New Lake District felltop assessor Jason Taylor

The man appointed to the Lake District’s top job has been thrown in at the deep end, with snowdrifts of up to a metre greeting him as he started his new job.

Yorkshireman Jason Taylor’s new daily routine entails a trip to the top of England’s third highest mountain, and the mountain leader is revelling in the exceptional conditions as he gets into his stride as one of the park authority’s two felltop assessors, who provide real-life snow and ice reports from the summit of Helvellyn.

Jason takes over the job, which he shares with Jon Bennett, from Craig Palmer, who gave up his post at the end of last year.

His appointment coincided with some of the harshest winter conditions seen in the Lake District for decades, including avalanche risks, a cracking cornice developing over the Red Tarn headwall, and wind-chill temperatures equal to -16C.

But Jason’s not complaining. “It’s all in a day’s work,” he said. “Helvellyn is magnificent, wild, exhilarating and very special. To have arctic conditions in my first week is just amazing.”

The assessor, who hails from Halifax, West Yorkshire, but now lives in Newbiggin-on-Lune, has a wealth of experience to enable him to do the arduous job, when involves seven days off, seven days on, in which he climbs almost the height of Everest to record weather conditions on the 950m (3,117ft) summit of Helvellyn during the winter months.

He said: “I’ve led climbs in full winter conditions across the Lake District and Scotland and got a big interest in weather patterns, particularly their effects in the mountains. Felltop assessing is the perfect job for me.

“I love everything to do with the great outdoors – walking, climbing, mountain and road biking, running; learning languages is the exception.”

A former world travel leader with his own Lake District guide company, he has worked from Bhutan to Bangladesh and Iran to India. Jason warns against complacency for anyone venturing on to the Lakeland fells. “Only those with full winter equipment and a lot of experience should be venturing on them,” he said.

“Mountains are very dangerous places right now. Unless you have the right experience, don’t go there. And if you do, be properly equipped and have the humility to know when to turn back.”

The information gathered by Jason and Jon Bennett is used for the Lake District Weatherline, which has been run by the national park authority for 34 years and is used by an estimated half a million people a year. The two assessors also act as the eyes and ears on the mountain and often hand out advice while on the fells.

Use grough’s links page to access the Weatherline and other essential forecasts. The forecasts can also be heard on 0844 846 2444.