Captain's Log

Dungeon Ghyll

I had to perform CPR on the National Trust’s  carpark ticket machine at the Dungeon Ghyll in the Langdales. The cold weather had frozen the buttons and it took a few bangs of my fist to release them. It was still dark and I had to use my head torch to read the LED screen that had also frosted over and had to be wiped clear.  Amazingly, the reader for the QR code on my National Trust card still worked and didn't require my repair skills. Yes, it was cold this morning. I had intended to climb the path up  Stickle Ghyll to Harrison Stickle, but with the past few days of heavy rain and the overnight frost, I figured that route might have a few tricky places. I made a last minute decision to change today’s walk. We’d follow the Cumbria Way down the valley and up to the top of Stakes Pass. From there we’d cross the peaks at the head of the Langdale valley to Rossett Pike. After that we’d drop down to Angle Tarn and back up to Ore Gap where we’d swing a left and head to Bowfell, the highest point of the walk. We’d finish the walk by descending along The Band back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. My alternative route was a bit longer than my original one, but given that the weather forecasters had promised us an excellent day, I think it was our duty to make the most of it.

Langdale Valley

The stone path down the Langdale valley was iced over in places and we had to proceed with care. Half a dozen Herdys came over to meet us at one of the gates. They must have thought we were the farmer bringing them some breakfast. I’m afraid they were out of luck. The sun wasn’t up but the rim of the valley started to glow red and then seep down the hillsides. Halfway down the valley we heard a cloppety-clop behind us and were surprised to find a hiker running down the valley. He wasn’t in running gear, he carried a rucksack and was wearing hiking boots. It seemed a rather brave activity on this ice. The hills glowed to what seemed an impossible red with Rosset Pike, Buck Pike and Black Crags like a red hot slab of  iron before us. Up to our left, the Bowfell Buttress was also catching the sun. Normally I find that this massive rockface merges with the surrounding crags and it is less easy to spot. Today though, it glowed pink in the light and its definition was more apparent. Eventually, the sun peeked its head above Lingmoor Fell behind us and by the time we reached the footbridge at the end of the valley, the shadows were disappearing from the valley. 

It was a steady plod up to the top of Stake Pass. The last time I did this was during the monsoon season last summer, as part of the Cumbrian Way (see Monsoon March To The Langdales). Most of the stone steps were remarkably dry today, although the occasional iced ones meant that you couldn’t let your concentration slack for a moment. We temporarily went back into the freezing shade near the top of the clough, before meeting the sun again at the very top of the pass. The 'lightshow' walk down the Langdale valley had been an amazing introduction to today’s walk. . 

Black Crags, Buck Pike And Rossett Pike

We made a slight diversion off the path to take a look at Stake Pass Tarn. It was frozen solid. Our route would now take us across the peaks at the head of the Langdale valley: Black Crags, Buck Pike and Rossett Pike. For those that don’t want to tick these peaks, then there is a well defined path that heads straight to Angle Tarn. The track was a little vague in places over Black Crags and Buck Pike. Neither peak had a cairn on top to signify the summit. They were well worth a visit though since they had amazing views down the Langdale valley. Pike O’Stickle looked particularly impressive from this vantage point. The direct track from Buck Pike to Rossett Pike was vague to non-existent. The light coating of snow may have covered it up. We tried to forge ahead, but it was very stony and these were covered with ice making progress difficult. We dropped down to a more defined track below the stones and made our way towards Rossett Pike on easier ground. It had been a couple of hours since we’d set off and so we stopped for a break just below the summit. After some coffee and a chocolate bar, we decided not to tick Rossett Pike's actual summit since we’d already had good views down the valley from Black Crags and Buck Pike. Instead, we started making our way down a luge of a path to Angle Tarn. The tops of the large stepping stones over the beck out of Angle Tarn were a little icy and the Cabin Boy revealed a curious technique of shuffling across them on her backside. All safely on the other side, we started heading up towards Esk Hause before branching off to our left onto the track to Ore Gap. Normally this track can be quite boggy but the frost had hardened most of this up. This was the upside; the downside of this was that there were patches of ice and so care was needed. It was a great view down to Angle Tarn and to the backs of Black Crags, Buck Pike and Rossett Pike. It didn’t seem long before we reached Ore Gap, the col between Bowfell and Esk Pike. 

Bowfell

The route between Ore Gap and Bowfell was quite stony and slippery. I took a tumble at one point. Maybe I should have put my studs on, but the slippery bits were quite patchy. Since today’s route had been a last minute decision, I’d not made my normal research and preparations, and so we missed out ticking Bowfell North Top, an Explorer Hill. I’m not that bothered though since missing it is a great excuse to come back up here at a later date. It was quite busy with other walkers between Ore Gap and Bowfell. It was even busier near Bowfell summit. The Cabin Boy didn’t fancy the small climb up the large stones to the summit and so the Kapitan and myself left our rucksacks with her at the bottom and then headed for the summit. There must have been a dozen people up there and it was a little cosy in the relatively small area. I think the best view was over towards Scafell and Scafell Pike. We climbed back down to the Cabin Boy and then headed over to that dramatic natural feature, the Great Slab. It had a light snow covering today and looked very impressive. Care was needed on the track down to the Three Tarns since this also had patches of ice. Needless to say all three tarns had frozen over. One or two people were still making their way up the track to Bowfell’s summit. They’d no doubt be returning to the Old Dungeon Ghyll in the dark. 

Return

The Band is quite an easy descent and we accompanied several other groups that were making their way down. A few of them overtook us, since we weren’t in a rush due to the icy conditions. The tops of Pike O’Stickle and Harrison Stickle were still in the sun, but the Langdale valley was back in shadow again. Ahead of us, a shadow was also quickly travelling up the hillside on Lingmoor Fell and soon that was all in darkness too.  I managed to miss another Explorer tick, White Stones, on the way down The Band. Just another excuse to come back up here. A few more icy stretches contrived to delay us as we made our way down to the farm at Stool End. The day was about as dark as when it started as we made our way along the road back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. The carpark was full when we arrived. It appears my robust attempts at coaxing the carpark ticket machine back to life this morning had had no long lasting repercussions.

What a stunning day! The route is rich with wonderful views anyway, but it looked all the better for the icy white coat, sunshine and blue skies. It was certainly a tough day, due to the conditions, but it was well worth the effort.