Blog Archives - Mountain Journeys - Guided Walks

Family activity day - Lake District

31/7/2017

#gorge scrambling lake district

Taking the plunge in Stickle Ghyll

Today has been full of activity with the Awty family joining us.
We began with Gorge Scrambling in Langdale. The water level being quite high made for added excitement and challenging waterfall climbs. After much swimming, plunge pool jumping, and waterfall climbing, we jumped out in time for a quick lunch break.
During the afternoon we tackled the excellent Raven crag Rock scramble in the pretty Yewdale valley. We took on many of the more direct challenges to add steepness to the day. With cloud level above the summits, we enjoyed splendid views over Coniston Water and over to Old Man of Coniston.

Another snack break later and we moved on to Tilberthwaite for Abseiling. We had the place to ourselves, we actually, we pretty much had all the venues to ourselves. The rock was nice and dry, perfect for an abseil.

Everyone was a star, and particular note must go to Jake for his brilliant belly-flop into the gorge, and to 7 year old Amy for having a go and succeeding at all of it, with style.

Thanks to Carl, Sarah, Jess, Sam, Jake, and Amy

Mark

#family activities lake district

Ready for action

#gorge scrambling ambleside

Enjoying the challenge of Stickle Ghyll

Pinnacle Ridge - Lake District

30/7/2017

#pinnacle ridge scramble lake district

The Pinnacles

Two showery, atmospheric days here in the Lakes, so what shall we do?
The plan for both days was to go Rock climbing. But that would have been silly, so bring forth the 'Alpinesque' Pinnacle Ridge on St. Sunday crag.

This ridge offers a genuine mountain atmosphere with the Helvellyn massif as a backdrop and the torrent of Nethermost Beck as our soundtrack, it would be hard not to be impressed by this place.

It's a reasonable walk to the base, about 1.5 hours and not too taxing. Every step is all worth the effort too.

Yesterday I was joined by Kelly and Kristina, both experienced scramblers and mountaineers, but neither had yet sampled the delights of Pinnacle Ridge. The day was wet, very wet actually. This gave us wonderful conditions on occasionally greasy rock, adding much fun to the outing. By the afternoon sunshine had broken through and we were all drying off nicely.

Today I was joined by Helen, also an experienced climber and scrambler, but also never done Pinnacle Ridge. We enjoyed slightly drier conditions today, so able to fully appreciate the grippy nature of the volcanic rock. There were quite a few others on the ridge today, as there were yesterday too, clearly many folk having mountaineering thoughts for the weekend and this ridge totally fits the bill for it.

A nice gentle descent with stunning views to Ullswater there to remind us how lucky we are to be in such a beautiful place.

Big thanks to Helen, Kelly, and Kristina for good company, fun, and banter.

Mark

Are you looking for a guided mountain day here in the Lake District? If so please get in touch and let's make a plan

#Pinnacle ridge crux

The crux corner

#Alpine training lake district

Helen enjoying this amazing ridge

#guided mountain activities lake district

Coming through the pinnacles

#pinnacle ridge lake district

On the pinnacles

Gorge scrambling double bill

26/7/2017

#gorge scrambling lake district

High water levels gave us huge waterfalls to play in today

Today was all about water, lots of water.
I met with Callum and his pals over in Patterdale. They were keen to go Gorge Scrambling and Rock climbing. We began with the nearby Angle Tarn Beck. This is a lesser known gorge, so nice and quiet. It's an easy approach walk and the fun starts straight away, with fun cascades to scramble up, boulders to hop over, and waterfalls to climb. The most notable feature being 'the slot' and this ensures a proper head-wetting!

With the rain still pounding down on us, we decided to skip the rock climbing and instead get in another gorge, this time it was Stickle Ghyll over in Langdale.
This was most definitely the right choice. With high water levels and massive waterfalls in full flow, the feeling was epic. There's only a few days a year it's anything like this too, so feels extra special.

We noticed a few of the larger teams turning away, but as we were a small team of 5 this gave us greater flexibility, allowing us to continue in safety, albeit cautiously.
The first waterfall wasn't getting climbed by anyone today, but it looked very doable by this capable team, so I put a rope down and the lads gave it a try, all of them cruised up it, mostly with their eyes closed to keep the flow out!!

We made it as far as the big waterfalls high up in the gorge, but these weren't climbable today, even standing at the base was a major struggle. The feeling was awesome though.

A cracking day out, absolutely soaked all day and loved every minute. Thanks lads.

Mark

#gorge walking ambleside

Emerging at the top of the powerful waterfall

Rock scrambling course - Lake District

25/7/2017

#Jacks rake scramble

Looking down to Stickle tarn from Jack's Rake

A perfectly timed weather window arrived on Monday and has given us 2 days of excellent conditions for a Rock Scrambling skills course for father and son team Paul and James.

Monday began on the fantastic Raven crag, Yewdale. We took a grade 2-3 route to include some steeper terrain where the rope could be used. This gave a good introduction to anchor selection and belay methods. When the rope wasn't being used we used route choice and spotting to keep each other safe and discussed the limitations of this and the pros and cons.
After lunch we moved on to Coniston and a scramble up the broad buttress of Long Crag. At about grade 1 this is a noticeably easier route, but still gives plenty of interest and we steered ourselves towards some of the steeper sections. The rock is at all times wonderfully grippy, providing excellent friction that quickly builds confidence in foot placements.
The descent from here involved a fair amount of bracken bashing and crawling under the Yew trees! Quite an adventure in itself!

A mountain day with plenty of scrambling was the request for today. So we headed for Langdale which can always provide a brilliant link up of top quality scrambles.
The Groove on Tarn crag provided the starter. En-route to this is a pleasant spur that allowed us to consolidate movement skills from yesterday and discuss spotting techniques further.
At grade 3, The Groove is best enjoyed with the safety of a rope. We climbed about 3 pitches before escaping leftwards onto grassy terraces. Here we could continue mostly unroped, occasionally dipping back in to roped sections to further consolidate skills.
After summiting we descended to Stickle tarn and made our way to Jack's Rake, stopping for some lunch at the base.

For most of the way up Jack's Rake we used spotting techniques to allow for fluid movement whilst keeping things safe. Once at the crux section the rope was back out so Paul could put some skills into practice. And for a finale we brought the rope out again to allow us a safe passage through a more difficult finishing line up the superb Tufa of Pavey Ark.

A quick boulder hop to the summit before heading for home.

A cracking could of days in the mountains. Thanks Paul & James for good company and loads of enthusiasm.

Mark

#jacks rake scramble lake district

Deploying the rope for the tricky step on Jack's Rake

#Jack's rake - Pavey Ark

Enjoying the final slabs on Jack's Rake

Guided walks - Lake District

23/7/2017

#guided_walking_near_ambleside

Langdale Pikes from Elterwater

Over the last couple of days we've been showing Amrita & Cindy some of the wonderful sights the Lake District has to offer. Beginning at Elterwater and taking in the lake, Skelwith Force and woods, Colwith Force and Little Langdale, Saturday got the thumbs up, and with blue skies above us this made for a thoroughly enjoyable outing.

More friends joined today and we headed north to Borrowdale for a circuit of Derwent Water. This is a longer, but flatter walk, taking in some equally impressive scenery along the way.
To break up the walking, we hopped on a ferry at Keswick and rode this to Nichol End. A lunch stop at the delightful Lingholm was followed by more fine walking along the western shores of Derwent Water and back to Lodore. The sun shone on us yet again, with rain arriving as we said our fair-wells. Good timing :-)

These two days have served as a reminder to me of what amazing valley walks the Lake District has to offer. No need to reach summits to enjoy superb views, it's all on offer down in the valley too, and sometimes it's even better.

Thinking of going walking in the Lake District? For advice, help, and guiding please call us anytime, we'll do our best to make your stay even better.

Mark

#guided_walking_tour_lake_district

High water at Colwith Force

#guided_walks_lake_district

Taking the ferry from Keswick to Nichol End

#guided_walk_borrowdale_lake_district

The walled garden at Lingholm

Alpine training days - Lake District

19/7/2017

#alpine-training_and_preparation_days_lake_district

Gav powering up C Ordinary route

Yesterday we were yet again under big blue skies here in the Lakes. Temperatures soared into the high 20C's adding to this 'getting back on rock and Alpine / Dolomites training day' for Gav.
We've climbed together for a few years now, but it has been a while since our last trip out and today Gav was keen to keep things easy and focus on mileage, partly as preparation for a forthcoming trip to the Dolomites.

We began with C Ordinary route on Dow crag. The rock was delightfully warm and completely dry, a gentle breeze kept us from overheating, things were pretty perfect.
Quite high on the route, Gav mentioned some knee trouble going on, we took it steady and stayed roped up for the descent as a precaution. With the knee still giving some bother, Gav was keen not to push it and we called it a day, so enjoyed a leisurely lunch before heading down to Goats Water so Don could cool off.

Despite cutting plans a bit short, we still managed a top quality mountaineering route on one of the finest cliffs in the country. Dow has something about it, an aura. It offers climbs throughout the grade range. We watched climbers on the magnificent 'Eliminate A' (VS) and heard of friends who had been on Catacomb (E1) and Tumble (E4) on the same day. So whatever your grade or objective for the day, Dow delivers.

Another brilliant day spent in the mountains, on a great route and in really good company, thanks Gav.

Mark

Cautionary note: a large flake of rock has fallen from high on this route. There is debris still in this area and care should be taken.

#dow_crag_rock_climbing_course_lake_district

Don leading the way to Dow crag

Family Adventure Days in the Lakes

19/7/2017

#bowderstone_lake_district

Bowderstone

There's been a heatwave going on here in the Lakes District, with lovely blue skies and a big orange orb up above, pretty magic.
And we've been out making the most of it, on Monday with Anne, Andy, Catherine, and Laura. On a family holiday from the fine town of Bath. As they were staying in the North Lakes, not far from Keswick, we arranged an Adventure Day in the Borrowdale valley.
We began with rock climbing at Upper Shepherds crag. This delightful outcrop of volcanic rock is in a superb position, we enjoyed around 4 climbs and a scramble up to the mini summit to soak up the views over Derwent Water and beyond.
This was followed by tea & cakes at the Lodore Farm cafe, delicious. Then off to the Bowderstone for a spot of bouldering for the girls whilst mum & dad enjoyed a relaxing lunch break.
We finished the day with an abseil at the nearby quarry. Both girls and dad were soon whizzing down the quarry face, with Catherine & Laura coming back for more, fantastic.

With big smiles all round and 2 tired 10 year olds, my job was down. It's always such a pleasure and so rewarding to see a happy youngster at the end of an activity day.

Big thanks to the Ellis family, lovely to meet you.

Mark

Fairfield horseshoe - guided walks from Ambleside

15/7/2017

#guided_walks_from_ambleside_fairfield

Jim explaining where we are during our ascent

Today we've been out enjoying the British summer during an ascent of Fairfield from Ambleside.
A 14 strong team from Cheshire joined us for the walk, they are raising funds for the good causes of Macmillan charities, always great to hear the good people are doing, well done.

The forecast was okay, but not amazing. However, the weather definitely played a big part in the day, a 'damp pants' day indeed!

We set off from Ambleside and followed the bridleway to High Sweden Bridge before heading up to the broad, grassy ridge. Once on here we pass by Low Pike, High Pike, Dove crag, and Hart crag before reaching the lofty heights of Fairfield. It was quite blowy on the top, with a bit of sideways rain thrown in too, it was very refreshing!

We blasted Southwards down the long, sweeping ridge back towards Rydal, descending the steep Nab Scar path to Rydal Hall. There were a few people swimming below the waterfalls, this looked idyllic, if a little chilly.

It was soon back to Ambleside and a celebratory beer for all, well deserved too. This 10 mile walk can at times feel quite benign, if the weather is lovely. But today we had heavy rain, drizzle, strong winds to blow the rain through our waterproofs, and very low visibility all day. These conditions of course mean no stunning Lakeland views, but they also add up to give a wonderfully atmospheric mountain day. Many of the team today were completely new to mountain walking, so this will have felt like a baptism of fire. All the better we were blessed with Lakeland weather. Smiles all round and I suspect plenty of beer flowing in the pub this evening :-)

Well done everyone for completely the route. And thanks to Jim for helping keep everyone safe and leading the way in such poor visibility.

Mark

#fairfield_horseshoe_from_ambleside

Fairfield summit

Long rock climbs in the Lake District - Corvus

15/7/2017

#corvus_rock_climbing_borrowdale_classic_rock

Lunch after climbing Corvus

The Lakes is full of brilliant rock climbs right throughout the grade spectrum. Short, easily accessible single pitch routes, also there's easy access multi-pitch. And for those willing to walk a little further, there's the mountain routes, these hold the most reward for anyone willing to put the effort in.

It was a mountain route we had in mind for Friday. I've climbed with Jane for a few years now and we've climbed many of the classics in the Lakes. Liking a longer approach and top quality rock, our plan was to check out 'Grey crags' high above Buttermere. However the weather had other plans for us. With a brisk wind and showery conditions, with fairly low temperatures too, we decided to stay a little lower and instead headed to Raven crag in Combe Ghyll. 'Corvus' is the classic of the crag and at about 150m is one of the longest routes in Borrowdale. The approach walk is straightforward and takes a little under 1 hour, and arriving at the crag definitely feels like arriving in the mountains.

There was much wet rock above us as we geared up. But this is 'a route for all seasons' and is actually quite fun when damp. Jane led off first and we alternate led the whole way up, with Jane getting the tremendous 'hand traverse' lead, nice one.

Everything flowed well and all too quickly we were sat at the top of the route enjoying a well earned lunch break.

Having made the effort to carry our bags with us, we were able to complete a full circuit along the broad, grassy ridge and back down to the car.

A really good day in the mountains, thanks Jane.

Mark

A successful and sunny Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

13/7/2017

yorkshire_3_peaks_challenge

First peak of the day - Pen-y-Ghent

Another successful Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, this time for a group of friends - Sam, Emily, Kimberley, Kate and Lindsey who are raising money for "Save Babies Through Screening Foundation UK". This was just one of several challenges these awesome ladies are completing this year!

The sun shone all day providing ideal conditions and fantastic views for this tough 24.5 mile challenge which takes in Pen-y-Ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m) – a total of 1600m of ascent.

Yorkshire_3_peaks_challenge

Ribblehead viaduct and Whernside beyond.

Starting at Horton-in-Ribblesdale one can clearly see Pen-y-Ghent and with fresh legs this was reached comfortably before tackling the long flat section over to Ribblehead viaduct before taking the long ascent up Whernside. Then steeply down to Chapel-le-Dale and on up to the final peak of the day, Ingleborough. The descent of this peak always seems a long way, especially with tired legs but the limestone scenery is truly beautiful and there’s always lots of wild flowers to see!

The team finished in under 12 hours – so a big well done to all! Many thanks Jim Evans for guiding them around!

yorkshire_three_peaks_challenge

Final peak late in the day - Ingleborough