The Lake District in winter

Reading Mountaineering Club trip to the Lake District in 2003.  We stayed in the hut in Newlands Valley and did some winter routes on Dale Head. Others went ice climbing on Helvellyn.
Think about it for a second, what puts people off going to the Lake District for a weekend in January? Could it be the weather? What about the distance? No, distance hasn’t got anything to do with it really, it’s the state of the M6 around Birmingham. Weather? After a rather damp Christmas, the week before the Lakes meet saw a big fat high pressure stuck over the UK with sunny skies, light winds and freezing temperatures. On Monday the weather guessers were saying that it was going to stay like that all week before turning warmer and wetter at the weekend. So, if the weather guessers were out with their timing by one day over the course of a week then the prospect of ice climbing and winter walking in ideal conditions was a rather distinct possibility. And guess what? They were out by a day so Saturday was perfect. Right, that’s one excuse binned. What about the M6? Myself, Martin and Rich left Savacentre at 6:20 on Friday evening in The Beast (Ray’s huge pick-up truck if you don’t know). 70 mph all the way without a single hold up. That’s the second of the excuses binned. So why were there only 8 people there? For Christ’s sake, what do want? door to door helicopter services? OK, I know Kim was ill and Adrian decided that it might be best if he stayed to look after her, but everyone else? You’ll need to go some to beat Leggy’s excuse. He was going to have Friday in the Lakes and meet us at the hut afterwards. This time, unlike the hutel meet, he actually managed to get himself some transport and a map. He’d borrowed his brother’s car. He phoned me at 5 pm to say all was well, the ice routes on Helvellyn were a little thin but in condition, and what time were we getting to the hut? Somewhere around Birmingham my phone goes again. Leggy has now found out that his brother only insured the car for one day and was now incommunicado. Back to Newcastle a rather unhappy Leggy had to go.
We get to the hut at around 10:30. CJ got there earlier and had got a fire going for us. Now the hut is in what you might call a “rural” location, about a mile down a rough farm track in Newlands Valley. Halfway down we come across Tim’s car, abandoned on a sheet of ice. He reappears from the hut and we push him up the ice slope. Even The Beast was slipping about on it. Into the hut then and chill out around the pot bellied stove which was glowing a nice warm cherry red.
Apparently there was a bit of a wind-up with Jen and light switches, the hut is so remote that its got gas lighting as there’s “no electricité mademoiselle”. Saturday dawned beautiful and clear and we discovered that we weren’t the only occupants in the hut. Little black specks all over the kitchen work surfaces indicated that its not only ships that need a cat. Jen and Darren went off for a walk via Keswick and managed to get lost in Keswick in the process. Rich, Ray and Martin headed off for Helvellyn to do an ice route after stopping off in Keswick to buy a guide book. I bet the Lakes ice climbing guide book sold quite a few copies that day. They did a gulley called “Left Branch” and jumped the queues on it by means of a cunning traverse in. Their day was livened up by only having one axe each and having to send axes down the rope to each other. It was also livened up by a high speed rock hurtling down the gulley. Martin has got one of those ultra light weight Cassin Ghost ice axes. I’ve often wondered if they’re any good as they’re so light. The answer is they’re OK for posing with but that’s about it. Smack the pick into ice and it comes out looking like Gonzo’s nose, as Martin found out. (For sale. Cassin Ghost ice axe. Used once. Artistic pick design. Cheap. Contact Martin).
Meanwhile, myself, Tim and CJ decided that we’d walk direct from the hut, find something that looked wintry and try and climb it. Muggins here got to carry the rack which at CJ’s insistence, and against my better judgement included a deadman. Dead ballast more like, just like the rest of the rack and ropes, as we later found out. Pity really, I was looking forward to putting a couple of pegs in. Off we go upward towards Dale Head, remembering of course to keep looking back at the view down the valley and the sun shining on a white topped Skidaw.
The gulley that the path followed looked “interesting” so we decided to go for it. Despite the ground being frozen solid there was only snow above about 300 m, and only then about 4” that had frozen without consolidating. As we got to the gulley we decided that the buttress on the left hand side looked more interesting still, so off we went up it. We didn’t bother with harnesses or ropes or anything, we just kept plodding up, it wasn’t too exposed so although a fall wouldn’t be desirable, it wasn’t going to be fatal. I’d give it somewhere between a grade I and II. Some of the steps needed a little thought and care which would be a bit much for a grade I, but overall it would be a soft touch for a II.
The guide book doesn’t even mention Newlands Valley so I was wondering about claiming a new route. Unfortunately the tracks we followed indicated that it had been climbed before by A Fox. I really enjoyed the climb, frozen turf provided superb axe placements and the weather and setting were just perfect. It wasn’t serious so you could relax and just work your way upwards whilst trying to pick the best looking line. Excellent. At the top we took the obligatory summit pictures and gazed out south over to Scafell and Great Gable. We’d got the best weather deal as both of these had lenticular clouds on their tops.
OK, now what? We decide to bimble over to Robinson for a spot of lunch in the sunshine. CJ had spotted a buttress with a rake cutting diagonally through it over on the west face of Hindscarth so we headed off towards that. The rake itself was nothing much more than a tough walk but the buttress looked a bit chossy so we stayed on the rake until it too became chossy upon which we went into rapid ascent mode and headed straight up. This was technically much easier than the previous route but not quite as pleasant. Frozen choss and snow covered scree slopes are not really my cup of tea. Anyway, at the top we head back towards Dale Head so that we could complete the Newlands horseshoe by going down over High Spy.
The southern Lakes had by now completely clouded over but we were still in sunshine. Off we plod again. It really was a great day to be out in the mountains. Days do not come any better than this. CJ has a little scramble on some rocks, me and Tim were too knackered for that malarkey. A quick calculation of time and distance and we figure out it’ll be just getting dark when we get back to the hut – perfect timing. Just as we’re approaching the farmhouse we see The Beast whizzing down the lane. Damn, just too late. Then we realise they’re taking their time at the gate and we dash the last 50 yards waving and shouting. We make it and clamber on to the top of the load bed and ride back to the hut – why walk when you can ride? A pleasant evening was spent in the local pub eating and drinking whilst tales and yarns were swapped. This was of course after CJ cooked a steak in the hut and ate it in front of us.
Sunday dawned not so good. It was dry but had clouded over, although the tops were still clear. We decided to have a go at one of the buttresses on Helvellyn but then plans changed at the last minute. CJ went off for a walk as did Tim, Jen and Darren. Me, Ray, Martin and Rich headed over to Borrowdale and Shepherd’s crag, the guide book for which was in Newbury. First of all we did Little Chamonix. Me and Rich did it moving together in big boots. That certainly livens it up, the move right onto the slab is certainly entertaining when you can’t smear. It really is a cracking route and the exposure and steepness at the top is outrageous for a V Diff. Martin and Ray climbing it conventionally but managed it in only to two pitches. Some lunatic was on a 5a “easy” route to the right, complete with a 50’ run out. After lunch me and Rich went back to have a go at a VS. Not having rock shoes with me meant that I didn’t have any choice other than to do it in big boots. Given that VS is what I normally lead anyway, leading it in big boots would be a good confidence boost. Unfortunately this didn’t turn out to be the case as I managed 10’ worth of air miles before stopping 5’ off the deck held by a #3 Friend. I’ve never fallen onto a Friend before, but I can report that they work as advertised, and this one, despite not being over cammed, subsequently required some “persuasion” to come out. Rich then led the route, his first VS lead. Well done. By now it was 2:30, drizzle had started so after a spot of off roading in the Bowderstone car park we headed off home. Again we cruised all the way down the M6 at 80 without a single hold up. All I can say is “what a cracking Lakes meet you missed”.
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