Tuesday 5 February 2013

A wild one!

There's nothing like an impending assessment to get one out when everyone else is tucked up at home!

I headed up into Brown Cove Crags today, the plan being to solo some gullies and see where the day took me.  50mph winds and a blizzard, with pretty much no visibility, put pay to that!


Brown Cove Crags in a blizzard


There is ice and old neve in the gullies, but it's lean and the guidebook grades probably don't apply.


There were a couple of keen beans heading up Central Gully which was in very lean conditions.

So i headed into the craziness and spent a good few hours navigating by compass, timing and pacing alone, coupled to that winds of 70mph, made it was a brilliant day!
The snow was being shifted around at a fair old rate, and any banks quickly had drifts behind them.  (Not in front of them as I always thought!)  Finding a reasonably deep one, I set to and dug myself a quick, little snowhole to get out of the elements.  I ended up getting my body out, but not my legs, I am 6ft 2".


Improvised shelter 'Lake Distict Stylee'
 ie: i reached grass before i could dig a good shelter!



Fisherplace Gill on the way down


It has been cold...these are rimed up blades of grass!!


And a rimed up tree.

Once again the Lakes has shown me that with enough motivation to get out, the worst days can be the best.


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