Winter in the Peaks
Walking through the fresh powder snow down the street with snow covered houses on either side I could see the ski tracks on the nearby slopes under a clear blue sky. Was this the Alps, Norway, Canada? No, it was Castleton in February; it’s been an amazing winter for local skiing in many ways!
It all started with a moderate fall in early December. Good enough for early morning trips to the top of Rushup Edge from both the east and west ends. This was followed by another moderate fall in early January and more short early morning skiing around Rushup Edge. Another fall later in January gave better snow on Axe Edge Moor, a place I’ve happily meandered around on dark and foggy mornings in the past, but this year where I had some of my best ski trips. On the first trip this winter I parked on the rough lay-by where the bends start on the descent to Buxton. From here I followed the footpath on the opposite side of the road which led up to a couple of tracks which I crossed and then, after a bit of up and down finally climbed to the trig point which emerged from the dark fog in front of me. From the top I took a pleasant, gentle descent to the west. On reaching the road I skied, and occasionally even skated, along before cutting back on a track to the original footpath and back to the road. That’s now my favourite ski up there but there are many other options. I tried getting to the top of Axe Edge itself one time but couldn’t find it in the dark fog!
February was when the snow really arrived. We had fresh snow on many days over a 2 week period, starting with 8 inches of dry powder. Early on there were opportunities to ski straight from the doorstep in Castleton. I had a good trip from there to the trig point on the hill between Castleton and Peak Forest. It wasn’t even necessary to ski on the fields, you could just ski down the main road for the first few days. The school and the road were closed one day and there was so much snow that people were out on alpine skis leaving neat tracks on the steeper slopes. However, the lack of base to the snow made me worry about the effect of rocks and molehills on the bottoms of their skis. There were opportunities to ski toward Brown Knoll from Rushup Edge and on the track opposite the Cat and Fiddle.
Isla at Kinder Low looking across the Kinder plateau
One Saturday morning Isla and I skied together from the lay-by at the west end of Rushup Edge to Brown Knoll and then on to Kinder Low. It was even sunny for most of the time. Staying on the right hand side of the wall after Brown Knoll gave good snow cover down to the track near Edale Cross. It was a bit rough in parts climbing onto Kinder but worthwhile to get to the trig point at Kinder Low. The route back was a reverse of the way up with lots of fast downhill sections. The gulley below Brown Knoll was particularly good, filled with nice deep snow, giving a few hundred yards of Scottish conditions! Another family first this winter was the first ski by a junior member of the family. Ross (5) took his first steps, or strides, on cross-country skis (plastic strap on ones) on the fields below Mam Tor. Following family tradition he soon managed to break one of the skis!
Another new route I tried was Shining Tor from Pym Chair. I’d often wondered about the possibility of this trip but never had the opportunity before. The road up to Pym Chair from Kettleshulme was clear of snow and the weather was bright mist, probably bright sunshine a few hundred yards above my head. The snow cover was not deep but continuous from the car park to the top over a long but gentle climb with the occasional short bit of downhill.
On reaching Shinning Tor I had time to spare so carried on the path to the Buxton road; too many gates for my liking! The descent back from Shining Tor was great: a nice steady ski with the slope to help.
However the best trip in this period was a tour around the upper Derwent watershed but that deserves a separate write up. At the moment it looks like this was the last local snow of the season, but I have previously skied on Axe Edge Moor in May so I’m not putting the skis away for the summer just yet!
author: Richard Luke
publish date: July 2009
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