Certainly looks like it - amazing how little some people wear in snow!Originally Posted by No map, no compass
Certainly looks like it - amazing how little some people wear in snow!
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!
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 more
Interesting... cheers! Loughrigg's free of snow and the Langdales didn't look too bad driving to work this morning.
Last edited by Hank; 15-12-2011 at 11:12 AM.
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?
Last edited by Mike T; 16-12-2011 at 09:23 AM.
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
Poacher turned game-keeper
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.
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