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Some people go for a meal on their Birthday, but that wasn’t my preferred activity for the day…instead I had made my mind up to take the day off and to go hillwalking (cant think about a better way to celebrate)
Luckily one of my friends volunteered to join me and after 3 weeks of praying to the weather god and keeping every toe and finger crossed the weather looked not too bad on October the 18th.
After heavy downpours during the morning, the sun finally decided to show its face and revealed beautiful snow capped mountains….I am always so excited when I see the first snow and to do the first walk in the snow on my Birthday just seemed perfect.
We set off after 11 am and headed up the slopes…the first layers came off pretty soon, but when the wind picked up and it started to snow (yeeha) I was glad I had my full waterproof gear with me.
A few hundreds yards from the top the wind turned into a gale and the snow was knee deep in places. Using my poles to stable myself in the wind, I was really struggling to keep my balance. The snow/hail felt like a thousand needles on my face and walking through the deep snow was really exhausting. When I reached the top of the first peak the wind showed its real force and I had to lean forward to battle my way to the first cairn (you just have to love that type of weather!!!)
Walking around the side of the mountain brought us outside the wind and we had some food before heading towards the small ridge which connected the 2 mountains. It is probably a really easy ride walk in summer but seeing it in winter was really dramatic …ridge walk in the snow and gale force winds=great fun.
Walking towards the true summit of Ben Challum was another challenge as the snow was so deep...when we got to a steep bit down the first hill, my friend showed me the only 'real way' to get down a hill in the snow...on your bum!
So sitting down on our bums we slid down the hill (hilarious!!!) Obviously it was so much fun, that I had to do the bit quite a few times before my friend managed to drag me away from the spot.
During the last climb up the hill we were battered with gales of snow and strong winds which started as quick as they finished, but reaching the top and taking some summit pictures made the day so worth while.
During the walk down we obviously took every opportunity to slide down the hill and I realized that poles can be used to gain speed (think about skiing sitting down)
Although I think a tin tray will have to come with me the next time I climb a mountain in the show
![Ben Challum (5).jpg]()
- The start of the walk
![Ben Challum (17).jpg]()
- First snow of 2011 :-)
![Ben Challum (55).jpg]()
- Ok who wants to build a snowman?
![Ben Challum (66).jpg]()
- Struggling through the deep snow
![Ben Challum (70).jpg]()
- you just have to love the drama of winter!
![Ben Challum (98).jpg]()
- The top and a happy birthday to me
![Ben Challum (79).jpg]()
- Ready to slide
