Scafell Pike
28-29 Sepember 200
 

It is a bit of a trek to Scafell, allow up to 4-5 hours, as some of the roads are narrow – POSSIBILITY OF A MINIBUS IF DEMAND IS THERE

There is the Wasdale Hall YH close at hand and the wasdale Head Inn just up the road for a wee drink (Note it was shut on a Sunday last time I was there, as were all the pubs between there and Penrith). YH accomm is available for a fee of £10.25pppn Breakfast is £3.40 and eve meals are £5.00, but I am sure the Inn also does food.
Leave Wasdale Inn on the road southwards, passing a public carpark in about 200 metres. Continue south for another 200 metres to a bend in the road where a path to the left is signposted to "the Scafells". The grassy fields are crossed over Lingmell Beck and then left for bracken-covered open ground as the path rises.
As you climb up the path, keep an eye to the west and the views opening up along Wast Water. The path enters the steep-sided valley of Lingmell Gill and climbs along the east bank of the small stream. The gradient is not too bad but the climbing is quite steady along a track that starts off as well-formed but becomes more eroded further up the valley. A last view along Wast Water is visible from Brown Tongue where the stream forks and the path crosses over to climb the tongue itself. Of more importance are the buttresses of Scafell Crags ahead which begin to loom over the valley.
A slightly steeper climb brings you into the head of the valley under the crags where there is a choice of scree slopes to climb. An obvious path leads straight up the scree in front of you to the col of Mickeldore. A boulder field to the left successfully conceals the route up to Lord's Rake - a narrow shoulder-width passage traversing through the base of Scafell Crags up onto the west side of Scafell.
A path climbs over stony ground from Mickeldore and rises up the side of a ridge to Scafell Pike at a height of 987 metres (3208 feet). There is quite a bit of "furniture" on the summit, including a semi-circular wall providing welcome shelter from any wind. The views are tremendous.  To the north-east, there is the gray cone of Great Gable with the path climbing its rocky slopes looking quite flat from this height. On the horizon above Styhead Pass, you can see the far-off summit of Skiddaw and the green fields of Borrowdale leading up to the shores of Derwentwater lake. The bald summits of Broad Crag and Great End are closer to hand - a path is visible winding over Broad Crag heading for Esk Hause and an easy descent to Styhead Pass.
This is where I got a little confused - I was still fixed on my original idea of going to Scafell first. Thus I wandered off on the clear path dropping to the east (this is the Corridor Route that ends up at Styhead Pass). My mistake became obvious when I looked up and saw the knob of Lingmell in front of me. This turned out to be a lucky mistake since I actually continued down the route to a dramatic gorge dropping down into Wasdale - worth the 25 minute detour.
A short climb back to Scafell Pike and a nice descent gets you back to Mickeldore.  Head south under Symond's Knott to have a look at a cleft cut into the crags. The guidebooks are right when they say that it is really a climbers route up to Scafell. Continue down the slippery scree slopes to where a tiny stream emerges from a fissure in the cliff walls. This is the route up to Foxes Tarn - an interesting clamber up the tiny gorge, often over boulders and with moss-covered walls at your shoulders. The gorge emerges into a small bowl under Scafell with the even-smaller tarn to one side. A well-constructed path then rises in zigzags up to the ridge between Symond's Knott and Scafell. The summit at 974 metres (3162 feet) is a couple of minutes along the ridge. More good views await you.
CONFIRM ACCOM/TRANS BY THE 12th SEPTEMBER PLEASE

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Mountaineering Council of Scotland
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