Wind Blown

St Sunday Crag, Lake District, UK

The summit of St Sunday Crag was my aim for sunset as I ran down Pace Fell after a morning of photography back to my car in Patterdale. The short daylight hours at this time of year can be a problem, especially when the weather is this good. I could have chosen somewhere more accessible but decided to have a quick lunch and set off again at 12.30pm. I was, straight back onto the footpath ready for the 700 meter accent. Fortunately there was already a trail through the snow and I had a compacted path to follow, but the going was still tough. Stripping down to my baselayer and I was still sweating buckets! Whilst in Scotland a few days before I was persuaded to buy a pair of walking poles and no matter what you think of them they really DO make a difference. I'm a big guy and when trying to power up and down hills, with a heavy pack, stability can be a problem, but after using them a few times they've certainly helped me.

The snow on the final 100m had frozen over so I clipped my crampons on and reached the summit at 2.20 feeling pretty proud of my efforts! I had just under 2 hours exploring the area and found some great shapes in the snow and ice formed by the wind (know as 'sastrugi') I waited for the sun to set before setting off on the return trip before it got too dark!