#rock-climbing-on-pillar

Me on The Slab pitch - photo courtesy of Jim at Lake District Climbing

Rock Climbing on Pillar - Lake District: A stunningly brilliant day

Rib and Slab - Hard Severe

For many years I have visited Pillar Rock, this has mostly be to help people reach the summit via the easy but excellent route of Slab & Notch. If looking for a guided day on Pillar please do check out our Pillar page here. For a crag with such a huge amount and variety of climbing, it seems a shame to have only done one route in so many visits. There are even two Classic Rock routes on it.

So yesterday we put things right and went rock climbing on this magnificent mountain crag we know simply as Pillar. It was the Classics we had in our sights, with the main objective being the Hard Severe route ‘Rib & Slab’.

I was climbing with Tony and Jim to make a team of three. We set off from Bowness Knott in Ennerdale and biked in along the forestry track to the base of Pillar Cove. This is about 7km with some ascent, but never steep. The lakeshore track is good as are the views, from the serene waters of Ennerdale to the majestic summits high above. Such a dramatic place.

We hid our bikes in the forest and continued on foot up the small, steep path leading into Pillar Cove. We kept to a steady pace so we could soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the views. Skirting left of the main crag then back right along The Shamrock Traverse to gain the col between Pisgah and the summit of Pillar. Our bags would be staying here, so we geared up, ate food, and put on lots of extra clothing in preparedness for a chilly climb.

To reach our chosen route on the West Face of High Man, we needed to descend a steep, loose gully to reach a more open scree slope. It probably took us about 15 minutes to descend and find the start of the climb. All I could think about was how cold it was! We noticed a party of 2 on New West Climb and they seemed to be having fun.

After a final sort of gear and flaking the ropes we got started, with Jim taking the lead on pitch one. The start of this pitch looked awkward so I was pleased not to be leading it. He made light work of the pitch despite it being very cold and having a few tricky moves. Me and Tony soon followed.

Pitch 2 was for Tony and provided the likely crux of the route. Stepping off the belay stance was initially very steep albeit well protected. There was a ‘thank god’ hold above but this was loose! In typical Tony style, there was nothing but complete calmness along with steady upward progress in an orderly manner. Cruising.

By now another team of three had arrived at the crag and were climbing the adjacent route of New West Climb. All were super friendly and a good crack was enjoyed by all. Turns out we used to live just a few doors away from Rachel and we are still just a stones throw away, small world.

Pitch 3 was mine and I was so excited. The guidebook description goes something like ‘cross the slab in a tremendous position’ mmmmm lovely. I can confirm the positions are indeed tremendous and the rock immaculate throughout, it’s stickier than a sticky thing. I wanted to climb really slowly so I could fully absorb the amazing place I was in. Climbing high on the North-West face of Pillar, it’s as good as it gets for Lake District climbing.

All too soon I reached the belay stance and made a solid 3 point anchor in readiness to bring up Tony and Jim. Shortly after I arrived so did Rachel as their route criss-crossed with ours. This was to be another fun and sociable belay ledge.

Looking down on the slab and onto the scree far below and beyond to Wild Ennerdale brought me a sense of peace and tranquility that I only find on big mountain routes. An overwhelming feeling of contentment, my happy place. By now the sun was making its presence felt and just a few metres above us the rock was illuminated by bright sunlight, this was enticing us upwards. It was to be Jim who would take this pitch and lead us the short way to the summit of High Man. He despatched this with easy and we soon joined him up there.

A summit selfie felt mandatory as did some time to enjoy this special place. Now just the descent remains. A short abseil into Jordan Gap and a scramble onto Pisgah and to be reunited with our bags for more food and drink.

We retraced our steps back to the bikes and once on these it was an easy and fun roll all the way back to Bowness Knott as the sun set over Ennerdale Water.

A truly wonderful mountain day with good friends. Big thanks to Tony - IGuide and Jim - Lake District Climbing for top class company.

And a thanks to Rachel, Sally, and Will for plenty of belay ledge giggles. A pleasure to share the crag with you all.

Thanks for reading

Mark

#climbing-on-pillar