Great Mountains: Esk Pike

The head of Eskdale is surrounded by great mountains from Scafell and the Scafell Pikes on the west of the valley to the Bow Fell and Crinkle Crags ridge on the eastern side and any of these mountains could be singled out for attention as a great mountain. All the mountains around the head of Eskdale are great, but just one mountain in that panoply of great mountains gets its name from the valley. It is not the highest peak in the area or the most prominent, but it is, nevertheless, my favourite fell in the Lake District. The best feature of Esk Pike is the summit, which is a glorious array of colourful rocks scattered across a top from where the views in all directions are simply superb. It doesn’t scream for attention and didn’t even have a name on early Ordnance Survey maps, it rarely has many people crowding the summit and is all the better for it. In views from the south it is its neighbour Bow Fell that draws the eye, but it is Esk Pike that satisfies a traverse and always leaves me with a big smile on my face. I made my first ascent of Esk Pike in 2003, but it was so hot on that day it failed to leave an impression on me, but the following ascent, in 2006, ensured that I would always regard this fell with affection.

A lengthy ridge descends south off the summit to Lingcove Bridge and in 2006 I climbed this ridge stopping off at many of the crags on the broad ridge loving every moment of the ascent despite having only a faint path to follow. After this ascent I was smitten and when I was fortunate to find myself surrounded by an impressive thermal inversion on New Year’s Eve 2008 I climbed Esk Pike again, even though I hadn’t planned it. There I was able to take in the awesome views that were made extra special by the thick cloud that filled all the valleys. Apart from the excellent south ridge all routes to the top of Esk Pike have to go via the two passes either side of the summit. In 2003 I climbed from Great Langdale around Angle Tarn and up to the Ore Gap and in 2008, although my starting point was in Borrowdale, my ascent was via Stake Pass and Angle Tarn so the final stages were the same both times. My descent route in 2006 had also been via the Ore Gap so when I descended in 2008 it had been five years since my first traverse of the fell and I had forgotten about the excellent path that takes a very satisfying route across a rock platform with views to Great End as you majestically descend to the greatest of mountain passes in the Lake District: Esk Hause.

The path from Esk Pike to Esk Hause left little impression on me in 2003 when my mind was on other things, but in the bright sunshine and stunning thermal inversion of New Year’s Eve 2008 I was in awe of this craggy little path that typifies the pleasures of this mountain. Despite Esk Pike being a timid fell amongst the giants around Eskdale it has often been my sole or main target of the walk and such was the case in both 2003 and 2008. In 2003 I was travelling from Great Langdale to Ennerdale and Esk Pike was the fell that I picked to visit on the way simply because I’d never been up it before. In 2008 I had intended on going no higher than the false Esk Hause until the astonishingly good weather provoked me to climb Esk Pike. The next time I went up Esk Pike was in 2011 when my target for the day, Hard Knott, had been completed early and I was free to go wherever I wanted and where I wanted to go was Esk Pike. From Hard Knott it is the sharp peak of Bow Fell that attracts the eye, but after walking all the way up to the Ore Gap it was Esk Pike that I turned towards.

My descent route on that occasion was the south ridge, which enthralled me in descent as it had in 2006 in ascent. I loved picking my own route down the pathless ridge in awesome scenery with no sign of another soul even though the ridges around Eskdale would have been full of people, especially on Scafell Pike. Esk Pike is, however, usually climbed in conjunction with Bow Fell and the other fells in the area. The ridge between Bow Fell and Crinkle Crags is proclaimed as one of the finest ridge walks in Lakeland, so to include Esk Pike in that walk would make a great walk even better. After reaching Esk Pike in 2006 that is what I did crossing the Ore Gap to Bow Fell before continuing across Three Tarns to Crinkle Crags. Again, in 2015, I did the traverse in that direction climbing up to Esk Pike from Esk Hause, the only time I have done that. In 2018, my most recent ascent of Esk Pike, I didn’t include Bow Fell in the walk, but Great End on the far side of Esk Hause. Copying my walk of 2003 I had climbed from Great Langdale up Rossett Gill to the Ore Gap, which was such a strenuous climb I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I reached the top of the pass, but all my fatigue dropped away from me as I climbed up to the top of Esk Pike and was now ecstatic at being at the top of a mountain.

On that occasion I described Esk Pike as ‘a queen among kings. A magnificent mountain humbled by its presence among some of the greatest mountains in the Lake District’. All the mountains at the head of Eskdale are truly great mountains, but one in my eyes is extra special. It is not the highest or the most picturesque, but what it lacks it makes up for in character and humility. It has a fabulous ridge on its southern slopes that is rarely visited, it owns the best mountain pass in Lakeland and it has a delectable summit with views that are some of the best anywhere. For all that it is most definitely a great mountain and is in no way subordinate to the other great mountains that surround the head of the greatest valley in the Lake District, Eskdale.