On Saturday I was working for our friends at Highpoint Mountain Guides whom had a father & son team booked for an ascent of the notorious Broad Stand on Scafell.
Broad Stand, whilst being relatively easy in rock climbing terms, is never to be taken lightly, in anything less than perfect conditions it demands total respect.
Being situated next to the Mickledore col, it's reasonable to say that conditions are rarely perfect. Today being no exception, I may go as far as saying conditions were appalling! Although some may say 'character building'!

We set off from Wasdale Head, chatting about previous days spent in the mountains and generally getting to know each other. For me this is important as it's necessary to gain knowledge of any previous experience our clients have, in order that we provide the best day possible.
Both had previous experience of Broad Stand, having visited 10 years ago and making it as far as the crux before backing off. This was all done solo and in good conditions.

Today things were very different. By the time we reached Mickledore the wind was close to 'blow you over' speed, it was raining heavily, mostly showers though, and low cloud brought poor visibility. This was certainly going to be character building!

At the entrance to 'Fat Mans Agony' we donned harnesses and helmets and sorted rope and gear. I explained how we were to proceed from here and set off. The initial squeeze is good fun with a backpack on, then it's up onto open slabs, turning a corner onto the upper slab to a belay stance in the corner, and on this occasion below a waterfall!!! The rock was super slippery so every step was taken with the utmost of care. Belaying under a waterfall soon became very cold, but thankfully the guys didn't take too long. The spacious belay stance providing plenty room for us all.

I then tackled the crux moves onto the upper ledge system. There was a small waterfall pouring over the top of this making the moves feel incredibly insecure, but fun in a strange sort of way. I placed a single piece of protection (that's all there is) which consisted of a number 8 Walnut in a very watery crack and continued on to easy ground above. An excellent chockstone belay awaited :-)

Both the guys found the climbing very challenging on the upper section and required assistance in the form of an un-assisted hoist, which I was able to set up and deploy quickly. Although with 2 people on the single rope this also brought a few extra challenges, see below.

After a breather on the easy ground above, we continued to the summit of Scafell, staying roped up and using 'short-roping' techniques to increase safety levels. On a dry day this would seem crazy, but due to the slippery rock and big drops below us, made total sense today.

A pleasant and increasingly dry walk back to Wasdale with amazing views over the lake helped wash away thoughts of our difficult times on Broad Stand.

Never a mere scramble, always a rock climb. And always a route to treat with the utmost of respect. Thought provoking, challenging, rewarding, and most definitely proper mountaineering.

A grand day out.

Thanks to Joe at Highpoint Mountain Guides for the work, much appreciated.

​Mark

What to do when hoist assistance is called for on scrambling terrain with 2 people on the end of the rope (3 people in total):
Today our rope was set up for scrambling in a team of 3. I was leading and 2 clients were tied at the other end of the rope and approximately 2.5m apart.
After a struggle on the first section (slippery rock) I expected a hoist may be required for the crux moves on the upper section. I was able to find an excellent anchor in the form of a large chockstone.

When the 1st client slipped off and struggled to make progress up the crux, I offered assistance which was initially declined but later accepted. The belay was set up in 'guide mode' making it very rapid to set up an un-assisted hoist using a prussic and revolver carabiner on the live rope and clipping the dead rope through the revolver. Pulling on the dead rope now allowed me to give rapid assistance and the climber was soon on the large ledge above the crux. With a tight rope the 2nd client was also unable to make the moves through the crux. This brought the additional problem of trying to assist the 2nd client who is the 3rd person on the rope.Hauling 1 person in these conditions is difficult enough, hauling 2 may be a step too far. So what to do?
Being on a huge ledge I was able to untie from the rope and throw my end of rope to Richard (client 2) who then clipped into this with a screwgate carabiner. I attached this rope back to the belay with a tied off Italian hitch, Richard was then able to untie from the original end of rope, thus allowing his dad to continue up to the belay ledge. Once up at the ledge and safe, I fed the dead rope that went down to Richard into the guide plate and released the Italian hitch, fixed the prussic back onto the live rope and started to haul as previously. This gave enough assistance for both guys to reach the safety of the ledge and for us all to enjoy a very well earned rest.  

Total timescale for this was circa 20 minutes from first being asked for assistance to both climbers reaching the safety of the ledge. Given the very poor weather, and noisy wind making for difficult communication, this seemed like a reasonably quick solution. Although I'm open to ideas to improve the system, so feel free to get in touch if you know how to.



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This summer as usual we’ve been providing guided walks to clients on some of the best walks in the mountains of the UK. Our way of working is to offer walks which are bespoke to every client, fitting in with any specific requests where ever possible. 

One of our clients, Matthew requested three big days out taking in Scafell Pike, the Kentmere Horseshoe and Snowdon – fast walking and lots of mountains.  He’d mentioned that he had recently been up and down Ben Nevis in three and a half hours so we were primed for some speedy walks taking in the miles! 

On the first of the three days I took Matthew up Scafell Pike on the route from Langdale.  This is twelve miles in distance and for most walkers a long day out in itself.  We flew up Mickleden, quickly ascended Rosset Ghyll passing lots of D of E groups on their way over to Wasdale.  Esk Hause was reached a short while later, then up over the shoulders of Ill Crag and Broad Crag before climbing up the steep ascent to the summit of Scafell Pike.  We’d started in rain but the weather had improved quickly and we sat on the summit  having a bite of lunch enjoying the superb views. 

I suggested that as we were making good time we could take in some other summits which was eagerly accepted…so on the way back to Langdale we scrambled up to the rocky summits of Broad Crag and Ill Crag and then also took in Great End which by then was in cloud – so unfortunately no views here.  Going back down Rossett Ghyll we passed yet more D of E groups ascending slowly to camp at Angle Tarn.  Mickleden again was swift and so we arrived back at the car having been out only 6 hours, covering over 13 miles and taking in 4 of the biggest summits in the Lakes.

The following day both myself and Mark were busy with other work and we were lucky to have to have local guide Jim Evans to guide Matthew around the Kentmere Horseshoe.  This is one of my favourite horseshoe routes in the Lake District, usually one of the less busy areas and taking in several excellent peaks including Ill Bell, Froswick and High Street and around fourteen miles in distance.  On a clear day the views are far-reaching, right over to the Scafells in the west,  Ingleborough - one of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in the East, Blencathra in the North and the sandy expanses of Morecambe Bay to the South.  Whilst the whole time the pretty valley of Kentmere with it’s small reservoir is below. 

Matthew yet again was keen to have a fast day out, taking in the miles and Jim kindly accommodated this by extending the walk on the way back to add in a couple more miles and peaks  before returning to the car!

For Matthew’s final big day out with Mountain Journeys, he headed south to the wild and rugged mountains of North Wales where he met local guide Steve for an ascent of Snowdon.  They had a superb day out, walking up the Llanberis path which follows the mountain railway all the way up to the summit.  To make the route circular they returned via the PYG track to Pen-y-Pass and from here walked back along the road to Llanberris. 

A big thanks to Matthew, Jim and Steve for three super mountain days!

I met Ann and Carl from the Isle of Man at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale for a guided walk up Scafell Pike.  We went prepared with all our waterproofs, expecting to get very wet as the weather forecast was for heavy rain and strong winds for most of the day!  Luckily for us the forecasts sometimes get it wrong and although we did have a few showers, they never lasted long enough to wet us through! 

A bonus of a bad weather forecast is that fewer people are out in the mountains and so until we reached to Esk Hause where the path from Borrowdale meets up, we saw very few people and mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet of our beautiful surroundings with only the local Herdwick sheep!  There was cloud down on the higher peaks but we had super views until we started ascending Ill Crag.  The strong winds also hit us at this point continuing up to the summit of Scafell Pike.  On reaching the summit we found a sheltered spot on the north side of the big summit cairn and had a welcome spot of lunch before heading back the way we had come. 

The route goes over some very rough and stony ground and there are two sections which require some 'boulder hopping'.  For some these areas are no problem but for others they cause quite a bit of difficulty.  Ones needs a good sense of balance, confidence in your footing and lots of concentration.  Ann and Carl were naturals and we covered the terrain easily.

We soon found ourselves back at the top of Rossett Ghyll for the steep zig-zagging descent into the valley of Mickleden and then the long flat walk back along the valley to the finish.  After a long day out when you're feeling a little tired this is often  the toughest part of the day!

Well done Ann and Carl and many thanks for your company!

Kate