Borrowdale - Easter weekend 21- 24 Mar 2008
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Contributed by Sandy Gordon
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The weather forecast was dire and the accommodation Spartan, so it looked like it was going to be a rather grim Easter weekend. But no – late winter snowfall and sunny intervals turned the Lake District into an alpine paradise . . .
The weather forecast was dire and the accommodation Spartan, so it looked like it was going to be a rather grim Easter weekend. But no – late winter snowfall and sunny intervals turned the Lake District into an alpine paradise . . .
Friday – we decided to walk along the ridge west of Borrowdale from Cat Bells to Dale Head. The weather was OK for us but the higher ridges appeared and disappeared out of the cloud throughout the day. The snow-capped ridge to Grasmoor to the west looked particularly impressive – one for the forthcoming Stair meet perhaps.
Saturday – to avoid the high winds, Sandy and Mim opted to walk round Glaramara rather than climb it as others did. We felt smug in the morning as snow showers swept down the beautiful and deserted Langstrath valley. It cleared up nicely in the afternoon though, and the wind wasn’t so bad except at the highest point (Allen Crags). We got back quite late – it takes longer to walk round a hill than up it!
Sunday – we woke to see the whole scene covered in snow, and decided it was an ideal day to climb Ullscarf, the hill behind the bunkhouse. It might be a boggy bump in summer, but doing it in these conditions made it a real adventure. We lost the path under the snow on the way down, but found it again with the help of Don’s impressive mapping/GPS technology (which also plays birdsong by the way, but that’s another story).
Monday – others decided to head for home, but to make the most of the weather, Mim, Jon and Sandy got in another snowy hike over Branstree and Selside Pike from Haweswater, including a descent by the delightful (no, really!) Old Corpse Road.
I think Jon has some impressive pictures of most of this in the gallery |
