Ever looked at a mountain blanketed in fresh powder and felt a simultaneous rush of ‘YES!’ and ‘absolutely not’? That was me, one Saturday morning in February, watching the Lake District loom large over the A66. The sky was a piercing blue and the hills were sparkling.
I’m still a little bit of a nervous nelly, I’m not going to lie. When it comes to hiking in the winter, I see the snow and think ice and the possibility of slipping, but at the same time, all the hikes are different. I mean if I was told I’d be doing Helvelyn in the winter, my nervous levels would ramp up by 50%, especially Striding Edge, but Skiddaw, although a steep climb, is relatively tame in comparison.
We had some parking spaces in mind, there’s lots of little laybys, but we were definitely a bit late to the party and we ended up parking at Dodd Wood car park, it was £12 for all day (£2 per hour, maximum £12) which seems like a lot, but it’s worth it for the hike and the facilities there are really good too. Clean toilets and a little café.
This is where we set off from, up through Dodd forest and once we got clear of the trees we had our first taste of some of the stunning views that awaited us on this route. We took a moment to stare over Bassenthwaite Lake and to the north, the view of my home country, Scotland!
Upwards and onwards, this was a long uphill route that started off as a path surrounded by greenery and trees, which soon turned into a blanket of white as we came to Ullock Pike and saw Skiddaw gleaming white with, quite a lot of, snow!
It was truly beautiful to see, the panorama of the snow capped mountain ranges to the east, the lakes shimmering below, clouds beginning to make their way to hang over the summits and then as you look south, the sky, although paler, still blue and a hazy sunshine, giving off the most ethereal light and then as you keep turning, you see the path ahead and wish you’d asked Santa for some crampons or maybe some YakTrax (yes I’ve been googling!)
What was even better was the stillness. If you stopped and just closed your eyes for a few long breaths, the quiet was palpable, it surrounded you and eased the soul.
It was a bit slidy underfoot as we got onto Long Side and could see a few other hikers out and about, quite a few out with their dogs. We saw one couple with a pooch that had its own little booties on. I don’t know much about dogs, so I’m scratching my head a bit at whether they in fact need little walking booties, but it was amusing to see. There were also a few mountain bikers on the trail and it looked awesome and terrifying all at the same time.
We had a quick stop off on Long Side to grab our lunch and hydrate, in which time we’d cooled down quite a bit, so popped on another layer, got the gloves on and then this is where things get pretty scary biscuits for me, but oh so much fun. As we reached the base of Skiddaw and looked up at the steep ascent, we could see a couple of people coming down. I did think that they were moving at an absolute snails pace and couldn’t understand why.
I soon realised. The way up was covered in a thick snow, now I’m terrible with measurements, so if you’d ask me, I’d say 2 foot of snow, apparently it was around 8 inches… I think mine sounds much more dramatic and “real feel”, especially when my back foot is sliding backwards on a 30-degree incline, it felt like Everest! I even attempted a strategic bear crawl. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. It just results in more laughter and slightly more snow down the front of my toastie warm Rab jacket.
The Rab Women’s Cirrus Flex Jacket might look, feel, and pack like a down insulator, but since it’s actually synthetic it stays warm in wetter, damper environments. The insulation sits on the lighter side for full-year versatility. It has the packable warmth you’d like whether you’re summer alpine climbing or hut-to-hut touring in wintertime. A windproof, water-resistant shell ensures protection in most weather conditions. The Cirrus Flex also features a storage pocket that packs the jacket down for compact storage so you can take it wherever you roam.
We passed a group of five coming down who were contemplating the ‘bum-slide’ method of descent. While tempting, their sensible group leader pointed out the hidden sharp rocks beneath the powder, a good reminder that winter mountains demand respect, even when they look like giant marshmallows.
I got my head down and just motored my way up to the top and then was hit by the freezing wind, lost the feeling in my ear, got my hat out and put it on, then my ear started burning and then everything was tickety boo!
More ridiculously awesome views from the top of Skiddaw and I always wonder why more people don’t come and see these majestic scenes for themselves if they can. For me, there is this overwhelming sense of being part of nature, of being alive and witness to the more beautiful side of the world we live in. No distractions, no mind chatter, just simply being in that moment. It makes the heart happy.
The snow, driven by the wind had accumulated in the fencing on the summit, I’ve never seen anything like it, seemed almost impossible for it to just collect like stained glass windows within the wires.
From the top, it was a pretty straight forward descent. We went via Bakestall and down by Cockup Gill (Yes, yes I did laugh at the name). There was a lad setting up a wild camp in the snow, he’s much braver than me, I bet it was Baltic that night, but he looked well prepared. There may have been a little stop further on for someone to do a snow angel and somehow get snow inside their gloves… wasn’t me this time!
We made it down to the bottom with some light to spare, but it did get dark on the last push back along to the car park, we even spotted some deer in the woods who obviously thought it was safe to roam now the sun had set.
All in all though, I loved this hike. I loved the views, I loved the snow, I loved the way it got my heart thumping. I would highly recommend putting Skiddaw on your to do list, it’s worth it.
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