Best things about winter

Under a layer of snow and ice, mountains are transformed. Here’s why a winter day out is like no other…

Special moments cold weather encapsulates

FIRST FOOTPRINTS

Look at that snow: pristine, untrodden, not a mark on it. Crrunch, one footstep; crruuunch, another; you’ve just taken the first footsteps on a fresh sheet of virgin snowfall.

FEELING EPIC WITH YOUR ICE AXE AND CRAMPONS

Hacking the pick of your ice axe into a frozen lump of hard snow; the steel claws of your crampons biting into ice... having the kit and skills to climb a mountain in winter feels brilliantly hard-core because, for most of the population, it is.

THE SMELL OF SNOW

You can detect approaching snow on the air. It tickles the inside of your nostrils and makes your nose run. It smells slightly metallic and a little of ozone. It’s the scent of a frozen adventure to come.

BLUE ICE

Stake the shaft of your ice axe into the snow, then look down at the hole it makes and you’ll notice the ice inside is blue. This is because water acts as a kind of filter. The further the light penetrates, the more red light is absorbed, and the bluer the snow appears. On top, almost all light is reflected so you need a certain thickness of compounded snow or ice before it looks blue. Who knew?!

KNOCKING A FRESH LAYER OF SNOW OFF A GATE

On top of a gate is a narrow, inch-thick layer of untouched snow. Swipe! One quick movement from your gloved finger and it’s gone. Why is this so satisfying? Who knows, but it feels good.

RIME ICE / HOAR FROST

Unexpectedly perhaps, rime ice forms facing into the wind, rather than away from it, as supercooled water droplets freeze on contact with vertical objects like fence posts and stiles. Freezing fog and low-lying cloud make this a common, though still striking, sight in the hills.

HILLS MADE MOUNTAINS

Even the humblest UK peak looks vaguely Himalayan with a plume of spindrift twisting from the top. Yep, in winter, small hills and easy summer ticks become real mountains. Paths are hidden, daylight hours are short, new dangers appear. Winter hills require more energy, greater fitness and a very different skillset. This challenge can be offputting, or it can elevate a winter day to one of the best in the year.

BEING A BIG KID

Somehow, the excitement of snow never grows old – even if you do. Sprinting outside, throwing snowballs, falling over harmlessly. Snow brings out barely containable joy in even the most cantankerous curmudgeon.

RAISED FOOTPRINTS

These are a weird sight: footprints in reverse. As you walk, the snow beneath your boots compresses; and when the softer snow around it blows away, that footprint is left, standing proud. Noticing where that snow has blown can give you valuable information about avalanche risk.

THAT PARTICULAR SILENCE

The world is quieter when it snows, and not just because everyone’s staying indoors. Freshly fallen, fluffy snow absorbs sound, dampening noise and creating an atmosphere of stillness and silence.

THE SOUND OF SNOW

Whoomp: a cascade of snow dropping off a tree. Creeunch: your crampons breaking through névé. Creak: snow compacting under your boots. There are certain sounds that belong only to winter.

TRACKING ANIMALS

Even the most unobservant can do a little amateur wildlife tracking. The hopping prints of a mountain hare or deer leg holes are obvious in snow. You can even follow the movements of the weather via the faint patterns traced over the crust.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Snow is pretty, there’s no denying it. It shimmers when caught in the air and glitters when it’s hit by late afternoon sun. Sometimes the wind picks it up and whirls it into an eddy, spiralling across the snow slope. These moments are brief but glorious.

STUFFING YOUR FACE

In winter, you can burn a plateful of calories just trying to stay warm, then more climbing uphill, and yet more forging through snow. It’s possible to expend 6000 calories in a full day of winter mountaineering. This means not just that you can eat loads, but that you should.

THE LIGHT

In winter, the hazy sun is lower, its light is dimmer and the landscape is seen in monochrome – black twiggy trees, dark rocks streaked with snow. Everything feels and looks quite old, in a relaxing and charming sort of way.

ARCTIC SCENERY

A summit on a clear winter day is a skin-tingling place to be. In deep winter, snowy peaks cascade under a blue sky to a hazy horizon, white rolling hill after white rolling hill. It’s often described as ‘like Narnia’ because, whatever it looks like, it doesn’t look like Britain.

A HOT BEVVY ON A SUMMIT

Take one sachet of bland hot chocolate powder. Carry it to the top of a mountain, add boiling water and try to stir the lumps out. You’ll find that it’s been transformed into the most delicious nectar you’ve ever drunk.

GLISSADING

On a perfectly angled slope, with a long run-out, no gullies or cliffs anywhere nearby and just-dense-enough snow consistency, you don’t have to walk downhill at all. You sit on your bum – and

Whoosh! – you’re shooting downhill, slip-sliding and laughing your way to the base. Note: only attempt this if you are absolutely sure it is safe and have experience of winter mountains. If it's steep enough to need an ice axe, it's probably too steep to use your bum as a sledge!

THE WARMTH WITHIN

After a winter’s day in the hills, coming in from the cold is deliriously good. Opening a pub door to feel the sudden warmth on your spindrift-stung face; a sip of whisky’s comforting burn; toasting icy feet by the fire; slicing into a steaming pie. Going out undoubtedly makes coming home even better.