Snow in 2016
Snow
At last the white stuff arrived. Winter crept in quickly. Temperature dropped and the rain turned to snow.
From 10 plus to – 5 within the week was a bit of a shock, but saying goodbye to the rain was no problem.
Saturday was so cold two of my car doors were frozen shut. Definitely cause to thrown those extra layers in my backpack.
With a high mountain walk planned for Sunday I’d arranged to walk a couple of the lower Wainwrights, Wansfell and Bayestones, with a friend still ticking from the list.
My expectation of any kind of ‘adventure’ was honestly nil. But you should never underestimate a mountain, even if it’ s not a high one.
Ambleside with Langdales
Heading up Wansfell, the steep way from Ambleside, sun shone. Everything above ground level cast deep black shadows with surrounding hills projected in white on each side but south,
Looking over Windermere
where winter wrapped Windermere in soft romantic imagery.
Thornthwaite crag so clear even the beacon stood out like the proverbial thumb.
Thornthwaite and Troutbeck Horseshoe
It’s not far from Wansfell to Bayestones and I’d done the hike before in summer. Remembering it as a bit of a casual stroll.
winter walls
No snow then. Only a little higher and and we were wading. Not through rain but deep, powdery white. Fantastic for skiing but not walking.
True to type mountain sunshine did not last. Around lunch time the clouds blew in from the west. The hills of Coniston, then Langdale wiped off the horizon.
lunch time
Dropping down to Troutbeck and skirting round the foothills back to Ambleside we were soon walking through air filled with floating soft flakes.
I drifted into Narnia.
sheep
Sadly El Nino and Global warming are set to send our temperatures back to plus ten before next weekend.
It was fun while it lasted.
More on Wansfell here and here
