Little How - Mountaineering Days Lake District
Mountaineering Days Lake District
It’s been a wonderfully busy season for us and we have all our lovely customers to thank for this. Now it is much quieter here in the Lake District and we can start to ease off a little and explore some more of this wonderful place.
Today I’ve been out with good friend Emma and we’ve been checking out some mountaineering routes above Coniston. We set off from the village and walked into the Coppermines valley then followed the Levers Water Beck watercourse, trying to stay in the stream, but mostly needing to be on the bank. This has some beautiful waterfalls, well worth checking out. Near its top we veered left to find the base of our first scramble, Simon’s Nick.
Simon’s Nick is only a short route but on impeccable rock and the whole route is furnished with wonderfully uncut holds. There is plenty of evidence of mining activity in this area and Simon’s Nick has an impressive gash in it where some of this would have occurred. We roped up for this route and climbed it in two short pitches. The route tops out to views of Levers Water.
We traversed around Levers Water to reach our next objective, Little How. The plan was to climb a route called ‘Sunshine Arete’. However, even though the rock was dry, the surrounding vegetation was not and our feet pretty wet. This made for more challenging than expected progress up the initial section of this route and I decided to call time on it in favour of a more scrambling style route nearby.
Other factors affecting this decision where: it was getting late; we only had a very small rack of gear; it was getting cold and we needed to be moving quicker.
There is a fine scramble up the right side of Little How and neither of us had done this before. Turned out to be brilliant, with more gorgeous rock and big holds all the way. A few sections gave us pause for thought too. We were able to solo most of this route, with just one short section requiring the use of a rope, thus we could move very fluidly.
We topped out to dramatic views west over the Duddon valley and beyond. The Scafell range was attracting some cloud, but most summits were clear. An easy walk via Levers Hause took us back towards the Coppermines and into Coniston well before dark.
A grand day out.
Considerations for a mountaineering / scrambling day:
Plan and prepare - this is something I always do.
Thinking ahead of where might be best to go on any given day. Current and previous weather is a good place to start.
Also consider where you are in relation to your intended route/s.
Will the route be suitable for anyone else joining? Particularly so on graded scrambles it is vital that all are comfortable with the planned route as these are serious days out in mountainous terrain.
Have a plan B
Never be afraid to call it a day and go for a walk instead.
What to take on a rock scramble / mountaineering day - this will vary depending on choice of route. Most grade 1 scrambles will require only minimal equipment, whereas grade 3 routes will require more. As an example, today we took in two grade 3 routes and had with us:
All our regular hill walking gear;
Torches - well it gets dark really early at this time of year;
Harnesses and helmets;
A very light rack of trad gear with 4 alpine ‘draws, 1-11 nuts, 4 x 120cm slings; belay devices, nut key, a few screw gates, prussic cord, 30m rope
Guidebooks - An integral part of the planning stage should involve a guidebook. Here in the Lakes we’re lucky to have loads of brilliant climbing and scrambling guidebooks. The best scrambling guides are produced by local publisher, Cicerone. Routes in the current guides have been thoughtfully sewn together to create more wholesome days in the mountains. This worked well for us today as we were able to link 3 routes with all the hard work of how they link together being done by the author.
A good guidebook will offer an insight into the overall quality of the route, the rock type, aspect, length and difficulty. All important factors for the planning stages as well as being useful on the day.
Yes there are no doubt numerous ‘apps’ out there now that may claim to show us mountaineering routes. They just don’t work as well as a guidebook. For just a few pounds they are worth their purchase price many times over. Today we used the Cicerone guide - Scrambles in The Lake District - South
We offer guided experiences for many mountain activities. If you would like us to tailor a day for you please check out our Activities Page and get in touch. We'd love to help.
Thanks for reading
Mark
Little How from Levers Water - Mountaineering Days Lake District
Seathwaite Tarn - Mountaineering Days Lake District
Levers Water Beck - Mountaineering Days Lake District