Scafell & Scafell Pike
Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 12:23 am
What a fantastic day out this was!
James and I set off from the National Trust car park at Wasdale Head in fine weather and headed up the path towards Brown Tongue. The second stretch of that path, after crossing the river, is an unrelenting grind but isn't as long as I remember it being from when I walked up it twelve months ago. Ay the top of Brown Tongue we followed the path to the right towards Hollow Stones and then, after a deep breath, turned up the scree towards the entrance to Lord's Rake. That was a stiff climb and the scree is very loose but in a few minutes we were sat on a rock looking up the rake and across to the western crags of Scafell Pike. What a great place to see.
The Rake is extremely loose under foot and between us we sent quite a few rocks down the slope. Thankfully, there was no one following us so it didn't cause a problem but all the advice I have read about not following another group up is very good advice. Most of our ascent followed the wall on the right hand side of the rake, which itself is quite loose in places and crumbles when you try to take a firm grip. The slab at the top takes a bit of negotiating. James went around the right hand side and I went underneath it so it is possible both ways. That was by far the most challenging scramble I had done up to that point and it was a great sense of achievement to get beyond that stone.
The next down and up section of the rake is very straightforward and short. When we reached the bottom of the second down section we chose to have a go at ascending Red Gill. Just as we set off up the rocks the rain started. By the time we got up near the top it was soaking wet and extremely slippery. We reached a large, over-hanging boulder that leans towards you and was I just couldn't get a grip on it so we had to turn around and scramble back down, which was much harder than going up. We then headed up the final ascent of the rake, which is much easier than it first looks, and were up onto the ridge in no time. From the point where we left Hollow Stones to the top of that ridge was the most fun I have had on any hill. Absolutely brilliant stuff. Scary in places and with a few sections that certainly get the heart pumping but great all the same. It certainly isn't a place for the faint-hearted but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge.
Once we reached the col between Symonds Knott and Scafell we were treated to a gale force wind and a hail storm. We were also now in the clag so couldn't see a thing but it was still a great sense of achievement to get to the top. From there we dropped down to Foxes Tarn and then down the gully to the bottom of Broad Stand. That gully takes a few awkward movements to negotiate and with the rain that was falling was, at some points, like climbing down a waterfall. We were absolutely soaked through by the time we reached the bottom. It was then a long hard slog back up to Mikledore and then on up the ridge to the summit of Scafell Pike. Once again we found ourselves in the clag so quickly headed down the path to Lingmell Col and then down the path back to the car park. The last hour of the walk was in pouring rain and we were glad to get back in the car and start to dry out.
We had originally set out to do the route we did, plus Ill Crag, Broad Crag and Lingmell but the weather beat us on this occassion so we settled for these two and the great feeling of having climbed Lord's Rake.
We didn't get may pictures because of the rain and fog but here are the ones we managed to take...
James and I set off from the National Trust car park at Wasdale Head in fine weather and headed up the path towards Brown Tongue. The second stretch of that path, after crossing the river, is an unrelenting grind but isn't as long as I remember it being from when I walked up it twelve months ago. Ay the top of Brown Tongue we followed the path to the right towards Hollow Stones and then, after a deep breath, turned up the scree towards the entrance to Lord's Rake. That was a stiff climb and the scree is very loose but in a few minutes we were sat on a rock looking up the rake and across to the western crags of Scafell Pike. What a great place to see.
The Rake is extremely loose under foot and between us we sent quite a few rocks down the slope. Thankfully, there was no one following us so it didn't cause a problem but all the advice I have read about not following another group up is very good advice. Most of our ascent followed the wall on the right hand side of the rake, which itself is quite loose in places and crumbles when you try to take a firm grip. The slab at the top takes a bit of negotiating. James went around the right hand side and I went underneath it so it is possible both ways. That was by far the most challenging scramble I had done up to that point and it was a great sense of achievement to get beyond that stone.
The next down and up section of the rake is very straightforward and short. When we reached the bottom of the second down section we chose to have a go at ascending Red Gill. Just as we set off up the rocks the rain started. By the time we got up near the top it was soaking wet and extremely slippery. We reached a large, over-hanging boulder that leans towards you and was I just couldn't get a grip on it so we had to turn around and scramble back down, which was much harder than going up. We then headed up the final ascent of the rake, which is much easier than it first looks, and were up onto the ridge in no time. From the point where we left Hollow Stones to the top of that ridge was the most fun I have had on any hill. Absolutely brilliant stuff. Scary in places and with a few sections that certainly get the heart pumping but great all the same. It certainly isn't a place for the faint-hearted but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge.
Once we reached the col between Symonds Knott and Scafell we were treated to a gale force wind and a hail storm. We were also now in the clag so couldn't see a thing but it was still a great sense of achievement to get to the top. From there we dropped down to Foxes Tarn and then down the gully to the bottom of Broad Stand. That gully takes a few awkward movements to negotiate and with the rain that was falling was, at some points, like climbing down a waterfall. We were absolutely soaked through by the time we reached the bottom. It was then a long hard slog back up to Mikledore and then on up the ridge to the summit of Scafell Pike. Once again we found ourselves in the clag so quickly headed down the path to Lingmell Col and then down the path back to the car park. The last hour of the walk was in pouring rain and we were glad to get back in the car and start to dry out.
We had originally set out to do the route we did, plus Ill Crag, Broad Crag and Lingmell but the weather beat us on this occassion so we settled for these two and the great feeling of having climbed Lord's Rake.
We didn't get may pictures because of the rain and fog but here are the ones we managed to take...