Great Whernside (704m) and Buckden Pike (702m) 13th March 2010

Buckden Pike from Great Whernside

 

Great Whernside

I parked the car in the National Park car park in Kettlewell, costing £3.20, and started walking at 9.55 am. I took the road past the hostel and then the track and path to Hag Dyke, with views to Birks Fell behind me and the snowy bulk of Great Whernside in front. The path was boggy and there many snow patches, the snow cover becoming continuous when the slope steepened at about 600m. The weather was sunny and it was a delight to be climbing the hill in the snow. There were many footprints in the snow, creating a pathway up the slope to the summit. This was crowned by a trig point and a large cairn, and I reached this point after an hour and a half’s walking, at 11.25 am. The view was great, to Birks Fell streaked with snow, a snow covered and towering Buckden Pike, Pen-y-ghent, Fountains Fell, a snowy Little Whernside and in the distance the North York Moors and the Teeside urban conurbation. The summit was a large plateau that seemed like a snowy arctic tundra and I made my way along the its edge to near Nidd Head. From here I descended the steep slope of snow and had to be careful I didn’t slip. When the angle of the slope relented, below 600m, the snow became much more patchy, and gave way to tussocky grass. I was soon crossing the road that climbs between Great Whernside and Buckden Pike.

 

Great Whernside

Buckden Pike

From the road a path headed for Buckden Pike, until higher up the snow took over again and I followed a fence up the hillside. The wind was stronger here and it felt cold for the first time, delaying my lunch until I had found some shelter. Finally I got some meagre shelter behind a stone wall on Tor Mere Top and had a quick lunch. The south ridge seemed to go on and on before reaching the summit but there were great views of Little and Great Whernside and it was a case of following the footprints up the ridge. I got to the summit at 2.45 pm and stayed for 10 minutes admiring the view before descending back down the south ridge. It was a long descent and some dark clouds threatened rain that never materialised, but eventually I reached the track known as Top Mere Road. As I descended the view along the length of Wharfedale to Cracoe Fell got better and better, and Great Whernside remained a constant companion. I didn’t see Kettlewell until I was just above the village and then the road descended steeply into the village centre. I got to the car at 5.15 pm, a total of 7 hours and 20 minutes, and although I felt tired I felt it had been an excellent day.

 

   Buckden Pike from the south ridge

 

Wharfedale and Cracoe Fell

 

Link to Picasa Album