LAKE DISTRICT UNDER SEIGE - FLOOD WARNING

THE LAKE DISTRICT IS UNDER SEIGE - HEAVY RAINS ALL WEEK AND STORM FORCE WINDS ON THE FELLS ARE CREATING MASSIVE FLOODING PROBLEMS CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

CLIMBING IN NOVEMBER!

Some recent sunny days have given us the opportunity to climb. On Saturday I took Emma, Kath and Fergal to Stanage Edge. A keen wind on top of the crag meant some cold belaying sessions, but on the rock wasn't too bad once you got warmed up. Following on from some previous climbing courses, the group was quickly back on the rock, though as usual gritstone takes some getting used to! Highlight of the day was an ascent of the classic Christmas Crack, on one of the finest pieces of gritstone in the country.

Yesterday (Wednesday 11th) I took Mike and Laura up Middlefell Buttress (D) in Langdale for their first taste of climbing outdoors, and they loved every minute of it. Blue skies and sunshine probably helped! We did the main route plus the Curtain Wall (VD) finish, and ended the day with an ascent of Castration Crack (S), one of the alternative starting pitches. Photos to follow........

HCA GROUP HIT THE TARGET!

A group from the Homes and Communities Agency recently visited Langdale to undertake a range of activities with Highpoint including Gorge Scrambling, Abseiling, Fell-Walking, Archery, Survival Skills and various Multi-Active Challenges.

The weather turned out to be excellent and a grand time was had by all!

SCAFELL PIKE - ENGLAND'S HIGHEST RUBBISH DUMP

Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England and undoubtedly one of the most popular, but is it one of the best?

I decided to consider this question after meeting a farmer friend of mine in Langdale a couple of weeks ago. Bruce is a born and bred Langdalian sheep farmer, whose parents still farm at the head of the valley. If you cut Bruce in half, he’d have the word LANGDALE printed through him like on a stick of rock!

In spite of having spent many long days gathering sheep on the rough terrain of Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, Bruce had never been to Scafell Pike and so had decided to walk there with his family one September Saturday if the weather held.

The weather was good on the day, and I bumped into him (almost literally) as his Landrover tore along the track to Baysbrown later that afternoon on his way back. 'Did you have a good day Bruce', I asked. 'Aye, OK' he said, 'but it’s’ a b..... s.......up there isn’t it' He doesn’t mince his words doesn’t Bruce. 'I’ll not be gaan back'.

I knew what he meant. I’d been to the summit many times over the years and when I was the National Park Ranger for Langdale I’d been up there on several occasions to clear piles of rubbish from the summit plateau. Maybe he had a point.

As luck would have it, a few days later a lady contacted me who wanted to be guided up Scafell Pike. Fitness wasn’t a problem for her, but she had limited map reading experience and was worried about finding her way. I suggested we walked from Borrowdale along the Corridor Route, arguably the finest way to the summit.

Saturday morning saw us parked up at Seathwaite 'Welcome to the wettest place in Britain' the sign should say, but maybe that’s something Seathwaite does not want to boast about! There are signs though, asking walkers on the Three Peaks Challenge to respect the residents of Seathwaite and to pass quietly through. Herein lies one of Scafell Pike’s deep-seated problems, if you’re the highest, every man and his dog wants to get to the top.

We only saw a handful of other walkers on the ascent, which is a wonderful walk, and much of the top 1000 feet was shrouded in mist, but my companion was astounded at how many people were on the summit, and how many more walkers arrived while we had our lunch there.

The rocky summit plateau is liberally peppered with cairns, stone shelters old and new……and rubbish. Walk a few yards from the top and sit behind one of the many shelter walls and you’ll find chocolate bar wrappers tucked under rocks, loo paper, banana skins and orange peel. As Bruce said, it’s a.............

The approach walk is fantastic though, with stunning views into the head of Wasdale, onto Gable’s screes and crags and into the magnificent ravine of Piers Ghyll .It’s just a shame about the top!

The rough and rocky terrain of Scafell is a test for anyone’s footwear, and I continue to wear my Brasher Borgues for this sort of walk, which cope with anything below the snowline with ease and which have become established along with the Lithium as favourites for 3 season walking. One of our instructors recently wore a pair of Borgues on Kilimanjaro, and the legendary Lake District author Bill Birkett now slips his Brashers on in preference to anything else.

John White and the Highpoint Mountain Guides offer waking and climbing guides for walks and climbs countrywide and year-round.
www.mountainguides.co.uk and 01931 713115

CHAMONIX - SUMMER 2009

As the autumn nights draw in, here are a few photos from summer in Chamonix to brighten up your evenings.....

LOCATION SCOUTING

John White has been busy recently scouting locations for Brasher's next photoshoot. Following on from last year's shoot in the Dolomites, this year sees the Lake District as the main and very appropriate location to provide a background to Brasher's increasingly popular range of mountain footwear. Here are a few of the potential locations........

Austria: Dachstein Via Ferrata

The blog seems to have gone very quiet.... largely because things have been ridiculously busy recently! A recent highlight for me was the week in the Dachstein region of Austria where we climbed some of the best Via Ferratas anywhere. The nature of these mountains means that the routes are often longer and a little more serious than those in the Dolomites but a keen group were up to the challenge. With the assistance of local guides Pru, Sue, Andy, George and Mike ticked all the classics in a week culminating with the long and involved Johann route. This classic VF feels more like an alpine climb with a long approach and a finish on the glacier. Happily you are only 45 minutes from the cable car at the top so at least the descent is straightforward! Apparently we had the first settled weather of the summer as we arrived and it was snowing high up when we left so we were very lucky.

Back in the Lakes things are a little frustrating at the moment as wet and windy weather is making rock climbing pretty tough. I'm off to Africa for two weeks on Friday so here's hoping that Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro are faring a little better! Get in touch with John for availability in the meantime..... and if the rain continues have a look at our trips to Sardinia and Spain in the Autumn. Great climbing, beautiful locations and lots of sun!