Fairfield Snowshoe - Photo Gallery

I saw some real snow at home yesterday on Christmas Day so I'm hoping that there will be plenty on the hills and after a clear night I'm hoping for a sunny day. The only snag is that the roads are icy and untreated so I hope I can get to the Lake District. The motorway had to be treated with caution, only one lane was clear in places, but as soon as I turned off for the Lake District the roads were much better and my car was the only one with a covering of snow.

With being a bit later than usual because of the road conditions I stopped at Ambleside and decided to do a walk I last did three years ago. I started to walk up the Kirkstone Road and soon turned left onto Sweden Bridge Lane, shortly afterwards I took the left hand branch of the road towards Low Sweden Bridge. Going via Low Sweden Bridge isn't as picturesque as the High bridge but you get to walk the full length of the ridge and it avoids a steep grass slope.

Almost as soon as I got above the bridge I was walking through snow, Nab Scar was the first hill to be seen illuminated by the morning sun. As I started to gain height the Coniston Fells came into view and stayed visible all day. The other benefit of starting at Low Sweden Bridge is that you get to do a couple of rocky scrambles made more interesting by the covering of snow. You can avoid them by following the good track to High Sweden Bridge but that would defeat the object wouldn't it?

All the way along this ridge there is a substantial stone wall and I always reckon that if people built a wall it must be possible to walk alongside it. Walking as close to the wall as possible is definitely more interesting that the popular path and is the only way to make sure you reach the little summit of Low Pike. It was a wonderful sunny day, there were views in every direction and the sky was the bluest blue.

There is a tricky little scramble down from the summit of Low Pike perched high on an outcrop but crossed by the wall. I continued to follow the wall closely but this walk contains some of the wettest and muddiest areas in the Lake District. The walking is a little easier than usual with the ground being partly frozen but you still have to detour around the worst of the muddy swamps. Then you are climbing again, another scramble to follow the wall over another outcrop, being careful because of the snow but it gives you a bit more to think about.

Eventually you reach the summit cairn of High Pike, perched high above Scandale so you can see its whole length. The snow at this stage was more than just a reasonable covering, the powdery particles were starting to be blown into drifts by the strengthening breeze. The walk to Dove Crag was a delight, keep following the wall so you have no need to navigate, there is not much of a gradient but having to walk through snow can be strenuous.

There were fantastic views of hills all around, the visibility was good enough to be able to recognise them all, only the northern fells were out of the view hidden by the bulk of Fairfield ahead. This is definitely a day for gaiters, the snow is above boot height in places and much higher where it has drifted up against the wall. The wind is really beginning to whip up the spindrift and by the time I got to the summit of Dove Crag it was starting to sting my face. As well as causing the snow to drift the wind makes strange patterns in the snow as it scours the surface.

All around now it is white below my feet and blue above my head, wonderful distant views and a long white way ahead. As I walked down to the col between Dove Crag and Hart Crag the wind really began to blow strongly sending waves of snowy particles across the ground. As I started to climb a bleak looking Hart Crag, in between the waves of spindrift there were occasional eddies of spinning ice crystals curiously keeping their shape and position.

The summit of Hart Crag was less windy with good clear views towards Fairfield, then on the descent to Link Hause the wind really came in strong making it very difficult to stay upright on the steep, snowy downward path. There was no time to admire Fairfield's fine crags, the wind made it necessary to keep going up the interesting path to Fairfield's vast summit plateau. The wind kept blowing and spindrift was hitting horizontally harder than any hail storm.

As I got to the summit of Fairfield the wind dropped and the views all around were revealed, almost all of the hills I have ever climbed. I found a rock to sit on near the summit shelter and the sun was warm as I had my cup of coffee. Then the wind got up again and the spindrift was everywhere, I was instantly cold and had to pack up and get walking again, at least today the way off this summit is obvious.

On the descent from Fairfield the wind dropped below the summit and I was walking through the snow lifted from the summit and deposited on this calmer side of the hill. The flat looking surface of snow sometimes hid drifts that were higher than my knees so where possible I got back to the path. I can't remember having good visibility on this path before so it seemed very unfamiliar and I had a surprise view of Grisedale Hause that I had never noticed before.

It was a pleasant descent through lots of snow before reaching the summit of Great Rigg and the descent from there was through plenty of snow. As I started to make the shallow climb towards Heron Pike the snow became less thick. I visited the cairn of Erne Crag that seems to be a much better candidate for the summit of Heron Crag than the lower vague flat area and cairn about a hundred yards away.

You might think that this walk is almost finished but the small matter of Nab Scar has to be negotiated. The descent towards Nab Scar is a very eroded path that is really no trouble until it is filled with melted snow that is starting to freeze again in which case it can be quite awkward. Then you have to descend Nab Scar itself, the constructed parts of the path make it much easier than it used to be and the heavy foot traffic has cleared enough of the ice to make it fairly safe.

Eventually down to Rydal Hall all that remains is the walk back to Ambleside.

Andy Wallace 26th December 2004