I was up on Kinder Scout today, had a great time but also a bit of a reminder about treating winter conditions with respect.
Loved getting out in the snow, was slushy on the lower slopes but crisp up on the plateau with beautiful ice formations on tufts of grass and snow drifts in all sorts of interesting shapes behind rocks etc. Nice and clear later in the afternoon with great views.
However, I was walking North to South on the Western side of the plateau, and although the snow was fairly manageable to start with, having to fight through a few deeper drifts and work out a decent route to follow (maximising time on lightly covered rocks and hard ground and minimising time fighting through drifts or soft vegetation also covered in snow) but generally making decent progress it did seem to get deeper as I went South and the going got tougher. I'm less fit than I was last winter, and tbh I was probably at my physical limits trying to make good progress.
I was slower than I'd thought I would be and had started a bit late for various reasons, so it did get dark and I had to get the headtorch out. Was still feeling reasonably confident until quite near Edale Cross the path forks, and I decided to take the left fork to get down to the bridleway I wanted to follow back to Hayfield, which meant descending a moderate slope facing South East.
The snow was dramatically worse, above waist height in some places and sinking in well above knee height even on the less deep bits. I was exhausted after about 50m. I turned back up the hill and got back to the turn-off and took the path going directly West, which was another option for getting down and didn't involve any South-East facing slopes (I think the wind must have deposited a lot of snow on that side of the hill).
Luckily that other route was a lot more manageable and I got down safe and sound. However, it got me thinking that if the conditions had been a bit worse and going down that side of the hill hadn't been an option, and I hadn't been able to find another safe route down then going back the way I'd come might have been the only real option. If I'd had to do that I really don't think I'd have made it back on the energy reserves I had and might have had to get the shelter out and overnight, which would have been absolutely miserable!
In hindsight it was probably a bit of a boiling frog situation, but I should have taken stock at Kinder Downfall, realised I was making slow progress and that the going was getting harder rather than easier, and turned back at that point - at least then the conditions would have been a known quantity.
It did make me glad for all the kit I packed too though - I sometimes wonder if I over-pack, but today I was quite glad to know that I had a shelter, foil bag, and an extra belay jacket, spare headtorch, etc in my bag in case things had got worse.
Pics of a nice view and the route off the hill that I took in the end.
