Not a lot of fresh snow overnight in Ambleside but there is plenty of ice I suspect - the puddles in our car park - at 300ft above sea level - are frozen; last night the snow covered fells were glowing in the moonlight - wonderful.
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Not a lot of fresh snow overnight in Ambleside but there is plenty of ice I suspect - the puddles in our car park - at 300ft above sea level - are frozen; last night the snow covered fells were glowing in the moonlight - wonderful.
Top of Wansfell is in cloud - no visible snow at all now.
nothing at all in Wales today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
Wales is a long way from lakes;)
off thread I know but topicalQuote:
Originally Posted by JohnK
:)
Wansfell is snow free on the Ambleside face - there is still some snow visible on the top of Red Screes.
where do you live Mike? (out of curiosity / envy - not gonna stalk you!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
Home is Suffolk but my heart is in the Lakes - current location is Loughrigg Brow - just up from Miller Bridge; overlooks Ambleside - good views across to Wansfell/Ill Bell/Red Screes and can also see northern end of Windermere - only a few days left before I will have to return home.
ah OK yeah. Nice!
Looking from Scout Scar near Kendal this morning there was snow on the tops of the Kentmere fells and, I think, the Langdales, though it was a bit murky so I'm not 100%.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
The Fairfield fells looking pretty white still
http://www.abovestock.co.uk/amblesideweather.html
I should add that at this time of year some excellent apartments are available at less than B+B prices.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
Well I was thinking of taking my girlfriend up to the Lakes in January for a long weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
I've always gravitated to the Keswick side of things for some reason, but if you know of any specific good deals Ambleside way do let me know.
Specially if it's stumbling distance from the Golden Rule.
PS. Is there a shortish race in the Lakes anywhere at that time of year? Might dust off the Mudclaws if so ....
Blakes Heaven, about 5 miles, starts at Lamplugh Church usually the last Saturday in January. Terrific little race if you're up that weekend.
Had a walk around Langdales over to Bowfell on Saturday. There was plenty of snow up there, knee deep in places. Must have fallen on Friday evening hardly any footprints and we had fun guessing where the paths should be.
Good day out, pretty wild when the wind whipped up though. ;)
Small amount of fresh snow overnight but not down low - it just catches the very top of Wansfell Pike.
Reports of a few avalanches in recent days
http://mountaincircles.blogspot.com/....html?spref=fb
From Patterdale this morning the spindrift from Helvellyn along Nethermost to Dollywagon was quite a spectacle. The hail and sleet in the valley made working outside not so attractive!
Some fresh snow overnight on the top of Wansfell and Red Screes. Very windy yesterday evening - at times I was blown to a standstill running down the Kirkstone Rd to Ambleside - so there may be very large/deep drifts in places.
Is the guy in the photo really in shorts?Quote:
Originally Posted by Toreador
Certainly looks like it - amazing how little some people wear in snow!Quote:
Originally Posted by No map, no compass
No obvious fresh snow overnight on Wansfell, but there may have been a fall/thaw cycle; Kirkstone Pass still closed because of snow. Some large patches of blue sky and no wind - looks like it will be a good day for views.
Is the Kirkstone Pass definitely closed? I thought it was still open and the Cumbria County Council doesn't show it as closed... I may be looking in the wrong place of course!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike T
Still closed according to BBC Travel lot of snow on Western fells yesterday very deep powder in places would expect Eastern side to have even moreQuote:
Originally Posted by Hank
Interesting... cheers! Loughrigg's free of snow and the Langdales didn't look too bad driving to work this morning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baggins
Some fresh snow overnight on Wansfell, mainly on the upper half, but there is a sprinkling almost down to Ambleside. According to BBC Travel News the Kirkstone Pass is still closed - is it blocked by snow, or just dangerously slippery?
Well its snowing hard in Keswick - turned a wet road white in a matter of minutes - supposed to be working in Patterdale at lunchtime, if this keeps up I possibly won't set off!
A couple of things worth mentioning - someone very early in the thread linked to UKClimbing and their winter forum - well worth checking out as climbers are just as interested in conditions on the fells, almost down to a micro level, as anyone. There's also a companion UK Hillwalking site now, perhaps closer to the terrain taken by runners :-)
There are a lot of blogs out there written by keen winter climbers so these are also worth checking out. Not all of them are specific to the Lakes, most concentrate on Scotland as you'd expect but Steve Ashworth's blog is Lakes based - he runs a lot as well.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, I've only seen one mention of avalanches in the thread. Big snow fall + wind = high risk on the lee slopes. OK, very simplistic but ... There's no avalanche warning service for the Lakes such as there is for Scotland - search for the SAIS, they've just started reporting again for this season - so you need to keep a watch on the weather forecasts paying attention to wind direction and temperature levels. Generally it's best to try and keep to ridges and away from bowls. There's lots of info on the web but local knowledge of where snow builds up/is avalanche prone is harder to find.
Have fun but stay safe.
www.theepicentre.co.uk/blog
http://twitter.com/Epicentre_Lakes
Steve Ashworth blog and Twitter
A sprinkling of snow down to all levels around Ings, less so from Windmere in to the centre of the park, but a good bit more on the fells than yesterday. Also a couple of degrees colder than the last few days. Lighter winds though! I wouldn't fancy the Kirkstone Pass... I imagine there's a good amount of snow and ice around up there now.
Could be slow going tomorrow?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank
Hmmm... probably! I'm interested to see what that first section is like outside of Askham down to Ullswater... although it's low level it's open fell. If the snow's accumulated there it could be hard work and potentially tricky to navigate in the dark. Certainly going to be plenty of snow around the Helvellyn ridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toreador
was out on seat sandal and steel fell this morning. looks very white over main fells and is pretty hard going where in lee of wind. main snow level is above 450m. below that its pretty superficial. knee deep where drifted, otherwise 15-20cm. getting a slightly crusty though which makes it hard work, even downhill. good for a workout!
Was up at 1,200 ft east and north of Staveley this morning; only superficial snow up to this level. Glorious inversion with the snow covered Coniston Fells on the horizon.
Border crack and deek about (for those of a southerly disposition thats the border/ITV local news) were saying drifts of 2-3m by the ski tow on Raise today.
No obvious new snow overnight on Wansfell - the light covering that was visible lower down has largely gone, but there is still some snow higher up. No wind, patches of blue sky. According to BBC Travel News the Kirkstone Pass is now open.
Fairfield Horseshoe today.
Snow level approx 250 - 300m.
Areas of soft wind-deposited snow, deep drifts in hollows / against walls. Windslab / breakable crust forming in many areas.
Areas of old very hard snow with icy patches developing where new snow has been blasted away by the wind on ridge tops / plateau areas.
Paths below 400m becoming 'mushy', so there could well be much more ice about after tonight's freeze.
Carried Kahtoolas and a short axe, but didn't get either out of the sack.
Very similar conditions on the Crinkles. Ascent/descent (via Red Tarn/The Band) both had tricky icy sections between being clear and being snow covered, but detours were easy and the microspikes stayed in my pack. I doubt there has been any fresh snow overnight, it is just that what is there - plenty - has been blown about, meaning there were very few print trails in the snow. Glorious sunshine throughout; surprisingly few people up there.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Navigator
Anyone been up on the Coniston fells this week please? Or Kentmere round sort of area?
Nope, but forecasted temps of 4-6c at 750m for Saturday suggest you'll get chilly wet toes.