The Birdman of Raise

Rare sight today on Raise. Gordie Oliver, speed riding down the snowy slopes of the Lake District.

He did a masterful turn to avoid my head, but in the next turn his bindings released and he had a "sporting" landing amongst the rocks.

Looks great fun, just the ticket for a day when the wind was too light to UpSki or Kite.

Bruce

UPSKIING AT RAISE FROM BRUCE CORRIE

Upskiing near Raise, sent in by Bruce Corrie

VIDEO CLIP OF STAG GROUP ABSEIL, BLACK HOLE QUARRY

DAILY PHOTO JANUARY 27TH - LOADPOT HILL, HIGH STREET

Photo taken 9am looking towards Loadpot Hill, alt 350-500m approx. Still plenty of snow even at these modest levels.

WINTER COURSES

WINTER COURSES: Current thaw conditions look likely to be short lived, so the large amounts of snow in the Lakes should remain at higher levels, and should provide some excellent winter conditions in the weeks to come. The same goes for Scotland, where there is even more snow!

Winter Courses are running regularly in the Lakes and Scotland now - contact us for details

From Jo:
Hi John,
I wanted to drop you a line just to say what a fantastic weekend we all had
this weekend. I know I speak for Beth and Cheryl too in saying that the
course exceeded our expectations. I would never have thought I'd be making
my way up swirral edge with axe in crampons within 2 days!!! Amazing. Both
of the instructors were professional, friendly and encouraging with just the
right balance of teaching, sharing their stories and having fun. I think the
image of Dave flushing porridge out of his kit will stay with us all :).
Despite the terrible weather, hard work and patience required on the way up
Helvellyn we were duly rewarded with glorious views on the way down.

From Cheryl:
Hi John,
Just a quick note to let you know what a fantastic time I had on the Winter Skills course in the Lakes this weekend. Dave and Richard were both fantastic, I feel I learnt a lot from both and while always knowledgeable and professional they were also both great fun and made it a really memorable couple of days! Please pass on thanks to them - I shall definitely recommend this course to my friends!

ABSEILING FOR STAG GROUP

It might have been a bit on the cold side on Saturday, but that didn't stop a stag group organised by Nick Strachan from enjoying some adventurous abseiling with us at Black Hole Quarry. After a quick try on the short abseil, all members of the party managed the big abseil at the back of the quarry - all 140 foot of it. Well done chaps - I'll bet the beer tasted good that night....

WEATHER AND CONDITIONS PHOTOS POSTED JAN 26

FROM BOTTOM UPWARDS - LOADPOT HILL FRI 23RD JAN, BOWFELL, SAT 24TH JAN, HAWESWATER AND EASTERN FELLS MON 26TH JAN AND LOADPOT HILL MON 26TH JAN

Beth, Jo, Cheryl and I had a fantastic day out on Helvellyn yesterday. Following on from their first day out with Dave looking at winter skills on Raise we headed up through the mist to Red Tarn. An enthusiastic session practicing self arrest was unfortunately interrupted while I went and assisted a guy who had fallen off Striding Edge..... once he was safe and the rescue team had arrived we carried on our way. Swirral Edge had an alpine feel to it with all the snow and after a few final metres of frontpointing we all arrived on the plateau where some careful navigation was required, confidently done by Beth. The clouds cleared as we walked down giving fantastic views and a fitting end to an eventful day. Best wishes to Dave if he reads this, I hope you enjoyed the helicopter ride!

Cheryl writes: Hi John,
Just a quick note to let you know what a fantastic time I had on the Winter Skills course in the Lakes this weekend. Dave and Richard were both fantastic, I feel I learnt a lot from both and while always knowledgeable and professional they were also both great fun and made it a really memorable couple of days! Please pass on thanks to them - I shall definitely recommend this course to my friends!

and from Jo,
Hi John,

I wanted to drop you a line just to say what a fantastic weekend we all had
this weekend. I know I speak for Beth and Cheryl too in saying that the
course exceeded our expectations. I would never have thought I'd be making
my way up swirral edge with axe in crampons within 2 days!!! Amazing. Both
of the instructors were professional, friendly and encouraging with just the
right balance of teaching, sharing their stories and having fun. I think the
image of Dave flushing porridge out of his kit will stay with us all :).
Despite the terrible weather, hard work and patience required on the way up
Helvellyn we were duly rewarded with glorious views on the way down.

Friday 23rd January

More overnight snow at all levels, and some significant accumulations at higher levels bode well for the rest of the winter barring a massive thaw. Snowpack needs to settle and undergo some freeze/thaw to improve. Lots of windslab, so avalanche danger quite high generally. Photo looking towards Loadpot Hill at the start of the High Street ridge.

22nd January

Overnight thaw, but still lots of snow left - photo is looking towards Loadpot Hill, 300-550m. Extensive drifting.

West Coast Winter Climbing

An extra post from me [Rich] today just to let you all know that I'll be based up near Glen Coe for all of February and still have some availability left for winter climbing courses.  Whether you'd like to try winter climbing for the first time, want to brush up your skills or have always wanted to climb Point 5 then I can help!  It's looking like it'll be a great season so get in touch with John via the website for bookings and further information.  

21 JAN view towards Haweswater

View towards Haweswater and low level fells. Significant drifts are forming on est facing slopes at higher levels.

OVERNIGHT SNOW AND STRONG WINDS HAVE LEFT EAST FACING SLOPES IN THE LAKE DISTRICT LADEN WITH SNOW, EVEN AT LOWER LEVELS SUCH AS IN THE PICTURE ABOVE BAMPTON ON THE END OF THE HIGH STREET RIDGE. 20TH January 2009

18TH JANUARY - HELVELLYN WITH FRESH SNOW COVER

BEN NEVIS PHOTOS FROM PHILIPPE AT BRASHER

Photos from Philippe at Brasher of Philippe and Steven topping out on Good Friday Climb, and the view from the summit of Ben Nevis.

BEN NEVIS JAN 09

A view from the summit from Derek Bain after doing Good Friday Climb between Christmas and New Year....

John White with David and Albert Higgins on the summit.

We had a great day on the Ben on the 3rd January, approaching via the Waterslide from Glen Nevis and ending up at the old abseil posts before continuing up the finish of the Carn Mor Dearg route to the summit. This is such a superior route to the normal track for experienced hillwalkers.

UPSKIING - the new way to the top.....

Early winter snow brought some great sport for those Lakeland locals who Upski - skiing uphill and across slopes with giant sails. With 55 sq metres of sail, a strong wind produces some awesome power output. The videos are not the best I've ever seen, but you'll get the idea!!!
Upskiing on Raise
Upskiing Howgills
You can try out the sport of Upskiing with Highpoint - contact John White via the website for details: