenridding Dodd and on the way we saw probably the most picturesque lonely tree that we’d ever found on our travels.  I said it resembled a reindeers antlers and called it my reindeer tree which was met with great amusement.   Well it does, doesn’t it???

Up and over onto Glenridding Dodd and it was a nice piece of rock and another Wainwright ticked.  My 45th and again we were totally in awe of the views around us.  Looking over towards High Street and the surrounding hills was a view that held our gaze for ages and ages at every stage down off the hill.  The light changing every moment throwing shadows and silhouettes with dark clouds settling just above the summits waiting to descend.  In the other direction we could see Red Tarn with the Helvellyn range behind it, the main peak and edges obscured by cloud but still my favourite picture of the day.

A shorter walk today than we normally were used to but even at 3pm the light was starting to fade and although it hadn’t snowed there was still little frosty flakes in the air.  Not hard enough to be hail but not soft enough to be snow and light enough not to cause us any problems.
The pub soon came into view as we took our last steps off the mountain path and thoughts quickly turned to pie and lasagna, beer and wine and a cosy fire that we knew the pub had as we’d been there previously after our Helvellyn wander.

Another great walking day and 2 wainwrights ticked off my list.  I wasn’t able to try out my new crampons but I’m sure they’ll be put to much use when we venture onto the Scottish hills.

Pendle Hill Kicking off 2013

First walk of the new year and we decided to stay local mainly because of the adverse weather forecast and the risk of being stuck in some remote Lakeland area wasn’t an option as it was Sunday and normal life resumed tomorrow....sadly.

So Pendle Hill was the destination, if nothing else, it would be a mild leg work out and serve as a little bit of preparation for our epic Scotland adventure early next month (fingers crossed for lots of snow in the beautiful Glencoe).

So we ventured out, the few miles to Barley and as we’d made a late start the car park was already full and even the road was lined with parked cars.  Good god there was even a coach in the car park which meant only 1 thing.  Crowds of other people venturing on our route today.....grrrrrrrr! 

My preference would have been to go up on the road through Barley and past Ings Farm and up the steps, left over towards the trig then back down to Ogden Reservoir but I was promised that going up alongside the reservoir and following the river up to come back down the steps would be a better way.  So we'll see.....

Making our way up the road that lead us to the reservoir the weather was reasonably good.  Cold, dry with a risk of snow/rain in the afternoon.  Very light wind and all round nice conditions to be walking in.  Sadly the light wasn’t brilliant for reflections on the lake but I managed one or two pictures. 

At the end of the reservoir we veered right and followed the path up through the rocky banks of the river that flowed down the side of the hill.  This wasn’t a way I’d come before and was instantly pleased that this was our route today.  Off the conventional path and making our own way up the banks of the river was much more pleasing than following the now steady stream of people following the main route.  The rocks were slippy in some places and the higher we got the icier it became with some impressive groups of icicles dangling down.

It wasn’t long before we met the path at the top and could see the trig point in the distance through the now hazy scene before us.  The sun which had tried to come out was now just about giving up as the cloud became thicker and the landscape was white with frost and a little bit of snow.  It was like Grand Central station at the trig point and my picture with the hazy sun never materialised as there were just too many people about.  People, dogs, bikes, children, all sorts of day trippers out for a wander.

Needless to say we didn’t stick around long.  Making our way over to the top of the steps I was reminded of my last visit here almost a year ago and it was a similar snowy landscape.  I was reminded of the spot where I stopped to eat my sandwiches and my wander over the wall towards Downham Moor.  What a difference a year makes!!! 

The steps were busy with people going up and down.  Some of them were slippy and I took my time.  “You’re not doing well on getting down here, are you” I heard being muttered lol.  “I think you’ll find I’m doing well enough, thank you very much” was the reply.  Cheeky J.  However, it didn’t take us long to get down what with all the hello’s to passers by and thank you’s to folk letting us pass and apart from a little slippy slidey incident it was plain sailing all the way.  

A little flurry of snow met us on our final walk through Barley to the car park.  It was hardly a flutter really but just some white specs dotting the air in front of us.  It was forecast to snow much harder later but for now we just had this little teasy weansy flurry.

And there we were, back at the car park and it felt like we'd only left it moments ago.  It was very much overcast now and it was good to be back into the warmth of the car.  All that was missing was a cuppa.

Crampon capers, New Boots, Santa does Helvellyn and Ice Axxxxxxe

Fingers were well and truly crossed for the weather as the reports were mixed but not having walked for the past 2 weekends we were desperate for a bit of outdoor fun and fun in the snow if possible.....keen for a bit of practice in before winter truly set in upon us.

So it was up and out for 6am and pointing the car in a Northerly direction we headed for the lakes.  Helvellyn was our target with a few others to bag on the way there and back.

We stopped at services for some tissues and I picked up a hollow choc Santa who was going to accompany us on our travels today and also provide us with that much needed sugar rush at some point during the day.

So we arrived at Glenridding just after 8.  It was still dark and we parked up and changed into our boots.  I was trialling my new winter boots today and hoped that they’d not cause me any grief.  Crampons were packed and ice axes affixed to rucksacks and Santa stashed in my hood where he would stay until any suitable picture moment presented itself or we needed a sugar rush, whichever came soonest.

 We started up the path which hit us with sudden steepness.  There is no “walk in” to this walk, it hits you with full frontal mountain path taking you quite high in a very short time.  Having not walked for a few weeks and wearing new, inflexible, boots meant I definitely wasn’t going as fast as I would normally have been but before long we reached a sort of plateau where, under normal circumstances, we’d have seen Catstyecam in front of us with Red Tarn and Helvellyn behind but as the cloud was coming thick and fast now we couldn’t see about 20ft in front of us 360 degrees of whiteness, lovely!  We were following a recognized path and we had maps, compass, gps so there was nothing to worry about but I was quite disappointed that the views on offer were not to be seen.   Typical!

 Soon after came across the first patch of snow,  there was more and more dotted areas of snow and ice and we knew before long we’d have to resort to crampons to keep us safe and moving forward.  It was still pretty much a white out and we still couldn’t see very much on any side of us.

Crampons attached, first lunch consumed (oh dear, guess who brought the wrong fruit....not the nice new fruit I'd bought but the 3 bananas, apple and tangerine that had been in my bag since our aborted effort last weekend yuk!!!!) and we were on our way up to the top of Catstyecam.  At the top everyone had their picture taken, including Santa…..well there were no views to take, just whiteness all around.

We didn’t stick around long at the top and were keen to get off back down towards the start of Swirrel Edge (or as I like to call it, Squirrel) which would lead us up to Helvellyn.  Swirrel Edge is a nice ridge walk apparently on any day but today with the ice and snow it was particularly tasty.  As we stepped along the ridge we came upon a group of 3 men from Selby, Yorkshire who were heading in the same direction.  They too were all aware of the conditions and gingerly made their way along and up the ridge. 

For the most part the hardest bit was just not being able to see what was in front of you or what was to each side.  The side guessing was easy as we knew it was mostly a sheer drop down but not knowing what was in front was frustrating as you never knew how far you were from the top or what tricky bits you still have to overcome. This all changed in an instant when the cloud suddenly started to clear and we could see the vague shape of the mountain ahead of us and the sheer drops to the side becoming visible.   Behind us there were glimpses of blue sky and the ridge we’d just come across was now clear to see and finally we reached the summit and the sun was aching to come out and brighten up our day.

Alas that was not to be as after 5-10 mins on the summit the cloud quickly descended again and we were once more in pea soup before we'd even reached the small cairn that marks the top.  Obligatory pictures taken at the summit and at the trig point including ones with Santa in we decided to make our exit pretty sharply.  The wind was blowing up here just a little and making Santa rock back and forth which made it look like he was laughing, ho ho ho!

Our original plan of heading off to the north to bag a few more summits was rewritten as the time taken to get to the top of Helvellyn with the current conditions meant that because it was the shortest day and it would be dark roughly about 4pm that we had to change our plans.

We decided to descend via striding edge as some guys had just come up it and said it wasn’t too bad at all.  We had all the gear, the experience (Chris has been on striding edge before), and the will to be safe so we said, lets go for it.  Unfortunately because of the lack of visibility we couldn’t actually find the path that would lead us there.  Yes we found the memorial which signifies the start of the path but there was nothing in the gloom that suggested there was a path, no footsteps of previous walkers, no rocks, nothing and as we knew the only alternative to a path would have been a sheer drop we decided to retrace our steps and head back to Swirrel Edge where we’d just been which would get us down at least on a familiar route, safety first at all times.

Cameras away this journey down was easier said than done.  Coming up through ice and rock on quite a narrow ridge was tricky enough, going down was near suicidal.  I have never had to take so much care in my life, in any situation before as I was taking coming down that ridge.  Chris went first and carefully made his way, backwards in some cases, though the rock.  I followed and tried as much as I could to follow his footsteps.  My gloves were now soaking and it was getting cold and I could feel myself shivering with the now chill in the air or was it because I was just a tad scared…..not sure but this was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life.  1 false move and you were away down off the edge.  I did slip.  I’m not sure how or what cause it but I skidded down the path and luckily stopped right in front of Chris who was saying “use your ice axe” over and over again, mainly because I’d landed on his head and he was afraid he’d go as well and if that had happened then it would have most likely been the end of the world for both of us regardless of the Mayan predictions.  Luckily I struck my ice axe in, got a bit of leverage and found some footfalls that held and we were able to continued the slow and steady journey down albeit with even more caution. 

A little bit further down as I was reaching forward to grab a bit of rock that would help me keep my balance down the next section, Santa who was stashed in my hood, broke free and slid down the path, down the side of Chris and kept traveling, picking up speed as he went.  Down and down the ridge until he was out of sight.  Poor Santa, there was no rescuing him as he was long gone so we just continued on without him.  Santa bagged 2 wainwrights today but alas that’s all he’d be bagging.  We enjoyed having him with us and the only regret about losing him was that we didn’t get to eat him…….

Back to our descent, every footstep was taken with the utmost of care and not only were we keen to get down through the snow and ice safely we were conscious of the time and knew that as soon as 4pm came around it would be dark and walking in the dark after an exhausting day with tired legs and minds was not a pleasing thought.  So we tried to quicken our pace as much as we could and as soon as we were back at the base end of Swirrel Edge and the base of Catstyecam we removed our crampons, packed away the ice axes and tried as much as we could to quicken the pace downwards.

The moon was already up and the rocky path was slippy.  Knees were tired, ankles and feet sore, head mashed because of all the concentrating earlier we just kept going as fast as we could propel ourselves forward and downwards with constant reminders of the time and the fact that darkness was just around the corner.

Before long we could see the pub in the village below with its lights twinkling however the moon was now shining brightly above us and darkness was setting in.  Luckily Chris had his headtorch with him (I’d forgotten mine!!!!!) and it helped us the last 30 mins or so to see where we were putting our feet and it was a very welcome moment when we reached the road and found our way round to the pub.

An amazing day filled with fun, fear, frolics in the snow and a good practice session in winter conditions.  Helvellyn will be visited again because I’d love to see it without the snow and ice but oh my goodness what a wonderful day to see it for the first time.  Helvellyn you may well become my fav mountain in the Lakes, overtaking the beautiful Bowfell………we’ll see ;-) ......Poor Santa!