The Larches - Environmentally Friendly Lakeland Cottage

It’s been a year for winter walking in the Lake District – storms and heavy snowfalls have left frozen tarns, iced up becks and transformed landscapes. A covering of snow paradoxically both conceals and reveals. A drumlin (see photo opposite) on the route to Sergeant Man above Easedale showed off its profile last week far more clearly than would be seen on a summer’s day.

Once you’re hooked on the excitement of these wintry fells, it’s hard to resist the urge to get up there. Several times recently I’ve been on the tops and met people just up for the day from Tyneside, Manchester and Edinburgh – making the best of the ten hours of daylight to get magnificent rooftop views across the fells (see two photos below).

But you have to be well equipped as the weather can change quickly, turning a pleasant summer walk into a difficult and dangerous undertaking. The local papers have been reporting this year both heavy demands on the mountain rescue teams and several serious accidents and deaths.

Keswick, billed as the ‘mountain capital of England’ is a good place to find the right equipment; and if you want advice the two best shops are Needle Sports and George Fisher. I find a system of layers works best for keeping warm – and cooling down after heavy exertion.

I wear two light weight woollen ‘base layers’ (Icebreaker or Patagonia), a zipped fleece, a heavy duty hooded and breathable cagoule (Patagonia), neck warmer, winter trousers, walking boots with vibram soles, wool socks, Velcro-fastened gaiters (Black Diamond), wool hat and inner and outer gloves.

You’ll need a good rucksack and remember also to take a map, compass (or GPS device), whistle, torch and some basic First Aid equipment. If the conditions are severe with freezing temperatures, I’ll also take an ice axe, crampons and a down or synthetic puffa jacket – which packs down very small. For extra protection I sometimes take a Goretex bivvy bag – ideal for keeping a casualty warm even in freezing conditions with icy winds. A mobile phone may be useful in emergencies, but do not rely on this as there may be no coverage.

I’d seen there had been people skiing recently at an elevation of 600 metre on Blencathra (KesMail February 2010). What I hadn’t anticipated to find last week was a 300m long ‘blue run’ on a wide gully below Blaeberry Fell (See Photo opposite), about two miles beyond Keswick and at a height of only 370 m.

It wasn’t up to the snow conditions in Italy’s Sauze d’Oulx where we were recently with the Ski Club of Manchester, but with a pair of skis there would have been a good run down. This is one of the great things about winter walking – finding the unexpected in the unknown known.

Having the right kit is the key thing for taking to the hills in winter in safety – though I wouldn’t take skis every time I saw snow! I’ll get a list of my favourite equipment for safe winter walking in my next post. In the meantime the photos below give an impression of some of the visual delights that came from a late lunch to dusk walk with the snow and ice last week.