Hi Dave, hope you're in rude health.
I did wonder same, but, there may have been a winter advantage as the Coldberry side of Hude would have benefitted slightly from being on the lee side of the hill to the prevailing westerlies.
That being said, another old-timer, Claude Watson, recalled seeking shelter from the folks up at Hardberry Farm one winter whilst searching for lost sheep. He said that the snowdrift continued under the front door and reached the back of the settee. brrrr...
and one winter we did walk over the top of the 5-bar gate leading to Skears Firestone Level. Oh, and a few years later I span my Orion through about 900 degrees and ended up as part of the dry stone wall, on the steep bit by Lodge Sike in 1994. Summer is for wimps! :lol:
MARK