Ski trip to Redbrook Reservoir 12 January 2025

While we were in Sweden, it snowed in England. It had been cold all week, so we were sure the snow hadn't melted. We went to our favourite spot in the northern Peak District, near the exit from the M62. It's about 400 m above the sea level, so the snow cover was very good: you could put your skis on right next to the car. We were very lucky: the sun was shining almost all day, and the temperature was just below freezing point. The skis glided just as well as they did in Sweden!

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

We crossed a frozen tarn.

All surfaces were covered with a thick crust of ice on which frost had grown overnight.

Probably the ice started to melt at some point and icicles formed, which froze and turned to hoarfrost.

Ice-framed portraits.

The grass is also covered in ice.

A thick layer of ice on a small blade of grass.

The visibility was so good that we could see the skyscrapers of Manchester.

Ice cacti.

Castleshaw reservoirs.

Ice-encased grass.

To our surprise, we saw many people: some jogging, some walking, some with dogs, some on bicycles. We were the only ones on skis, although we did follow someone else's ski track for a while.

A lonely house by the roadside. It used to be a pub.

Walking past the Redbrook reservoir, we came across a couple who were clearing a hole in the ice. They must have decided to take a swim. By the time we walked back, they were already gone.

We reached the Black Moss Reservoir and had lunch. It was time to head back to make it before dark. In the end, we covered 18 km in the short day. The skis glided wonderfully, the weather was warm, and the scenery was stunning.