The Ramblers - Derbyshire Dales Group

Snowshoeing at Home and Abroad

I am sure you will remember how much snow we had in January 2010. I had my snowshoe fix early in January in the Pyrenees and came home determined to buy my own snowshoes for use in the Peak District. This plan was not easy to carry out and it took a while before a snowshoe shaped parcel was delivered to the Weatherley residence. In fact it arrived the day the snow turned to rain and after getting them out of the parcel and admiring my new purchase they had to be put away. I thought that just by buying them I had ensured a snow free Peak District for the next couple of decades. But no!

You will remember that at the end of November last year the snow returned and after several days there was a good 16 inches of the white stuff on the drive. What was my first thought? Well, of course, clearing the drive could wait but the snowshoes couldn’t. We had several trips out from Youlgrave with Ian on ski and me on snowshoe and it was great fun. There was one particularly lovely day when the roads allowed for some traffic and Ian dropped me off at Friden so that I could snowshoe home. It was a lovely day, the snow had been down for a week and was pristine on the High Peak Trail- after a while there was only one pair of tracks- my snowshoes. The bad news was that by the time the roads were cleared sufficiently for us to both drive and park, the snow cover on the moors was very patchy- so my ambition of a snowshoe ascent of Kinder will have to wait.

Later on in the winter I went to Argentiere for a snowshoe week and the conditions were perfect. One day it was misty in the valley, we climbed up through the forest and emerged into sunshine with the cloud below us. It was one of those wonderful days when you walk above the mist and get terrific views of mountains looking like islands in a sea of cloud. Our summit was Tete de la Sallaz at a modest 2026 metres but the views where terrific as the mountains visible were Mont Blanc and the surrounding peaks. Later in the week we snowshoed up to the Grand St Bernard Pass and spent the night in the monastery. In winter the road is closed and only skiers and snowshoers can reach get there. I have never seen so many snowshoes in one place. The French have taken to snowshoes in a big way and the local ramblers groups were out in force. In summer the Pass is a great draw for tourists, however in winter it has a special atmosphere and is a lovely place to stay.

Above St. Bernard Monastery Evening mass was optional and proved to be a great experience and next day we climbed to a col and a minor summit before descending to our waiting bus. Our leader was explaining how popular snowshoeing is in France and she thought that lots of British walkers would love it- they just don’t know it yet! She is right, there are now several travel companies offering snowshoe trips and there is one out there to suit you….

Perhaps, when I finally get chance to snowshoe up onto the summit of Kinder there will be other Derbyshire Dales Ramblers who would like to join me.

Sue Weatherley

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