Legs apart, my back is braced against the wind.
I can't see my feet:- a knee-deep river of spindrift hurtles past at motorway speed.
They should get this at Alton Towers. Exhilarating !!
Until we eventually turn west, that is:-
transverse to the wind, the battle intensifies. Drifts up to a metre deep reduce progress to a stagger.
Even stronger winds I have known:- but the combination with plenty of soft powder produces a spindrift blizzard lifting over our heads, rising like spume off a rough sea. Visibility fades out.
There is a constant noise.
I'd assumed a no-go for a Lakes day out after the weather forecast got worse. When Steve rang late on Saturday, he hadn't seen the weather, but so what ?....... we went anyway to "rub noses with it".
A careful choice of route was Stony Cove Pike from Hartsop........ heading southwards all the way.
The north wind well exceeded the forecast, at a sustained 60mph, with too-soft going underfoot, and (at least) the minus 17 windchill in the forecast.
As we crested the summit, Windermere glittered ahead. But still another 80 minutes down to the Kirkstone Pass. Even eating a sandwich at the tables outside the pub numbed our fingers. !!
