Grim. Grim as in camera stayed in the car grim, though I may get a few from Ste (whos new to all this) later on.
I'd checked the forecasts and all looked reasonable enough, slight chance of rain, looked like Kinder or Mam Tor ridge may be cloud / mist free with the cloud base at 500m but a decent chance of lifting later. Of course the cloud didn't lift but we didn't know that at the time.
Still I'd not been out for ages and Kinder is bizarre enough at the best of times to generally make it worth a trip. So I decided Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook, then down the ladder as if the weather lifted you'd get some fine winter walking and views. Visibility wasn't that bad really or so I thought. It'd be a nice learning experience for Ste as well - and it was.
Grindsbrook was pretty good all told (excellent icicles), mostly ice free underfoot until the last sections where it became very icy and slippy, but still negotiable with care. The final section looked almost impossible (the ice was cracking and melting so I'm not sure crampons would have even helped to be honest) so we cut the corner and scrambled up the grassy bank to the top.
Yes the top - a harsh environment of wind, ice and snow underfoot, ice particles whipping through the air but worst of all visibility down to no more than 50-100m.
There are two fairly clear markers at the top of Grindsbrook, the start of the path across Kinder and the cairn. Neither where visible today. One path was fairly clear (the path that leads to Grindslow Knoll) but that would have taken us away from the intended route. So we started off across in the general direction of the path, which didn't materialise, so after some meandering about wondering whether I should try and reconnect with the edge path or plunge on till we found the right path (GPS said I was slap bang between the two) we thought it may be best to just simply head back. Conditions were poor and it was probably the safest option without a clear path to follow. That and I couldn't really stomach falling into any more snow filled holes (I truly out did myself today in this regard).
As we decided turning back was wise I said that tradition dictates we would now find the path we originally wanted. Five minutes later we were stood on the right path and decided to press on to complete our intended walk.
Apart from constant harassment from wind and the ice particles we made fairly good time and soon came to Crowden Tower. Normally this would be a place to stop and take a bite but with no let up in the weather we just carried on. Both us were glad our clothing was keeping us nice and warm in the conditions, and I'd managed to show how waterproof my boots were by getting them completely submerged and saying look, the water stays on the inside!
As we made it through the woolpacks we came across a group of walkers (apparently formed from several groups) going the wrong way to try and find the Pennine Way. They asked us if they were going the right way and where the path was. I explained that there isn't a 'proper' path until further on and that they were heading the wrong way anyway. They decided to follow us as we were heading in the right direction and eventually we ended following another gent who was heading the same way. Until the 'proper' path reappeared and the group split up with only one person tagging along behind us.
It looks like the National Trust are doing some work to improve the paths at some point as there were signs dotted around warning of air lifted stones being dropped, and huge slabs lined alongside the route to Jacobs ladder. Still we found the top without issue and went down the ladder.
As we walked along the Pennine Way to Edale, Ste thought he'd had a baptism of fire (very true) but he'd do it again but when the weather was much much better. I said this walk was unusual as conditions were much worse than normal, so should he next venture out with me (and probably my regular walking partner who should be fit again soon) it should be a much easier ride with an actual view as well. All things considered we made a good time as well - just under 4 hours.
A challenging but not unrewarding walk.
Suffice to say as we got back to the car the sun was just breaking through the murk and we even got some blue sky. At least the weather has a sense of irony.
I'm now off to have a medicinal pint or three - well it stops my legs aching!
© Dazza
