Winter Wonderland

"...as long as you let me know, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow".. For some, the onset of winter is met with groans and a retreat into the home, for me, it means it time to sort out the crampons, take the ice axe off the wall and hit the hills. A winter skills course earlier this year has allowed me to go out in some of the most beautiful conditions the hills have to offer.

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Mrs W and I are off to Scotland in the New Year and some winter skills refreshing for me and introduction for my trusty Sherpa were in order. An early start saw us in the Ogwen Valley for a day walking across the Glyders. An Initial navigational error early on saw us miss the Griben ridge, which was our intended route. We instead opted for the Devils Kitchen as our way onto the Plateau. This holds water at the best of times, so was frozen over nicely. Strapping the crampons on we made steady progress, passing some nice looking ice climbs (Although not quite in season yet) we marched on to Glyder Fawr in brilliant sunshine and traversed across to Glyder Fach. A picture of the Castle of the winds and the obligatory shot on the cantilever stone, which was covered in ice, saw us looking for the route down. The descent, sporty during the summer, was further complicated by the snow and ice and a slow, delicate, descent was called for. This pushed Claire's ability and confidence to its limit. Cheered on by several fellow walkers who thought she was "game" for following the loony ahead down the slope, we found the car 8 hours later. After getting a push out of the car park, we went to the Tyn Y Coed for a sherbet and to reflect on a wonderful and in some parts challenging day. The first picture is Tryfan from Llyn Idwal. The second is the same shot with me trying out the remote release on my camera and finally the Castle of the Winds on top of Glyder Fach.

Nice day (Shame about the camera)

Fells climbed: Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friar and Dow Crag

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The forecast was set fair for Sunday, so loaded up the car with all the essentials, (Food, camera, trusty Sherpa Mrs W) and headed to Coniston. As the weather was so grand, we took a detour up to Tarn Hows. Sadly my early start worked against me and the sun was barely up when we arrived. The waterfall scene at the bottom was the only image worth salvaging from the detour. We arrived in Coniston and began the trek up to Levers Water. Spotting a waterfall in full spate, I thought another shot would look nice. I set up the tripod and then noticed a camera bag like mine in a pool bel.......oh. I now know that cameras don't like water much. To say this took the "jam out of my doughnut" (and potentially £400 out of my wallet) was a mild understatement. However, we plodded on up to Swirl How, where the summit pose was shot using a camera phone. (The exercise regime looks like it working) There was a faint smattering of snow and ice on top which hopefully augers well for Winter. We then proceeded to "bang out" the other hills on our itinerary, leaving us close to sunset when we arrived at the Sun hotel for a hard earned pint of Bluebird. The last picture is the Scafell range from Great Carrs, A testament to the quality of the weather