It was a long day at work on Tuesday (5.30am to 10pm), so decided i needed to take a day off and make the most of the snow before it disappears. A quick check of the forecast showed Wednesday evening to have light winds and a potential of broken cloud, that would be handy with the current full moon and snow covered ground, night hike and camp it was then.
I had a scout meeting on Wed night so threw all my gear into the car to show the scouts what to bring camping and how to pack (wife was pleased i hadn’t littered the living room with all my camping gear again 
). I also got them to study the map to pick a convenient (and safe) camping spot. There had been a few avalanches this week so I was keen to avoid steep open ground. I had considered Lukes Mountain, but it was further than i wan’t to go for such a late start (10pm), Donard saddle was another option but i didn’t fancy the steep steps to the saddle, especially as i was travelling alone. Slievenamaddy was chosen, should only take an hour with a heavy pack and it was a spot i’d always wanted to camp on. So bag was packed and feeling rather heavy, had i packed too many luxury items? not to worry, it was only a 2.5km walk in, bit steep in places but i would be glad of my luxuries when i got there.
Started at Donard Park, tried to get the right balance of clothing as i knew i would be sweating by the first bridge if i wore what felt comfortable in the start, decided to leave the down jacket and long johns in the rucksack and keep warm with a good pace. First signs of any decent snow where here at the 3rd bridge.
At the ice house now and the hills have a orange glow reflected off the low cloud from the streetlights of Newcastle.
Some decent snow at the Slievenamaddy Stile, despite the fact that you can easily walk around this stile i always feel i have to climb over it, its just part of the Mournes experience.
The going got a bit tougher with some knee deep snow in places, fortunately someone had walked this way in the last few hours so i had footsteps to follow most of the route. At Slievenamaddy I found my previously chosen spot with a great view over Newcastle and Donard to the rear. It was a bit slopy but I had brough a shovel so could easily make a flat spot for the tent.
Tent up and time to play with the camera on a long exposure. Worth noting that i had brough a set of 12 inch plastic tent pegs, normal pegs would have been as much use as matchsticks. I also used the walking poles and ice axe to peg down the guy ropes.
The hard work all done it was time to sit back and enjoy the view with a cool (very cool) beer.
The cloud didn’t break as i had hoped but it was still one of the magical experiences sitting back and enjoying the silence. Although with the bright lights of Newcastle below I never really felt like i was truly “in the mountains”.
my sleeping arrangements:
highlander reflective mat at the bottom
mountain equipment helium 3.8 inflatable mattress above
topped off with an alpkit pipedream 400 down sleeping bag
i also had the ex-army goretex bivvy bag on standby at my feet in case it got a bit chilly
I find that one of the key ingredients to a good night sleep is a good pillow, i have tried many i can thoroughly recommend the decathlon quecha inflatable pillow
Here you can see my regatta tent slippers, very handy for keeping your feet warm before you get them into the sleeping bag.
A chewy bar for supper, although with the low temperature it became a crunchy bar!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………………
Rise and shine at 6.30am, a good nights sleep was had, i managed to stay warm without resporting to long johns or the down jacket, did pull the bivvy up up during the night though.
Sunrise
Morning view of Newcastle
Donard behind me
Donard and Commedagh
Donard Forest near the 3rd bridge, must say i had a lovely walk home through the forest, very pleasant, going downhill is so much nicer
So my first snow camp was a complete success, next challenge is a summit snow camp 
