Helvellyn in the Snow

Snow having fallen in the lakes, it was time to get out on the fell.  The Weatherline Fell Top Assessors had been reporting accumulations of snow on Helvellyn, with the normal scouring of the summit plateau by Westerly winds, dumping into the Eastern gullies.  The likelihood was that the snow in these gullys would not yet be consolidated enough to climb on, but a walk up Swirral Edge would give me a much better idea of the conditions.

Starting from Glenridding I made my way up ‘Little Cove’.  Place Fell over the other side of Ullswater had a healthy amount of snow on it, and soon I was walking up through snow as well.


Place Fell from Glenridding

The valley had been sheltered, but as I gained the ridge of Birkhouse Moor, it became increasingly windy and the snow depth increased.  Many hollows had large accumulations in, and I tried to follow the tufts of grass marking the areas of shallow snow, to avoid post holing in the drifts.


Looking down the wall from Birkhouse Moor

With some effort I reached the hole in the wall and spoke with a few other people who were behind me, and some others who had just turned back from Sharp Edge.  The wind was strong enough that I definitely decided not to attempt Striding Edge, and carry on towards the less challenging Swirral Edge.
With the cloud coming in, and spindrift in the air I was very pleased to be wearing my goggles, and with a bit of dead reckoning, navigated to where Red Burn leaves the Tarn.  From here I made my way part way up the side of Swirral Edge, before stopping to put my crampons on for the first time this season!

The snow on Swirral Edge was reasonably firm, but more from the passage of feat than anything else.  Off to the side of the ridge the snow was still very powdery, which did not bode well for gully climbs. The final snow slope was steep, and a guy descending it was having some confidence issues with this.  After some gentle and then not so gentle coaxing from his companion he managed to descend and I made my way up to the summit plateau.


Swirral Edge

The were quite a few people at the summit shelter.  Several had braved the wind and come up sharp edge, whilst some others had completed climbs in what the reported as poor, unconsolidated conditions.  Despite the wind having dropped somewhat, the wind chill was still pretty strong, so after a quick bite to eat I made my way back down Swirral Edge.

Stopping to take my crampons off at the bottom of the ridge, I elected to take the slightly shorter and hopefully more sheltered route, following the Red Burn back down to Glenridding.  The slopes of Catsye Cam looked to be in skiable condition, and reminded me of my hope to learn to ski,  if only to shorten the walk outs in winter.  I felt very envious of the skiers who came down the path on the other side of the valley, after using the Ski Tow on Raise, but soon I was on the metalled road from the Youth hostel and not long afterwards back at the car.