Scafell figure of eight - No photos today
My first trip to Wasdale this year and the weather is fabulous, just right for re-acquainting myself with Scafell.
From the car park at Brackenclose, take the pleasant “Three Peaks” route alongside Lingmell Beck, for some reason I’ve never seen any Three Peaks contestants after crossing the beck. After crossing the beck the path becomes steeper and the rocky turrets of Scafell and Scafell Pike start to beckon. Wast Water looks at its best under blue skies, the view extends beyond the lake and the valley far out to sea.
As the gradient eases the Scafell Pike path forks to the left, keep right on for Scafell, past the large boulder up to the fan of scree coming down from the start of Lord’s Rake. The rock face in front looks impenetrable but from the higher corner of the scree fan the path upwards is obvious and not as slippery as the scree climb up to Mickledore ridge.
At the start of Lord’s Rake, there are vertical rock faces all around – an excellent place. The climb up the rake is as strenuous as it looks, this is a place to take care, try not to dislodge quite large rocks onto people below and keep an eye out for things falling from further up. As it happens I am alone, even more reason to take care, but it is a wonderful place and for once the visibility is perfect.
The finger of rock that had fallen into the top of the rake last year has shifted into an even more precarious position – another obstacle to scramble over next year?
I take the left turn below the top of the rake on to the West Wall Traverse, the views, the closeness of the crags and the precipitous surroundings make this one of my favourite places. Follow the ledge until arriving at the final ascent of Deep Gill, where after being warm enough for tee shirt and shorts, I have to put jacket and gloves on because of the cold. I just love this place, another scramble with a tricky exit on to the summit plateau, then walk over to the rocky tower of Pisgah and scramble to its summit. I greet the climbers on Scafell Pinacle who I seen earlier on the rock face above the West Wall Traverse.
Up to the summit of Scafell, terrific views all around especially Scafell Pike and Great Gable on one side and Wast Water and Burnmoor Tarn on the other. I decide then that it would be a good idea to walk over to Slight Side along the edge of the ridge and scramble up to the top of Slight Side’s prominent table top of a summit.
Follow the path southwards down, past the bifurcation of the path until reaching a large boulder with a cairn sitting on top of it. Take a compass bearing and head north west towards a small col on the skyline where I expect to find the Great Moss. I thought this was a pretty unique route and I was surprised to see traces of a faint path and two ancient cairns.
I found Great Moss where I left it and was able to get up the valley of Eskdale with my feet dry high above the Moss. The collection of boulders known as Sampson’s Stones seen from above look as though they have been placed in a circle but when I got close they looked much more massive. Followed a slightly more obvious path to the impressive waterfall of Cam Spout and I enjoyed another one of my favourite scrambles up the crags by the side of the falls.
Followed the path leading to Mickledore until it becomes very eroded, exposing the red soil underneath, this is the point at which you turn left to the start of the Foxes Tarn gully. Yet another fine scramble up to the puddle commonly called Foxes Tarn and up the steep constructed path that the scree is attempting to reclaim to reach the summit plateau again.
This time I head down the other side, past the other end of Lord’s Rake and down towards Wasdale. Following the path going gently downwards over grass I kept wondering when the steep descent was going to start. I passed one or two possible descents but I didn’t fancy a steep slide down scree so I followed the nice path.
One minute I was walking over grass, the next the path crumbled into one of the most unpleasant descents that I have ever made. I don’t know what happened to the path but after a very awkward half a hour I arrived at a fence, I turned left to follow the fence hoping for an easier descent. All of a sudden there was a stile in the fence with no apparent footpaths for it to serve but I took it anyway, down to another fence that I followed to the right until another unexpected stile meant that I didn’t have to climb over it.
Soon afterwards I reached the path at the side of Lingmell Beck and I was keen to get my boots off when I got back to the car after a long, hard but extremely enjoyable day.
Andy Wallace 12th May 2002