Haweswater 3 March 2024

The snow fell in the mountains during the week so we went to the Lakes again. It was hard to know in advance how much snow to expect and where to look for it. We went to Haweswater. To our surprise, the car park was packed. We met quite a few people on the way up and on the plateau.

The blue line shows our track. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.

Streams flowed along the paths as the snow melted. The higher we climbed, the more snow there was.

Small Water. Blue sky briefly appeared among the low clouds but then we got into the fog.

At Nan Bield Pass, the visibility towards Kentmere improved. On the ridge leading to the High Street, the wind had blown deep snowdrifts. The steep climb ended and we put on our skis.

Suddenly the fog melted away and we found ourselves on a snowy plateau.

The next ridge is still covered in clouds.

Catching up with the clouds. The snow was wet and very heavy. The skis didn't glide at all. But still, it was much more pleasant to ski than to walk, sometimes falling knee-deep in snow.

Looking back.

The valleys below are completely black, only the tops of the mountains are covered with snow. It's a beautiful transition from black to white.

From High Street we went to Kidsty Pike, and then descended back to Haweswater.

Kidsty Pike goes right down to the lake.

The view back to High Street. The sky is covered in clouds. The landscape has become black and white, but it is still a beautiful view.

From here you have a view of the northern Lakes.

Riggindale Beck flows into Haweswater. We skied down to the steeper part of the ridge and then had to walk the rest of the way. Down in the valleys below, it was swampy and squelchy underfoot. We walked along the reservoir shore back to the car.

This is our second ski trip in England this winter - and we thought the ski season was over...