Ski randonee in Marsden, West Yorkshire!

Thursday 24th February 2005 was a day when heavy snowfalls disrupted much of the UK and closed most Trans Pennine road routes. The boys in the shop were due to climb at Huddersfield wall but sacked it off because of the uncertainty of getting over the Pennines from Oldham. Si managed to get to Marsden where he lives without too much trouble but drifting snow was piling up in large amounts around Pule Hill above the village and so he decided to get the skis out and go for a night time ski trek!

Bear in mind that all the photos (except for the obvious one) were taken the following day when it was light!

"When I got back from work I rounded up my touring ski kit in the shape of a pair of Bandit B2's with Alpine Trekker tour binding adapters and skins together with a good headtorch and set off with Cap (sheepdog) up the hill out of Marsden. I've always loved skinning up hills – sometimes at the end of a days skiing in France I'll go out at night for a couple of hours. It really keeps you fit and focused too as whatever you skin UP, you've then got to ski back DOWN again!

After skinning a mile up the side of Mount Road I broke off right after the cattle grid and got into the difficult business of finding a route up the back of Pule Hill in the pitch dark. The weather was fairly atrocious with a 40 mile per hour Easterly wind, fog and lots of spindrifting snow so visibility was virtually nil even with a headtorch! Skinning with downhill skis, heavy downhill bindings and even heavier binding adapters is hard graft over alternating drifts, tussocks of bog grass and deep groughs. It ain't exactly like the Alps but it beats staying in by the telly on a Thursday night (no Coronation Street to miss!) and it's like three gym sessions in one go.

After a long slog skinning I was aiming to hit the top of Pule Hill at a right angle to the edge of the rocks (for those who don't know Pule Rocks they're like a short version of Stanage) and then ski along the edge (at a respectful distance) to the Southern end of the hill. Navigation wouldn't normally be an issue here as I spend hours and hours walking and climbing on this hill with Cap but in the pitch black I was seriously disorientated and thanking my lucky stars I'd made a note of the wind direction. I DID hit the edge but encountered a gentle slope of deep snow – not what I'd expected at all. I pushed my ski stick into it to test the depth and was a little perturbed when it disappeared all the way to the handle without touching anything solid! Then it dawned on me – I was standing on a windblown cornice right on the edge of the rocks and a couple of feet more and me and Cap would sink through it and take some fairly big (and unwanted!) air! Time to retreat back a few feet and turn parallel to the edge with the wind on my left. Skinning another few hundred metres brought me to the Southern end and some fantastic big patches of drifting snow. Time to ditch the binding adapters and have some fun skiing back down Alpine style!

With Cap charging ahead and periodically vanishing into drifts that were much deeper than his height I cautiously started a series of turns in snow that was to say the least... ...heavy! Leaving the deep snow meant hitting tufts and groughs and a couple of times the skis just stopped dead and spat me out the bindings in a heap. How cool was I looking now?!! Once down the slope some more flat trogging (without the benefit of lifting heels this time) brought me to the road which was now almost completely covered in snow. Ten more minutes of schussing down the verge with the dog tucked in behind me and we were back in the bright lights of Marsden and heading back to the house for a welcome brew and some drying out!

That night was a fantastic little impromptu adventure on skis with my faithful sheepdog and something to whet the appetite for some 'proper' back country skiing next time out in the Alps."

Postscript. "The following day there was still a fair bit of snow and it was my day off so I retraced the route (again with Cap) and took a few photos which include the ones above. It's amazing how tame things feel by comparison when you can see what you're doing and where you're going. I also learned that the new breed of softshell jackets and breathable windproof fleeces are fantastic to ski in and that primaloft insulated vests and jackets are great pieces of gear for putting on when you stop."

Since this little outing, Si has gone ballistically into ski touring and freeriding. Through the shop, he now organises ski touring courses for skiers who want to progress from resort skiing into more of a wilderness experience. See details of this years course by clicking here. The shop now stocks ski touring equipment – skis, bindings, skins and boots – and all the staff have been bitten by the bug. Phil and Marcus have been learning more by visiting Scotland and Si completed the Haute Route in 2006 – see his article on the trip by clicking here.

If you want kitting out for this kind of experience either in the UK or abroad then just give Si or one of the boys a ring at the shop – we'll be happy to help you. And lastly, here's a picture of Cap slightly out of his depth but loving every minute of it!