LAKE DISTRICT - JANUARY 2019

Simply put, we were in desperate need of some 'mountain therapy' and needed nothing more than to be somewhere in our beloved Lake District. We normally head up from London in February with Mr & Mrs S specifically to tackle the fells in the snow & ice, but we're going to Wales at the end of March instead to finish our Welsh 3,000ft challenge. Mrs F arranged for us to have a couple of days at Nord Vue Barn where we have stayed twice before and is perfect for just the two of us. Mrs F worked from home on the Thursday and once Mr F was home from work, we headed up around midday to make the long five hour journey to Penruddock...

It was a good straight forward journey thank God and made it in good time, considering the snow had been coming down hard up North the roads were good & clear. As we got nearer to Cumbria, the mountains started coming into view which were pure white and very inviting. Even if you're not into climbing them, anyone who looks at the fells covered in snow appreciates just how beautiful they look in their winter coats. We arrived safely at the cottage and stepped out into the -4 temperature, unpacked the car and got the fire on the go straight away! As always, we had Tesco bringing our shopping and brought a pre-prepared Chilli Con Carne with us that we eat that night ready to fuel us for our first day of snow climbing the next day...

Our Nighttime Views of The Stunning Snowy Mountains

Our Welcome Gifts From Jenny & Chris

We Got The Cosy Fire on Straight Away

DAY 1: BLENCATHRA VIA SCALES - 
5 HOURS TREKKING IN THE SNOW

We didn't set the alarm, we naturally woke up at our usual body clock time of around 6:30, but just refused to get out of bed! We finally got ourselves up and ready, lunch made, breakfast eaten. Mrs F sat by her favourite spot by the window eating her porridge with a view as she always does when we say in this cottage 😊 Rucksacks packed, we headed for a familiar car park just down the road by The White Horse Inn pub. Mrs F packed her trusty tube scarf in case she needed it on the mountain, which was lovingly passed on from her Mum and has been with her since we first experienced our love for trekking and mountains when we done Everest Base Camp back in 2012 (see 2012, April entry) However after pulling up at the car park and getting out, she put it on straight away plus everything else we packed...it was freezing!! There were a couple next to us who were also getting ready to head up with a little very excited brown Cocker Spaniel with a cute red coat. Mr F made a joke and asked if they were heading up via Sharp Edge and they replied with a sincere yes!

We made our way up via Scales and was very soon in the thick of the snow, but we kept on going a little while before we came across some ice and decided to put our spikes on... 

Mrs F Sitting By Her Favourite Spot By The Window...

View From The window

Ready To Embrace The Day...And The Cold!

Our Destination Ridge Up Ahead

Mr F Pointing The Way

It wasn't too much of an exhausting trek towards the ridge. However as we got onto the ridge and higher up, we were exposed in the stream of the freezing wind and any exposed skin felt painfully cold! As we made up our way, we saw the couple with the dog heading back down as the dog was full of little snow balls and kept getting caught in snow drifts, so they decided to turn around. We however carried on through the battering elements of the -15 wind chill...

Pushing On Towards The Top

As we carried on, the snow got deeper and there were still people making their way across Sharp Edge! We could see people ahead of us with hardcore crampons on and rope among other people, but you would never had guessed there were other people around as the wind completely covered their footsteps in the snow in a matter of minutes! Visibility was diminishing the further we climbed and Mrs F had to put on her sunglasses to stop the snow glare as there was nothing but white around...

Heading Into The Deep

Complete Whiteouts In Some Parts

Looking Back To Ground Level With Less Snow

Sharp Edge In The Distance...

...And People Over On Sharp Edge! 😮

Frozen Scales Tarn Below

As we were exerting so much energy, we stopped for our usual boiled eggs before our final push to the summit. The wind was picking up and made it just that little bit harder. Mrs F was wearing her brand new swanky coat which she was really grateful for, as her old coat which had been a very faithful servant for the past seven years was getting shorter in the body with each wash ans wasn't long enough for the extreme cold. So when we took our 12 year old niece to Go Outdoors to buy her first pair of trekking boots, Mrs F saw the extra long coat in the sale and got a very good deal on it from the price match guarantee, so instead of it being £110, she got it for just £54! 😀 It was a good deal she also got a size bigger than normal to allow for all the extra layers she was wearing! 

We eventually pushed through the elements and made it to the top of Blencathra for the third time. - although from the photo we really could have been anywhere! It was a shame we didn't have any visibility. Come to think of it, each time we've made it to Blencathra we've never had a clear day. The first time we came up was with Mr & Mrs S and had the most amazing cloud inversion (see 2013 November entry) so could only see a beautiful blanket of clouds. The the second time we came up it was a groggy day and still had no view (see *** entry) 

Victory Photo On Top Of Blencathra...Honest!

Our Beautiful Whiteout View From The Top

We didn't hang around at all on the top, we turned around and headed back the way we came and steered off towards Scales Tarn for a lunch spot. By the time we were on the road for the tarn, we were out of the wind. This actually made it colder then when we were battling the wind going up, because at least then we were working our bodies harder which kept us warm. But there was no exertion at all coming down so even though we were out of the wind, we felt colder...if that makes sense! Mrs F put her furry hat on tho cover her face a bit from the bitter cold...

Mr F Always Likes To Get A Landscape & Portrait Photo of Mrs F

Looking Down Towards Our Lunchtime Spot

On our way down, Mr F kept falling over, so on one of the occasions he just sat there with his bottom lip out and folding his arms! 😄  

Mr F In Mid-Slide

We made our way across a small stream to the other side where we plonked ourselves down on our pack-away mats on a big rock. We had the sun beaming down on our already rosey cheeks which was slowly making it was down over the ridge we had just come from. It was a lovely little lunch spot, but we didn't hang around as the longer we sat still, the more we felt cold, so we stared to make our way down following the stream on the same side. In hind sight, we should have crossed back over where we initially did, as we had to cross an even bigger section of the stream further down...

The Sun Going Down Over The Ridge

Sunny Lunchtime Spot

The Boys Loving Their Time Out In The Snow

Looking Back Up Along The Stream

We eventually made our way back to where we began our hard climb, although this time we had the pleasure of walking back in the sunshine. We were going to head over and go up Souther Fell just in front of us, but Mr F's knee from falling a few times was just about done and Mrs F was more than OK to go back to the cottage for a hot drink and a chill out. Plus now that we've done all the Wainwrights, we have the pleasure & luxury in choosing whether to do Wainwrights or not, whereas before we would force our already knackered bodies to do more for the sake of ticking them off...but now, we can just stroll on by...

Souther Fell  Ahead Of Us

Once we were on the trail that lead back to the car park, we decided to sit down in the sun and take 5 just to enjoy our surroundings. It was here that we noticed some iced had formed on top of our water bottles, which has only happened once since we've spent cold seasons in the Lakes...just goes to show how freezing it is!

Our Frozen Water!

We were going to go for a drink and decided to go to the pub just around the corner from the cottage where we went before and has a pool table upstairs, keeping in local instead of the pub where we were parked. However, when we drove to the pub, it was closed as the owners were on holiday and back that night...I think they call that sods law! But, we had our welcome drinks back at the cottage along with other snacks, so we just headed back for a chilled out afternoon watching the Six Nations Rugby, hot baths and bolognese. Mr F came up with quite a good idea - there was a shelf of films in the cottage and we could either go from the left or right or right to left to pick one, but the first film we come across that neither of us have seen we had to watch regardless of what it was. So we went from right to left and the first one we came across was a film called 'Frequency' which we both really enjoyed 😊

Back At The Car & Happy With Our day 

DAY 2: RAISE -

              WHITE SIDE - 

5 HOURS TREKKING

So as the day was looking good for visibility, we decided to head up to Helvellyn for the fourth time for a good winters view. However our first task was getting parked! Mr F was conscious of the limited parking and wanted to get out earlier for this reason. After a couple of drives up the same main road, we eventually found a squeeze by a bus stop, which Mr F was quite concerned about parking there, so went of for a while to see if there was anywhere else. After no joy, we decided to leave the car where it was, as there was still enough space for a bus, plus another two cars parked behind us in the meantime, which made Mr F feel so much better about parking there and not getting a ticket! 😊 So off we went on about our day...

Mr F Checking His Satmap As Usual Before The Start

Making Good Progress Looking Down

There was a fell race on that day going up the same path as us and lots of other trekkers were heading, which was Sticks Pass, although we were surrounded by snow and it was cold, it was actually really warm heading up. People were stopping to de-layer but we just kept on going, taking little breaks to breathe from the steep ascent, although we were both really warm too! We were followed up by a family whose Dad was carrying a sledge for the young boy & girl to play on further up towards to ski slope on Raise. He was quite far out in front of them and their Mum, but said it was to entice them to keep going!

It Was Like The Queue For The Hilary Step Up Ahead!

Views Of A Beautiful Day

The snow was quite powdery, so it was gathering up on our spikes under foot that needed us to bang out every so often...

As we made a slow slog up, the race was underway with an impressive different breed of humans running up the mountain, some in t-shirt and shorts, most of them without water, no spikes and running up the snowy mountain…machines! We stopped a couple of times to let them pass and give them words of encouragement. We were eventually on somewhat level ground that lead us between Raise up to our right and Stybarrow Dodd up to our left, which is where the runners were heading. It was here that we shared a salted caramel energy bar which was very welcoming! As we were still making our way up on the more level ground, a man who we saw running at a fast pace out in front at the start of the race was now on his way back and still running at such a pace he looked on the verge of stumbling forward! Mr F recognised one of the runners, Ricky Lightfoot

The Runners Making Their Way Up

Our Trek Through More Level Ground

Mrs F Really Happy To Be Back In The Beautiful Snowy Mountains

So now we had made it to our second slog up to our first summit, Raise. Over to our left was the only ski slope in the Lakes which comes off the top of Raise. There were so many people out with their ski’s and snowboards using the ski slope and making their own way up and via their own route in other places. We’ve never seen people out on ski’s before in all the times we’ve been coming in the snowy season. Lots of people were also bringing their dogs out, mainly Springer & Cocker Spaniels, which we thought we still quite harsh terrain for them to handle, but they seemed to enjoy it...

Looking Ahead To Our Final Push For Raise Summit

The Ground Was A Blanket Of Frozen Grass 

The main path through the middle was so full of snow we ended up going down by about three foot with each step we took! So we headed over to the sides where it wasn't as deep and had a chance of actually going up rather than down! 

Mr F Over By The Side Avoiding Deep Snow

Looking Back Down

Ski Slope Coming Off Raise

Mr F Loves This One Of Him 😊

Looking Over Towards Helvellyn

Striding Edge In The Distance

Raise and White Side seem to merge into the same ridge a little bit. We were eventually onto slog number three heading up to White Side now with Helvellyn in view to our left, Catstycam standing proud closer to us still on the left and with Striding Edge in the distance leading to the Helvellyn summit. As we pushed for the summit, a great cloud came over us and we had no visibility at all! It literally came out of nowhere and stayed for a while. We decided to sit here and have lunch whilst we debated going as far as Helvellyn as originally planned or just down from here…since we now have the option as previously mentioned! 😀

Cloud Rolled In From Nowhere

Cloud Clearing Over By Catstycam

Nearly At The Summit Of White Side

We Made It! Looking Very Rosey

As we sat and eat our hard earned lunch, there were a group of people with ski’s and snowboards deciding which way to go down off White Side and they had a very bouncy little Cocker Spaniel with them who was more excited about heading down the mountain than they seemed! As the cloud cleared, we were able to see Helvellyn again, but according to our Wainwright pictorial guide, we were still 2 miles from the summit (although it didn’t seem that far) which meant it would also be 2 miles coming back to this point. We also had to take into account that it would be slogging through the snow and would be coming down in near enough darkness, so we decided that heading down was the best option.

Looking at our pictorial guide, Mr F saw that there was a way down literally straight off the side of White Side, so no need to head all the way back the same way we came, which is what we always prefer. So we started making our way down the side where the snow was very much fresh, untrodden and like walking through sugar! Nearly every step we took, we ended going two feet down, which was exhausting work! We were joined by a solo trekker from Wales who was having an equal challenge making his way down the same route. Mrs F made a couple of stylish stumbles and even got her foot stuck at one point. She had already handed her walking pole to Mr F to help avoid any further falls for him, so was unaided herself. We met a family who were heading up who were all wearing just everyday regular clothes and were about to tackle going up. We all said we can imagine a big domestic happening half way up!

Awesome View On The Way Down

We Could Be Literally Anywhere In The World!

Looking Back At Our Progress

We Tried To Get Our Shadows In..

The Boys Actually Decided To Brave The Cold For A Photo

Mrs F Took This Because She Thought It Looked Like A Bird!

Heading Towards The Less Snowy Ground

Parts Of The Snow Looked Like Meringue!

We eventually came out of the thick of the snow and into grassy land further down. It was here that our spikes were picking up a lot of the snow underfoot and we had to keep banging the accumulated snowballs out and off. Sometimes when it builds up so much they act as ski’s rather than spikes, so can actually cause falls rather than prevent them. Mr F was having trouble with his spikes that kept moving and he had a bad fall where his bag ended up going over and hitting him on the head! :-(

On our way down, we met a man with two young children heading up with a sledge – he was wearing mega expensive Scarpa boots and the two little ones had wellington boots on! We soldiered on until we made it back to ground level where we could take off the spikes and head back along the road to the car…which didn’t have a parking ticket for parking too close to the bus stop! Mr F realised once we were back at the car that he didn't have his hat on and remembers taking it off near the bottom to wipe his head so may have dropped it or not put in back on properly and came off when he fell ☹️

Mr F Making His Way Down Carefully!

Back at the cottage, Mr F wanted to soak his aching knee in the bath, but for some reason the water wasn’t quite hot enough in the bath, but fine in the shower. So Mrs F boiled two kettles worth and a big saucepan of boiling water for him. We put the fire on and chilled out briefly with much needed hot drinks and a few snacks before making a start on dinner, which tonight was breaded fish, jacket potatoes and veg. We decided to go to the film shelf again and take the same approach we did the night before, but all the ones we hadn’t seen were horror films! So we went with Cold Mountain, which Mrs F has seen but Mr F hadn’t. We got three quarters in and were both lacking, so we gave up and went to bed.

We didn’t set the alarm as we always wake up around 7:30am anyway from our blessed body clocks! We were due to be out at 10am as is standard procedure,  so after breakfast, we made sure the cottage was in tip top shape before piling all the gear into the car and heading on back to reality of everyday life in London...

Chill Out Time

VERDICT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT IN JANUARY 2019

Mr F: Short breaks to the Lakes are always fun but generally tough going due to the travel distance. We both love the Lakes in the snow as it brings a very different feeling to even the smallest of fells. I have to admit I found this trip tough..Blencathra is fast becoming one of my favourite mountains even though we have never really experienced it in good weather... we trek to Raise i found brutal and seeing fell runners speed up sticks pass was both inspiring and soul destroying in equal measure...A fantastic few days away in our happy place... 

Mrs F: Very rarely do we have the opportunity to take short breaks to the Lakes or anywhere to come it. Mainly because Mr F had always worked on Saturdays before and so didn’t have the luxury of taking weekend breaks. Plus it’s a long way to go for just a couple of days, but we love it so much it’s well worth the time and drive. We both had a lot going on and were in desperate need of some mountain therapy…and to just spend some quality time together. Of all the times we’ve been up in the snow, which is our 4^th year in a row, this was a very different kind of snow. We have never been so early in the year at the end of January before and just after the first lot of snowfall, so it hadn’t had a chance to settle and gather a little crust over. We’ve been in harsher conditions but this was tough due to the snow being so soft and not really ready for trekkers to venture on it. Beside that, it was just so nice to catch the mountains at this time of year when they are looking glorious with their winter coats on and so inviting. It was a shame not to have the views from Blencathra, but it didn't take away the joy of just being out playing on the snowy mountains. On the second day when making our way up, it is a weird feeling to be surrounded by snow and feel quite hot in your ascent and really lovely to see so many people out too. We've never seen so many people out on their ski's and snowboards either, which is mainly to do with the time of year and the fact that they were heading up to Raise where the ski slope is. I really enjoyed our short break away which is what we needed and probably should have more of to keep the balance of a busy working life for us both. Although in the past we would have happily killed ourselves ticking off the fells we hadn't yet done, it was nice to now just have the option of doing them or simply making our way back knowing they have been conquered 😊