M
Mark Manning
Guest
Where better to spend a birthday ending in a zero than in the hills?
Despite road closures, I finally got to Wasdale for a long weekend; though
the first day wasn't in Wasdale; the road was shut until 1500!
Thursday
========
I'd left Cambridge about 0330, and was parked at Wha House and
heading into Upper Eskdale at 0945. There were several possibilities:
Scafell (weather permitting); Esk Pike (but the round trip was probably
too far on a short winter day); or head up from the River Esk near Little
Narrowcove to Pike de Bield and back down the other side of the ridge.
It was a bit of a drizzly day, off and on, and the cloud never left the
valley; I was in mist from the top of Brock Crag (well before Upper
Eskdale itself) until I was very close to Lingcove Bridge on the way out.
No-one around at all, either in the valley or on the Eskdale road. Mind
you, I could have had a (quiet) coach party within 200m of me and not have
noticed at all, such was the visibility!
The paths in Upper Eskdale are quite sketchy, but I found following
them surprisingly easy. The panoramas are normally so breathtaking that I
lose the paths whilst studying the views. Today, there was no distant
view to distract my attention! Had lunch (as always) at the Cam Spout
waterfall. The entire area was drenched after heavy rain; I have never
seen the Esk, or Cam Spout, so full. Most of the becks had burst their
banks, and there were lots of streams running happily that I'd never seen
before.
Followed the path on to Little Narrowcove, and then down to the Esk
to cross it and head up to Pike de Bield. No joy here; the river was so
full that it would have been a tricky crossing even if I'd waded. So I
found myself heading uphill to Esk Hause; there was still time to retrace
my steps if I needed. But in fact the ascent was easy (I was only
carrying a daypack, rather than the usual wildcamping backpack, so it
should have been!). Esk Hause was deserted, as was the top of Esk Pike.
There was a strong south-westerly, as forecast, so rather than head down
the south ridge into its teeth, I took the path to Ore Gap and down beside
Lingcove Beck. There was a fairly clear path, but in any case paths in
this part of Eskdale are free of precipices! Then down to Lingcove
Bridge, Brotherilkeld, and the road back to Wha House. This is my
favourite walk in the District, and it was an astonishing surprise to find
that I'd had the time to do it after all, on a short winter day in pretty
poor conditions. A very nice birthday present from the hills!
Friday
======
Mickledore... almost! A drier, colder and windier day. Decided to
try for Scafell (not the Pike) none the less. Climbed Brown Tongue with
Dave (who was also staying at Wasdale Head); he went off towards the Pike,
I went off towards Mickledore. I thought I could just about see Scafell
Crag in the mist, but of course this was wishful thinking; I was looking
at a crag a little lower down. Scafell Crag is a cathedral 500 feet high,
but there was no sign of it in today's thick mist. Found myself finally
in a scree gully which reminded me rather of Lord's Rake; according to my
GPS, it certainly wasn't. But by now the wind was howling, a heavy hail
shower had started, and I didn't want to find myself climbing a gully
somewhere on the crag. I knew I wasn't far from Mickledore, but I don't
know the Wasdale side well (I normally climb the Scafells from Eskdale).
So I had what Dave (who also turned back) called "an attack of pragmatism"
and went back down. No sooner had I got back to the Inn than it started
raining pretty heavily. Disappointing, but then it's January after all!
I saw no-one (apart from Dave, of course) all day.
Saturday
========
A magnificent day: dry with light winds, mostly high cloud, and a
little sun. Took the valley route (which was pretty gloppy) up to Sty
Head, and then started on the Gable Traverse; my first attempt at this.
A bit of an epic in places, but I was delighted to have been able to do
it. It also did wonders for my ability to cope with scree! I thought the
trickiest bit was the field of huge boulders below Kern Knotts; I
descended to take an easier path below. I was passed by a group of
climbers, happily jumping obstacles in the way that climbers do, but also
complaining about how greasy the rock was. They were right. I'd been
worried about crossing the scree shoots, but they were easy (apart from
Little Hell Gate; do try to find the track here if you possibly can!).
The North Traverse was quite hard to find. The cairns in AW's book
are still there, but the main path has moved away from them; if you're
ascending from Beck Head, keep well to the left to find them. The
Traverse itself is now intersected by paths going down to Moses' Trod from
the Beck Head path; nothing wrong with this, of course, but these paths
(which are well-worn) are now clearer than the Traverse (which is a grassy
trod). The thing to remember is that the Traverse is pretty level, apart
from when it toes around the buttress nearest Windy Gap. Magnificent
views of Wasdale from the South Traverse; even better views of Gable Crag
from the North Traverse, the Crag seeming like a vast cathedral soaring
vertically into the sky.
Once at Windy Gap, it seemed a shame to miss the summit; so I popped
up there (I was now adept at handling rocky surfaces of all sorts) and
down again. Then down Aaron Slack to Sty Head, and the valley route back
to the hotel. Stopped for a dip in Spouthead Gill; this was *seriously*
cold! A great day in the hills, and I felt very thankful.
Sunday
======
Visited a friend in the valley for a cup of tea; pondered doing
Middle Fell. But in the end I treated myself in a different way, and
headed home early so I could do the drive in daylight (if you live as far
from the hills as I do, a break from night driving is welcome). A good
long weekend, and a great way to spend a significant birthday!
Mark
--
Mark Manning [email protected]
Despite road closures, I finally got to Wasdale for a long weekend; though
the first day wasn't in Wasdale; the road was shut until 1500!
Thursday
========
I'd left Cambridge about 0330, and was parked at Wha House and
heading into Upper Eskdale at 0945. There were several possibilities:
Scafell (weather permitting); Esk Pike (but the round trip was probably
too far on a short winter day); or head up from the River Esk near Little
Narrowcove to Pike de Bield and back down the other side of the ridge.
It was a bit of a drizzly day, off and on, and the cloud never left the
valley; I was in mist from the top of Brock Crag (well before Upper
Eskdale itself) until I was very close to Lingcove Bridge on the way out.
No-one around at all, either in the valley or on the Eskdale road. Mind
you, I could have had a (quiet) coach party within 200m of me and not have
noticed at all, such was the visibility!
The paths in Upper Eskdale are quite sketchy, but I found following
them surprisingly easy. The panoramas are normally so breathtaking that I
lose the paths whilst studying the views. Today, there was no distant
view to distract my attention! Had lunch (as always) at the Cam Spout
waterfall. The entire area was drenched after heavy rain; I have never
seen the Esk, or Cam Spout, so full. Most of the becks had burst their
banks, and there were lots of streams running happily that I'd never seen
before.
Followed the path on to Little Narrowcove, and then down to the Esk
to cross it and head up to Pike de Bield. No joy here; the river was so
full that it would have been a tricky crossing even if I'd waded. So I
found myself heading uphill to Esk Hause; there was still time to retrace
my steps if I needed. But in fact the ascent was easy (I was only
carrying a daypack, rather than the usual wildcamping backpack, so it
should have been!). Esk Hause was deserted, as was the top of Esk Pike.
There was a strong south-westerly, as forecast, so rather than head down
the south ridge into its teeth, I took the path to Ore Gap and down beside
Lingcove Beck. There was a fairly clear path, but in any case paths in
this part of Eskdale are free of precipices! Then down to Lingcove
Bridge, Brotherilkeld, and the road back to Wha House. This is my
favourite walk in the District, and it was an astonishing surprise to find
that I'd had the time to do it after all, on a short winter day in pretty
poor conditions. A very nice birthday present from the hills!
Friday
======
Mickledore... almost! A drier, colder and windier day. Decided to
try for Scafell (not the Pike) none the less. Climbed Brown Tongue with
Dave (who was also staying at Wasdale Head); he went off towards the Pike,
I went off towards Mickledore. I thought I could just about see Scafell
Crag in the mist, but of course this was wishful thinking; I was looking
at a crag a little lower down. Scafell Crag is a cathedral 500 feet high,
but there was no sign of it in today's thick mist. Found myself finally
in a scree gully which reminded me rather of Lord's Rake; according to my
GPS, it certainly wasn't. But by now the wind was howling, a heavy hail
shower had started, and I didn't want to find myself climbing a gully
somewhere on the crag. I knew I wasn't far from Mickledore, but I don't
know the Wasdale side well (I normally climb the Scafells from Eskdale).
So I had what Dave (who also turned back) called "an attack of pragmatism"
and went back down. No sooner had I got back to the Inn than it started
raining pretty heavily. Disappointing, but then it's January after all!
I saw no-one (apart from Dave, of course) all day.
Saturday
========
A magnificent day: dry with light winds, mostly high cloud, and a
little sun. Took the valley route (which was pretty gloppy) up to Sty
Head, and then started on the Gable Traverse; my first attempt at this.
A bit of an epic in places, but I was delighted to have been able to do
it. It also did wonders for my ability to cope with scree! I thought the
trickiest bit was the field of huge boulders below Kern Knotts; I
descended to take an easier path below. I was passed by a group of
climbers, happily jumping obstacles in the way that climbers do, but also
complaining about how greasy the rock was. They were right. I'd been
worried about crossing the scree shoots, but they were easy (apart from
Little Hell Gate; do try to find the track here if you possibly can!).
The North Traverse was quite hard to find. The cairns in AW's book
are still there, but the main path has moved away from them; if you're
ascending from Beck Head, keep well to the left to find them. The
Traverse itself is now intersected by paths going down to Moses' Trod from
the Beck Head path; nothing wrong with this, of course, but these paths
(which are well-worn) are now clearer than the Traverse (which is a grassy
trod). The thing to remember is that the Traverse is pretty level, apart
from when it toes around the buttress nearest Windy Gap. Magnificent
views of Wasdale from the South Traverse; even better views of Gable Crag
from the North Traverse, the Crag seeming like a vast cathedral soaring
vertically into the sky.
Once at Windy Gap, it seemed a shame to miss the summit; so I popped
up there (I was now adept at handling rocky surfaces of all sorts) and
down again. Then down Aaron Slack to Sty Head, and the valley route back
to the hotel. Stopped for a dip in Spouthead Gill; this was *seriously*
cold! A great day in the hills, and I felt very thankful.
Sunday
======
Visited a friend in the valley for a cup of tea; pondered doing
Middle Fell. But in the end I treated myself in a different way, and
headed home early so I could do the drive in daylight (if you live as far
from the hills as I do, a break from night driving is welcome). A good
long weekend, and a great way to spend a significant birthday!
Mark
--
Mark Manning [email protected]