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Threlkeld, Blease Fell, Blancathra, Cumbria.
[ 14 km] Wed 01 Dec 2010

NY 5185 2561
The lane up by the school in Threlkeld was covered in frozen snow but I managed to get up to the small car park OK. I was the only one there. I set off along the lane by the Blencathra Centre until I reached the small car park at the end. With snow on the road and prospects of more nobody had parked here. The continuing track had thin coating of snow but some parts had underlying ice. The cloud was low but I caught a brief sunny glimpse of Lonscale Fell across Glendaraterra Beck.


Lonscale Fell

approaching the summit and about to go into cloud

I was walking along the base of Blease Fell and just before I reached Roughten Gill coming in from the right I headed up through the snow to start the ascent of Blencathra via Knowe Crag. I followed a gently slop up into the gill then turned south to take a direct route up the fell. The wind became stronger and I was soon in cloud. My hopes of seeing the Blencathra snow cornices seemed doomed. When I started my walk along the ridge I could see them but only short stretches.

Most of the way I was walking in a whiteout. The wind got stronger and with a temperature of -7 degC I was going to find it difficult to find shelter to have my lunch. About half way to Hallsfell Top I climbed a short way down the south face to get out of the wind. It almost worked but as I sat there the spindrift dropped on me from above. When I reached hallsfell top there was hardly any visibility so I took the quickest, and probably safest, descent route via Scales Fell.


from the descent of Scales Fell

from the descent of Scales Fell

It was annoying still being in cloud and I didn’t descend below it until the final approach to Scales. Instead of descending all the way to the path by the A66 road I stayed on the path that follows the base of the fell and crosses Scaley Beck, Doddick Gill and Gate Gill. At Blease Gill I took the path down back to the car park. My car was still the only one there.