Monday December 22 - Edale
A rare free day with sunshine forecast and the promise of a crisp, icy traverse of Kinder via Jacob's Ladder, Crowden Tower and Grindslow Knoll. The whiteout seems to have caught everyone by surprise. The guy who arrives at the pick-up truck next to my car says it's harsh on the top and inadvisable without crampons. He's been across to the Downfall and I notice his ice axe is still caked in frozen snow. Figuring I might just settle for reaching the top and coming straight back down I set off. The next guy I meet has given up, settling for turning back at the top of Grindsbrook after a quick coffee and says he just wants to get home now. I'm still determined to get to the top, after driving an hour and a half to get here. I've resolved to stay overnight in the village if driving out again isn't possible. But it isn't to be. The snow is at least 6 inches on the flat and drifting several feet thick in places. The going is hard, even on the lower slopes heading west toward Booth. The wind chill is cruel and the driving snow makes looking ahead almost impossible. The rescue helicopter is criss-crossing the valley and I'm not keen on becoming another mountain rescue statistic. So I give up after little more than a mile, hunker down behind a wall, eat my lunch - glad of the hot flask I brought - and just enjoy the beauty of it.