| We (me and Jane) arrived at the campsite at about half
past twelve on Thursday night having left Newbury at 6:30, good decision
that, miss the Friday night M6 nightmare. Rolled into the Wasdale campsite with Loz
and his brother Mat right behind. Couldn't see Al and Julia's car so pitched
tents, had a natter and then get some kip. Morning dawned bright and sunny
on Friday but still no sign of Al and Julia. The man came to take our money
for last night but said we'd have to go to the shop to pay for the next two
nights. Anyway, we got some breakfast, bought some insect repellent, planned
some routes and got ready to go. Out with the old map to see where the path
to Scafell started but things didn't look quite right, at which point Jane
said "Are we in the right campsite?". Hmm. Out with the compass, take some
bearings and lo and behold we're in the wrong site, the lower site not the
upper one. Good job we didn't pay for 3 nights we think, we'll move tonight.
Off on the route we set, a stroke of luck was being in the wrong site saved
a mile on the start. Eventually get to Mickledore and we're being bitten to
death by bronze coloured beetles, the damn things were everywhere and seemed
to like sun block and insect repellent. Loz wanted to have a go at Broad
Steps, a grade 3 scramble so we roped up Alpine style on a rope of 4 and got
up it OK. Actually, I think it felt easy(ish) 'cos we'd dumped our packs at
the start. |
|
 |
| My original plan for climbing was to have a go at leading
a VS and I'd picked Moss Gill Grooves, a 3* route. How it got 3 stars I'll
never know 'cos it didn't see any sun till late afternoon and even then most
of it was up a dark gully until it cut across the slabs. So, onto plan B
which was Jane having a go at leading. We picked Grooved Arete on Pikes
Crag, a 2* V Diff, only 7 pitches! but we cut it down a bit by starting half
way up the first pitch and missing the last pitch. Great lead from Jane, and
blistering views back across Waswater all the way. The only daft thing we
did was to leave the packs at the bottom, scrambling down a scree slope in
rock shoes is not much fun, ouch, ouch ouch. Anyway, plod down, get a shower
and off up to the pub and the other campsite to see the others. We
definitely had the better site but the food in the pub left something to be
desired, the beer was OK though. |
| Saturday was a bit hazy and we set off up to Great Gable. Tim and Roger
wanted to do the Needle but there was a queue so me and Jane decided (me
actually) to climb a slab by the needle "I think I can get up that" were the
fatal words I uttered. Absolute ****** nightmare. The rock was crap and
crumbly, the cracks were full of dirt, Shiiiiiiiiiiit! Escape off with a
traverse to the right, crossing the ropes in the process and get into a
chimney that was full of grass, slime, loose rock and absolutely nothing
that could even remotely described as being part of the hill. Gingerly start
going up hoping to find something solid to ab off without sending half a ton
of rock and myself down to the bottom. Got a thread in which gave a slight
sense of relief but as I stepped up onto it, it just broke in two, fat lot
of good that was. So, just keep going, very carefully, until I found a small
ledge with a flake that seemed solid. Backed this up with a nut and thought
"what now?". Decided to bring Jane up was far as the chimney so that she
could pull out the gear, then lower her off and ab down. Jane got up all
right but knocked down a large rock that bounced once before clearing off
down the hillside over the top of the walkers path. Lowered her down then
set up an abseil. Go on the flake? it seems solid, or leave the wire behind
and go off two anchors? To hell with the cost, two anchors it was. Got down,
now pull the ropes through. Heave. Rope stretch but no movement. Great.
Heave again, this time the ropes start to move. Hallelujah. Now pack up and
go on to something sensible. We geared up for Abbey Buttress, a V Diff that
Jane was going to lead. Just got ready to go and the clag descended,
dropping visibility to 10-15 yards so we decided discretion was the better
part of valour and gave it a miss. Walking round the buttress, I got a
decent scree run in that made up for the earlier disappointments, then we
came to a ridge and decided to give it a go and see if we can get up it.
Well, couldn't see a thing but we kept on plodding (scrambling actually)
upwards, hoping that a big black cliff face wasn't going to appear out of
the gloom. This uncertainty of the outcome added a sense of adventure to the
scramble. Well, we did it and came out on the summit of Great Gable in gale
force cloud, out with the map and compass and plot a way down. Just as we
got back to the pub, with the weather clearing fast, a bunch of blokes piled
out of two cars and wanted to know which summit was Scafell Pike. They were
going to take a portable telly to the top to watch England-Germany, either
mad or dedicated depending on what you think. |
Next thing was to find somewhere for me and Mat to watch the football, so we
headed off over towards Ambleside. Jane tagged along as well as she didn't
want to eat at the Pub in Wasdale Head. Just before the turn off for the
Hardknot Pass, we came to a pub (King George IV) with flags and bunting out.
"I wonder if they've got the football on?" says Mat. Pull up, pile out, and
there's two tellys in the beer garden. Brilliant, although Jane felt
otherwise as she was only there for the food, and she missed the goal.
Afterwards, back to the campsite for wine and midges.
On Sunday, Loz suggested going over Shepherds Crag in Borrowdale, which it
turned out was an excellent choice. Packed up and set off, but first, get
some petrol. It took two hours to get there, but the drive was pretty good
in the Lake District sun shine. Anyway, we missed the car park and were
looking for somewhere to turn round when we came to a pull in where we
parked, which turned out to be only 5 minutes walk from the crag. The
selected route was Brown Slabs Direct which Jane was going to lead (V Diff).
I thought about seconding in trainers to liven it up a bit but then Jane
suggested big boots to practice for the Alps, so a quick dash back to the
car to get them. Great lead from Jane again, she's getting good at this now,
and she certainly didn't fill the crag with gear! It was cool under the
trees but once above tree level the sun was beating down, great stuff, and
the views from the belay over Derwent water were just spectacular. It
definitely warranted two stars, my only question is if that's a 2* route,
what's a 3* route like. Anyway, it was such a nice crag that we decided to
stay there and have another go at it, this time keeping out of the cracks
and taking the slabs direct. Then Loz, Kim and Mat turned up, followed by
George Karen and the Boys (Tim and Roger were already there doing a VS in
the corner). Another good climb then pack up and head off towards home. A
minor gripe about the Lakes (apart from the distance) they don't do cream
teas like they do in Devon, so we missed out on one of those. Surprisingly
we got a good run on the M6, no hold ups at Blackpool nor Birmingham getting
back to Reading at about 9:30. Super weekend. |
| Home page |
|
|
|