I have always been fascinated by the wonderful assemblage of ridges and secret corrie headwalls that lie beneath Helvellyn's eastern flanks. Eagle Ridge on Nethermost Pike and The Tongue on Dollywagon Pike complement superbly Helvellyn's Striding and Swirral Edges whilst the deep hollows of Cock Cove, Ruthwaite Cove, Nethermost Cove and Keppel Cove are equally impressive as that which cradles Red Tarn.
With such an abundance of riches it is therefore no suprise that the Helvellyn's roots are considered to lie firmly in Patterdale and Glenridding - two delightful villages nestling beside the shores of the beautiful Ullswater. So, when I set out to capture a brand new image of Helvellyn, there was no doubt in my mind that the view should be the one which included Ullswater in favour of that from Thirlmere to the west. I was also very aware that my image had to depict the wonderful diversity and cross section of landscape and form incorporating the waters of Ullswater, the fields of Glenridding and the broken hillisides rising ultimately to the corrie headwalls and craggy summits themselves.
Choosing the right viewpoint took months of research. I considered the popular Gowbarrow Fell, but dismissed it for several reasons - the light is never in the right direction when the hillsides are at their most colourful, and above all I wanted something original - something special - and not just another interpretaion of a well-known shot. I looked at locations on Angle Tarn Pike, on Hartsop Dodd and on Place Fell, but I rejected them all principally because the huge bulk of Birkhouse Moor dominated the view at the expense of the main summits and all were too high or too distant to do justice to the true splendour of Ullswater.
It was only when my attention turned to Silver Point and Silver Crag on Ullswater's eastern shore that I felt that I was getting close to what I was looking for. But whilst the angle from these viewpoints was perfect, the altitude was not .. Helvellyn and its satellites remained hidden from view at shore level. However it did not take long before I had worked out that the viewpoint I desperately needed was just a few hundred feet higher, above the broken crags of Hare Shaw. Satisfied that this issue was finally resolved, there was just the matter of the lengthy and frustrating processs of waiting for the very special conditions that I had in mind.
Those perfect and precise conditions finally arrived on a cold but beautiful winter's morning in early March 2006. For several days I waited anxiously as showers driven along on a strong northerly wind deposited nearly a foot of snow on Helvellyn and its satellites. Then, finally, I received the weather forecast that I had been waiting for .. the wind would drop overnight, and the following dawn would reveal clear skies with oustanding visibility.
Leaving Patterdale at daybreak, I witnessed a beautiful alpenglow on the peaks of the Helvellyn group as I slowly made my way upward. It was bitterly cold, but there was not a breathe of wind. As I ascended the tiny track that traverses the west flank of Place Fell, I was blessed with expansive and developing views across the calm waters of Ullswater. The day was perfection, just as I had hoped. I was soon on location at my chosen viewpoint with camera at the ready; from then on it was just a matter of waiting patiently for that narrow window of perfect light - when it is correct in both direction and colour.
As predicted at around 0930, the sun finally lit up the trees on the nearby shores of Ullswater and the scene was complete. The rich blue depths of Ullswater provided the perfect foreground to the multitudinous vivid shades of green, yellow and ochre that coloured the fields and hillsides overlooking Glenridding and Patterdale. The strong low morning light cast, alternately, bright highlight and dark shadow into the upper corries, picking out all the detail of ridge, buttress and gully. But just as I had hoped, and best of all, standing proudly and ethereally above all else and sparkingly white in alpine-like splendour, was Helvellyn.
When opportunities such as this are so rare, I leave nothing to chance, and I took countless shots with multiple settings and exposures to ensure that I had captured 'the' shot I wanted. By 1000 the scene was already changing, thin cirrus clound was slowing encroaching and in so doing was turning the vivid directional warm light to one which was flat and white.
As I returned to Patterdale, I was very pleased and excited .. this had been one of the hardest shots on which I had worked, and in my mind the shoot had been an unqualified success. However, it would be the general walking public who would ultimately decide if Helvellyn and Ullswater from Hare Shaw would become the new definitive view of the region.
|
