At last a good winter weekend.

On Thursday Jeff, Pete and I continued our winter training at the King Kong Climbing Wall in Keswick. Outside it was bright and cold and the fells were snow covered down to a low level. Friday was another cold day and the forecast suggested that the weekend weather would be good for winter walking on the fells.

Jeff and Pete on the Wall.

A cold Solway Coast on Friday evening - the hills of Dumfries and Galloway just visible.

As the fell forecast gave a high avalanche risk for steep leeward slopes we wanted a safe and easily accessible route for Saturday (many roads in Cumbria are still closed after storm Desmond in December). We chose to park in Seatoller, Borrowdale to climb Glaramara and Allen Crags before descending via Sty Head to Seathwaite.

We were up and off before 8am and as we drove down the valley the weather looked promising. There were few cars in the car park and we were to see very few people on the hill. The snow level was low and it soon became quite deep. One group had put in a trail but this did not follow the 'normal route' and we were aware that it may cross unfrozen bogs. It was hard going but we made steady progress and despite increasing cloud cover the views were superb.

Once on the summit of Glaramara we ate and drank and then headed for Allen Crags. No track had been 'put in' so we had to break trail. In drifts the snow was thigh deep and the going was harder than ever. We wished for snowshoes and cursed a pair who followed at a distance our tracks.

The cloud continued to build and as we reached Allen Crags it started to snow. It would continue to do so for the remainder of the day. We ate and drank again on the summit which allowed our pursuers to catch up. They graciously thanked us for breaking trail and it turned out that we'd met them before on the hill a couple of winters ago.

From the summit we dropped down to Esk Hause to follow the track to Sty Head. We thought that this would be easier as it's normally a 'highway' but there were no tracks so once again we had to 'post hole' all the way. We saw no one except for a few climbers at the base of Central Gully on Great End until we reached Styhead Tarn. At this point the passage of more feet had compacted the snow making the going easier and faster. It was, however, quite slippy so we were glad to put the Microspikes on for the steep descent to the valley. The long walk back to the car is always the worst part of the day but we were pleased to have had at last a long day on the hill.

The road back to Keswick was well gritted as was the A66 but snow fell all the way home and into the evening. Our thoughts turned to another hill day on Sunday.

Starting the climb up Glaramara.

Looking down Borrowdale.

Climbing higher the snow increasing in depth.

Looking to Fleetwith Pike.

The ridge to Glaramara.

A distant Skiddaw and Blencathra.

Great view along Borrowdale.

Looking to Great End, Lingmell and Great Gable.

Thigh deep snow in places made the going hard work.

Great day to be in the Lakes.

Great Light.

A snowy Great Gable.

Susan strikes a classic summit pose.

'Where are my snowshoes when I need them?'

A classic winter day.

Cloud building from the west.

Looking to Langdale Pikes.

Allen Crags summit - snow falling.

Somewhere on the Sty Head pass.

Sty Head - Scafell Pike and Lingmell just visible.

Heading for a partially frozen Styhead Tarn.

The long walk down begins.

Back in Seatoller.

We chose to head for Keswick to climb Skiddaw on Sunday - thinking that the roads would be clear and that a track would have been put in on Saturday to make the going easier even with more overnight snow. We had a later start but there were few people around as we headed up from the foot of Latrigg. Initially the the snow wasn't very deep and as we climbed higher there was a clear trail to follow making the going much easier than on Saturday. It was another bright morning but it was clear that the clouds were again building from the west.

We chose to climb Little Man first and as soon as we left the main track the going got more difficult. No trail had been put in and the wind picked up as we climbed higher. The summit was very cold so we didn't linger and pressed on fro Skiddaw. There were some glimpses of the snow covered Northern Fells and the Scottish Border hills beyond but the visibility was generally poor and at times we walked in a whiteout.

The summit ridge was very windy and cold and when we reached the top we tried to get into the snow filled shelter to allow us to eat and drink. Thank goodness for 'belay jackets'.

We started to descend in whiteout conditions so had to keep checking our location. Eventually things improved and we began to meet parties coming up. Some of them were poorly equipped for the day and we passed some groups who had sensibly turned back.

Once back in Keswick we could not resist a scone in Abraham's Cafe. The perfect way to end our best Lakes weekend for some time. Fingers crossed for more to come!!!!!!!!!!!!

A glorious start to Sunday.