I rolled up at Wasdale Head a little before sunrise. When I exited the car the temperature was about 8 degrees and there was hardly a breath of wind! It felt positively summer like. The skies were clear and my relief at having finally reached my destination after a brutal drive turned to excitement and awe at being in such a magnificent place.
I quietly kitted up, it felt like every man and beast in the valley was still asleep and I was conscious I may wake them.
setting off; Pillar beckons ahead
I made my way past the delightful looking Inn and on up to Mosedale. The warm-up is a gentle mosey up into Mosedale and along the valley before hooking right and steadily ascending to Black Sail Pass, the incline is merciful and gaining height is relatively painless by this means.
Mosedale is delightful
the early sun starting to catch the tops
'on the up', looking back across to Red Pike
As I made my way along Mosedale and up to the pass I was overjoyed at the magnificent weather. Days like this are so rare and I had been saving the Mosedale Round for a good while waiting for the right day. When I reached the pass the views across to and beyond the Buttermere fells opened up. I revelled at Haystacks, High Stile, Red Pike (B), Fleetwith Pike, Crag Hill and Grasmoor, Hindscarth, Robinson, Dalehead. Some of which are old friends and some are friends I have yet to meet.
nice
On reaching the pass it's a brief trundle up to the first Nuttall of the day: Looking Stead. Oddly enough the views from Looking Stead are excellent.
left to right - The flanks of Pillar, Ennerdale, High Stile
Pillar from Looking Stead
Looking Stead summit cairn
I couldn't stop marvelling at the magnificent day I had been bestowed with. I have two days off per week and in November the chances of both those days being a bit drab are high. The skies were blue and clear, and the wind was gentle. All I needed was my base layer and wind-shell and it stayed that way all day!
Having tagged Looking Stead I bimbled down to the col and a little way up the ridgeline ascent of Pillar. My ideal objective was to hit the High Level Route, and today felt ideal. The cairn marking the fork is rather understated though, in fact I overshot and had to back-track. The High Level Route starts by dropping down and across a gully and constitutes a marked change of pace! The path is narrow and even faint in places, and undulates whilst traversing the steep slopes with a quasi-scrambly moments. In fact I became quite worried as to whether I was even on the right path as I saw another trod coming and going a short distance further down, which seemed to traverse slightly less steep terrain. I reassured myself that I was on a well enough trodden route from the slight wear on the rocky sections and intermittent path, and proceeded with caution.
looking back to Looking Stead from whence I had come
Scarth Gap
The High-Level Route
Still on the High-Level Route (I think)
Soaring over Ennerdale
the marble / quartz formation on these rocks was fascinating
the top end of Ennerdale
When I reached Robinson's Cairn any doubts about me being on the right path were erased.
funny story, I tried to position this photo to show Robinson's Cairn with Robinson in the distance. On reflection it would appear that Hindscarth is the peak directly to the right (I had them mixed up)
these clouds were ace
Looking across Pillar Cove to Pillar Rock
I followed the path up Pillar cove, but when it branched right I decided 'that must be the climbers return route from Pillar Rock' and that I should keep going up on intermittent scree. It's always when I think I know better than to check the map that I go wrong! I have the BMC map with the super-large-scale inlay of this intricate area in my backpack but do I bother to consult it?
Eventually I did check the map and figured out I should have taken the right, which was now way below me. I figured I might try and traverse over to where the path should be, across the shoulder to my right. I found a metal marker and vague path, maybe forged by others who had made the same error?
too religious?
The photo doesn't show it so clearly, but the back path was blocked by this chock-stone which I scrambled around. Fun.
I joined the proper path with awesome views of Pillar Rock from above
A clear view to Skiddaw and Blencathra now
Pillar Summit has cairns and shelters coming out the wazoo
Great Gable and the Scafell range
I stopped briefly for a sandwich on Pillar summit, this was the highest peak of the day at 892m. Next up was the ridge walk to Black Crag, Scoat Fell then Steeple.
Looking back to Pillar from Black Crag
across Mosedale with the Sca Fells ahead
Black Crag, Scoat Fell ahead and Steeple on the right
herdwick
Steeple
the ridgeline approach to Steeple
Ennerdale Water
Looking back from Steeple, Pillar on the left, Black Crag centre and Great Gable looming in the distance
Scoat Fell summit is quite understated, it is a small cairn on the wall, which sits obviously higher than the alternative cairn which is found a little further on. I pressed on to Steeple which is reached readily from Scoat Fell, before retracing my steps over Scoat Fell and down trackless toward Red Pike (W). Wasdale's mountains have awesome names, Great Gable, Pillar, Steeple, some of the best names around I think.
Red Pike
Kirk Fell
The green fields of Wasdale nestle between some of England's greatest fells
I stopped for a rest and further sandwiches on Red Pike before heading down to the col. I decided on hitting Yewbarrow and completing the round as per the Nuttall's suggested route proper. Their guide affirmed that the Stirrup Crag scramble up to Yewbarrow North Top was not one to be missed. The path down to Dore Head (the col) is not too steep and ideal for a swift descent. Yewbarrow starts to loom all the more as one reaches Dore Head.
Yewbarrow
going up
the scramble is a treat
fun
Not kidding, I ran into more people whilst ascending the Stirrup Crag scramble than I did all day. They just kept on coming! There was one party with a dog and I exclaimed 'it's steep down there'! I won't claim I know everything about dogs but I'm quite sure it would be something between stressful and impossible getting one down this. I heard distant whimpering as I ascended. I'd say it qualifies for a grade 1 scramble, it's not the longest but if Tryfan's South Ridge is a Grade 1 then this most certainly is and I'm sure it's steeper in places.
North Yewbarrow
Shortly after tagging Yewbarrow north top a nice man congratulated me on getting as far as I had with the round and said there's not much more climbing left now. We stopped and chatted a while.
Yewbarrow
After a final rest stop and final sandwich, I tried the Nuttall's suggested descent of the bilberry runnel instead of following the path which is apparently badly eroded. I reckon I got this terribly wrong as I wound up picking my way down a ridiculously steep slope of heather and bilberry. What a palaver!
the steep slope I wound up on!
The final section of descent alongside the wall here
looking over Wast Water to Lingmell, Scafell Pike and Sca Fell
Lingmell
The day concludes with a couple of kilometers' stroll along the road back to Wasdale Head. I felt tired but not completely done in, and was pleased that the days endeavours had felt well within my grasp.
After taking off my boots I visited the teaming Inn for a pint of full-fat Pepsi which I sunk at speed before heading back. I think I really needed the sugar! I stopped on the drive out to get a couple of photos as the light was just incredible at sunset.
What a magnificent day!
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