After all of that awful rain and flooding, last week saw the first real dump of snow across the lakes.

Initially the fall was above 500 metres but on Wednesday night a significant amount fell almost to valley bottom.

iPhone Image of the sunset with Harter Fell in shadow but the full glow of the sun on Bow Fell

I am currently undertaking a year long project for 'The Great Outdoors' magazine about one of my favourite locations, the Duddon Valley and decided that a full days trip around that area would be beneficial.

It didn't disappoint.

Making my way up to Stickle Pike in a true winter wonderland was a great experience and I never saw another soul. It literally felt very special.

Crunching along with the 'spiders' on my feet and leaning on my trusty Pacer Poles, enabled a swift, easy and enjoyable ascent up to the summit. I had a quick warming brew and stood in awe looking out towards the estuary, then inland taking in Bow Fell and The Scafells. It was a complete whiteout balanced against a true blue sky.

Beautiful!

I had decided to travel light and so instead of using my full frame camera, I chose to shoot hand held on the Fuji X Pro 1. The wind was actually gusting so I figured that it would be easier this way. It was and the results will be in the article along with other images taken over the seasons.

The dusk produced some memorable images and I had to quickly make my way down as the temperature dropped and the ice became more evident.

always better to be safe than sorry.

I hope to deliver the article in March and will keep you posted.