Last weekend I had been roped in to help out in the pits of a cyclocross race with Andrew and Sam. For those who don’t know what that involves, it’s basically standing in a cold, wet, and muddy field frantically jetwashing bikes and trying to ensure they continue to run as smoothly as possible. I was happy to do this and be able to support friends, but wouldn’t exactly say I was dissapointed when we decided to make alternative plans on account of it being super cold and wet, and the guys not feeling it.

We’d planned to spend time in and around Liverpool, but Andrew made the great suggestion of heading another couple of hours north to the Lake District and hiking up Helvellyn.

On reaching the Lakes I was surprised by the amount of snowfall, but after a little bit of slightly tense driving we got to Ambleside. The town was beautiful, carpeted in snow and with far fewer other tourists about than when i’d last visited. Being from the south we don’t often see a lot of snow and its magical qualities have certainly not worn off on me. We headed to The Apple Pie cafe and snaffled down a tasty breakfast. The waiter actually recognized sam from the skatepark 10 years ago… He’s very modest but I recon he must have been one radical shredder.

I’d made a route a few weeks earlier as an option to do with my sister on This trip which headed up the mellower western side from Thirlmere rather than the route from the east which takes in Striding Edge, we felt this was a good call to avoid getting out of our depth in winter conditions. We saw a number of others out with mini crampons and axes and wondered if we were ill prapared, only to find a father escorting his two terrified looking teenaged daughters down the icy rocks wearing flat bottomed trainers and no gloves. You hear about idiots in the hills all the time but this was the worst i’d witnessed first hand. I try not to judge other peoples parenting as somebody with zero experience of it myself but that guy had to be out of his fucking mind. I hope they got down ok.

From the top of Helvellyn we headed across to Dollywagon Pike and down from Grizedale Tarn alongside a mostly frozen stream where we discovered that Sams ability to travel fast over slippery ground is not limited to cyclocross, and found him seemingly strolling along with ease while Andrew and I were slipping all over the place. The man is an absolute grip wizard and I genuinely think he could walk along a 45 degree slope made of pure lard and would have no problems.

Taking pictures in the snow was another new challenge, and a good number didn’t make the cut. I’m really happy with how some of these turned out though. The little Fuji X70 is becoming something I don’t like leaving at home!

Weekends like this have been bringing me a lot of joy lately, Those who know me well will know it’s been a pretty challenging year for various reasons but I feel like I’ve found a great rhythm in doing the things that make me feel good, and am full of excitement for what the future holds. Especially if more of it involves going up big hills.