Easy Pavey - Photo Gallery
It was already warm at 8:30 when I got to the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel and I set off in tee shirt and shorts. It wasn't too sunny but I had a sun hat and factor 15 sun screen with me just in case the weather forecaster got it right. I walked back to the New Dungeon Ghyll, I prefer to do this rough walk first rather than at the end of a long walk.
I took the reconstructed path up Stickle Ghyll, at first a pleasant walk through trees by the side of the waterfalls although there was a lack of water falling over the rocks. After you cross a wooden footbridge to get across the stream the real work begins, it is a strenuous climb but the path is good with interesting rocky outcrops and the gill is interestingly rugged.
The sun came out so the sun hat was deployed and sun screen was applied. There are lots of flies or flying beetles around, green bodies and bronze coloured wing cases they kept close to the ground until a two legged potential meal walked by. The gill is showing off its bouldery personality today, there really is very little water in it today.
As the reconstructed part of the path gives way to rock most people cross over the gill and make their way up an eroded path on the left hand side of the stream. Far more interesting is to keep going over a rocky outcrop, up a shelf of rock and a zig zag scramble up a cliff face. The quick gain in height is much more satisfying than for those poor people below on the other side of the gill.
The top of the cliff is surprisingly muddy and you have to hop across from rock to rock to keep your feet clean and dry. Then you have the final climb over boulders by the side of the outflow from Stickle Tarn, as you get close to the top the massive rock face of Pavey Ark comes into view. Stickle Tarn is calm, the sun is warm and the breeze is refreshing, I could sit here for ages but there are a couple of challenges calling to me from the other side of the water.
Cross the dam and walk around the left hand side of the tarn on an obvious path until you are opposite the dam. Then you start to climb up an eroded path that is steep, loose and scree like until you get to the bottom of Jack's Rake. The rake looks much steeper than I remember it but that pleasure has to wait for a while because Easy Gully awaits.
Easy Gully looks very much like Lords Rake, a wide fault between high steep walls of rock. The first obstacle is a collection of large boulders that you have to climb over, if you can't manage that you are unlikely to cope with the rest of it. Then you have a steep climb with slippery loose stones in between large awkward boulders although with them being dry they are not too difficult. Having got to the large chock stones at the top of the gully you feel that you don't want to have to go back down but the way ahead looks impossible.
I have been here five times before, there are two ways up, round to the left over rocks jutting out above a near perpendicular slab or straight ahead over a large sloping slab. They would be so much easier if they were resting on flat ground but there is too much exposure to risk falling off. There are plenty of life or death handholds but I can't remember how I got up last time and I am beginning to think I am not going to get up either way.
Finally I decided I have to take my rucksack off and try a last attempt on the left hand side. I put the rucksack on the rocks above my head hoping it wouldn't fall down into somewhere inaccessible. I was then able to get good enough footholds without getting caught on the overhanging rock and climbing up was not too difficult, I only had to use my knee once. My previous attempts to get up here were based on sheer fear and adrenaline, being clear headed and finding a proper way up doesn't actually make it any easier when you are alone.
I felt pretty pleased with myself once I had got up and the view was well worth the effort, just another few feet over easy boulders gets you over the top of the gully and you meet the popular North Rake path. This path is the easiest way up the front of Pavey Ark but it is steep and eroded and not easy by any means. I followed the path downwards until I could see the stream at the bottom of the path. I crossed over a grassy shoulder on the right and made a beeline for the start of Jack's Rake.
Following the contours over boulders and sometimes scree is the price you pay for not wanting to lose all of your height. Eventually you meet a steep eroded path that takes you back to the start point for the rake and the gully. Jack's Rake is a narrow rock channel for the most part, it is much steeper than I remember it. There is no crowd of people today, I am alone except for the climbers taking an even more perpendicular route upwards.
The first section of the rake is a steep climb up a small rocky channel, there are easier sections where you can come out of the channel onto a broader shoulder of rock but I thought I might as well do it properly. Near the top of this section the channel becomes deeper and forms a mini gorge where I previously used brute force to haul myself upwards, using proper hand and foot holds is an interesting puzzle.
Then you come to a small dip before the next section begins, it starts with a very steep climb up rock, there are plenty of holds but you have to feel for some of them. The climbing is just as steep here and near the top of this section is an awkward obstacle, a boulder shaped like a pointing finger blocks the way, you can get around it but it is another interesting puzzle of hand holds to be solved. More rock channel to climb up and still there is more to be done, it looks a long way down from here.
Then arguably is the most intimidating section of the rake although technically this is Great Gully and not the rake itself any more. There is a sloping slab to climb on to, the hand holds are just about life or death standard and the foot holds are not large, you need some confidence and momentum and the occasional knee to get you up. There is then more climbing over sloping slabs of rock, why do they always slope in the direction of the long way down?
Eventually you reach the top of Pavey Ark, feeling pleased with myself again having climbed with care and thought, doing it properly instead of the fearful scrambling and easy ways around of my two previous visits. No problems navigating today as I head for the rather obvious target of Harrison Stickle.
From the summit of Harrison Stickle you can drop down to a wide gully and turn right to a small col where an obvious path takes you towards the obvious Pike o' Stickle. The path I took is cairned once you cross the gully and is more interesting that the alternative, being rugged and rocky instead of slippery and stony.
Half way down and the fine clear day is suddenly interrupted, Pike 'o Stickle and Thunacar Knott are suddenly covered in mist and by the time I get down to the start of Dungeon Ghyll I am in thick mist. Cross over the gill and climb up the obvious path, bearing right because there is no point visiting the viewpoint cairn today. You cross over a subsidiary summit and get to a small col where a couple of large cairns show the start of the path down to Langdale.
If you bear round to the right you will pick up the obvious eroded path that doubles back up towards the summit of Loft Crag. I decided to take a more direct route climbing up steep grass between rocks successfully avoiding the slippery path until meeting it for the final pull to the summit with its sizeable cairn.
After walking along the short ridge in the mist, as I was descending the mist started to clear just as quickly as it appeared. By the time I reached Pike o'Stickle it was a sunny day again, from the summit the views of the Langdale Pikes were good but still hazy and Bowfell across the valley was completely obscured by mist.
After the short but interesting descent from Pike o' Stickle there is an obvious path off to the left across the usually man eating bog of Martcrag Moor. The moor is very dry today allowing me to walk directly across it rather than through it at a depth of six inches whilst avoiding the wetter parts.
At the top of Stake Pass turn left for an easy 90 minute walk back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel.
Andy Wallace 8th June 2004