Part of the reason for this was some of the verges were very soft but also the place seemed full of ill equipped "track suit and trainer" walkers seemingly planning a trip to England's highest point. I'm not sure if there was a charity event of some sort but the numbers were quite overwhelming.
All the more strange then that the gents toilets were locked





Looking up Grains Gill from Stockley Bridge by Anthony Young, on Flickr


I ploughed on regardless, with my back teeth floating


This over with I could finally start to enjoy myself and soon I was above the snow line and plodding on with microspikes as conditions were an interesting mix of everything from ice to dry rock. As I neared the top of Grains Gill the snow cover was thick deep, crisp and even, and I must admit a debt of gratitude to those who had gone before me as a nice solid trench had developed through the snow up towards Esk Hause. The huge rock face of Great End looked magnificent and with just about every step onwards more wonderful sights were revealed.









As it was midday the glare off the snow was starting to take its toll as I regretted my failure to remember sunglasses once again. Soon enough I found some bare ground and had a sit with the green grass providing a welcome sight amidst the dazzling white snow. I wasn't sure that I was going to complete the traverse of Glaramara at this point, I had drank more of my water than was ideal, and I was becoming concerned as to the intensity of the glare. I solved the water situation by topping up my bottle with virgin snow and decided to at least head to the top of Allen Crags.
I arrived at the summit with a stunning view to greet me, some of the finest fells in Lakeland shown beautifully in partial winter coats. I soon got chatting to a nice fellow and had a fine natter with him and his two companions before moving off as Hughie looked to make a move on there sandwiches. Turned out we just missed a fellow walk highlander in the form of martin.h, sorry I missed you, perhaps our paths may cross again someday.






Anybody who has been over the Glaramara ridge will know just how many lumps and bumps there are. A concequence of this was the mix between deep drifted snow and bare ground all the way meaning slow going at times but at least route finding was easy following the footsteps. In direct contrast to the start of the walk there were very few people about and my pace slowed with many photo stops taking in the wonderful views in the warm windless conditions. While sitting on Red Beck Top a Raven flew over my head with every wing beat being perfectly audible in the stillness. Moments like this are magical especially when your're on your own with your own thoughts.















I eventually reached The summit of Glaramara way later than I expected, not a problem as I was in no rush, to be greeted by the superb view down Borrowdale culminating with Derwent Water and the mighty Skiddaw. I rested again and finished off my rations before attempting to find a way down. The west side of Glaramara was covered in deep soft snow so my descent was more of a controlled fall than traditional way down. But soon enough I was headed for the last top of my day, Combe Head.


There wasn't much of a broken trail up Combe Head so for once it was largely up to me to push through the snow to the summit. We'd missed out on this the last time but being on my tod this time I wasn't going to miss the view and every step was worth it for the truly wonderful vista on offer. It was impossible not to linger for at least a few moments before floundering off the top through more deep soft snow.





Once back to the main path, or trail through the snow, things were now straightforward as we followed the ridge down to Thornythwaite Crag leaving the snow behind. There is one thing about Glaramara however and that is it's a fair distance back to Seathwaite if you follow this ridge or continue towards Rosthwaite Fell. Perhaps it's the fact that your're going in the wrong direction for a couple of miles before heading back up the valley that makes the return to the car seem endless.








Hughie and I eventually arrived back at the car at least two hours later than expected both of us fairly tired but, speaking for myself, having enjoyed a fabulous day out. Not even hitting the tea time traffic through Keswick or encountering long queues in Booths while purchasing some much needed sustenance could put a dampener on things. What a day!