Category: Langdale Pikes

Fun filled weekend of adventures

5/10/2020

All smiles on Jack's Rake

This weekend I've been out with Julia, Barbara, Vicky, and Ruth. It's now around 10 years since I first met Julia, and since then we've met up each year for big mountain days and challenge events in the Lakes and Snowdonia. This weekend was due to be something similar, but with a poor weather forecast for Saturday I decided to suggest some alternatives to mountain walking. The idea of canyoning went down rather well, and the plan amended so that Saturday would see us heading into the wild waters of Church Beck in Coniston. Abseils, pool jumps, climbs, swims, and scrambling make up this fun filled descent. An amazing amount of fun was had by all.
Jack's Rake was the plan for Sunday and the weather came good for it. A rapid walk up to Stickle tarn gave all a good look at what lay in store on the big cliffs of Pavey Ark. All gave the thumbs up so we blasted over to the base of Jack's Rake, here we donned helmets and set off up the narrow channel. Fun scrambling that is at all times engaging and with exposure building all the while. We made swift progress, but did occasionally stop to admire the views.
Once at the top we clambered over rocky outcrops to reach the summit of Pavey Ark. Then it was on to Harrison Stickle and Pike O'Stickle before returning to the valley via Martcrag moor.

Such a great weekend, see you all next year :-)

Mark

Top of Jack's Rake

Waterslide in Church Beck

Big fun on a wet day

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Guided walks and Rock climbing here in the sunny Lake District

30/3/2019

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Sunlight bathing the Langdale valley

As is often the case during springtime here in the Lakes, there's been a spell of magnificent weather. Cool, fairly calm, and sunny almost every day. When the skies are clear and the temps are just nudging into double figures there honestly is nowhere on the planet I'd rather be than here in the Lake District. It is truly magical. Yes we are lucky to live and work here and most definitely cherish this. Being able to share the best of the Lakes with our guests and fellow outdoor lovers is an absolute pleasure and privilege.

This week has been busy, a mix of refreshing venues after a winter spent abroad, and lots of folk to take out into the fells and onto the crags.
A visit to Raven crag in Langdale is also top of my list at this time of year. It's a valley crag, gets loads of sun, is quick drying, is easy to get to, and is packed with brilliant climbs. Me & Anna climbed Original route (S) which was great fun. There were plenty of climbers out enjoying the Stella conditions too. I hadn't had chance to check out the descent route post rockfall, so today was a good opportunity to do so. The amount of rock to have fallen was bigger than I had expected, truly massive in fact! But thankfully the descent route has not really been altered at all, not technically anyway.

Another day out on the rock with fellow instructor Si saw us in Borrowdale and that other fine all year valley crag, Shepherds. We cruised through 3 routes, starting with Chamonix (HS), then on to Little Chamonix (VD), and finishing off with Ant Highway (MVS). Whilst not a lot of climbing for an afternoon, the sun was starting to loose its power and chilly fingers were not too far away, so we called it a day, happy with the 3 good quality routes we'd climbed.

If looking for top quality climbing throughout the grade range and want easy access, great views, and great rock, either Raven crag or Shepherds crag fit the bill perfectly. As a bonus, they are in condition very regularly, even during the winter months, just pick a calm, dry day. During the summer they can be wonderfully oven like......sometimes :-)

Mixed in with all this rock action was a fab day of walking with Jason. It's been quite a few years now since getting out in the hills with Jason, so was really nice to catch up and show him an area of the Lakes that was new for him.
The plan was Bowfell, but after a further chat on the drive into Langdale, a Langdale Pikes day was sounding far more likely and that's what we opted for. Up to Stickle tarn then onto the summit of Harrison Stickle for magnificent views far and wide. We descended via Thorn crag and the Dungeon Ghyll. A chilly but clear day made for sublime walking conditions, how lucky were we, ace. No Lambs out on the Langdale fells yet, but not going to be long.

A fab week, thanks to Sarah, Jason, Anna, and Si

Mark

Enjoying the classic 'Original Route' on Raven crag, Langdale

Perfect spring conditions for climbing at Raven Crag, Langdale

Enjoying amazing early season conditions at Shepherds crag, Borrowdale

Another perfect day for walking. This is the summit of Harrison Stickle

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Langdale walking extravaganza

26/9/2018

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Summit of Harrison Stickle

Our previous walking trip with Nigel had been hampered by poor weather, well that's North Wales for you! So a new schedule was put together, this time in the Lake District and its finest of valleys, Langdale.

As Nigel was booked in at The New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, we made a plan to walk from the door each day, and we succeeded.

Monday gave us glorious sunshine for much of the day. We took in all of the Langdale Pikes and included an ascent of Jacks Rake, so plenty of fun scrambling squeezed in to the day. We fly around this circuit in under 5 hours too, phew!

Tuesday brought more challenging weather, a good wake up for us. Very strong and bitterly cold winds saw us don hat & gloves early on. We had Bowfell in our sights and choose to go up The Band then on to the Climbers Traverse as far as The Great Spout. After a rest here it was onwards and upwards via the majestic Great Slab. After being sheltered from the wind below The Great Slab it was something of a blow (so to speak) being up on the summit of Bowfell and back in the full force of that North-Westerly!! A few other hardy walkers were out enjoying the day too.
We dropped down to Three Tarns then took a small path into Oxendale - a valley I'd never visited before - so we could visit Whorneyside Force and Crinkle Gill. This proved very worthwhile as the valley and Gills are all stunningly beautiful.

For our final day of walking this week the weather gods had turned against us somewhat. So we decided to turn this to our advantage and stay in the valleys to visit some amazing waterfalls. Again walking from The New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel we followed good tracks to Little Langdale and Cathedral Quarry, having an explore here before continuing to Colwith Force and Skelwith Force, both in full flow and most impressive. Our return route being via Elterwater and Chapel Stile then along the bottom of Langdale valley. Looking ahead to Stickle Ghyll in spate was very impressive. The power of nature is so great.

Tired legs and refreshed minds all round. Thanks Nigel.

Mark

Getting ready for Jacks Rake - a classic Lakeland scramble

Looking to The Great Slab and on to Langdale Pikes from the summit of Bowfell

Cathedral Quarry main chamber

Colwith Force in full flow

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Yoga in the Lakes - with a little extra

21/4/2016

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Adventure Yogi have been back in the Lakes for their springtime retreat.
12 energetic ladies joined us for a day walk over the Langdale Pikes. The weather was glorious, so Langdale could really show off its beauty. After the steep climb up to Stickle tarn, we paused for lunch and to fully take in the views. Once recharged, we aimed for the summit of Harrison Stickle. This involves more steep uphill walking, and everyone coped really well with the challenging terrain.

Summit views were predictably amazing on such a clear day, with Bowfell, the Crinkles, Pike O'Stickle, Great Gable, and Scafell Pike all clearly visible and being further enhanced by small patches of snow here and there.

We descended via the Thorn crag path back to the New Dungeon Ghyll, passing the dramatic waterfalls of the ghyll on our way.

A pleasure to meet you all. Thanks to Michelle for arranging things and to Joe for helping guide the walk.

Mark

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A windy day on the Langdale Pikes

8/6/2015

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Pavey Ark from Stickle Tarn

The Langdale Pikes are some of my favourite Lakeland fells so it is always a pleasure when clients ask us for a guided walk here. I set off from Stickle Barn with Dean and Justine who were on their honeymoon - a couple who opted not for warm, sandy beaches but for an active holiday in the lovely Lake District! This was last week and it was a cold, windy day and the cloud was down by the time we were half way up Pavey Ark so views from the tops were not great. After Pavey Ark we headed over to Harrison Stickle and then onto Pike O'Stickle with it's rocky top which we scrambled up. Then over to Loft Crag before heading back down to the shelter of the valley. It's not often you have the mountains to yourselves but today was almost one of these. We'd seen no one at all on the walk and were just heading off Loft Crag for the path down when we spied a couple wandering around. They'd lost their bearings and were searching for the way down to Langdale - luckily they met us as it was pretty cold to be hanging around on the tops for long!

Thank you for a lovely day out Dean and Justine!

Kate

Herdwick sheep

Looking towards Lingmoor and Blea Tarn (right) in cloud

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Guided rock climbing - Duddon & Langdale valleys

21/4/2015

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The last few days have been filled with Rock Climbing around the Lake District.

I was joined by Helen on Sunday & Monday and we enjoyed a wide variety of routes. These started on Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley where we climbed 4 multi-pitch routes (13 pitches) during the day. The weather was being very kind and we enjoyed sunshine almost all day.

On Monday we climbed at Long Scar on Pike O' Blisco, high above the Langdale valley. This is a single pitch venue offering immaculate rock and a wide variety of climbing styles. The morning was spent enjoying some of these climbs and we also had time to consolidate abseiling skills.
To top off a fab couple of days we walked to the summit of Pike O' Blisco where dramatic views were had (see above) of the Langdale Pikes and valley far below.

Tuesday saw us back at Long Scar. This time with Jon & Andy from Essex. Sam was helping me out today and this meant these lads were put through their paces as we rattled through the climbs at quite a speed.

After 9 rock climbs it was clear tiredness was setting in and we opted for some downtime before a leisurely stroll back to the Wryness pass.

Big thanks to Helen, Jon, Andy, and Sam - it's been a really enjoyable few days.

Mark

Photos from top to bottom:
Langdale Pikes from Pike O' Blisco
Helen climbing Thomas at Wallowbarrow crag
Jon climbing at Long Scar, Langdale

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Langdale Pikes walk

10/11/2014

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Having only just returned from 25C heat in Spain, it was quite an awakening to be back out in the Langdales on Saturday.
Julie had bought one of our Gift Vouchers for friends Julie & Stuart, and after a false start earlier in the year, here we were for a day out amongst the magnificent Langdale Pikes.

The weather was being a little unkind, but nothing too dramatic, just a touch of cloud and a splash of rain. We set off from the Stickle Barn car park and headed for Stickle Tarn, our first stop and time to catch our breath, have a bite to eat and make an onward plan.

Low visibility at the tarn made for atmospheric conditions. It was decided to aim straight for Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Pikes. The ascent was quick and easy, everyone making rapid progress on the well maintained and occasionally steep path. The summit was breezy but quiet, in fact we were the only people around. Wind chill meant this was not a place to linger, so we made haste for the top of the Dungeon Ghyll. Having followed the rightmost path to the stream, I decided to continue onto Loft Crag and backtrack to our descent route from there. On a clear day the views from around here are spectacular, with parts of the mighty Gimmer crag revealing themselves for the eyes delight. Alas, today our visibility was mostly less than 20 metres!

Prior to our descent we passed near to the Neolithic axe working area. To think folk were 'commuting' to here thousands of years ago, incredible and humbling.

Having ticked the summits of both Harrison Stickle & Loft Crag, we returned to the valley a little damper than when we set off, but pleased with our day. The weather had kept the masses away, leaving solitude to be enjoyed that little bit more.

Thanks to Julie, Graham, and Stuart. A pleasure to meet you all and we hope to see you all again before too long.

Langdale Pikes on a clear day

Fell running again

I've been having a go at getting back into fell running. It's been a while since I took this seriously, so am taking it easy at the moment.
So far the runs have been a success. Today I built on that and went for a run on Cauldale Moor to Stoney Cove Pike. The weather was 'Cumbrian' so couldn't really see much! The terrain is actually pretty friendly, although boggy in places, but stones are in place for the worst sections, so no swimming required!

It felt great to be moving fluidly in the mountains, covering distance quickly is so satisfying. Don came with me too, he's a complete natural of course and maybe wondered what all the fuss was about and why I might be out of breath and still going so slow!!

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Fun filled weekend of adventures

Guided walks and Rock climbing here in the sunny Lake District

Langdale walking extravaganza

Yoga in the Lakes - with a little extra

A windy day on the Langdale Pikes

Guided rock climbing - Duddon & Langdale valleys

Langdale Pikes walk

Langdale Pikes on a clear day

Fell running again

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