Bowfell in Winter with the Fuji X-Pro2

The UK Lake District has had an exceptionally good winter this year – with snow on the fells from December through until when I’m writing this in early March. It’s a privilege to climb the fells in winter conditions, but one that must always taken with respect.

Too often you hear of walkers who set off based upon the conditions in the Valley, unprepared and unskilled for what lies in wait above. If walking in winter is something that interests you then I’d really recommend taking a winter walking course. There’s plenty around and afterwards you’ll be able to enjoy yourself and tackle routes safely.

In this blog I’ll hopefully give you an idea of the conditions you can encounter and the experiences that they can bring.

From a photography perspective, winter walking adds an extra dimension – with a rucksack already loaded with extra kit (crampons, ice axe, extra clothing, extra food, ski googles and an emergency shelter), carrying a huge weight of camera kit is only for the extremely committed. Perfect conditions for the Fuji-X Pro2 though – lightweight, weather sealed, a great selection of lenses and superb image quality. All the boxes you’re looking to tick for a grand day out.

I’d chosen to climb Bowfell in Langdale via The Band – a route that I’m familiar with from past trips and one that I know has some great views. Keeping my camera kit lightweight I was travelling with just the X-Pro2 and the 18-55mm lens. A versatile zoom range, great quality and image stabilisation makes this a favourite lens of mine for lightweight trips. It’s not weather sealed, but with snow rather than rain on the forecast I was pretty relaxed in my choice.

How to best to carry your gear is an eternal question for photographers. I’m sure I’m not alone in having a number of different rucksacks and bags. My preferred choice for this sort of day is without doubt the Mindshift Rotation 180 Horizon. This is the 34l bag in a series of bags that has a unique swivelling compartment at the bottom of the rucksack.

Without having to remove your rucksack this can be released and swung around to the front of your body for instant access to your camera. It works brilliantly in action, and is perfect for days when the weather or the walk means that you don’t want the camera hung around your neck all day.

The Horizon backback also has plenty of storage for the rest of your kit, external pockets, attachment points for tripods and ice axes and space for water. It’s just a great bag that makes combining walking and photography so much easier. Highly recommended!

My initial climb up The Band soon put me above the snow-line, with some lovely views across to Pike of Blisco, with the Coniston Range in the background.

I’d set off pretty early from the car park, so was surprised to meet a fellow walker already on his descent. ‘What’s it like on top?’ I asked.

The response was short and to the point: ‘Horrific’.

Perhaps not the ideal answer most folk are looking for, but actually one that made me smile. For me the whole point of walking in winter on the fells and mountains is to challenge myself. A routine walk to the top would be great, but in truth I always have much more fun when I feel I’ve been challenged by the elements and come out on top.

Those are the days that get remembered and often the ones where I feel I capture images that convey a better sense of emotion.

It soon became apparent that the weather was indeed deteriorating. Pretty quickly I was up to the col at Three Tarns, entering cloud and encountering vicious wind, deep powder and spin-drift that stung the face.

Donning ski googles I began my ascent towards the summit of Bowfell. Visibility was not much above 10m by this point, and it was only my prior knowledge of the route that was giving me the confidence to continue. Slogging through loose snow, that was sometimes over 1m deep, was really tiring on the legs and after the steepest section was over I decided to stop for the first half of my lunch.

Above the howl of the wind I heard the deeper, guttural call of a Raven – from nowhere a black shadow appeared through the mist and settled on the snow next to me. In such weather it would have been cold-hearted not to share some food, and so we sat cautiously near each other sharing some crisps and a sandwich. Comrades on the mountain in the depths of winter.

With fresh energy in my legs I set off in what I knew was the approximate direction of the summit. Hopes for much more photography had dwindled by this point, and indeed when I arrived at the summit rocks there wasn’t much more to do than hunker down from the wind and acknowledge the moment.

But then I began to sense a small change. Not much at first, but slowly visibility began to improve. Where once there was only grey, a hint of colour and tone began to appear. Pulling my spare jacket from my rucksack I decided to hang around a while longer and see what happened.

Summit Rocks on Bowfell, The Lake District

With little warning the weather suddenly began to lift from the summit. A sliver of sunlight pierced through the cloud illuminating the rocks that had been sheltering me.

A while later, and with a spring in my step I then began my descent back the way I had come. Where there had once only been a veil of snow and wind there was now a world beyond. This is what defines winter walking for me – those moments when beauty emerges from nothing, revealing a world of inspiration and light.

Much as I love shooting with primes, and have previously spent several years shooting only with a Fuji X100T, the versatility of a zoom can be really useful in these conditions. Changing lenses in spin drift isn’t really the sensible thing to do, and having some flexibility of focal length in such changing conditions is worth the small drop in ultimate image quality.

Although the cloud was now beginning to lift, the persistent wind remained, and I was able to capture some images of the snow being lifted from the surface of the fells and propelled into the void of the valley beyond.

Taking photo in tricky conditions is always about compromises. Obviously there’s an ideal combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO for any given shot, but you’re not always going to be able to meet all three. The performance of the sensor on the FujiX camera (and most modern cameras), is such that my general rule is to compromise ISO first, then aperture, and finally shutter speed.

An unintentionally blurry photo is never going to work, whereas a photo that is sharp, but perhaps a little noisier or with a reduced depth of field still has good potential. I really like the XTrans II sensor in this regard, as any noise as such a natural feel to it.

Returning back down The Band and into the valleys below felt like returning from another world, but there were still views to be had.

With the summits now clear, and seemingly benign, I could look back at them – knowing that they would still be there when I returned again; a fresh adventure to be had, and fresh memories to be made.

The Langdale Pikes in Winter, Lake District

Thanks for reading, and I hope this give a bit of insight into why walking the fells in winter is such a soul cleansing experience – a break from modern life that leaves you refreshed and re-energised.

Andrew.

Lytham Windmill and the Harvest Moon