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Anyone know how the high-level bridleways are riding now?
Thinking of an epic on monday, 5am train Leeds to Garsdale, zigzagging down to Skipton for the train home). If I'll be risking getting covered in nearly-freezing slush, I may rethink the plan.
Basically, is there much snow up there and is it melting off quickly or not?
I was out to the south of the Dales this morning. The top of the Widdop road at 400m had some snow but Ickornshaw moor at the same altitude just a few Km north had much less.
Widdop:
Ickornshaw Moor
As you can see from the shots there wasn't much visibility so I couldn't see up to the Dales. @Martinhutch might have been out in the Dales and might have a better idea. Personally I think you'd be better if everything was frozen rather than riding in and out of slush. The forecast is for things getting colder with possibly snow on Monday.
Great, thanks. And yes, I'm hoping for frozen ground and no 2 degree slush! (may not have phrased the OP well!)
And those pics make me think I should explore out that way sometime... I'm in Leeds, and always head North or North West.
Things had thawed slightly from this morning, I did the same bit of BW to start and finish the ride and the top cm had thawed making the last climb a bit of an effort.
If you do head up on your trip it's worth noting that the cafe in Horton is shut for the foreseeable future. The only cafes on any route south that might be open would be the Old Barn in Malham, the one in Airton and the one at Kilnsey. The one in Gargrave is shut on Mondays.
Haven't been out today, sorry - might pop out tomorrow which would be more relevant, I guess.
I think it will improve a lot tomorrow, and with a bit of a freeze on Sunday night might be OKish, but will still be challenging.
Couple of points: you could get the train to Dent instead if that's possible. Garsdale Coal Road is a particularly brutal way to warm up, and may well be icy. It's a gentler climb up from the halfway point on the other side to meet the Pennine BW.
As above, don't rely on the Horton cafe. The bar/tea room connected to Knight Stainforth Caravan Park might be open (website says it will be), but ring to check. Otherwise it's possibly worth detouring into Settle, lots of cafes will be open.
Blind Beck cafe may well be open. It's half mile north of Horton just before the railway bridge. Otherwise Settle as suggested by MH
Thanks, it's looking a bit hit and miss at the moment, isn't forecast to be that cold lower down until mid week, after another load of snow
I don't want slush, but to be honest am not that keen on a super snowy day either, however beautiful!
The coal road from last year...
And later
Just popped across Barden Moor. Very little still there, although I'd expect a fair bit more at the head of Dentdale and Cam Fell.
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Just got back from doing the Settle Loop. No pictures, sorry. There's about 2-3cm on the tops but off the track it looks very much like my first photo - i.e. all the grass clumps are sticking through the snow so it doesn't look *that* snowy. The transition level currently is roughly halfway down Stockdale Lane (above the farm) so at a guess - 400m ASL.
We were on our fat bikes but there were MTB and cross bike tracks in the snow.
It's currently clearing out and meant to freeze tonight so tomorrow might be your best bet as it's forecast for a dump of snow on Monday night.
EDIT: Weird! Photo above had disappeared, now back!
So OP, did you head out? If so how did you get on?
This was Barden Moor on Tuesday
Which bit of BM is that? Presumably that's Crookrise in the background, so Embsay Crag would be on your left?
An inch of snow and I lose my bearings completely...
Unfortunately I didn't, the weather didn't look tempting enough for me to drag myself out of bed to catch a 5am train...
I was meaning to pop back here to say thanks for the heads-up on conditions nonetheless 🙂
Looking at the forecast for the weekend now I feel I made a mistake...
@martinhutch - it's actually the BW leading up from Bolton Abbey so not technically Barden Moor, but most people wouldn't know where Middle Hare Head is 😳 that's Eastby Crag catching the sunlight
That explains my confusion that Deer Gallows wasn't where it usually is...
My phone doesn't like the cold so had shut down by the time I got up on to the moor proper. Great to have no other tracks (wheels or feet) in the snow. The wet bits after the sleepers across the bog were unfrozen and the track down to Rylstone was somewhat slushy so not as cold as needed.
These photos are getting me very excited about winter riding. This morning the local trails in Leeds were stunning, no snow but perfect frost and burning orange sunrise
Stunning morning up Ilkley yesterday.
Any idea how much snow is up in the Dales now?
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Weets Top (1,300ft) today. There will be a fair bit more on the bigger lumps further north.
Great, thanks 🙂 I may head up to Settle on Sat then, back over the PBW, Weets, Simons Seat and Barden
Edit: damn Northern Rail strike! May be I'll make it as far as Bardon and Simons Seat still...