Great Mountains: Scafell Pike

Previously I wrote about Snowdon and the many routes of ascent up that great mountain. Now I am turning my attention to another great mountain that is similarly afflicted with crowds of people who climb it simply because it is the highest and not for the reason they should be climbing it: because it is a great mountain. However, height is no guarantee of greatness since I wrote in 2012: “I don’t consider Ben Nevis a great mountain”. Despite the crowds struggling up the Brown Tongue route to the top of Scafell Pike there is much to appeal about this mountain. The principle attribute that makes Scafell Pike great is an abundance of rock. All proper mountains are rough and rugged with rock everywhere and Scafell Pike most definitely has this in all manner of states from the endless loose stones that cover the summit to the sheer crags congregated around Mickledore that make the area look most dramatic. I first climbed Scafell Pike on my first visit to the Lake District in 2002, but I didn’t follow the tourists starting from Wasdale Head. I started from the Eskdale Youth Hostel climbing on a path known as the Terrace Route that is the easiest route up Scafell, but in ascent is slow and the middle section crossing the gathering grounds of Cowcove is drab and featureless, however, this route excels in descent, which I have done twice and plan to do again as soon as I am able.

On that first time I had climbed to the top of Scafell I could see Scafell Pike a short distance away, which ordinarily would take less than fifteen minutes, but in fact takes more like an hour such is the awesome scenery between Scafell and Scafell Pike. To someone standing at the summit of Scafell the top of Scafell Pike appears as a simple ridge walk away, but unsuspecting is the sheer cliff face of Broad Stand that cannot be climbed, or descended, by mere mortals. This obstacle needs to be circumvented and the recommended route, and the one that I took in 2002, is to descend a broad scree slope to Foxes Tarn and then scramble down a rough, wet gully. Then, after descending far more than you would want to, you now have to climb back up to the short ridge between Scafell Pike and Broad Stand. In 2005 I did the route again in the opposite direction and wrote in this blog that even though it is not easy, it is nevertheless fun! The only alternative to Foxes Tarn is a route that is legendary among fellwalkers, but over the last twenty years it has been severely discouraged due to the danger of rock falls. A large boulder had fallen into Lord’s Rake just before my ascent in 2002 and there were warning signs about its immanent collapse, but in 2006 with the boulder still showing no sign of collapse I tackled Lord’s Rake for the first time.

The rake is full of loose stones that have fallen off the crumbly Scafell Crag and make the ascent exceptionally difficult and worthy of the warnings that have been issued about Lord’s Rake. The large boulder was eventually dislodged from its precarious position at the top of the rake in 2016, but it remains a very slippery and dangerous route, however, partly because of the difficulty, it is a really exciting climb for those who enjoy the adrenaline rush. It is routes such as this that make a great mountain as it acts as a draw to those who love the excitement of the dangerous or tricky and sets apart the fearless from the mice. I have accomplished the challenge of Lord’s Rake three times with the last time being in 2011 and I hope it won’t be too long before I feel the need to prove myself again by tackling Lord’s Rake for a fourth time. In 2008 I took an alternative route up Scafell Pike from Eskdale that bypasses Scafell ascending from Great Moss near the head of the River Esk up the steep, surprisingly grassy southern slopes to the prominent peak of Pen before crossing Little Narrowcove to join the crowds at the summit. This route has the appeal of avoiding the crowds on the other side. I did it on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday and never saw anyone until I reached Broad Crag Col.

My descent route in 2002 was over the subsidiary peaks of Broad Crag and Ill Crag that collectively used to be known as the Scafell Pikes. The rough, stony terrain continues along this ridge and makes for really arduous walking as you attempt to jump from boulder to boulder with any sort of dignity. The only time when I did not find this ridge difficult was at Easter 2010 when soft snow covered the top and filled all the treacherous gaps between the boulders. The view of the Scafell Pikes is best seen from the other side of Sty Head Pass upon Great Gable and is described by Wainwright as “the finest mountain scene in Lakeland”. The view of this range from the other side on the diminutive Hard Knott, looking across the head of Eskdale, is also renowned providing a great perspective of the range. An important characteristic of a great mountain is its appearance from afar and the summit here falls down, but is redeemed by the accompanying view of the whole range of the Pikes from Scafell to Great End that can be seen from many places in the western half of the Lake District.

An alternative to the difficult boulder-hop across the Scafell Pikes is the excellent Corridor Route that starts from Sty Head and heads across the northern slopes of the Pikes. This is a great path that takes a rough, rugged route over several deeply cut ravines heading to Lingmell Col where it joins up with the tourist route from Wasdale Head. I have taken this path many times even when I have no intention of going up Scafell Pike such as in 2013 when I was walking from Wasdale to Borrowdale in the rain. Great mountains have great paths and the Corridor Route is definitely a great path and even though it has suffered from its popularity in recent years it remains a great route through the awesome, rugged scenery of the Scafell Pikes. It is a shame that mountains such as Scafell Pike are afflicted with tourists, non-walkers who climb it simply because it is the highest, and the heavy footfall damages the paths putting the whole landscape in jeopardy.

It must be said that Scafell Pike is not the best mountain in the Lake District. The views from the top, when you have them (I usually don’t), are not particularly special with its broad top detracting from the views. When I started writing this article I never questioned that it is a great mountain and the whole range including Scafell definitely deserves that accolade, but the summit itself is not so great. It is too broad and individually it doesn’t stand out, however, the picture above taken from the waterfalls on the River Esk shows this striking mountain from its finest angle. The crowds on the Brown Tongue path ruin Scafell Pike, but on the Eskdale side is a mountain of quiet majesty with no hint of the noise from the tourists at the summit. It is only when climbed from Eskdale that Scafell Pike can be considered a great mountain and even more so when the full traverse of the range is done from Scafell all the way to the end of the ridge at Great End.