With the weather forecast up and down like a yo-yo, it seemed to be promising a reasonable start to the day with a deterioration in the late afternoon. Decision made.
Adam met me at J36 on the M6 and we travelled up to Penrith and then towards Alston and the start point of our day at Kirkland Hall (NY 647 325). It was never going to be ski's on at the car, but we were not sure either of when we would get ski's on!
A steady pull up to the 500m contour and we started to get snow fields big enough but not continuous enough so a bit more walking to 570m and the snow was continuous in cover.
Skins on and Cross Fell was quickly approached with just one really steep icy section that we had to kick steps up and the summit was there. Skins off, quick snack, ski's back on and a descent down extensive snow fields, dodging the odd rock, was dispatched with far too quickly.
Skins on again and Little Dun Fell and beyond it Great Dun fell with the dome looking like a giant snowball lay ahead. Skins off, ski down, skins on, ski down - bit of pattern here...
Making the most of all the snow fields and patches we managed to ski down to the 290m contour, with a bit of walking in between. From here though it was a grassy, boggy trek back to the van. A cracking day.
Point of note: Avalanches occur anywhere, not just in the big mountains, but where a slope is loaded, with enough gradient and a surface to slide on - snow will avalanche, even here in the Pennines!
Stairway to Heaven