great gable

 

We took an opportunity to combine leading a 3 Peak Challenge group from Fulham F.C. up Scafell Pike with a weekend of climbing and running.  The forecast was for good weather, which as usual they got wrong…  It was fantastic weather.

So Friday saw us heading north along the M6 with a quick stop in Ambleside for supplies and some shinny stuff from the climbers shop.  It wasn’t long before we were climbing  the ‘2nd route’ on Scout Crag in the Langdale Valley.  A pretty easy climb with magnificent views up and down the valley.  We made a couple of route choices which saw us briefly on the ‘1st route’ and topping out we chilled for a few minutes admiring the views on this awesome evening in the sun.  With a lovely meal at the Stickle Barn, it was time to head over Honister Pass to Wasdale head, our base for the next 2 days.

 

An early morning start saw us heading up towards Great Gable via Sty Head.  I’d aimed to run/walk up 3,000 meters over the weekend as I need to build even more stamina in my legs for the Ultra 100k in September.  We reached the summit and were rewarded with amazing panoramic views of the lake district.  We headed down to Beck head and very fast decent back to Wasdale Head.  I was trialing my new Adidas Riot 4 trail shoes, which appeared to be handling the scree very well.  A quick stop for a drink at the Wasdale Head Inn we were back at the campsite to chill before we welcomed Fulham F.C. to guide them up Scafell Pike on the 2nd Peak of the challenge.

After a introductory briefing with Fulham F.C. we set off at 20:25 to climb Scafell Pike.  The evening was very close and warm and I’d wished I had kept my shorts on.   The team were fit, unfortunate

one of the members had to be taken back to the mini bus at Wasdale

Head as he had pick up a knee injury on Ben Nevis. We made great progress and the views were great in the evening light.  We were rewarded with views across the tops of the lake land summits and it never really got dark until way past 11pm.  There were many other teams on the hill that night and climbers camping under Scafell Crags ready for an early start on Sunday.  The team reached the summit in 2hrs 20mins, which for guys who have never walked in the mountains before was a real achievement. We could see the street lights as far away as Fleetwood and Keswick.  After a bite to eat, adding an extra layer and putting on our head torches we started the descent, passing other charity climbers heading  up we offered moral support.  The team were back at the mini bus in a great time of 4hous 25 mins.  Great effort guys.

Sunday saw us rise a little later and ascended   back up to Scafell Pike via Mickledore and then onto Scafell via Lords Rake.  The skies were a little moody this morning and after applying the sun cream we headed back up Brown Tongue then under Scafell Crags. A scramble up steep scree placed on top of Mickledore.

We summited Scafell Pike in mist and was welcomed by a surprising number of Cray fly’s and small flying insects lifted by the thermals from the valley bottom.  A quick run back to Mickledore we exchanged pleasantries with another runner and climbers we head along the East Face Traverse.  We passed under crags were we could the rattle of climbing metal on rock and a couple of dogs waiting for the climbing masters to return to the start of the route.

We were waiting for 2 other people to exit Lords Rake when from above a shout of ‘ BELOW’ and a big thud as a football sized rock landed in the gully.  This got the heart pumping and other areas of the body going.

 

After a very , very quick climb we reached the top of the gully and  a took a little time to relax and breath.

We reached the summit of Scafell which is a lot quieter than its bigger brother again we were welcomed by fly’s and mist.

 

We took a bearing and headed down a direct route used by runners on the Bob Graham round.  My riot 4’s were a little loose as I had only worn a thin pair of socks, still they were great on scree and dry grass.

We then chose a very direct route down to the valley floor and after a splash of water on the head we found our self’s back at the campsite and home 🙁 .

When you can combine your passion with your passion magic happens.

A great weekend and many more to come.

Darren