Category: Wallowbarrow - Mountain Journeys - Guided Walks

Duddon valley cragging

8/3/2022

#guided-climbing-lake-disrict-wallowbarrow-crag

Stella conditions for climbing at Wallowbarrow

Having only recently returned from a winter in sunny Spain, I was a little apprehensive about climbing at the weekend, thinking it would be just too cold. Well thankfully the sun worked some magic, there was no wind, and we found rock that was actually warm to the touch. Oh, and it was dry :-)
Achieving this took some planning, but knowing the crags so well it was easy to narrow things down to just a few candidates. A South Lakes crag was also high on the priorities list and soon we settled for Wallowbarrow. Arriving at the farm it was still feeling positively baltic, but the farmer gave out plenty of encouragement. We actually chatted with him for well over half an hour, trying to learn a little more about the valley and farming & conservation. All this time was allowing the air temperature to rise a little and the sun to saunter on around onto the crag, warming the beautiful Lakeland rock.

We started off with a route called 'Bryanston' a 3 pitch VS. I had a coat, hat, and gloves on! The hat and gloves soon found their way into a pocket, thankfully not being required. The rock was warm and touching it a complete pleasure. Lakeland rock really is glorious. Solid, rough, textured and colourful. I have missed the Borrowdale volcanics and granite, such wonderful rock.

Next route was 'Malediction Direct' which is a 2 pitch VS and a little trickier, with steep moves leading off the 1st belay. And to finish we cruised up the beautiful slab of 'Digitation' VS. The 2nd pitch has got a little bit tougher now a foothold has broken off!
7 pitches of climbing filled our afternoon along with some sitting around gazing at the views, they are spectacular. Time for home as the sun sets, another fine day at the crag.

Thanks to Claire for a top day.

You may now be starting to think about a trip away to the Lakes. It is starting to warm up and Easter is now pretty close. We still have availability during the Easter period. If you'd like to try out some activities please get in touch and let's make a plan.

Mark

#rock-climbing-course-duddon-valley-lake-district

Enjoying a multi-pitch climb in the Duddon valley

#duddon-valley-lake-district-rock-climbing

Good views :-)

Guided rock climbing in the Lake District

23/4/2019

#climbing-course-lake-district

Mikka about to tackle the steep section of 'Slab Climb' at Castle Rock

The Lake District, like much of the UK has been enjoying some amazing early season sunshine and warmth over the Easter break. This has brought out lots of people, all enjoying the splendid scenery and environment of the Lake District, always great to see.

It's been a very busy time for us too, no doubt partly helped by the great weather.

For the last 4 days we've been showing Mikka (originally from Finland but now residing in London) some of the brilliant climbing the Lake District has to offer. Having already climbed in Snowdonia, the Southwest of England, and Southern Spain, oh and the Alps, the Lakes had it's work cut out.

Our brief was to give lots of mileage on rock.

We started at Raven crag in Langdale, climbing: Evening Wall; Original Route; and Revelation.
For day 2 Sam took Mikka to climb the Borrowdale classic 'Troutdale Pinnacle' and they finished with Brown Slabs Arete at Shepherds crag.
Day 3 we headed for the Duddon valley and Wallowbarrow crag. Climbing Wall & Corner; Trinity Slabs; and Thomas.
Day 4 and our final day with Mikka was to be shorter as a train needed to be met for the return journey to London. Castle Rock provided the easy access we needed. We climbed Gangway; Slab climb; Yew tree climb; and Via Media.

Somewhere around 32 pitches of climbing over 3 and a half days, mostly at 'Severe' grade. I think it's fair to say we gave Mikka the mileage he was looking for.

If you're looking for something similar, please get in touch and let's make a plan.

When the sun shines, there really isn't anywhere better to be than right here in the Lake District. And preferably on a crag.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you soon

Mark

#guided-climbing-lake-district

Enjoying the minor classic of 'Thomas' at Wallowbarrow crag

#rock-climbing-langdale

Local climbers enjoying a sunny day at Raven crag, Langdale

Sunny rock climbing days - Lake District

29/9/2018

#rockclimbinginstructorlakedistrict

Enjoying a warm autumn day at Wallowbarrow crag

This last couple of days we've been out climbing with friends. Since the sun decided to make a return and the rock is all lovely and dry, we thought, why not? One of the advantages of living in the Lake District is the ability to get out into the mountains and onto the crags pretty much anytime. Our season is nearing its end, with a busy winter in Costa Blanca starting in a little over 2 weeks from now, I was super keen to get a few more Lakeland climbs in before heading South.

So yesterday Sam joined me for a day at Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. I think this is my favourite valley crag. Not only is the rock of excellent quality and all the routes a delight to climb. The approach walk is pleasant and short, the valley is almost always quiet, and the view from the top of the crag is breathtaking.
During the afternoon we climbed 'Digitation' VS; 'Thomas' Severe; and 'Bryanston' MVS. All fabulous routes that I have climbed many times before and hope to climb many more times over the coming years.

Today I was joined by Lucy and we cruised up Troutdale Pinnacle in the Borrowdale valley. This 6 pitch classic route is so much fun and varied all the way. We saw a couple of guys on 'Mortician' but the rest of the crag was empty, yes even on a warm and sunny Saturday! I've lost count of how many times I've climbed this one, but it's lots and always as much fun as the first time.

For both days we chose afternoons to get out and this gave us the most sunshine on the rock and the best light conditions each day. Late starts are sometimes the best. So whilst evening climbing isn't a good option at this time of year, late afternoon is well worth considering.

Some may wonder why we repeat routes again and again, doesn't it get boring? No it doesn't, ever, it can actually become even more enjoyable. A mix of climbing new routes and repeating others has always felt good and a healthy mix. Repeating climbs allows us to become even more familiar with the moves, this enables us to help our clients more, should they be finding any of the moves challenging.

There's a settled forecast for the Lake District for the coming week, so what are you waiting for, pack a bag and head to the hills :-)

Thanks for reading

Mark

#rockclimbinginstructorlakedistrict

Racking up at a midway belay ledge - Wallowbarrow Crag

#thingstodonearkeswick

The classic 'Troutdale Pinnacle' at Black Crag, Borrowdale

#rockclimbinginstructorambleside

Rock climbing takes us to some amazing places. This is the view from the top of Black Crag in Borrowdale

Back to trad - Rock climbing course, Lakes

21/4/2018

#lakedistrictclimbingcourse

Enjoying a bluebird day and great rock on Raven crag, Langdale

Recent days in the Lake District (and many parts of the UK) have seen an early burst of summer. We hope this is a taste of things to come this year. Kerry joined us for a couple of days to make the most of this amazing weather and we spent two productive days together.

Day one at the super reliable Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. Here after spending some time placing gear at the base of the crag and constructing belays, Kerry set off leading Trinity Slabs (VD). Placing lots of protection and building 'bomber' belays was time very well spent and began the process of cementing this good practice for Kerry. We discussed various ways to construct belays and the pros & cons of using either rope or slings for this.
After lunch we moved on to Wall & Corner (VD), another 4 pitch route. More of the same, with lots of gear placed and numerous 3 placement belays made, ace. Sitting at the top of this crag is always a wonderful experience, such an amazing view of patchwork walls and greenery over the long, wooded valley, beautiful.

Day two saw us stay a little closer to Ambleside. Raven crag lies behind the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel and has very easy access. This was our objective today, and Kerry had unfinished business here so first port of call 'Original Route' (S) to get that in the bag. Before setting off we re-capped belay construction skills and discussed the route in detail. Kerry laced the first couple of pitches with gear and made some excellent belays (which is surprisingly difficult on this route). The upper pitches went well too, with yet more 3 placement belays, good effort.
After a lunch break in the warm sunshine, we moved on to Evening Wall (S) to maximise our tanning opportunities! Kerry led this in 3 pitches, running out the middle pitch a little more than she may have wanted, but a great lead all the same. This route has potential for some quite innovative protection, so is a really useful inclusion in any trad climbing course. Topping out in the late afternoon sun made it all the harder to think about wrapping up for the day. Raven crag during a sunny afternoon takes some beating.

2 days and 16 pitches of leading for Kerry. A good kick-starter for the trad season ahead.

Mark

#leadclimbingcourselakedistrict

The crux pitch of Original Route, Raven crag

#rockclimbingcourselakedistrict

Gorgeous Langdale

Rock climbing - Wallowbarrow crag, Duddon valley

17/4/2017

Guided rock climbing - Duddon valley

Me topping out at Wallowbarrow crag

Today the weather was kinder to us. Dry all day and with only light winds. This gave us dry rock and high enough temperatures to enjoy rock climbing again, yippee!

Being cautious, we stayed in the valley and chose Wallowbarrow crag, in the peaceful Duddon valley. Only a few minutes further to drive, but the Duddon always seems like a world away form the Central Lake District. Even on a busy bank holiday weekend, it's quiet and unhurried, blissfully so.

Kelly hadn't yet sampled the delights of the rock here in the Duddon valley, so mostly she led the best (and hardest) pitches of the day. It was rather nice to be on the other end of the rope for a change. We cruised through 4 of the crag classics. Thomas; Bryanston; Malediction Direct; and Digitation. All excellent routes on top quality rock, giving delightful climbing throughout.
As the day wore on, so the cloud dispersed and more blue sky appeared. This coincided with the sun dropping lower in the sky and giving us wonderful evening light over the Duddon valley.

If you haven't yet visited this part of the Lake District, put it on your list. It's beautiful and not to be missed.

Thanks to Kelly for another fab day out.

Mark

Lead rock climbing course - Lake District

Kelly setting off on pitch 3 of Bryanston - MVS 4b

Rock climbing in the Duddon valley

The Duddon valley as seen from Wallowbarrow crag

Sun rock Lake District

5/6/2016

guided-rock-climbing-Lake-District

Kirsty climbing the 3rd pitch of Bryanston at Wallowbarrow crag

An all round very busy few days here in the Lakes, rock climbing with the Tolchard family, the Walton family, and the Slater family. That's a lot of climbing! Kate has been busy with Scafell Pike walks and Family Adventure Days too.

I also enjoyed a full day of multi-pitch climbing at Wallowbarrow crag with Kirsty. We climbed 5 multi-pitch routes which adds up to many pitches of climbing, all under big blue skies and warm sunshine. Wallowbarrow is a gem of a crag, probably my favourite valley crag. Easy access, sheltered and sunny, rough and sound rock, and the Duddon valley as backdrop, it's a lot to beat.

The following day a quick blast at Raven crag in Lansdale with Joe. Elevation & Savernake were our routes. Hadn't done Elevation before and am so glad we did it this time, it's excellent.

If you're planning a visit to this beautiful part of the world, why not try something fun and adventurous. Give us a call and we'll make a plan :-)

Thanks everyone

Mark

rock-climbing-instructor-lake-district

Pitch 2 of Bryanston

Activities in the Duddon valley

Duddon valley from Wallowbarrow crag

Lakeland rock climbing extravaganza!

9/9/2015

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week have been full-on rock climbing days with a real mix of routes.

Stats = 566 metres of climbing and 26 pitches!

Monday & Wednesday I was out with Alexsi from Finland and this was whilst working for our friends at Highpoint Mountain Guides.
A full day at Raven crag in Langdale saw us bag: Centipede (Severe); Revelation (Hard Severe); Evening Wall (Severe); and Bilberry Buttress (Very Severe). The sun blazed down all day and Langdale was certainly looking it's very best. Despite the fine weather, the crag was pretty quiet all day.

On Tuesday I was out with long time rock climber and Alpinist Jane. She had Bowfell Buttress in her sights and had certainly picked a perfect day for it. More blazing sunshine, just what's needed for a high mountain crag. The walk in felt pretty tough due to the heat, but once on the route all was absolutely perfect, even a light breeze from time to time to help keep us cool.
Bowfell Buttress is a 5 pitch Hard Severe and a 'Classic Rock' route with all that that entails. Was lovely and refreshing to cool down in 'The Great Spout' afterwards.

Wednesday I was back out with Alexsi, this time we headed to Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. Today the weather was overcast and cooler, pretty much perfect for climbing.
We enjoyed 4 multi-pitch routes and only shared the whole crag with one other climbing team.
Our routes today were: Digitation (Very Severe); Thomas (Severe); Malediction Direct (Very Severe); and Bryanston (Mild Very Severe). All really good routes providing good climbing and positions throughout. The Duddon valley rarely fails to impress and today it was on its best behaviour and looking gorgeous.

Thanks to Jane, Alexsi and Joe for these great days out.

Mark

Bowfell-Buttress-classic-rock

Guided-rock-climbing-Lake-District

Revelation-rock-climbing-Lake-District

Duddon-valley

Multi-pitch rock climbing and a day of roped scrambling - fun times

17/6/2015

Rock-scrambling-Lake-District

On Sunday I had the pleasure of a morning with Andzelika & Eugene from Ulverston. We've now climbed together a few times, but so far this has always been in the Langdale valley. Eager to show off more fine climbing venues in the Lakes and somewhere a little closer to Ulverston, I chose Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley.

A multi-pitch route of 'vdiff' standard was chosen, 4 pitches in length and providing excellent and varied climbing the whole way. Trinity Slabs was to be their second multi-pitch route to date (the first being Middlefell Buttress in Langdale) and I think the exposure and moves were thoroughly enjoyed. It's always a fine achievement to arrive at the top of a long climb, and today was no exception.
As well as enjoying the climb, we took the time to practice belaying, look at various anchor set-ups, and chat about other safety considerations. Climbing in 'series' allows for a more relaxing time, less rope management problems, and more time for teaching skills to each climber.
All in all, a grand morning, and it stayed dry!

Rock-climbing-guide-Lake-District

Monday was spent working on CPD, and specifically Rock Scrambling skills and techniques when moving as a team of 3.
So along with Kristina (who was looking for a good mountain day out), and Si (who wanted to recce the routes we were about to do), I headed out into Langdale and Middlefell Buttress followed by Crescent Climb on Pavey Ark.

My motivation being the ability to try out new techniques and further consolidate existing skills and have direct feedback on a continual basis.
Middlefell went very well and we made a rapid ascent, even the final steep wall proving quick an easy, clearly we were all moving well today.
So far we had looked at distance between the two seconds, length of an isolation loop for the person in the middle of the rope, stance management, belay methods, and various ways of attaching scramblers to the anchor system, phew!

Once clear of the top of the crag we un-roped and moved quickly to Pavey Ark, where the next chapter of scrambling would begin. There were already climbers on a neighbouring route (Crescent Slabs) ,but this was unlikely to effect us. After a brief rest we roped up again and I set off up this 'Moderate' climb / scramble. The aim initially was to find a belay within about 25m of the start. Thankfully this was duly found, an excellent spike, although slightly shallow, the rock was totally sound and a downward force would keep a sling firmly in place. A very good start to the route.

Belaying with an Italian Hitch, it's easy to quickly tie off when the first scrambler arrives, thus leaving both hands free to manage the rope for the second climber. Sometimes I was able to use a counter-balance to secure Si & Kristina, other times clove hitches were more appropriate, and the immediate feedback from both was invaluable.

We hit a minor traffic jam on the traverse pitch (the other climbers we'd seen earlier had arrived on the traverse at the same time as we did), so a little patience was called for, as well as some good humoured banter.
The final pitch of this route is very straightforward, if exposed, scrambling up grassy slopes to reach Jacks Rake. From here we un-roped and made our way down the Rake and into the valley.
A very good day out, thanks both. Feedback was 'Nice and slick' - splendid.

Multi-pitch-rock-climbing-Langdale

And yesterday was back onto rock climbing once more. This time White Ghyll.
Jane being a very experienced climber, we were alternate leading the pitches of Slab Routes 1 & 2. These give some very interesting climbing on excellent rock. Protection is adequate but never overly generous, this helps keep the mind well focused on the task.
Climbing in this way is very efficient, so we soon had the first route ticked and were back at the crag base in time for an early lunch.
Then it was onto the second route. Although described as a 3 pitch route, there are definitely 4 if using a single rope as we were. The climbing wanders around quite a lot in the early pitches, but this brings with it some amazing positions. The upper sections are quite straight and it's more a case of head towards the sky style climbing, picking what looks best along the way.
We briefly touched on some skills along the way, but mostly today was about time on rock, enjoying brilliant Lakeland rock. White Ghyll delivers.

Thanks to Jane, Kristina, Si, Andzelika, and Eugeniusz

Rock Scrambling in Langdale & Climbing in the Duddon valley

9/4/2015

Lake Windermere

The beautiful spring weather continues here in the Lake District. The photo above is taken from the Low Wood Hotel looking over Windermere towards the Langdale Pikes, our objective for today.

Heidi & Rocco have recently acquired the walking 'bug' and today were to be introduced to the world of Rock Scrambling. We took a traditional route from valley to summit. Starting at the Stickle Barn area in Langdale, we scrambled in Stickle Ghyll, then made our way to Tarn crag for some much steeper rock and a grade 3 climb.

Once at the top of Tarn crag, we were able to see the full scale of Jack's Rake, that's next! It was a busy day on Pavey Ark, but with some weaving we soon had a clear route ahead of us in Jack's Rake. This long scramble is engaging for the whole ascent, with mounting exposure and excitement. We had the summit of Pavey Ark to ourselves and were able to enjoy far reaching views even of Scafell Pike.

A really good day out, thanks Heidi & Rocco. Hope to see you both soon for more adventures on rock.

Photos below are:
Pavey Ark & Stickle tarn
Busy times on Jake's Rake

Pavey Ark

Jack's Rake

Thursday (today) we had a Mountain Journeys team afternoon at the crag. Me, Kate, and Don went to Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. This is a real favourite of ours, so peaceful, beautiful views, lovely rock and one of the first places we climbed together.

We climbed:
Bryanston (VS) - 3 pitches, each more difficult than the last, with the final pitch being impressively steep.
Digitation (VS) - 2 pitches. We originally climbed this years ago thinking it was a Vdiff!!!! A delightful slab climb with a tricky overlap on the first pitch. For me this is the best climb at the crag.
Trinity Slabs (Vdiff) - 4 pitches but doable in just 2, this offers more amenable climbing, still on very good rock and good moves throughout.
Thomas (Severe) - Another 3 pitch route but doable in 2. If this was on a mountain crag it'd likely make 'classic' status for it is a real gem.

And whilst all this Rock Climbing was going on, Don enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the sun with his sheep friends never far away.

On our way home we witnessed a fairly extensive fire on the hillside. A pretty rare sight indeed.

Thanks Kate.

Rock-climbing-Wallowbarrow

Fire-in-the-Lake-District