Great Langdale, April 2006

Monday, 10th of April

Snow-capped mountains, blue skies, and warm spring sunshine: does it really get any better?

Go straight to:
Stickle Ghyll
Pavey Ark
Descent

Our plan for Monday was unambitious. We were intending to return to the Langdale Pikes the next day anyway, climbing the main face of Harrison Stickle, so today's expedition was basically an out-and-back climb of Pavey Ark. Pavey Ark is a giant rounded dome of crag and forms the southern buttress of the unremarakable Thunacar Knott. It is often considered one of the Pikes even though its summit is less prominent than the others. Pavey Ark also has the distinction of being the biggest cliff in Langdale and one of the three great climber's crags of Lakeland (together with Dow Crag and Scafell Crag).

Our chosen route was Jack's Rake, a crack running diagonally up the face of the cliff. This is a Grade 1 / Easy rock climb and provides uncomplicated, fun scrambling, without any danger from exposure thanks to the big ledge to the left of the route protecting the climber from the big drop below. For these reasons, Jack's Rake is the most popular scramble in the Lake District.

The sun was already shining when we woke up, and visibility was near perfect. More importantly, the rock was dry and almost free from snow on the south-facing Langdale Pikes by this point ... ideal conditions for climbing!

Stickle Ghyll

Pike of Blisco and Great Knott from Langdale Old Road

After a short but scenic walk-in along the Old Road connecting Old Dungeon Ghyll with New Dungeon Ghyll, we embarked upon the Stickle Ghyll path leading up to Stickle Tarn. Also known as Mill Gill, this is the most popular route into the Pikes massif and I had heard horror stories of the eroded trail ... however, thanks to the dedicated work of Fix the Fells, the entire route is now pleasantly stepped and free from scree. We met some volunteers setting stones about halfway up.

Looking up the gill, towards the peaks of Harrison Stickle and Tarn Crag

Thanks to the perfect weather, the walkers were out in force that day! We met several dozen people in total on the path, mostly tourists bound for Stickle Tarn, which is a popular picnic spot. There were also many fellwalkers and climbers keen to benefit from the first day of decent rock conditions in weeks. Due to the fact that nobody wants to overtake anyone, or be overtaken, a humourous situation arose in which everyone in sight would stop and have their rests at the same time. In the end we stopped playing: we let the fast people overtake us, and overtook the slow people ... saved a lot of hassle!

The first waterfall

Stickle Ghyll is the home of a number of spectacular waterfalls, and in good conditions they can be climbed and linked together at a difficulty rating of about Grade 1. Gill scrambling is popular in the Lake District, and this is the most popular gill of them all, but surprisingly we saw nobody else climbing the waterfalls. Keen to get my hands on some rock, I suggested a line up a series of ribs and steps to the right of the largest cascade. The rock proved to be of superb quality and it made an easy but exciting little scramble.

The big waterfall. Our scramble led up the clean rock to the right of the cascade.

It was a warm day, and we soon stowed our outer layers and put on sunglasses. Apart from our fleece trousers we were essentially dressed in summer hill kit at this stage ... only two days after standing on Bowfell's frozen summit!

The views began to open up as we climbed higher up the gill. This was the first time I'd used the Stickle Ghyll path, and it was interesting to see familiar mountains and valleys from unfamiliar angles.

Looking down Langdale towards Windermere and--incredibly--the Pennines, thanks to the clear visibility

We soon passed below the wall of rock that marks the extremity of Tarn Crag's southern spur, and although we couldn't yet see out of the gill it was clear that we were nearing the end of the first part of the climb. Parties ahead were slowing and taking more frequent rests as the terrain became steeper and more boulder-ridden. I was interested to see the clear line of a Grade 3 scramble cutting up towards Tarn Crag, but made a mental note to leave it for another trip. I suspect it will be 2007 before I'm both back in Langdale again and confident enough to tackle a Grade 3.

Looking up the last stage of the gill

Despite the warm sun, considerable snow lingers on the high summits of Swirl How and Great Carrs (Coniston range)

We quickly climbed the final section of the gill path and emerged at the Stickle Tarn dam. We were surprised by Pavey Ark's giant cliff bursting suddenly into view, looming high over the still waters of the lake. Determined to leave the crowds of lunchbox-wielding tourists behind, we walked a little way along the lakeside path towards the base of the crag, then sat for a while on some comfortable boulders for a bite to eat.

Surprise!

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Pavey Ark

James looking up at the cliff. Get rid of the snow and colour the grass green and it could be midsummer.

After resting for ten minutes or so, we began the scree climb to the place I call Skeleton Corner, at the base of the crag. This is the bifurcation point of Easy Gully and Jack's Rake, and earns its name from the bones and partial skeletons strewn over the rocks nearby (originating, presumably, from suicidal sheep who stepped too close to the edge of the cliff).

Looking up the scree slope towards Easy Gully

Skeleton Corner

As it turned out, we were immediately behind another party who were also attempting Jack's Rake, and one individual was having problems in the narrow crack and had to be continually helped by one of the others. We waited until they were about halfway up the first section before beginning the route ourselves.

The cleft of Jack's Rake

Wainwright speaks of Jack's Rake as a fearful place, and indeed when comparing another route elsewhere with the Rake he says that "here one never feels that the end is nigh". I daresay to walkers unused to scrambling it might be frightening--especially if they're afraid of heights--but as a scramble it is entertaining and pretty easy. I don't rate it anywhere near as highly as Tryfan's North Ridge or Bristly Ridge (both of which are in any case harder), but the rock is good, there's some scope for alternative lines, and there's no risk of losing the route.

James stayed in the rake proper for most of the time, which consists of a deep, rocky groove between the main face of the crag and a ridge to the left composed of a series of ribs. I didn't like the polished, damp rock in the groove, however, so stuck to the ridge as much as I could, which is far more airy and has better quality rock. There were a couple of occasions when I deliberately chose much harder lines and almost got into difficulties, but I find that in 90% of these cases all you have to do is pause for a moment and think. Scrambling is as much about strategy and planning ahead as it is about dexterity.

James in the groove ...

... and climbing more elegantly on the ridge.

The first section of the scramble ends at a little flat section, which Wainwright calls the Easy Terrace and was, according to him, the only place where his mind was not gripped by a primitive desire for survival. I noticed a little grassy ledge which would make a first-class bivvy site ... providing you're careful not to roll off the edge!

Looking down on Stickle Tarn from Easy Terrace

After the terrace there's another section of groove and ridge, then the character of the climb changes as you reach the summit structure. Three or four lines fanned out ahead of us over open rock, one of which was still iced up. I chose a vertical step which proved unexpectedly troublesome, due to a nasty fingerhold and a foothold which was just a little too narrow. Again, after thinking through the problem, I was able to climb the difficulty and direct James on how to best climb the step.

Just to see how hard I could go, I chose a ridiculous-looking line to the very highest point, progressing up a wall of almost vertical rock with virtually no holds. However, the rock of the Pikes is covered with hundreds of little nodules which provide excellent grip, and enabled me to climb this short pitch at maybe high Grade 3 or low Diff. I have no doubt that, had the face been composed of poorer rock, I wouldn't have been able to climb it without protection.

When we reached the summit, we discovered that there was still a fair bit of snow on the plateau, and the wind was pretty cold. However, the view was captivating and we stayed for quite a while just soaking it in. The first time I climbed Pavey Ark, almost eleven months earlier, I spent over half an hour on the summit: I've spent longer on that summit than on any other.

Langdale, from the summit of Pavey Ark

The Eastern Fells

Looking towards the Coniston range and Harrison Stickle

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Descent

Langdale, from the route between Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle

We had decided to descend via the Pike Howe Route, a path which links Dungeon Ghyll Upper Ravine with the lower prominence of Pike Howe and, eventually, Langdale Old Road. In order to reach the start of this path you have to either climb Harrison Stickle or contour around it; we chose the latter option, because we were planning to climb that mountain by another route the next day.

It was busy on the broad plateau at the back of the Pikes: everyone seemed to be out enjoying the unseasonably good weather. The snow was reduced to soft patches by this point, although some of the drifts were still surprisingly deep.

Arrrrgh! Snow blindness!

The uber snowdrift

The moorland plateau is home to a number of Central Fells summits, including the nearby Thunacar Knott, Sergeant Man and High Raise, all of which offer panoramic views over the entire Lake District but which are otherwise unexciting. From the plateau itself it was possible to see a fair distance in most directions, despite the relatively low altitude (about 700m). Old favourites such as Great Gable and Red Pike made an appearance.

The big guy himself, Great Gable ... long time no see!

Bowfell looms massively over the rocky bump of Pike of Stickle

After overtaking a loud and inconsiderate family who were crawling along at a snail's pace while they threw snowballs and pieces of litter at each other, we started down the upper section of the Pike Howe Route.

Looking into the cavernous depths of Dungeon Ghyll Upper Ravine

Lower Langdale from Pike Howe

Dungeon Ghyll Force in the lower ravine, and Thorn Crag beyond

We reached the campsite once again filled with enthusiasm and a sense of triumph. For me, I had climbed a favourite mountain by a new route. For James, he had climbed his fourth Wainwright summit and added another Grade 1 scramble to his list of accomplishments. There's something about hillwalking that does you an enormous amount of good, mentally as well as physically.

Despite planning an epic day for the Tuesday, including at least one partially pitched Grade 2 climb up the main face of Harrison Stickle, the weather had other ideas. Things took a turn for the worse that evening and it rained solidly overnight. When I woke at about 9 AM, items in my tent porch were actually floating, and my groundsheet was wet. The entire campsite was slowly filling with water and I judged it to be only a matter of hours before the stream broke its banks and forced us to evacuate.

So, knowing from past experience not to push my luck with Lakeland weather, we decided to call it even and abandon the trip two days early. We called a taxi and took the 1:30 train home that afternoon from Windermere, slightly disheartened but still buzzing with energy from the past three epic days. So it was a short trip, but I think it was the best one yet, certainly the most memorable!

My only regret is that I didn't get to climb any new summits, and we missed out on the Grade 2 route. I have unfinished business with Langdale, and in late May I'll be back there once again, you can depend on it! Wild horses couldn't keep me away. =D

Pain is temporary. The mountains are forever.