The Lakes, day 10 – Helvellyn

Wednesday 24th July 2002

After the poor weather of the previous couple of days, the forecast for the tenth day of my first ever visit to the Lake District was for more rain later in the day, but it never arrived. Nevertheless it was a windy, overcast day and not the most ideal conditions for my first ever climb up Helvellyn. After being thwarted in my attempts to climb Helvellyn the day before, now that the rain had stopped I was determined to make my first ascent of this most infamous and popular of Lakeland Fells. After leaving the Patterdale Youth Hostel I crossed Grisedale and walked along the path that gradually climbs out of the valley to the Hole-in-the-Wall. This literal gap in a wall is marked as such on maps as if it’s the only gap in a wall in the area, but it is famous for being the start of Striding Edge. I had heard so much about this narrow ridge that I had built up quite a fear of it, so when I got to the Hole-in-the-Wall I daren’t go through it. The weather was still quite poor at this point, with high winds and low clouds, so I cowered out of doing Striding Edge and took the path down to Red Tarn where I climbed up to the ridge at the start of Swirral Edge.

I don’t think I have vertigo, but I would say that I have a healthy fear of falling to my death! In the poor weather, with the wind howling around me, I even found Swirral Edge rather scary. I remember leaving the very top of the ridge and clinging to the steep grassy slopes above Red Tarn as I tremulously climbed up to the top of Helvellyn. I was still quite new to bad weather at the top of a mountain at this time so I was finding it quite nerve-wracking, but the more times I experienced that sort of weather the more I learnt that so long as you’re careful, particularly with navigation, there is nothing to worry about. Back then I was relieved to come away from the wind-swept summit of Helvellyn and make my way south following the wide footpath that passes close to Helvellyn’s satellites. I was beginning to get used to the wind and low clouds by now so I diverted from the highway in order to bag the tops of Nethermost Pike, High Crag & Dollywagon Pike while on my way to Grisedale Tarn.

After the steep descent to the tarn I walked up to Grisedale Hause and from there climbed up a scree slope to Fairfield. I remember at this point being rather fed up with the scree slopes that I was climbing with annoying rapidity in the Lake District. I’d never encountered them before so I wasn’t used to their shifting stones and steep slopes, or the zig-zag route that has to be taken up them, but this was all simply part of learning my way around the Lakes. The summit of Fairfield was just as windy, cold and covered in hill fog as Helvellyn. It may not have been the best of days but I was beginning to cope quite well with the conditions as I successfully found the summit cairn on the broad summit plateau before heading in the correct direction off the top. From Fairfield I walked along the long ridge south towards Rydal passing over Great Rigg, Heron Pike and Nab Scar. The weather began to improve markedly as I descended becoming sunnier and warmer below the clouds with stunning views ahead of me along the whole length of Windermere.

At Rydal Mount I was near the spot where I had started my first day in the Lakes, and where I had lost my glasses. Now more than a week later that still hung its shadow over my holiday so I wanted to return to Loughrigg and try to look for my glasses even though the chances of finding them must have been pretty remote. Leaving that for another day I finished this walk by staying on the eastern side of the river walking along the excellent Coffin Route to Grasmere past Dove Cottage. This was a walk of contrasts from the wind-swept heights and terrors of Helvellyn to an entrancing walk down the ridge from Fairfield. I have not walked along the length of this ridge since that day, and that must be the most tragic aspect of this walk.