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Peak District or the Alps? Cyclist enjoys snow-covered Snake Pass

"Pretty special"...

While many of you will have quite sensibly taken your weekend spin indoors this morning, for those with wider, more knobbly tyres, and decent winter gear there were stunning snow-capped peaks to be enjoyed.

The powder-lined roads of Snake Pass out of Glossop in the Peak District had the good folk from Faction Chamois Cream (reviewed by road.cc, of course) ascending what could have been an Alpine climb, or something akin to the top of the Stelvio as the Giro d'Italia peloton grinds by, empty but for a few hardy souls and a couple of drivers in 4x4s. 

> How to ride your bike through ice and snow — top tips for safe cycling when the mercury drops

"It was great to ride," they reported. "Some ice but most dry, just like an Alpine climb in early season. Very quiet."

The road has been impassable to most for a couple of days now, with locals and one Twitter account dedicated to providing updates on its status, reporting 13 inches of snow, deeper in drifts.

 It is a year since Snake Pass was at the centre of an accessibility storm after the road was closed to motor traffic due to landslides, prompting pedal-powered riders to enjoy the traffic-free slopes.

Of course, all good things come to an end and it didn't take Derbyshire County Council to close the road to everyone, a decision criticised as an anti-cyclist move "dressed up cheaply as health and safety".

Exactly a year ago tomorrow (12th March) a group of around 60 cyclists including children, cycle hire users and cargo bike riders 'reclaimed' the climb during an organised trespass.

To mark the anniversary Mother Nature has closed the road once again... just be careful how you go...

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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