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It's not often that Blencathra gets a really good covering of snow, and on those rare occasions that it does, it isn't usually there for long. But the past couple of weeks have been an exception. On the morning of Saturday 9th December, Blencathra looked resplendent in its white mantle, as we drove past it on the way to Buttermere to do the High Stile ridge. 'Why don't we do Sharp Edge?', I said to Karl as I looked up at it longingly. 'I haven't got my ice axe', was the terminal reply. At the time I thought we'd probably missed a golden opportunity. Surely it couldn't stay that good for another week?
But as the week wore on it stayed cold and even more snow accumulated on the fells. And, to set the seal on it, the forecast for Saturday was very good - sunshine and light winds. So on Saturday 16th we met up in Penrith all set for a wintery jaunt up Sharp Edge and down Halls Fell. But the sky was grey, the fells were invisible and a sleety drizzle filled the air. We went in the Red Rooster Café for a coffee, just to see if things were going to improve. After about forty minutes it hadn't really improved, but we were getting bored so we decided to set off anyway. As luck would have it the sky soon started to brighten as we drove west. Blencathra was beginning to emerge from its shroud of mist, and by the time we reached Scales things looked quite promising. It was about 9.45 by the time we started walking out of the new car park near the White Horse Inn.
On reaching the col at the top of Mousthwaite Combe, Sharp Edge was doing a sort of dance of the seven veils behind layers of mist which came and went, but was quite obviously plastered with a decent covering of snow. It looked positively alpine. The snow we walked on was frozen firm from a clear, cold night. It had been a good few years since I'd been up this way in full winter conditions, and it was to be Karl's first winter ascent of Sharp Edge.
- Mist clearing from a snowy Sharp Edge, from the Mousthwaite col.
- Sharp Edge looms closer
- Looking back down the Glenderamackin
- Scales Tarn
- Sharp Edge above Scales Tarn
- At the foot of Sharp Edge
- View south-east over Brunt Knott
- Scales Tarn
- On the crest of Sharp Edge
- Bannerdale Crags
- Scales Tarn below
- Karl on one of the flatter bits
- Foule Crag from the slabby bit
- Karl coming up the slab leading to the final slopes
- A last view of Scales Tarn
During our traverse of the ridge and the climb up beside Foule Crag, we had been treated to blue skies, sunshine and clear views. But the summit itself, at the other end of the saddle, was shrouded in mist. It was a shame to miss the summit views.
- Karl on the summit, disappointed by the absence of views.
We found a sheltered ledge just below the summit on Halls Fell and parked ourselves for refreshments. Quite a few folk were coming up the ridge.
- Our way down - Halls Fell aka Narrow Edge
We didn't think we'd have to go far down to get out of the clag...
- Having fun on the snowy rocks - note the tiny tot on the rope!
- Down through the mist
- Looking back up Halls Fell
- Valley appears below the clag
...but we stayed in it right until the bottom of the rocky part of Halls Fell.
- At the bottom of Narrow Edge
The sky was now completely overcast and the weather clearly on the turn. But no complaints; we'd made the most of the day and had a great time on a very satisfying winter traverse. It felt like a good start to the winter; let's hope the rest of it lives up to its early promise!