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Yesterday I had the pleasure of a guided tour of the best route up and down Skiddaw in the company of Mountain Coward.
Starting at High Side we ascended a beautiful ridge known as "The Edge" which takes in Ullock Pike, Long Side and Carl Side before reaching the col below the southern screes of Skiddaw. From there we followed the zig-zag route to the east of the main path for a lung-bursting 700ft of very steep scree. This part of the ascent is punnishing on the calf muscles but isn't actually as bad as it looks from the bottom. The summit ridge of Skiddaw provides excellent views of the northern Fells and we were lucky enough to reach it during a break in the cloud.
From the summit we descended south east, up Skiddaw Little Man and its lesser partner Jenkin Hill and then east to Lonscale Fell. This final hill looks nothing from the summits of Skiddaw and Little Man but is actually a good long pull to get to the summit where there is a spectacular and unexpected view of the rift between the Skiddaw range and Blencathra. From this final summit we descended north to the Burnt Horse ridge and then followed the Cumbrian Way north and then north east past the beautiful Whitewater Dash waterfalls. Upon reaching the road we turned south west back to our starting point.
This was a fantastic route and a great way to see the many routes up and down Skiddaw as is completely encircles the mountain.
A big thanks to Mountain Coward for showing me the way