Went for a lovely walk up Ingleborough yesterday - cold but glorious views of the Three Peaks



Lakes looked great too

We went up the Calf in Barbondale yesterday, from the top of which we could see Ingleborough, but we couldn't see you.     (And yes ? it was cold!)

Top of Calf by John Forder, on Flickr

Pegasus - That speck on the top of this one could well be you!

With regard to The Calf (Barbondale/Middleton) on my 'good old' pre-decimalization map it shows the trig point just above the 1975?ft contour; according to a friend, this has been resurveyed and promoted to just over 2000 ft ? thereby becoming a mountain. Does this mean that the guys who bag 2000-footers (whatever they're called) will now start to come streaming into Barbon to tick this one off?

I walked in the Chisos Mountains of southern Texas. It snows there once every couple of years, according to locals, who were excited over the four or five inches that fell during our visit. The Chisos form an elevated basin which drains to the southwest, through a narrow slot and over a seventy-foot waterfall into the open space of the Chihuahuan desert. Conspicuous vegetation within the basin and on the slopes of the Chisos mainatains pretty consistent ratios of several kinds of cactus, agave, lechuguilla, mesquite, madrone, and some woody plants and grasses whose names I did not learn. These green plants looked odd under the cover of snow. This area is said to be in ecological recovery, after misuse in the form of grazing and logging - both of which were negligent and selfish considering the obvious consequences in such dry, steep land with its thin, old, and easily lost soil. As far as soil is concerned, the Chisos will not re-cover. Not at least in any humanly comprehensible time.

And yesterday I walked in the hills around home. For the first time in years the major streams are frozen enough for walking on, and the snowless ground is rock-hard. This makes for easy going up and across the steep slopes of the woods. Along the base of the dolomitic exposure are many small burrows and tiny caves, and walking near them I could feel their warmth and smell the urine of whoever lives inside. Outside was still, only a few birds moving and now and then a deer. The deer cannot go into caves and burrows so they sleep in nests wallowed out in tall weeds. Coming into the meadow created by an abandoned pasture of an abandoned farm, I found a group of these still-warm bowls in the orange grass.

And I curled up to hold still in one, and felt the hard-found grass and leaves and saplings eaten and turned to warmth in the body of the deer and transmitted back into the ground around the body. I closed my eyes, a rock rattling in the spokes of the hallowed wheel. Finally, thankful, penitent, I rose to go and did go, with speed, across the straining land of farms and woodlots and streambeds, until I burst out onto a road and turned west, trudging, snot frozen on my lip.

I really enjoyed reading the above, thank you, Kenilworth

Got up to the Lakes with my siblings and cousin on the 28th - stunning weather - too good to waste. Did a traverse of Helvellyn from Glenridding to Thirlmere. Dad kindly provided a taxi service.

Wow, looks fab

They're some great photos! We've been up ridge walking above Seathwaite Tarn in the Duddon (photos) and up around Helvellyn from Thirlmere (photos) 

Went skiing at Lake Louise, fell down and got me a concussion.  I have no memory of skiing down the rest of the way.  Picture of the helmet is attached.

Ouch hope you are ok

Thanks, I'm much as before, whether that qualifies as OK is a matter of opinion. 
I envy you the warm weather, in Alberta it was between -25 and -35 deg C.

I had a nice walk in the snow from home over to the Smithy Cafe in Monyash last Friday, thence on to Hillocks. I'm not sure Lampwick and Teabag have the same opinion about their drive up in the snow though....

bacon and chorizo sandwiches to watch new year sunrise