Derbyshire

Edale, Derbyshire. A beautiful place, deep valleys, blue skies (ish), fluffy clouds, beautiful snow covered mountains...and i had the pleasure of climbing one. What an experience.
After weeks of planning and preporation for what was to be a 28k hike, we set off at the crack of dawn full of eagerness. It was a long journey in cramped conditions, but well worth the wait. Once we got there, we double-checked our equipment, maps and water supply, adjusted our wooly hats, zipped up our waterproof coats and on went the thermal gloves. We set off along a trail that was hardley visable, there was no amazing views yet and no great heights but even so, there was only one word to describe how we felt as we gazed across the miles and miles of snow in front of us and the mountains to our right...invigorated. There was no one to be seen, no street noise, no dogs barking or cars beeping their horns, just snow covered mountains and frozen land.



The track wasnt as straightforward as one might think due to the use of the word trail...it was hard to follow, marshy, wet and muddy, but on we went taking small pleasure in the snow crunching beneath feet and our breath cutting through the cool crisp air.



There were 5 of us altogether and a lot of exited banter, myself being overexited, wasnt paying attention to the trail and my left leg had a near miss with a deep, muddy chasm, but only i would be unfortunate enough to land with my right leg knee-deep in what can only be described as sh*t! However i soldiered on, even with the knowledge that i had tragically lost one of my thermal gloves...perfect, a sodden leg and a frozen hand, what a great way start to an already challenging hike!
When we reached the bottom of the track, we encountered a heap of rubble, posed on top for a few photos...



made a sharp turn left...and was faced with our first challenge:



We stopped for a short break and gazed with awe at this steep climb ahead of us, we knew this needed a head for heights and endurance but the knowledge that the view at the top was going to be spectacular forced us to eagerly pick up the pace and persevere.

It just kept getting steeper....



And steeper.....



And even steeper....



After a lot of clambering over snow-clad rocks, panting, sweating and near-fainting, we finally reached the top!



Sat down, took a much needed rest and enjoyed the breathtaking view.



The hike was not over yet though, a precarious balance along the mountain edge...



A leap across a small waterfall...



A wade through freezing cold water...





And plenty more sweating, balancing, stumbling, laughing, falling, tripping, slipping, climbing, sliding :)
An experience i would gladly do again!