Walkhighlands

I continued to make the most of the 'proper' winter that the second half of February (mostly) brought. This is what it should be all about! What a contrast to the dismalness on Lank Rigg of a few days ago. This was a long and consistently high day which I'd have been worried about doing in bad weather. Crinkle Crags and Bowfell would have been a fearsome place in cloud, wind and precipitation but today were places of grandeur. Walkers were out in force. I took crampons and at times wondered whether I should actually wear them instead of merely making weight inside my rucksack. The hardness of the snow varied, and some downslopes particularly were a little tricky. Finally I decided I needed them for the descent of Great End, back down to Eskdale Hause. It was easily doable without, but made things quicker and more secure. Great End itself was probably the highlight of a day of many highlights. Classic ridge-walking, and some big fells to get in the bank for my Wainwrights in winter challenge. It feels very much alive still, but I've got a lot to do (13 more walks with barely over a month left). My access to a car is limited to weekends, but this was a place I could get to by bus via Ambleside and Great Langdale.

I stayed at New Dungeon Ghyll Bunkhouse and intended to do Glaramara (and 3 neighbours) the next day but wimped out and went home instead. The forecast was not quite as good, but what really put me off was the endless valley walk to get up there. A lot of mileage for just 4 fells, so I opted to attack it from Borrowdale instead. Time presses though!

Great to see you enjoying a decent day TEA , some lovely shots of the hike too, it's been a miserable winter for hiking so far but you're still in with a shout