LMC Wasdale Meet (FRCC Brackenclose Hut) - July 2018
The cloud swirled across the face as a shadowy figure slipped
out of sight having made short shrift of the steep moves high
above. The mist continued to drift in and out creating an eerie
theatre to the events taking place on this majestic shield of rock.
Hidden voices floated up from groups of walkers on the well-worn
path below; each making their way up another weekend peak (it's
Saturday today, so it must be Scafell Pike, yes?), all blissfully
unaware of the rope strewn teams that lay beyond their grey
canopy. Anticipation swelled as a simple message drifted
calmly down the face "Safe Neil", within seconds came another clear
signal, "Climb when ready". More anticipation but I was soon
moving, embarking on a journey I had wanted to make for over 35
years. A brief but timely opening in the clouds revealed the entire
magnificent face, centre stage the 'money pitch' of Saxon, time to
act. Small dabs of chalk now marked the way up one of the best E2
pitches in the country, I quickly glimpsed the much talked about
bottomless crack suspended high up on the wall, this was my target
and would be the way out to re-join Michael.
I climbed stiffly up and then slightly left to recover a
strategically placed runner, full commitment was now going to be
required along an airy and rising traverse line to the right
(barely protected by small wires). The line was steeper than it
looked but across I went, 3 or 4 sideways moves culminated in a
long stretch to reach a good set of in cut holds. One more move on
tiring fingers and then a big heave onto a small ledge perched on
the very edge of the face. Another break in the cloud provided a
chance to appreciate the lofty position I was now in. Back on the
face more small but positive holds led up and left, recovery of the
occasional runner also helped to keep me busy and I was soon (and
unexpectedly) at the foot of the looming crack. The next move (the
crux) albeit safe is not blessed with positive holds and baffles
many that find themselves in this place. "Don't want to fluff it
now so come on, concentrate, work it out, don't dally" came the
reassuring words from my inner coach. For me this meant starting on
the left using a vague undercut for the right hand and a high
flared jam for the left hand, trust… commit… step up… maintain body
tension… lock… reach… and bang, a good hold and a smile. A few more
steep moves up the crack and I was soon pulling onto the belay
ledge welcomed by Michael's toothy smile.
I had led the first pitch (quite committing in places but good
protection where needed) so I zoomed off up the 3rd and final pitch
which has a lot to offer too. Three dimensional type climbing
and some strenuous pulls up a couple of grooves led out onto a
superb but short face; a steep arête followed depositing me on a
generous ledge with only a brief scramble to the top. The air
temperature was now rising and starting to burn away what was left
of the mist, below us the whole of Scafell Crag was now being
revealed in its true glory.
There it was, in the bag, Saxon a long held dream that did not
disappoint; we agreed we had just climbed a fantastic route, better
not wait so long next time eh! I thought I might feel sad at
some kind of loss but all that crossed my mind was - could I have
led that superb 2nd pitch, a brief pause and out came my own cheery
response "Yeah, of course I could". "Did you say something
Neil"; "Erm… no Michael only… erm…. do you fancy The Nazgul"
; "Ok bud" was Michael's immediate and near casual response as we
set off to find the decent path and this servant of terror.
Meanwhile Eugenie and Tom had taken on the challenge of the mega
classic of the crag Central Buttress. The iconic 'great flake'
pitch being first led in 1914 by Siegfried Herford supported by
George Sansom and Cecil Holland. Tragically Herford lost his life
in the Great War at the age of 24, very poignant as 2018 is the
100th anniversary of the end of the war. This E1 weaves its way
across the face in 5 pitches, good route finding skills and slick
changeovers are advisable and make the journey a lot easier and
less time-consuming. This young team were not yet blessed with such
skills and found themselves acquiring them on the route itself -
the outing would indeed take some time!
As intended, ropes were soon uncoiled below The Nazgul a much
prized E3 . I set off on pitch 1 which proved ridiculously graded
at 4a, the steep start (at least 5a) led to some grass pulling
before the angle eased and I was suitably positioned on the first
stance. I craned my neck backwards and slowly shook my head from
side to side in an unbelieving manner, by 'eck it was steep.
Michael had seen this exaggerated display from below and now
wondered what the heck was laying ahead of him on the much prized
crux pitch.
Across on Pikes Crag, JO (John Oaks), Ron and Ally were enjoying
Wall and Crack Climb, a long route graded VD up the left side of
Pulpit Rock. By now they had a grandstand view of Scafell Crag with
Michael launching himself up the overhanging crack and tackling the
challenge of this mythical beast. Place good gear, commit to
a long powerful move, pull through, sort feet out, catch breath,
prepare and repeat. Michael stayed focussed and in balance all the
way, and despite a tricky exit via a short groove soon had another
marvellous pitch safely under his belt. I followed on in less
than top form but did manage to hang on in there to complete the
task ahead.
On Pulpit Rock Ron was out front leading pitch after pitch, he was
well and truly back on 'Rocket Ron' form after recovering from a
foot problem and a longish lay-off. Ally was finding the
going tough, mainly because she was carrying 3 pairs of heavy
walking boots in her rucksack; this portering service would make
life easier for all on the descent from the crag but for now it
meant some overly strenuous. On successful completion the team
picked their way down via Mickledore and then circled back to the
sacks at the bottom of the route. It was not long before they were
heading down to Brackenclose for well-earned tea and cake. John and
Ron had actually walked all the way up to this point the previous
day (Friday) only to be rained off; the day before that they had
been over the other side of the Lake District trying themselves out
on some long ridge scrambles, all in all quite an energetic start
to the weekend.
Meanwhile, back to adventures on Central Buttress; Eugenie and Tom
were finding the route very interesting so much so that they
proceeded at a very leisurely and thoughtful pace. Good multi-pitch
discipline was the order of the day as they checked; double checked
then checked again that their belay stances were safe and… that
they were still on the route they intended. Much conversing took
place throughout as they deliberated, agreed, disagreed and then
agreed again where the route actually went, or they thought it
went! Due to the relaxed nature of the accent various picnic breaks
were taken along the way, plus a number of discreet pee stops were
required to help maintain focus. Oblivious to time and undeterred
they soldiered on, culminating in Tom straightening out pitch 3 of
CB and going up the delicate and poorly protected 5b pitch of The
Nazgul. Eugenie struggled to follow this pitch and Neil decided it
was too dangerous to attempt as a lead, this was a bold 'off route'
excursion by Tom. All four of us eventually gathered below the
final ramp line of The Nazgul (now also a popular exit for CB) and
had shared in some and jovial banter about what we had been up to.
By the time we eventually topped out Eugenie and Tom had been on CB
for over 9.5 hours, commitment to the cause or what!
Phil and Joe had been no slouches on 'Super Saturday' either, they had climbed Botterill's Slab, a compelling VS first done in stout clothing with hawser laid rope in 1903 and still no pushover. They then moved further right and tackled the magnificent Moss Gill Groves, again at VS, first climbed between 2 world wars. So pleased were they with Botterill's that they then went back and did it again, in total completing 253m of 3 star climbing, a grand day out on a grand mountain crag.
Forgot to say, Neil, Michael and Eugenie, plus Phil and Joe
travelled up early on Friday; wanting to avoid getting wet they
visited Trowbarrow in Lancashire, a well-positioned crag in the
rain shadow of the Lake District. This quarry sits in a
beautiful wooded location and is close to Leighton Moss, a
well-established RSPB nature reserve that seems to be popular with
BBC film crews. Michael jumped on Alladinsane at E1 and then
virtually jumped over the overhang on Warspite Direct at E2. Neil
couldn't handle the upper hand jam on the latter and after a couple
of attempts sagged on the rope, Eugenie fared better benefitting
from her wall honed forearms. The jam was so painful that even to
this day Neil has numbness (aka nerve damage) down the side of one
finger. Phil and Joe climbed the excellent Hollow Earth, a
confident lead by Phil, they then went on to do Assagai another HVS
5a on an amazing wall fringed by a line of incredible
flutings.
Also out and about on Friday was J (Jonathan) and Rachel,
they stopped off at Hare Crag in Eskdale and waded through waist
deep wet bracken to climb Slab Route a Severe, a kind of gear then
no gear trust the friction kind of route. They also took a look at
Fireball XL5, but it was getting late by then and a pizza at the
Woolpack Inn was calling, next time! On Saturday they plodded up to
Great Gable with hearts set (again) on climbing Tophet Wall at Hard
Severe, the weather conditions at this aspect and height were not
favourable so then wandered along the climbers traverse and down
again, all in good time for dinner.
Back to Saturday, JT (John Turner) walked over the Screes (Illgill
Head and Whin Rigg) and in the process was passed by competitors
running the Wasdale fell race, he returned via Miterdale which is
worth exploring if you are ever in the area. The Wasdale is one of
the bigger races in the Lake District, 34k and 2750m of ascent, the
current record is 3hrs 25 mins, it follows a cracking route whether
you are running it or not. Interestingly the building next to
Burnmoor Tarn appears to be in the process of being renovated,
despite its remote and spooky location on a mediaeval corpse road -
how on earth did they get all that scaffolding up there.
Nick and Sheila took charge of the superb communal dinner on
Saturday evening which everyone enjoyed immensely. Pleased to say,
they were not tied to the kitchen all weekend and headed out
on Saturday to follow Nether Beck from Wast Water as far as Little
Lad Crag, from there ascended Red Pike via Scoat Tarn. They
had the whole valley to themselves having not met a single soul all
the way up and after leaving Red Pike (in the cloud) returned to
Wasdale (and sunshine) via Dore Head.
Sunday was a claggy day high up but despite this Michael, Eugenie,
Neil and Tom headed back the big hill with mixed results on the
East Face of Scafell. Michael jumped on the 'wake up' start to
Leverage and soon found this E1 a bit of a handful at mid height; a
surprising fall from a bulging section had him rethink his
approach. Deep breath, stay focussed, stick those sketchy moves and
thankfully he was through the challenge without further drama. Tom
followed on up with a snug rope and then took over on the easier
2nd pitch ending at a well rigged abseil station. Back on the
ground they strolled along to the classic E2 Ichabod, this single
pitch route really packs a punch. Despite hesitating Michael was
encouraged across the infamous and committing traverse by advice
from nearby climbers and by finding an additional piece of (key)
gear. Despite all this cragging activity, Neil and Eugenie were not
feel'in it (as they say) and opted for a leisurely walk back down
to the hut empty handed, well nearly. A few meters away from the
crag Neil stumbled upon a jacket tucked away in a dry-bag; upon
return home and after a quick shout out on UKC it was soon reunited
with a very appreciative Mr D McLeod of Glasgow.
On Sunday Nic and Sheila took a gentle amble up to Lingmell Coll
and after leaving the crowds marching up Scafell Pike followed the
relatively quiet, but atmospheric Corridor Route along the flank of
the mountain. Once at Sty Head they headed back down into Wasdale
completing a fine couple of days in and around this great
valley.
J and Rachel had intended to do an outlying Wainwright on Sunday
but parking proved a problem so went on a few miles and walked
around Cogra Moss reservoir at the foot of Blake Fell, it was then
home via the A66 avoiding the mess that was the M62. Meanwhile JT
was taking a mosey up Mosedale and then before heading home on
Monday had a short walk near Newby Bridge which took in the nature
reserve of Rusland Moss.
The author is a bit short on detail but believe Neil and Mary-Ann had a good weekend walking and scrambling the local fells, making the most of the location despite the sometimes damp and greasy conditions on the rock. Hannah and Matt had a mixed bag of a weekend including an abortive attempt at Napes Needle and (I think ) a trip to the idyllically placed Brantrake Crag on Sunday in the company of JO and Ron.
Attendees: Michael Teanby, Eugenie Blyth, Tom (Admiral Lord
Faffington) Redwood, Joe Mills, Phil Shaw, Nic Hill, Sheila Palmer,
Jonathan & Rachel Shaw, Neil & Mary-Ann Mahon, John Turner,
Alison Wright, John Oaks, Ron Crowe, Hannah Watson, Matt Roope and
Neil McAllister (me).
Thank-you to all who attended and
made this such a worthwhile meet.
Neil McAllister
FRCC Brackenclose Hut looking towards Scafell Pike and Scafell
Crag
Eugenie & Tom high up on Central Buttress
Neil Mc below the final ramp on The Nazgul
Looking towards Mosedale from Scafell Crag with Pillar back
right