Sledging on Skiddaw

Near the summit of Skiddaw

A crisp, cold day with blue skies and sunshine beckoned with snow-capped fells surrounding Keswick. I had driven up from Sussex that morning and had Tilly for company who absolutely loves the snow so I wanted to head up to the snow line as quickly as possible. Skiddaw was my mountain of choice. It is one of my favourites in the northern Lakes as it dominates the skyline and I have fond childhood memories of it.

The summit was hidden underneath cloud initially, as though Skiddaw had its own cloud factory but it started to clear quickly. We headed from the car-park at the end of the no-through road up the zigzag path. It starts very steeply but the benefit of that is you get amazing views across Derwent Water, the north western fells and Blencathra very quickly. The dark clouds were broken by rays of sunshine striking through onto the surface of the lake and casting shadows across the fells. 

Derwent Water in the breaking cloud

Monument

There is a monument on the route dedicated to the shepherds of the Hawell family and the inscription is beautiful:

"Great shepherd of thy heavenly flock

These men have left our hill
Their feet were on the living rock
Oh guide and bless them still"

Before long, we were starting to reach tiny patches of snow. There was barely enough to make a snowball but Tilly didn’t care – she started “sledging” as soon as she saw it. This is where she rolls on the ground then sticks her back legs out and pulls herself forward with her front paws. I first saw her do this when climbing Helvellyn in November 2012 and it is a funny sight to behold. It was her first snow of the winter and she was clearly making the most of it!

First sledging of the walk

Another ten minutes or so saw us in proper snow. There was no holding Tilly back at this point. She rolled, sledged, jumped and generally had a wonderful time in the snow. Walkers passing by even stopped to watch. I had to keep reminding myself to look at the views as well as Tilly. As we took the path around the slopes of Skiddaw Little Man, the view to the valley and the Caldale fells opened up and the sunshine peeping through the clouds lit up the snow. The speckled snow on Latrigg looked like a satellite photo from space.

Blencathra in the sunlight

Looking to Little Man

It was time for microspikes here as the snow was compacted and frozen and I saw several people slip. Tilly has inbuilt microspikes so she was fine. 

The final part of the ascent to Skiddaw summit is steeper and with the snow being quite deep it was hard work at times. Tilly found another dog to play with and they went running around the slopes together. This was when I learnt a valuable lesson.

Tilly is very obedient and always comes back on command and she never really strays very far away from me. However, whilst playing with the other dog (a Collie with much more energy than her) she ended up quite a distance in front. When they stopped playing, she thought I was ahead of her (optimistic given how slowly I usually walk) so started running to catch up with me. I had been watching her carefully the whole time so I called her to let her know I was in fact behind her. Usually this would have been fine but with the wind having stepped up in speed and volume and blowing in the opposite direction it threw my voice right back at me so she couldn’t hear me. She was stopping at every person ahead trying to find me but going uphill so there was no way I could have caught up. Fortunately I can whistle for England so I gave my loudest and most shrill whistle to get her attention. She stopped in her tracks immediately and looked back (as did most of the other people and dogs on the slope). I then waved my arms around like a woman possessed so she could spot me. I was wearing bright pink so I must have been quite a sight! She then sprinted back to me, covering me with kisses and wagging her tail with enthusiasm as she was so pleased to find me. It was a lesson I will not forget in a hurry. I have added a dog whistle to the equipment I take with me now just in case.

Heading to the summit

The rest of the walk was uneventful. The view to Ullock Pike and Longside as we reached the south top, with the ridge covered in snow was beautiful. Tilly stayed beside me like a magnet and we soon reached the summit. The wind was bitter at that height though and the wind shelter was full of people trying to escape the cold so we didn’t stay long. The views were superb all around towards the coast, Bassenthwaite and down to the valley below but sadly my camera iPhone battery had died so I couldn’t take a photo! 

Ullock Pike & Longside

We headed back down the same route and Tilly made the most of the snow before it petered out and we got back to the car. A spectacular day for walking made all the more special sharing it with Tilly and her passion for “sledging”.

The Pike O'Blisco Adventure

Our walking group (photo by Daxa)

There are always three things guaranteed on a Twitter walk: fun, adventure and chocolate brownies. The Pike O’Blisco walk had all three in abundance.

Our starting point was the Three Shire Stone on the Wrynose Pass and as well as some of the usual crowd, there were new people as well. It is always nice meeting people on these walks and whilst we are all very different and come from different parts of the country, we all love walking the fells. There were nine of us on this walk with five dogs in all shapes and sizes including Tilly. Phil brought along his new puppy Molly and her and Tilly became firm friends.

Molly

We set off on the path towards Red Tarn and whilst cloudy, it looked like the sun could appear at any minute. We were all chatting and admiring the views and the dogs were running around happily. The path was getting snowier with each step but it was soft snow so was easier to grip and it meant Tilly had a great time playing in it as did all the dogs. Red Tarn itself was completely frozen, which upset Tilly as she had been looking forward to a swim but she contented herself with eating some snow instead.

Tilly waiting for me

It was a short but steep final ascent to Pike O’Blisco up quite a rocky path. Needless to say I was at the back but I was delighted to have Daxa for company who is a slower walker like me. We eventually joined the others on the summit and looked out over Crinkle Crags, Bowfell, the Langdale Pikes and the valley below. Beautiful. It was Molly’s first Lake District summit and she seemed pleased with her achievement.

Being "rescued" by Tilly

After a quick chocolate brownie (delicious as always) and coffee stop, we headed on across the slopes of Pike O’Blisco to head down to the narrow road in Great Langdale as our next target was Lingmoor Fell. This should have been fairly straight forward but with snow all around, it proved rather eventful but an awful lot of fun! The snow was thicker on that side of the fell and before long, we were all descending a snowy slope, digging our heels in to try and grip. I think Phil was the first to fall (not helped by having Molly tugging on her lead) and slide a few metres but several people slipped. At one point, there was a short but very steep section and having witnessed the less than elegant descent by some of the group (and noticing at least three cameras pointing in my direction), I decided sitting down and sledging was the best solution. Tilly had already run down it and was playing with Lassie at the bottom but seeing I was taking so long, she came back to rescue me. How sweet! She waited beside me whilst I got myself into position and then (not so helpfully) stood right in from of me just as I pushed myself down the slope so had to leap out of the way!

Tilly action shot from Phil

We got down unscathed and took our turn to watch the rest of the group make their descent. This was pretty much the way the next half an hour went – lots of slipping and impromptu sledging. On one slope, I decided to just sledge all the way and ended with a “ta da” moment with Gina capturing it for posterity. Dave did the same later on but on a rather steeper slope and his efforts to slow down using his walking pole ended in the pole having a 90 degree bend in it!

With all the hard work behind us (so we thought) we were now on grassy slopes but unbeknownst to us, the grass was frozen and Gina had a bad fall and hurt her knee. We did not think it was serious at this point though and just needed rest so we had a lunch break. The views were spectacular down into the valley and to the Langdale Pikes, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags. Molly and Tilly took turns posing for the camera and then Tilly went into “feed me treats” mode (those eyes though are simply heart-melting). Jim decided a traditional sandwich was not enough though and brought out a cooking device with a saucepan and rustled up some potatoes dauphinoise! I need to be a bit more creative with my walking lunches as a cheese and chutney sandwich just wasn’t the same after that.

Lunchtime

Tilly at Blea Tarn

We headed off but it was soon clear that Gina’s knee was quite badly injured so we had a change of plan. When we got down to the road, we split into groups. Some continued to the summit of Lingmoor, Dave, Terry and Adam headed back to get the car and Daxa and I waited with Gina. Whilst waiting, I decided to take Tilly around Blea Tarn as she had missed out on a swim in Red Tarn. We headed off and as the sun had come out she had a lovely swim and chased several sticks. The view along the valley to the Langdale Pikes was mesmerising and I could have sat in the sunshine there for hours. We headed back along the road to where Gina and Daxa were still waiting and before long, Dave arrived in the car (having had a long trek back up the Wrynose Pass) and we all met at the Three Shire’s pub for a drink and to laugh at our adventures.

A girl's best friend (photo from Gina)

Another great Twitter walk. Sadly Gina’s knee was quite badly injured but hopefully she can still run the London Marathon this year. Get well soon Gina!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Down

Wintery morning skies

Snow is exhausting! I still love it though. With a blue sky or textured clouds acting as a back drop to brilliant white mountains, it is better than on a clear blue and warm summer day (sometimes). There is no doubt it is much more tiring though! A recent walk up to the Helvellyn ridge (specifically aiming for Whiteside initially) reminded me of this very quickly....

Skiddaw & Blencathra

I started from Thirlspot near Thirlmere with the wintery morning sun peering over the slopes of Helvellyn Lower Man promising some good views and I chose this ridge specifically to see into both the Ullswater and Thirlmere valleys as it is spectacular. With a real sense of anticipation I started at a fair pace (for me that is – speed is never my strong point) very optimistic about the walk. I had hardly walked a few hundred yards though before I knew my microspikes were going to be essential on the icy path. I stopped to put them on (it is really easy to do) and kept going along the quite gentle path stopping constantly to take photos of Skiddaw and Blencathra.

Before long the path takes you up a steep section that would be tiring at the best of times but sinking ankle-deep in snow each step it was a real challenge and tracking the path rather tricky. I was full of energy at that point though so as the views along St John’s in the Vale towards Keswick and across the valley to Thirlmere got better and better, there was plenty to distract me. Eventually the path levelled out and I thought I must be near the ridge. Sadly not. Looking very far away and very steep was Raise, which is the fell next to Whiteside. The summit I was aiming for was still not in view with the crags of Brown Cove in the way. 

Silky smooth snow on the Dodds

The ground was flatter now and I could see a path up the side of Brown Cove so I pressed on confidently. I was still sinking to above my ankles though so having to lift each foot higher each step. I took off my microspikes at this point as they were just collecting snow and making my feet even heavier. The ridge of Brown Cove seemed to take forever to get to but I knew once I was there, it would be a milestone and I would feel enthused about being so much closer to my goal.

Waves of snow

How wrong can you be? The summit was still out of sight from there. Raise still looked a very long way away. The snow was still soft and worse, deeper! As I started the ascent to Whiteside, it was a case of one step forward, two steps down as I regularly sank up to my knees in snow, sometimes staying upright and other times propelling forwards and landing in a sprawled heap on the snow and taking a breath before hauling myself up time after time.

With the deep snow unremitting and Whiteside not seeming to be getting any closer and having landed in a heap for what must have been the fifth or sixth time, I seriously contemplated giving up. I was really not sure I could make it as it was so exhausting. But at that moment, as I lay on the snow propped up on one elbow with one leg buried up to my knee, I saw a couple walking the ridge towards Raise. I reminded myself it was the view from the ridge I was after and summits did not matter so I changed direction and headed for the ridge. The great thing was that having spent so much of the ascent sitting down, I could really appreciate the textures of the snow that went from being as smooth as silk on Stybarrow Dodd to looking like waves as it covered the grassy tufts where I was.

The eastern fells

I made it to the ridge and as ever, the moment I did (just like reaching a summit) the pain of ascent was forgotten and I just revelled in the views towards Swiral and Striding Edges, Catsycam and the eastern fells and in the opposite direction to the fells beyond Thirlmere and towards Coniston. Breathtaking and worth every tumble and every breath.

Catsycam

With summits not being important, I ditched Whiteside and headed towards Raise instead as it was in sunshine and looked more inviting (and less steep!) The views from the summit were beautiful and the icy patterns and textures on the rocks and cairn were superb. The wind was a bitter chill so my stay on the summit was brief and I decided to head down via Sticks Pass and see the skiing area (yes – Raise has a ski lift) and admire the silky smooth Dodds beyond.

The walk down was long and microspikes were again essential but it was amazing. There were a few snowboarders about and it looked a much faster and more fun way to get back down whereas I was still wading thorough deep snow. It was less tiring on a downward slope than upwards and the views remained a distracting sight, particularly the pinks and wisps of clouds in the sky around Skiddaw and Blencathra.

Always a Herdy around....

I walked back along the lower slopes to Thirlspot crossing becks and streams and watching the sun set over the fells behind Thirlmere. It was a lovely walk but I think the ascent was possibly the most tiring I have ever done and comparable to the Grasmoor screes (although I think the screes edge the contest!) Entirely worth it though. I love walking in snow.

See more photos from this walk on my Facebook page.

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