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Having just about coped with the descent of the scramble down the east side of An Stuc last weekend I decided to swallow some brave pills and try my hand at Striding Edge. having looked at the pictures and reports on WH I was quite apprehensive about doing this alone but decided that if I didn't try I would never know.
I started at Glenridding car park and headed for Lanty's Tarn. From there I started the long and what seemed like an unending ascent to Hole-in-the-Wall from Grisedale. It's not until you arrive at HitW that you see what lies ahead as it is the first clear sight of Striding Edge and the scramble to the summit. Another two bravery pills and off I went. I stopped for a rest and to take my first picture of the day at High Spying How.
![01 - Striding Edge from the blunt end.jpg]()
I watched a couple of solo walkers negotiate the slabs coming towards me and told myself it didn't look too difficult and ploughed on along the edge. I took a couple of detours down to the safer path on the north side at the bits were I wasn't exactly sure where to go along the top but I tried to stay as high as I could and it wasn't as bad as I had expected. I then arrived at the chimney, which immediately reminded me of my time on An Stuc last weekend as I had come down a very similar thing there. I was therefore able to convince myself I am now an experienced chimneyist so down I went. I probably took longer than some getting down here but it was the bit I felt most exposed on the whole walk so I was happy to take my time. My attention now turned to the thing I had been ignoring: the scramble. The good news for anyone who hasn't been along this route is that the scramble looks and is much easier from the end of Striding Edge that it is from the beginning. There are a multitude of routes up and lots of footprints and crampon scars to follow.
![02 - Looking back at Striding Edge.jpg]()
![03 - Red Tarn from the Scramble.jpg]()
![03a - The scramble to Helvellyn summit.jpg]()
I was at the Memorial on the summit ridge in just a few minutes and hadn't felt exposed or in any danger all the way up the scramble. It was a great feeling to have completed the ascent and I know it is something I would not have attemted just four or five months ago.
I was now able to enjoy being on the third highest mountain in England with fabulous views in all directions. The only thing that spoiled the experience was a group of teenagers gathered around the summit trig point having a competition to see who could throw a rock into Red Tarn. Is it just me being an old fart or is this just stupid? Given that there were six of them and one of me standing on top of a 500 foot cliff I decided that confronting them probably wasn't a good idea so I passed by and left them to it. I just hope there wasn't some poor sod trying to climb up the crags
My intention had been to descend by Swirral Edge and Catstye Cam but when I got to that end of the summit ridge I could see the long path around the Fells to the north that would give me a longer walk. I made the descision to switch routes very quickly. Whether or not it had something to do with this view I couldn't possibly comment...
The next part of my walk was enjoyable from the point of view of being up at a good height with some great views but the Fells I walked over are pretty uninspiring grassy mounds. The pictures probably tell the story better than I can.
The final Fell of the day was Sheffield Pike. This is a much more interesting lump of rock than those I had just crossed and was a perfect end to the day. The ascent from the quarry at Nick Head is straightforward on a good path. The descent south-east towards Glenridding is steep in parts and a mixture of good paths, sheep tracks and some bits where you just have to find your own way through the heather and rocks.
All said and done this was a very enjoyable way to spend a Friday afternoon and evening. On the final descent I had a rather disturbing thought about poor Mr Gough, who's memorial stands on the summit of Helvellyn. The story goes that he slipped on ice and fell to his death from the top of the scramble in 1805. His skeleton was found three months later with his faithful dog standing guard over it. How does a dog survive three months in winter at 2,500ft? Was he standing guard over the corpse of his beloved master or was he guarding what remained of his dinner?
Derek
