Circular route
Day 1
Mardale Head car park to Mosedale Cottage bothy via swindale head. The days planning went out the window due to the snow depth we encountered. To that end it took us almost double the amount of time to get to the bothy. Snow was 1-3ft deep for the entire route, bringing our speed down to approx 1kph. Sunny start but the weather deteriorated quickly, thick snow and strong winds on the last 2km of the walk. No paths to follow at all. We fought our way to the bothy just as darkness fell and actually had a comfortable nights sleep with a small fire and candles.
Day 2
Bothy to mardale car park via gatescarth Pass.
Our original route was due to take us to high street, but we changed the plan on account of the difficulty in the snow.
We covered 4km in just over 4hrs today, navigating completely off any paths. Best bit of nav was contouring around the south face of Artlecrag Pike in complete white out conditions and deep snow drifts. I timed us on various bearings, often on our hands / knees and was very successful in the distance / time calculations. The weather cleared as we descended the last 1.5km to the van, absolutely knackered!
Area :
Eastern Fells
From the Kirkstone Pass to the M6.
