Hevellyn, 24-25 March 2017

This winter we hardly had any snow, we only managed to go skiing twice, both times in November. So when it suddenly started snowing (in the hills) at the end of March, and the weather forecast for the weekend was good, we could not miss the opportunity. Despite Sonya's broken arm (still in a pot) we went to the Lake District on Friday evening. We camped in the Thirlspot campsite, right next to the main road, and early next morning drove a little further, left the car in a car park and went up. We were on the trail by 9 am which is pretty good for us.

The red line shows our track. The red arrow shows direction of travel. The "P" and tent icons show the car park and the campsite, respectively.

We got to the campiste quite late. We pitched our tent and went to bed. The temperature was below freezing point overnight. Everything was covered with frost, but as soon as the sun reached us, it got quite warm. Sonya in a cast, scraping the ice off the car.

It was very spring-like below the tree line. The trees have all been planted, but he have not seen cypress trees in England before.

Thirlmere is completely calm, like a mirror. The snow-covered fell in the distance is Skiddaw, one of the highest fells in the region.

First snow, just above the tree line. There were many tracks in the snow, this is a popular route in good weather.

A telecon with Yasha.

Higher up, the snow was still firm, so we hardly left any tracks.

We got to the plateau near Nethermost Pike. There were not many people here, as most headed straight to Helvellyn. On the other side of the valley is St Sunday Crag.

Snow drifts at the edge of the plateau.

We stopped at a little slope, not too steep for Sonya to sledge. We did not expect so much snow, so only took our short skis with us. All our ski touring paraphernalia was left at home. We still managed to enjoy skiing though.

Grisedale.

We have now finished skiing and sledging and had our lunch. We are walking towards Helvellyn.

Sastrugi.

Helvellyn plateau. Skiddaw and Blencathra are at the back of the picture.

A panorama from Helvellyn. We could not agree whether the shape of Red Tarn resembles Lincoln or Karl Marx. The two ridges surrounding the lake are Swirral Edge и Striding Edge. We saw quite a few people climbing on these frozen ridges. The Ullswater lake is behind the snow-covered hills. Very far away one can make out North Pennines. We often go to North Pennines in winter, looking for skiable snow. One of the hills is decorated with a huge spherical radar visible from a long distance.

TIme to go back down. At the very back of the picture, behind Solway Firth, one can see Scottish hills (Dumfries and Galloway). Skiddaw is on the right.

Climbing down towards Thirlmere. While we were higher up, Victor was pulling Sonya on her sledge, and Maria went on her skis. Here the slope is getting steeper, and the snow is all but gone, so we are walking. We are back in Spring.

A little island surrounded by reflections of clouds.

This trip was a good way for Maria to celebrate her birthday!

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