First ski tour of the season

Club member John Hooson provides an account of our first local tour of the 2015/16 season. 

Oh, and happy birthday John...

Today, Sunday 13 December 2015, I turned 52, but more importantly I spent the day ski touring on the Howgills with two other members of LXCSC - a marvellous present which money can’t buy.

The tour started from Weasdale on the north side of the Howgill Fells, near Newbiggin-on-Lune. Martin Metcalfe, club leader on the day, was joined by Brian Smith and me, with Cuddy (the dog) tagging along too. Skis were fitted at the car and the route then went due south over Ravenstonedale Common, climbing steadily to the summit of Green Bell – a chance to get ski legs back. 

A short easy descent followed by another climb brought us to Randygill Top. Here we met the only other person seen all day, before turning north and dropping steeply into the saddle of Leathgill Bridge. This 'challenged' all our skiing skills and anyone at Tom Higgs' talk the previous night will know that he’d approve.

A quick standing lunch was eaten at the col with nice views to the northwest. The final climb onto Hooksey was followed by a long and enjoyable descent back to Weasdale.

I think that this is the first time I’ve been able to ski on my birthday – terrific!

John Hooson

There will be club ski tours throughout the winter whenever there's skiable snow in the Lakes or Pennines. If you're interested in joining us, let us know or keep an eye on the message board.