The Lake District has a wealth of brilliant rock scrambles, so much so that it can be difficult to choose what to do!
However, Mark had his sights firmly set on the Scafell range and Ill Crag in particular. There are 2 recognised scrambling  routes that lead up to the summit, both being excellent and varied. Our route today was 'South east face of Ill Crag' (grade 2/3) around 300m of vertical height gain, which makes it one of the longest scrambles in the Lakes.

We approached from Brotherilkeld in Eskdale. Undoubtedly this is the finest approach to any mountain route in the Lakes. Firstly we have the Esk Gorge for company, then onto the wide open expanse of the Great Moss, walking beneath the Esk Buttress and finally to the base of Ill Crag. Such a magical place.

The cloud level had dropped to below 500m as we began our scramble up the wonderful rough rock of the initial slabs. This meant that route finding would be more challenging (I hadn't done this route before), but thankfully the layout of the scramble was one crag on top of another, making it easy to pick our route up the craggy mountainside, weaving over to the crags of our choice and missing out any we didn't like the look of.

The Upper buttress looked quite foreboding in the clag, so we took a slightly easier line to its right before joining the final rock crest and following this all the way to the summit. This proved to be a fine finale to a really good scrambling adventure.

Whilst on the scramble, the wind speed had steadily increased to around 30mph, but surprisingly the summit was completely calm, so we stopped here for lunch. Visibility was all of about 5 metres, so no views.

Our descent took in Broad Crag before dropping down Little Narrowcove (which has wonderful scenery) and to the Great Moss. 

A superb mountaineering day out on the Scafell range. If you like scrambling in remote locations this is well worth a look.

​Thanks Mark

This Saturday saw me guiding 2 separate groups up Scafell Pike within 24 hours.  Both ascents were with a bright moon giving amazing night views of silhouetted mountains and lakes sparkling in the moonlight.

My first team was Jo, Emily and Ricky from Winchester with a 4am start on Saturday morning.  No faffing to get ready but straight out of the car and onto the walk.  For a 24 hour ascent this is the way to do it, for every minute you spend getting ready in the car park at the beginning and end of the walk is a minute lost on completing in 24 hours.   By the time we reached the summit almost 2 hours later the sky was beginning to lighten up from the east.  It wasn’t long before head torches were put away and the sun was starting to lighten up the tops of the mountains.  The same ‘no faffing’ applied at the end of the walk – straight into the car and off they drove (their 'driver' organised all their kit and food and they changed in the car!) to North Wales.

The next team started at 9.45pm on Saturday night – enough time for me to have a relaxing day at home walking the dog, gardening and finding some sleep time!  The group had started the challenge as a group of four but knee problems on Ben Nevis took the group down to three.  Rowan, Paul and Dennis were also fast and organised and used the tactic of taking turns to lead at the front, setting a good pace and on target for a 3 ½ hour trip.  Dwindling energy, possibly due to lack of food saw one of the team slow at Hollowstones, the half way point.  However with a slower, steady pace up the next half of the mountain they still made good progress and their descent was super rapid! 

Both teams achieved a time of 3 hours 45 minutes on Scafell Pike and completed their 3 Peaks challenge.  Congratulations all!
Kate

Today’s walk up Scafell Pike provided a fair bit of entertainment.  I met Neal and Ben at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale and as we were walking along Mickleden we spotted two daredevil paragliders descending very fast from Pike O’Stickle one at a time.  It took each of them about 1 minute to descend - they were spiralling down and doing some acrobats on route - a bit scary to watch when you’re not actually sure if it was meant to be or if they were out of control.  I was quite relieved once I realised they’d landed safely and when we spoke to them they confirmed it had all been intentional!

Today, the usually quiet route from Langdale was busy with a constant stream of walkers heading for Rossett Gill, Esk Hause and then Scafell Pike, including a group of guys on mountain bikes – they did walk up Rosset Gill carrying their bikes which looked like hard work, but once up they then carried on cycling on very rocky paths!  

We walked up to the summit at a good pace and stopped at of the old stone shelters just down from the summit to have lunch where it was a little quieter.  No wind up here today but it doesn’t take long to cool down so we soon started off again.  On the route back we passed a guy carrying a fridge on his back!  I’m pretty certain he had some beer in it for refreshments later on.  He doing it for a good cause, Help for Heroes and was climbing several summits, including Scafell Pike in this manner.

The sun came out later in the afternoon in time for our descent back into Mickleden and fantastic views of the Langdale Pikes.

Thanks Neal and Ben for a lovely day out.

Kate

​Iceland is a breathtaking destination for spectacular contrasts and exhilarating outdoor adventure. It also happens to be home to some of the most incredible natural scenery in the world. It has a huge geographical diversity. Expect to see everything from fierce volcanoes and angry geysers to happy horses and elusive elves. Yes really, in Iceland they do believe they exist. Adventure wise you can do everything from scuba diving between two continents at Lake Þingvallavatn to travelling by horseback across the land. And of course, Iceland is home to the iconic Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Here you'll get to experience mud treatments, saunas, waterfalls and steam rooms. Today, however, we are going to look at what Iceland has to offer in the form of hiking.

​Moderate Hiking In Iceland
 
Due to its incredibly diverse landscape, hiking in Iceland is an adventure that can be experienced in many ways. We love all types of winter climbing, but there’s nothing quite like experiencing the majestic beauty that can be found in Iceland. You can take a hot springs hike through the Hengill area, which is just 30 minutes drive from Reykjavik. Or you might want to take a hike into an exciting lava cave just outside of Reykjavik. Here you’ll see stalagmites and stalactites up close and personal and get down and dirty with these natural phenomena. Iceland offers you the opportunity to crawl through lava tubes and craters and witness lava formations inside the caves. Or if you are visiting in winter you could enjoy a fairly moderate glacier walk through an ice field in search of the spectacular Northern Lights. If you’re wondering what to do in Iceland in winter, hiking across the diverse natural landscape should certainly whet your appetite. But what if you want something a little more challenging? Don’t forget that Iceland is home to some incredible ice glaciers. So let's take a look at the hiking and climbing opportunities that are available on the glaciers.

​Glacier Hiking
 
The south coast of Iceland is home to some amazing glaciers, mountains and volcanoes. If you are looking for a breathtaking adventure, why not join a glacier tour that includes both a walk and an introduction to ice climbing. Hiking the Sólheimajökull glacier will let you see both the Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. It is also the perfect base to start a thrilling ice climbing adventure. You can also combine a day of glacier climbing with a beautiful horseback trek across this incredible landscape. You’ll get to see the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on this journey. And on your glacier walk, you’ll experience amazing ice sculptures and crevasses that are centuries old. Some of the ice on these majestic glaciers is over 1,000 years old. With your ice axe, you’ll be able to see that what looks like years of solid ice is actually a spot where a glacier flows rapidly. It’s at these points that your ice axe will reveal steep drops that are just covered in a layer of snow. Ice climbing and glacier hiking are fantastic ways to see the majestic natural scenery of Iceland and are fun for all levels of climbers. Difficulty levels can be changed to suit the level of climbers. All in all, climbing a glacier in Iceland is certainly one to tick off the bucket list! 


For years i've been thinking of a visit to Iceland. From what I hear it's pretty amazing. To get the most out of the snowy days, come on a winter skills course here in the Lakes as preparation, then head out there.