Sometimes the best decision in the hills isn’t to push on, but to respect the conditions and turn back

I’ve climbed Blencathra more times than I can count, and the route via Sharp Edge has always been a favourite — a hands-on scramble with just enough exposure to make your heart beat that little bit faster. I’ve done it in the snow before too – it’s winter coat adding more challenge and looking even more impressive and alpine like.

This time, though, winter had tightened its grip on the fell. Fresh snow lay thick across the slopes, smoothing out the usual lines of rock and grass and turning the mountain into a gleaming white sculpture. So I set off on my usual route to Blencathra via Scales Tarn and Sharp Edge….  

Sharp Edge in it’s full winter coat givinbg epic views over Scales Tarn

The walk up from the car park spot on the A66 felt familiar and comforting, boots biting into the frozen ground as I made my way toward Scales Tarn. The tarn itself was solid ice, its dark water hemmed in by steep, snow-loaded slopes. From there, Sharp Edge rose ahead — narrower than ever under its coating of white, the rocky crest now disguised beneath wind-packed snow. What is usually a straightforward Grade 1 scramble had transformed into something far more serious: cornices forming along the ridge, verglas hiding on the slabs, and steep drops falling away on either side into unforgiving ground. I was unsure of the challnge of what lie ahead – I thought he snow would be too deep and hiding dangerous drops. Rather than turn back at Scales Tarn I thought I would head up to the start of the Sharp Edge ridge to assess the conditions further.

EXPERIENCE OF THE LAKE DISTRICT FELLS IS PRICELESS 

Just as I reached the beginning of Sharp Edge, ice axe in hand and crampons on, I met a man descending carefully. He told me he lived locally and must have crossed Sharp Edge a hundred times — yet this was the first time he had ever turned back. That stopped me. When someone with that depth of experience decides the conditions aren’t right, it’s worth listening. Sharp Edge is beautiful, but it’s not benign. In winter it becomes a different beast entirely: a slip can mean an uncontrollable slide toward Scales Tarn or into the rocky gullies below, and the exposure feels amplified when every foothold is concealed. Sharp Edge is renowned for accidents even in the best of weather, and is very precariopus in wet & icey conditions, never mind snow this deep. 

I’ve hiked along Sharp Edge more times than I can remember, and know it well. Howvere this time was different. So I paused, took a long look along the snow filled crest, and chose not to advance and to turn back. There was no disappointment, only respect. The views from the start of the ridge where impressive in the snow – and the summit was not to be seen. Instead of committing to the ridge, I unpacked the drone and sent it humming into the still air. From above, the ridge looked even more dramatic. Today I wouldnt be completing the Blencathra summit walk I had in mind, but rather than be disappointed, I was grateful to capture sweeping images of Sharp Edge in full winter glory, in some of the most impressive snowy images I’ve seen of the lakes, and content in the knowledge that the mountain would always be there for another day. Sometimes the best decision in the hills isn’t to push on, but to recognise when beauty and danger are walking hand in hand, respect nature, and turn back.

This is as far as I go along Sharp Edge. The snow is 1m thick in places, hiding drops and I know from experience it will get more dangerous the further along the ridge your go. I’m on my own today and I decide to respect the mountain and not get myself into difficulty.

Sharp Edge looks very dramatic and impressive by drone. It’s freezing today with a biterly cold wind and my fingers don’t feel too clever controlling the drone – but it was worth it for these images. I’m grateful to see the rare sight of Sharp Edge in deep snow and happily decend to get warmed up again by the fire in The White Horse Inn