Category: Scafell Pike

Guided Walks - a few little gems!

29/5/2017

Zoe on Lingmell with Wastwater beyond - our descent of Scafell Pike

Over the past week I’ve had the pleasure of leading guided walks on some of the finest mountains in the Lake District.

First was a last-minute booking from Zoe who was looking to walk up Scafell Pike. We had planned to go from Langdale but the weather forecast was showing heavy rain later in the day so we opted to walk the shorter route from Wasdale, walking up the main tourist path to the summit then back down via the quiet grassy shoulder on Lingmell.

Haystacks summit

Two days later I met Zoe again and tok her with her mother Celia, brother Alex and sister Anna up Haystacks for some memory time of the father. We walked from Honister Hause so as to have the easiest ascent of the mountain. Haystacks was Wainwrights favourite fell and this lovely route starts up the old quarry incline which then passes through the old Dubs quarry before reaching the beautiful Blackbeck Tarn and then onto the equally beautiful Inominate Tarn. The views are far reaching – to Looking Stead, Pillar and Pillar Rock, Green and Great Gable, High Stile and down into the valleys of Buttermere and Crummuck Water. A super half day walk!

guided-walking-up-Helvellyn-Lake-District

View on descent from Helvellyn over Brown Cove with Thirlmere below.

After Scafell Pike, Helvellyn is probably the next most popular mountain to walk up. However, the vast majority of people walk from the Patterdale side taking in Striding and Swirral edges. My client Mickey who had only recently picked up fell-walking again after many years off, decided he’d prefer a less rocky and quieter ascent, so we took the path up from Swirls at the head of Thirlmere. It was a pretty windy day and by the time we reached the summit we were fighting to stay upright and the cloud covered the summit as we arrived so no views of Striding Edge! After an early lunch stop we started on the return route via Lower Man, then over Whiteside and Raise - the views got better as the sun appeared! We had planned on descending Sticks Pass but the next summit looked very welcoming so we decided to add in an Stybarrow Dodd to the day – then back to Sticks Pass to the valley.

So, some fantastic walking over three great Lakeland mountains, or fells if you prefer, over three days with some lovely people.
Thanks for your company Zoe, Celia, Alex, Anna and Mickey.

Kate

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A weekend full of activities

14/6/2016

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Gorge Scrambling - Langdale

The last few days have been crazy busy here, with a good mix of activities going on.
On Friday Kate was guiding a group of 8 guys on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. I won't write about that here as no doubt Kate will want to post about it.

Saturday was a restful day for Kate whilst I spent the day working for Kendal Mountaineering Services on a stag party activity. Abseiling at Hodge close in the morning followed by Gorge scrambling in Langdale during the afternoon. The forecast had been pretty poor, but actually turned out okay. And anyway, once in the gorge who cares if it's raining, waterfalls are wet and lots of fun!!

On Saturday night we were guiding a corporate group on Scafell Pike as part of a 3 Peaks Challenge event. Thanks to Tony McKenzie for helping on that and taking the fast team to the summit and back in under 4 hours, nice one.

Then during the early hours of Sunday morning Kate was over in Wasdale to guide on a Scafell Pike leg of the 3 Peaks Challenge. Again, Kate will be writing about this so i'll just say well done all for the 3h 30mins time, awesome.

After a quick recharge I spent Sunday on Pike O'Blisco with the Gibbons family from Northampton. Our Family Adventure Days are designed to engage and enthuse youngsters through continuous activity including climbing, scrambling, and abseiling. There were plenty of smiles during the day and I reckon 2 tired out children by the end of it, so a good day had by all. The sun came out and the cloud stayed high for much of the day too :-)

Yesterday we had the pleasure of taking a visiting Indian couple Gorge Scrambling. Their first time in the Lakes and being from Bombay were used to significantly warmer conditions so I think mentioning to them that the water would be pleasant may have been stretching things a little!!! Still, a brilliant time was had and thankfully the water levels are much higher again now after recent rains.

Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make these days a big success.

Mark

Sundew

Gorge scrambling - Stickle ghyll

Saturday nights drive to work - Wasdale

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Multi-activity adventures

3/10/2015

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It's been another very busy few days here in the Lakes, and the weather has remained amazing throughout. Colours are now turning with autumn well and truly on the way. So the coming few weeks will be the perfect time to visit the area and enjoy the autumnal colours whilst they last.

We've been helping our friends at Highpoint Mountain Guides - guiding Geology students up Jacks Rake on Pavey Ark. This classic scramble is always memorable and can be enjoyed during most weather conditions.

We've been around the Elterwater circuit a couple of times too. Organising guided walks for Canadian couple Monty & Frith, and a couple from Devizes Gemma & Jonathan. This walk never fails to impress, with so many highlights along the way and something of interest around every corner.

The water in the gorges is still rather pleasant. We've been in the Langdale gorges a few times recently, and water levels have been low - moderate meaning all the big obstacles have been successfully tackled by our parties.

Not satisfied with only day work, I was also involved in a 3 Peaks challenge event (working on behalf of Advocate Events) on Scafell Pike. The moon was so bright that head torches were not needed even though we walked between the hours of 11pm and 4am!! I think this is a first for us.

Towards the end of the week it was back out on the rock for an indoor to outdoor climbing transition course with Tom, Alice, and Jack from London. We did this at Church crag in St. John's in the Vale. Catching all the morning sun, this proved a perfect venue for our early session. Views to Blencathra are unsurpassed too.

Then it was onto a Navigation skills course for Renata & Anna. We based this above the village of Elterwater and covered skills ranging from basic map reading, to walking on bearings, pacing, back bearings, and re-location techniques. A full day with loads covered.

Despite being really busy, there's still been time to get out climbing with friends, with visits to Sergeant Crag Slabs in Langstrath, Raven crag in Langdale, and Black crag in Borrowdale for an ascent of the classic Troutdale Pinnacle.

Great times, thanks everyone.
Mark

Here's a few photos of the days

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A guided walk up Crinkle Crags

12/4/2015

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Friday saw another lovely spring day here in the Lake District and perfect fell-walking weather.

This was the second day out with us this week for Heidi and 8 year old Rocco. They had also walked up Scafell Pike with us last October, Rocco's first mountain and were keen to experience another. Rocco requested Don's company again and Don was more than happy to oblige - a day in the mountains being a favourite activity for collies!

Crinkle Crags at the head of Langdale is a beautiful craggy mountain with an unmistakable outline of the five Crinkles, with Pike O'Blisco to the right and Bowfell to the left.

We took the route from the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale up to Red Tarn, and from there past Great Knott and on up to the first Crinkle. There's lots of rough rocky terrain along the tops of the 5 Crinkles which made the walk more interesting with rocky steps to scramble up.

We got to the Bad Step, a steep section of rock some 10 feet high and from below looking impossible to negotiate. There is a path to the left avoiding it but as Rocco and Heidi had experienced a day of rock scrambling a few days prior we decided to take the route up the Bad Step. Once below the rock you can see the polished steps and hand holds on the rock that many people have taken before and Rocco and Heidi both easily ascended it in a few moves. However, this was not the case for Don which is no longer as agile as he was in his youth and he was happier to be taken on an alternative route to the right, up steep, grassy terrain - much more to his liking!

Lunch was had on Long Top, the second and highest of the Crinkles (859m), and from there it didn't take long to walk over the other Crinkles until we reached the Three Tarns col below Bowfell. From here we descended back to Langdale via the long shoulder of The Bank.

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A snowy Scafell Pike

5/3/2015

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I was out on Scafell Pike for my first trip up the mountain this year (Kate seems to have been getting most of the trips over that way).
Bruce, from New York State, was keen for an interesting route up the mountain and the original idea had been to go from Langdale and include some scrambling. However, it turned out Bruce was staying over in Eskdale, so I pointed out the reasons why we may change our plans and climb via the Wasdale route, which is what we then did.

Choosing the Mickledore path allowed for dramatic views of the Scafell crags, the occasional falling ice sheet adding to the atmosphere of the day. The climb up to Mickledore was covered in snow with small sections of ice, so we put crampons on for this section (but otherwise crampons weren't needed).

The wind howled around us and threatened to blow us from our feet, but thankfully never did! Clouds were swept in on these strong winds, thus adding further to the atmosphere of our surroundings.

After stopping for lunch at Mickledore, a short walk saw us arrive on a snowy Scafell Pike, the summit rocks coated in hoar frost.

Our return route was via Lingmell Col. Underfoot the snow was mostly soft (and melting), so crampons not required, although the axe came out a couple of times, just in case.

Thanks for a fantastic day Bruce.

Mark

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Busy Autumn Half Term

3/11/2014

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Heidi, Rocco and Don on the summit of Scafell Pike.

Half term in the Lakes was a busy one for Mountain Journeys. Mark spent the week working with a group in Costa Blanca, whilst I ran activities back at home in the Lakes.

Monday was spent with Ken and his children Angus, Beth and Rosie, climbing at Copt Howe in the morning. It was a very wet and slippery experience but this didn't deter them and they all managed to do a few routes. We dried out at lunchtime in the Wainwright Inn and then headed over to Cathedral Quarry so that they could experience abseiling and also explore the tunnels via torchlight.

On Wednesday I guided Heidi and her son Rocco up Scafell Pike from Wasdale. We were treated to a stunning golden Autumn day with beautiful views all around. This was Rocco's first experience of mountain walking and he was very excited and proud to reach the summit. Don enjoyed himself too with lots of attention!

The following day was an orienteering/map and compass day for the Brady and Ridge families at Rydal. The children had fun finding places on the map and helping to walk Don, whilst the parents got to grips with a map and compass. Later on I took Justin, one of the Dad's, out climbing at Scout Crag in Langdale. He'd been out with Mark a couple of times before and was keen to do some more. It was quiet at the crag which meant we had the choice of the routes.

The week ended with an 'introduction to climbing' course for Lizzie and Charlie who were up from London for a couple of days to also do the Helvellyn Trail race. Again we headed to Scout Crag in Langdale so that they could experience climbing outdoors, having done a little on indoor walls in the past. We were able to do a number of routes until arms got tired!

Thanks to all for a great week. Kate

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Stag Do in Stickle Ghyll

26/10/2014

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A weekend of adventure is a fantastic way to celebrate a Stag Do. Yesterday, the group from Bournemouth reached the summit of Scafell Pike and today decided on gorge scrambling.

It was a wet and extremely windy day in Langdale and Stickle Ghyll was in full spate to add to the excitement. It looked very cold but everyone soon got used to it, jumping and swimming in the pools. The final challenge of the weekend was the big waterfall, a little higher up the ghyll - the wind up here was awesome with water being blown up the waterfall as well as going down - - it was definitely a challenge climbing up it with feelings of achievement at the top!

Thank you to Eddy, Sean, Dave, Angus, Dan, Adam & Lorrie for a very enjoyable weekend.
Kate

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Guided Walks - a few little gems!

A weekend full of activities

Multi-activity adventures

A guided walk up Crinkle Crags

A snowy Scafell Pike

Busy Autumn Half Term

Stag Do in Stickle Ghyll

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