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Hello and best wishes for a great 2010 to you all. Having collected the photos in from the gang I thought I would show all the weekends events that culminated in us being stuck overnight and the hard work to get out
It all started with Alan, Steve and his son David travelling up on the friday morning and parking up at Wasdale Head from where they climbed Scafell PIke.
- View to Wastwater
- The boys at the top
- View from the top
We were all stopping at a place called The Birks near the foot of Harter Fell and the following picture shows it pre snow.
- The Birks...our hotel
On the saturday morning while Lisa and myself were travelling up the rest which now included the later arrivals set off for a circular route that took in the Hardknott Pass
- Saturday walkers
- Looking down the pass
It was on the return of this walk they met us on our descent of Harter Fell (see my last post) and we walked to the Newfields Inn at Seathwaite. After a debrief we travelled back to The Birks where it was time for our Secret Santa presents and we were lucky to have the REAL santa and his number one elf.
- Santa and elf
Everyone had a chance to sit on santa's knee but some like Commander Conroy seemed to be enjoying it a little too much
- Mr. C and Mr. C !!!
All was well till the next morning when the snow came and we realised that getting out despite having all the gear and know how was not going to be easy
- Snowy Birks
- Push
- Getting worse
- Chilli getting chilly!!
- The snow was getting worse as we reached the valley road
After two hours of hard slog we got all the vehicles through to the road
- Convoy
- Nice on postcards
- Birks Bridge
Although we were now on the road the snow was deper and the ups and downs made it more treachorous, sadly we were to lose a vehicle and the good news was that although bruised and shaken the ocupants were ok, it was before we reached the Newfields in that the Mountain Rescue gentleman met us and was a tremendous help.
- Through the drivers eyes
- The end of the road
We eventually reached the sanctuary of the Newfields Inn
- The barn
The landlord fixed us up with The Barn, owned by Liz, where we could spend the night and save a 3 mile hike back to The Birks, this involved a 20 minute trek through the woods where we met some fellow refugees
- Walking in the air tonight !
The barn was really nice and we were looked after well but it was bitterly cold
- Home sweet home
As I said in the last post we were out the next morning after the plough and gritter had been, even then it was very precarious.
So that was it, another ordinary weekend out with the saturday gang, here's to many more safe days on the hills in 2010, best wishes to you and your families,love Sue