UKH

I do all if my fell running on my own, even in the winter. I got thinking about taking up winter hill walking but don't know anyone else to go with. I thought that going solo could be seen as irresponsible,  however on reflection my winter solo fell running is probably more so.

Given that I have good fitness, a reasonable level of mountain craft and well equipped, is it really irresponsible to go out on my own, assuming good conditions and a route that I know well in summer?

Yes, but thousands of us do it anyway.

Irresponsible? no, but if you try hard enough it can be

Fun? hopefully!

probably but many of us do, some of us climb & ski alone as well at times

If you know what you are doing with axe and crampons crack on.

I tend to be a bit more cautious with having a point of contact which knows where I am in winter though.

I think loads of us do it. Leaving a good route card (or its digital equivalent) and not going out of your way to explore your technical limits  Itigates any solo risk. And at least you can avoid walking unsuspectingly onto the avalanche slope just because your mate did.

There is a level of risk, but as you say it is probably equivalent or maybe even lower than winter fell running.  If you are fit enough, appropriately equipped and reasonable at navigating, I see no reason not to (I go out alone frequently through winter).

I would suggest leaving route cards and staying within your technical limits.  I tend to pack a bit heavier when I am alone too - I'll make sure I have enough kit to survive an uncomfortable bivvi if I need it.

It's not irresponsible unless you have others who depend on you , otherwise knock yourself out , , , oh wait hang on ?¿ 

You know what I mean 😆

Best hillwalking experience = alone, night time, dusting of snow, full moon and a calm forecast.

You can stick the head torch off and enjoy the amazing light.

No it isn't.

Why would you need to know a route?

I walk, backpack, bikepack, ski, kayak alone all year round. Could this be seen as irresponsible? I couldn't care less, I'm doing it anyway. 

Where do you draw the line between what's responsible and irresponsible? What's adventurous and what's dangerous? It's probably different for everyone. If you're equipped and knowledgeable enough for the conditions and route I don't see it as irresponsible. Having said that, if things do go pear shaped for any reason, then a level headed mate would be the most useful item to have with you.

You could get a satellite alarm device so that your location is known and you can be found before you die in the snow. There are ones you just pay for the time you use them. I have seen the Garmin ones, but I think there are some that are much cheaper.

Also if thinking about your dependents. How stressed will they be with you going? That is a very personal thing. They might approve if you bump up that life policy!

Pfft, novice. No mention of port and stilton anywhere in those words.

No 

I wouldn't describe it as irresponsible. Personally I go out in summer and winter on my own. I only do things I am reasonably comfortable with. It will be more difficult to get help if something goes wrong, but with appropriate equipment and experience you can mitigate the risk to some extent. 

Take extra precautions, extra kit, extra food, extra detail of my route and timings left with Mrs Sticht. So no, not extra irresponsible, just an extra level of risk to be factored in and appropriately addressed.

No. It is implicit for human beings to take a level of risk to build character and enhance our inner selves. 
I would say that the weather/route risk evaluation is crucial but does not consider Sods Law.

I always take my dog. The Mrs would come looking for the dog and possibly find me.

This is an interesting topic.

Given your experience etc, it’s quite easy to balance out the risk. Lots of MR call outs are to groups and not necessarily in winter. 
Are you more at risk of being overnighted etc in a group on a wet, windy night than on a calm cold night with the necessary bivi equipment on your own?

If you go on your own knowing the risk are you more switched on and less likely to make a mistake? It’s easy to lose a route/be swayed in judgement in a group.

If you are fell running happily alone in winter, then why are you worrying about hill waliking alone in winter? Just carry on with your winter fell running.

Thoughtful replies everyone. The idea of venturing out equipped with crampons and axe for a walk in the hills as opposed to my Orocs feels like a different undertaking, but on reflection it seems I'm over thinking it.

Looking forward to a few lovely winter days 😀 

Indeed. I go Munro bashing/hill walking in Scotland in Winter for the challenge of the poorer conditions and  weather. I find that because I have only me to rely on, that I pay more attention to location, and take more compass readings. (So far I have not decided upon a GPS watch, or other machine. I may eventually get a ~£800 Garmin device. In the meantime, the practice with old fashioned maps and compass is good experience for the future when a GPS fails.) The exception was when I went out in winter conditions with a less experienced walker, and that spur-red (sic. Sorry the punning could not be avoided) me to be really focused on the navigation, especially over Broad Cairn with virtually no vision/white out.

I always take a bivvy bag and more layers and more food as suggested in other posts.

You might be far less likely to get into trouble if you go out on your own. Yes there are objective danges that a party or pair might cope better with, but on your own you will usually much more focussed, less distracted, more risk averse and less inhibited to turn back, bail out, or take the safer option. You would also be wise to carry some well thought out emergency kit and have good communications options in place.

I've done most of my winter hillwalking alone, mid week, in all weathers and I carrry, for example, a bothy bag, blizzard bag, fully charged dumb phone switched off, smartphone, map & Compass, GPS, SPOT unit, a jetscream whistle,  and "lots of" food. My route is known to my Mrs and a friend at home, and I'll only deviate significantly if I can let them know. SPOT, for instance, can have prearranged messages if I set out with options. The only navigational issues I've ever had have been when I've been with a group and too busy blethering to realise we've gone adrift, or subconsiously (but implicitly) trusting someone else's judgement when they thought they were trusting mine.

River crossing, avalanche slopes and big cornices get a wider berth, and constant nav checks are the order of the day. Once or twice I've had fairly epic outings, but never been out of control even if I was pretty uncomfortable ( or faced a 15 mile detour at the end of the day).

So, no, I don't think it's irresponsible - just understand and set your own risk levels.

[EDIT -Ha! -just posted this and see Veteye said pretty much the same while I was writing it!    ]

I'd always take an axe and a set of microspike type crampons in winter conditions. I don't use the spikes much, but often have the axe in hand just in case. I've found good studded fell shoes dig into neve quite effectively. If it gets steep or icy, spikes on or if too risky, find another route.

It's only irrisponcible if your going to put yourself or others at risk.  If it is not something you have done before than make a plan and work up gradually.  As you say pick a short route you know well. Tell someone your plan. Ensure there is a safe foolproof route off, that you can find on a bearing in zero viz. To a road or safe river valley. Ensure you have enough kit and food for a frozen night out and give it a go on a poor day.  After that enjoy the sunny days they are usually more fun, but they don't all end sunny, so try a safe poor day first, is my advice.

Of course it's not irresponsible given appropriate objective and conditions.  Why should it be ?

Going out on your own isn't irresponsible.

Going out unprepared is, whether on your own or with others.

Just because time / family etc most of my hill time ends up too last minute to arrange with anyone else so I go on my own.  Route card / keep in touch (generally texts at key points) and enjoy it.

It seems that a lot of posts so far seem to talk about precautions to be taken for when things have gone wrong rather than avoiding problems to begin with. Appropriate winter walking equipment (axe and some kind of pointy things for your feet) will potentially help to keep you safer, but only if you use them appropriately and don't rely on them as a magic get out of jail card. Extra equipment like extra food, clothes, shelter, will help get you out of trouble if things go a bit wrong, but might only make things a bit better if things go badly wrong. Leaving details of your plan for the day will not keep you safe, just less likely (but no guarantee) that if you have an accident you won't die.

These things are important, but the real key to 'safely' partaking in the joys of solo winter walking (or adventurous activities in general) is to understand the risks and work within (or maybe just outside, depending on your thinking on acceptable risk) your own limits of understanding and skills. The difficulty is in understanding what these are, but a considered, cautious, incremental approach can help. The decisions you make as to where, when and what you do, and what the snow conditions and especially the weather are doing when (and after) you intend to be out can have a huge influence on how 'safe' your day out is.

Basemetal makes some interesting, and I think valid points on how being on your own can actually lessen some of the risks, but other risks can also be increased.

For me some of the stand out risks travelling solo in winter are navigational errors in poor visibility, falling into hidden features and avalanches. Not necessarily because they are more likely, but because of the consequences, and the difficulty of avoidance or mitigation. They are all closely linked, and being out in clear cool sunny weather definitely reduces risks significantly compared to being out in a whiteout. If you can't see where you are going small navigational errors can mean walking straight over the edge of a cliff, if you don't think this is possible, you haven't been out in a proper whiteout. Similarly there are terrain features that can appear in winter that do not exist in summer and don't appear on any maps, and walking around on boggy ground or areas with lots of deep cut streams can just be a game of Russian roulette. Getting caught in an avalanche is also especially bad when you're on your own, although possibly a bit less likely. All these risks are reduced (but don't disappear) if you have decent light (and don't underestimate the effect of flat light in otherwise decent visibility!), and stick to less steep terrain (somewhere less than 30 degreesish, anyone that says slopes less steep than this can't avalanche are wrong, but the risk is greatly reduced, and the less steep it is the lower the risk, without forgetting the stuff above you too!).

Wow! That turned into a bit a lecture, but I hope I said something vaguely useful along the way.

As others have said, its not irresponsible if you are comfortable and confident in your own abilities, providing of course they are not misguided like a lot of the people who seem to be getting pulled off the hill by the MR teams at the moment due to wrong decisions, lack of fitness and wrong kit.