Mountain Journeys

Rock Scrambling in Langdale & Climbing in the Duddon valley

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

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.

Categories

Archives

© Copyright 2023. Website by Freshspace.