Ah, another New Year's trek in the Lake District... really there are very few things other than walking over rolling snowy hills in the dead of winter to make you appreciate and value your life. Below are pictures from the trip and short notes. If you want to read the whole icy story, visit my adventurelog. |  |
 | It must be said however, that one of those other things that makes you value your life is driving over icy roads to get to the snowy hills. We drove over this enormous patch of ice and quickly realized that we needed to go back the other way to park the minibus. Up the ice was scary but possible. Down was scary and generated images in our minds of a bashed up bus. So Phil did the logical thing and started chipping away the ice on the road. It didn't work, so we instead decided to leave the bus where it was and pray that the sun would melt the ice while we went walking. |
While the sun did melt the ice at the bottom of the mountain the freezing wind was blasting ice and snow at us on the top. I may look silly in my goggles, but I could (A) see and (B) had feeling in my face, which is more than could be said for most others! |  |
 | At one point on one of the later days as we were about to eat our lunch we noticed that the barometer was dropping really rapidly. The weather was going to turn nasty... soon. So rather than run back to shelter, we used our own emergency shelters and had lunch underneath. |
When New Year's Eve came along we were hit by a horrendous storm. Snow was blasting sideways and the wind was very strong. However, the group was determined to make it from the barn we were staying in to the pub in town (a 40 minute walk away). We were out of our little minds. The snow changed to sleet as we dropped in elevation and I got covered in miserable slush that managed to seep through my gloves, coat, trousers... everything. When we got to the pub we got to enjoy hot steak and ale pie along with lots of very nice beer until the storm knocked the power out. After that we just enjoyed the beer and the candle light. |  |
 | Alex Caley. Our fearless president. |
The barkeep borrowed our headlamps so he could continue serving beer. He was a bit mad. |  |
 | Then to top everything else, this 500 year old oak fell across the road that we needed to use to get the bus out from the barn. Needless to say on the next day we slept in. |
And finally, here is a picture of Phil looking very silly in my hat. |  |