#napes-needle

Napes Needle from The Dress Circle

Napes Needle

So it’s Friday again which typically for me means the start of a working weekend. And true enough, Saturday was going to be a big one, with 47 participants for a Gorge Scramble, I’m pretty sure that’s the most we have welcomed for a gorge scramble on one day.

There was preparation to sort out, lots of it. But this was mostly already done as the week so far had been quiet.

So back to Friday, a Friday with big blue skies, just a light breeze, and the promise of dry, warm mountain rock. And along with good friend Sofia, I’m away to climb the iconic Napes Needle.

Driving into Wasdale, the view as one enters the valley is simply gobsmacking, and taking centre stage is our objective. The Napes of Great Gable. Where rock climbing all began here in the UK and we were off to climb the route that started this crazy game of climbing. Back in 1886 Walter Parry Hasket Smith solo climbed this most wonderful piece of rock and duly recorded his efforts back at The Wasdale Head Inn and this started off a logbook which would in turn lead to climbing guidebooks as we know them today.

Our approach walk would take us past St. Olafs church, so naturally a nod to the legend of Joss Naylor was in order. I’d had the privilege of meeting Joss, albeit very briefly.

We arrived at the base of Napes Needle, in Needle Gully in short order and a bit out of breath. This is the hallowed ground, sacred, full of mystery and heroics. We were excited to be here, to be preparing to climb such an iconic route and we had the place all to ourselves, what a bonus.

We geared up and sorted the rope, then made a belay at the base of the needle.

Pitch 1) We began by following a route called ‘The Arete’ and this would meet ‘The Wasdale Crack’ at the shoulder. These are both Hard Severe climbs and a bit polished. I set off and soon found the moves a little more challenging than expected, so gave myself a stern talking to to actually get on with the task and get up the pitch. Which I did and was soon at the belay below the shoulder. Just wow, the views are magnificent.

Sofia set off and I could see she was instantly captivated by the magic of this place. Smiles were in overdrive. Upon her arrival at the belay we were both excited for part 2. I had chosen to belay on a pinnacle just short of the regular belay stance as there was already some fixed protection in place. This worked well, although was a little uncomfortable.

Plan A was to finish up The Obverse Route, a MVS graded route, but the final section of this looked dirty and uninviting, so after climbing the hand traverse of this, I opted to return and instead go up the final pitch of The Wasdale Crack. This has a reputation for being a little polished and slippery. But actually it isn’t too bad and I don’t think it deserves the reputation it gets.

The belay on the Needle takes diligence to organise so I took plenty of time to ensure this was all as perfect as it could be before calling to Sofia to start climbing.

She quickly climbed up to join me atop of Napes Needle and it was now time to take a moment to savour this place. Just to let time stand still. We didn’t even manage to take a summit selfie, but who cares, this place is for soaking it all up and that’s exactly what we did.

Then it was time for the next part of the adventure. The descent.

An abseil was duly set up, this is also not straightforward. Sofia was first to go. Chattering to herself the whole way which was both entertaining and funny. I followed soon after and we congratulated ourselves on a safe journey thus far, then sorted rope and kit. Some lunch in the sun and a check of the time confirmed that climbing one of the big routes on Gable wouldn’t be a great idea, so instead we enjoyed a leisurely stroll back down to Wasdale.

A truly brilliant and memorable day in the mountains, thanks Sofia.

Are you wanting to try out some fun activities here in The Lake District and not sure what to do? Check out our activities page here for some ideas and do get in touch.

Thanks for reading

Mark

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