72hrs later...

Guiding today - and back into Patterdale - starting point for Thursday's well received gloriously sunny blip but wow - what a change in the conditions.
Instead of wall to wall sunshine and Spring bursting forth all over the mountains - we were treated to snow (very very wet heavy snow) down to the valley floor - random blasts of icy sleet - and as soon as we cleared Greenside the wind picked up - steadily working its way through the grades from annoying via ferocious to just plain dangerous.
Our plan for Helvellyn via it's famous edges was subject to some robust 'dynamic risk assessment' and quickly changed - just making it to Red Tarn felt like a heck of an achievement - I had to show my client some pictures (later in the cafe) of Helvellyn - even stood on the shores of the tarn there was not even a hint in the swirling clouds that England's third highest point lay a few hundred metres away. We skirted our way over to the hole in the wall - grabbed a hot drink, caught the clients rucksack that was picked up and tossed thirty feet by the wind & using the shelter of the high fell wall made our way back down via Birkhouse Moor helping a lost couple on the way.

Clients review of the day best summed up as "phew!".