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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Rock-climbing in the English Lake District - Third Edition - - -Author: Owen Glynne Jones - - - -Release Date: November 24, 2017 [eBook #56043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROCK-CLIMBING IN THE ENGLISH LAKE -DISTRICT*** - - -E-text prepared by Anita Hammond, Wayne Hammond, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 56043-h.htm or 56043-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/56043/56043-h/56043-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/56043/56043-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/rockclimbingengl00joneiala - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -[Illustration: Owen Glynne Jones] - - -ROCK-CLIMBING IN THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT - -by - -OWEN GLYNNE JONES, B.Sc. (LOND.) - -Member of the Alpine Club - -With a Memoir and Portrait of the Author, Thirty-one Full-page -Illustrations in Collotype, Ten Outline Plates of -the Chief Routes, and Two Appendices by -George and Ashley Abraham - -THIRD EDITION - - - - - - -G. P. Abraham and Sons -Keswick, Cumberland -1911 - -All rights reserved - -Price 21s. net] - - - - -PUBLISHERS’ NOTE. - - -The rapid exhaustion of the first edition of Mr. OWEN GLYNNE JONES’ -book on ‘Rock-climbing in the English Lake District,’ and further -numerous enquiries for copies of this unique and invaluable work, -induced us to make arrangements for the publication of another issue. A -third edition has now become necessary. - -Since the first edition appeared in 1897, several important new climbs -have been made, most of which have been written about by the author, -and are here found just as they left his pen. Of some of the other -climbs nothing had been written, so, in response to the request of -several climbing friends, two appendices, bringing the book up to date, -have been added. The memoir by Mr. W. M. Crook, which is accompanied by -an excellent portrait of Mr. Jones, will, we are sure, be welcomed by -all as a valuable addition to the work. - -We are glad to avail ourselves of this opportunity of acknowledging the -kindness of several friends for much valuable advice and assistance -given. - - G. P. ABRAHAM & SONS, - KESWICK. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -I feel I owe a word of apology to the readers of this brief and -inadequate memoir of a dead friend. At the request of Jones’ most -intimate friends I have compiled it in the scanty leisure moments of -a few weeks of a busy life, too few to do justice to my theme. I wish -to return my heartiest thanks to those of his friends who have so -quickly and generously aided me with the materials at their disposal, -especially to Mr. F. W. Hill, Dr. W. E. Sumpner, the brothers Abraham, -of Keswick; Mr. W. J. Williams, Mr. Harold Spender, and M. Spahr, of -Evolena. I hope if any inaccuracies are detected by these or other -friends, they will communicate with me. It has been difficult to -avoid them, for all the written documents do not agree in facts and -dates. I trust, however, that this brief record of great effort, great -achievement, and great tragedy will be more acceptable than no record -at all. - - W. M. CROOK. - - _National Liberal Club, - Whitehall Place, London, S. W. - Feb. 26th, 1900._ - - Region separate, sacred, of mere, and of ghyll, and of mountain, - Garrulous, petulant beck, sinister laughterless tarn; - Haunt of the vagabond feet of my fancy for ever reverting, - Haunt and home of my heart, Cumbrian valleys and fells; - Yours of old was the beauty that rounded my hours with a nimbus, - Touched my youth with bloom, tender and magical light; - You were my earliest passion, and when shall my fealty falter? - Ah, when Helvellyn is low! Ah, when Winander is dry! - - _William Watson._ - - - - -OWEN GLYNNE JONES. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -_EARLY LIFE AND FIRST CLIMBS_ - - -Owen Glynne Jones was born on November 2nd, 1867. A Welshman by -blood, he was a Londoner by birth, for he first saw the light of day -in Clarendon Street, Paddington. His father, Mr. David Jones, was a -carpenter and builder, and the son commenced his education at a local -school. Of his early life there is little to tell. He seems to have -spent his holidays in Wales, and there to have developed, among what -may without inaccuracy be called his native mountains, that passion for -climbing which made him famous, and which led to his early and much -lamented death. - -In 1881, when not yet fourteen years of age, Owen Jones was sent to the -Central Foundation School in Cowper Street, City Road, of which Dr. -Wormell was head master. Those who knew him there speak of him as ‘a -bright, promising schoolboy.’ - -He remained at Dr. Wormell’s for three years (1881-1884). He -distinguished himself in science and won several prizes while at the -school. On leaving he was awarded the Holl scholarship, and passed to -the Technical College at Finsbury, under the City and Guilds of London -Institute. - -Jones spent two years (1884-1886) at Finsbury. During that time he -passed through the complete course of instruction in the Mechanical -department there. He worked with conspicuous ability and success -at mechanical engineering, mechanical drawing, mathematics, and -chemistry, as well as in the mechanical laboratory and in the wood -and iron workshops. When he left, his teachers spoke of him in the -highest terms. ‘Mr. O. G. Jones,’ said Professor Perry, ‘was as able, -as earnest, as promising as any other whom I can now remember.’ Mr. -John Castell-Evans speaks of his ‘eager enthusiasm and scrupulous -conscientiousness;’ and Professor Silvanus Thompson wrote of him: -‘He is imbued with modern methods, ... and is possessed of a healthy -enthusiasm for his work that is infectious.’ At the close of his course -he passed with a Clothworkers’ Scholarship to the Central Institution -in Exhibition Road, South Kensington, where he passed the next three -years of his life. - -The three years (1886-1889) he spent in the Engineering Department, -and at the end of his course he had attained the highest position in -the class-list of any student of his year, and he received the diploma -of Associate of the Institute. On the completion of his course he was -appointed assistant in the Mathematical Department. During his life at -South Kensington he made the same impression as heretofore on all with -whom he came in contact. Intellectually alert, diligent, energetic, -enthusiastic, he seemed bound to make some mark in the world. - -In the year following the completion of his course, and while he was an -assistant at South Kensington, I first met him. - -It was during the Easter holidays of 1890. Having broken away from the -party with whom I had been spending most of my holiday in Borrowdale, -I made my way to Wastdale Head Inn. I picked up a chance acquaintance -with two young fellows in the inn, and we agreed to go together to -climb the Pillar Rock--with the aid of a ‘Prior’s Guide’ which I had in -my pocket. - -When we commenced the ascent, which proved very easy--I believe we -went up the easiest way--the dark, slim young fellow somehow naturally -assumed the lead. Before we started he had discovered that I had -been to Switzerland and had done some climbs there, so he was very -modest about his own powers. A few seconds on the rocks dissipated all -doubt. With great confidence and speed, climbing cleanly and safely, -he soon showed he was no ordinary climber. I had been out with some -very tolerable Swiss guides, but never before with a man to whom -rock-climbing seemed so natural and easy. My curiosity was excited. He -could not be one of the great climbers, for he had never been out of -the British Islands, but he could climb. - -On the top we found a small, rusty tin box, in which were a number of -visiting cards. One of these belonged to Mr. A. Evans, of Liverpool, -and a subsequent visitor had written on it the date of his death in the -central gully of Llewedd. One of us produced a card, on which the other -two wrote their names. The dark young fellow signed his name ‘O. G. -Jones.’ I wonder if that card is there still. - -That afternoon and the following day he plied me with questions about -Switzerland. How did the climbing there compare with these rocks? -Had I climbed the Matterhorn? Did I think he could do it?--absurd -question--and so on. Restless, eagerly active, very strong, -good-tempered, enthusiastic, he was a man one could not forget. We -parted after a day’s acquaintance. I never dreamed I should see him -again. - -His companion on that occasion was another South Kensington man, Dr. -Sumpner, now of Birmingham. The next time we met was at Jones’s grave -in Evolena. During our conversations at that first brief meeting I -learned that Jones was at South Kensington; he told me he first learned -serious climbing on Cader Idris; I marvelled at his wonderful grip -of the rocks, his steady head, his extraordinary power of balancing -himself on one foot in what seemed to me then almost impossible -positions, and I felt that his enthusiasm would soon lead him to the -Alps, if any opportunity offered. His heart was already there. Yet he -was so ignorant of the ‘lingo’ of the climbing world that my use of the -words ‘handholds’ and ‘footholds’ considerably amused him. - -The following Easter he was again among the Lake Mountains, having -devoted the Whitsuntide and Christmas holidays of the preceding year -to his favourite pursuit, the last mentioned period being spent in -North Wales. I hurry over his climbing in the Lake District for the -very sufficient reason that in this volume, so characteristic of its -author, his work there is described by himself with all the accuracy -of a trained scientist, and with all the enthusiasm of an ardent -mountaineer. Descriptions of all these climbs were kept by him in -numerous small notebooks, full of neat shorthand with dates, proper -names, &c., written in, and with occasional pen and ink sketches of his -routes up crags and gullies to illustrate the shorthand notes. Full of -mournful interest are these touches of a vanished hand, these silent -echoes of a voice that is still. - -It was, I believe, during this Easter of 1891 that he met Mr. Monro, to -whose enthusiasm he was subsequently wont to attribute his first visit -to the Alps, which took place in the autumn of that year. The result of -that meeting and the wonderful amount of climbing in ‘the playground -of Europe’ that Jones managed to cram into eight short years must be -reserved for another chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -_CONQUERING THE ALPS_ - - -In the autumn of 1891 Owen Jones was an unsuccessful candidate for the -Professorship of Physics at University College, Aberystwyth, and almost -immediately afterwards he was the successful candidate for the post of -Physics Master in the City of London School, which he was occupying at -the time of his death. In the previous year, 1890, he had taken his -B.Sc. degree in London University, coming out third in the list of -First Class Honours in Experimental Physics. These facts are mentioned -here now, somewhat out of their proper chronological order, because, -with the exception of a few papers he contributed to magazines (the -_Alpine Journal_, the _Climber’s Journal_, and _Cassell’s Magazine_) -and sundry newspaper articles, they are the only facts that need be -mentioned in his otherwise uneventful, though busy, life. - -Jones’ real life was lived among his beloved mountains. His devotion to -them was unsurpassable, his zeal was consuming, his enthusiasm knew no -bounds. In the summer holidays of 1891 he had his first introduction -to the Alps. His most original work was undoubtedly done among the -rocks of his native Wales and in the English Lake country, but he flung -himself into Alpine work with all the ardour and energy of which his -peculiarly ardent and energetic nature was capable. He spared neither -time, money, nor comfort in his devotion to the noblest and most -exacting of all sports--that of mountaineering. - -The following table--very imperfect, I fear--compiled by his own hand -up to the close of 1897, and for 1898 and 1899, from letters kindly -sent to me by his friends, will give some idea of his marvellous -physical endurance and the extent of his knowledge of the Alps. His -own portion of the list was found in his handwriting in his copy of -Cunningham and Abney’s ‘Pioneers of the Alps’:-- - - 1891 Dent des Bosses - Grande Dent de Veisivi - Pas de Chèvres - Col de Seilon - Col de Fénètre - M. Capucin - Tête de Cordon - Tête d’Ariondet - Grand Combin - Grivola - - 1892 Thälihorn - Rossbodenjoch - Matterhorn - [1]Mittaghorn and Egginerhorn - Punta di Fontanella - 2 cols to Prerayen - Col d’Olen - Combin de Corbassière - Col de Boveire - Fénètre de Saleinaz - Col de Chardonnet - Pic du Tacul - M. Redessan - - 1893 Dent Blanche - (This was in April, 36 - hours.) No summer - season in Alps. - - 1894 Piz Languard - Piz Morteratsch - Zwei Schwestern - Piz Bernina - Croda da Lago - Kleine Zinne - Grosse Zinne - M. Pelmo - M. Cristallo - Sorapis - Cinque Torri (3 ways) - - 1895 Rothhorn from Zermatt - Rothhorn from Zinal - Traverse Zinal to Zermatt - Riffelhorn from Glacier - Dom from Randa - Täschhorn and Dom (traversed from the Mischabeljoch to - Randa--first time by this route--in one day) - Monte Rosa - Rimpfischhorn (from Adler Pass) - Matterhorn (traverse) - Weisshorn - Obergabelhorn - Grand Cornier - Triftjoch - Furggenjoch - Lysjoch - Süd-Lenzspitze (traverse) - Nadelhorn - Hohberghorn - Steck-Nadelhorn (?) - - 1896 Little Dru - Blaitière - Col du Géant (twice) - Charmoz (traverse) - Aig. du Plan - Aig. du Midi - N. peak Périades (by the Arête du Capucin) - - 1897 Schreckhorn (in January) - Finsteraarhorn - Jungfrau - Aletschorn (traverse) - Beichgrat - Bietschhorn - - 1897 Lötschenlücke - Mönch - Mönchjoch - Eiger - Aig. d’Argentière - Aig. Moine (traverse) - Aig. Tacul (traverse) - Col du Midi - Portiengrat } In one day - Weissmies } - Fletschhorn } In one day - Laquinhorn } - - 1898 In winter: From Grindelwald to Rosenlaui by the - Wetterhorn-Sattel, Finsteraarjoch, and Strahlegg - Two Drus (attempted traverse) - Big Dru - Grèpon (traverse) - Dent de Requin - Aiguille du Chardonnet - Aiguille du Midi - Mont Maudit - Mont Blanc (traverse) - Aiguille du Géant - Two Drus (traverse) - Riffelhorn - Wellenkuppe and Gabelhorn - Lyskamm and Castor - Alphubel, Rimpfischhorn, and Strahlhorn - Allalinhorn - Dent Blanche by South Arête - Täschhorn by Teufelsgrat - Dom, Täschhorn, and Kienhorn, descending by Teufelsgrat - - 1899 Riffelhorn } In his - Pollux } first five days - Breithorn (traversed from Schwarzthor) } at Zermatt - Six chief points of Monte Rosa } - Matterhorn - Cols d’Hérens and Bertol - Petite Dent de Veisivi } In 12 hours - Grande ” } from Kurhaus - Dent Perroc } Hotel and back - Aig. de la Za (by face) - Aig. Rouges (traverse of all peaks) - Mt. Blanc de Seilon in one day - Dent des Bouquetins - Mt. Collon - Pigne d’Arolla - Dent Blanche (West Arête attempt) - -I cannot pretend that this list is perfect, and the brief notes I -append are intended rather to give in a small space some of the -points of human interest in the above bald list of names than for his -mountaineering friends, to whom anything that could be printed here -could convey little or nothing that was new. - -It is a coincidence that he commenced his acquaintance with the Alps -in the very valleys--Ferpècle and Arolla--in which he spent the last -days of his life, and down which his friends mournfully escorted his -body eight years later. It was on one of the Dents de Veisivi (the -Petite Dent) that, in 1898, Professor Hopkinson, one of Jones’ numerous -climbing friends, met his death with his two daughters and his son. -As we walked down the Arolla valley the day before he fell from the -Dent Blanche, Owen Jones was chatting, with a wonderful freshness of -recollection of detail, of his climb up the Grand Combin during his -first season in the Alps, and I believe the guide who led him up then -was one of the search party from Evolena who found his body on the -rocks of the Dent Blanche. - -The earlier climbs of 1892 were described by him in a paper entitled -‘The Dom Grat and the Fletschhorn Ridge,’ which appeared in the _Alpine -Journal_ in 1898. A brief quotation from his own account will give some -idea of the easy vivacity of his style. - -Speaking of the Saas peaks which ‘were designed in pairs,’ he writes:-- - -‘It is, perhaps, to our credit that we took an easy pair first--the -Mittaghorn and the Egginer--but our stay at Saas that year was to be -short, and we could not afford to fail at higher work. A couple of -Saas loafers undertook to guide us, but proved to be lamentably weak. -They shed tears and ice-axes, and required much help from us dismayed -amateurs. Then we left the district, and before my next visit my -comrades were scattered over the globe, beyond the seductive influence -of axe and rope.’ - -How characteristic of poor Jones the whole of that passage is! The -unconcealed evidence of his own great physical strength, the playful -sense of humour--his friends will remember how he used to explain his -own initials, O.G., as standing for the ‘Only Genuine Jones’--in the -words ‘they shed tears and ice-axes,’ and the touch of pathos, in the -light of after events, of the phrase ‘beyond the seductive influence of -axe and rope.’ - -The omission of the names of the Mittaghorn and Egginerhorn from -Jones’s own list in 1892 shows that even his own record cannot be -regarded as complete, a thing not to be wondered at considering the -enormous amount of work he did. - -It will be noticed that in this year, as in the year before and in -1894, Jones has entered the names of peaks and passes that in the -succeeding years he would have considered quite unworthy of serious -notice. - -But next year he ventured on a feat that, so far as I know, was not -only extraordinary for one with comparatively so little experience -of the higher Alps, magnificent climber though he was, but it has -remained, I believe, unique in the annals of the great mountain on -which it was performed. At Easter, 1893, Jones climbed the Dent -Blanche, the mountain with which his name will be for ever associated -in the climbing world. The ascent was made on the 25th and 26th April, -and the expedition took thirty-six hours, a wonderful feat of strength -and endurance. M. Adrien Spahr, the landlord of the Hotel de la Dent -Blanche at Evolena, and of the new Kurhaus at Arolla (from which Jones -started the day before his last, fatal climb), has kindly favoured me -with the following brief note in reference to that expedition:-- - - ‘C’est bien le 25 Avril, 1893, que Monsieur Jones a fait - l’ascension de la Dent Blanche avec les guides Pierre Gaspoz et - Antoine Bovier père d’Evolène. Je suis redescendu moi-même avec lui - depuis Evolène à Sion.’ - -In an interview which appeared in the press in 1894 Jones said of this -climb, one of the most difficult things he ever did:--‘The longest -day I ever had afoot was at Easter, ’93, doing the Dent Blanche. We -took two guides and a porter, and had great difficulty in getting -them to attempt the last two hundred feet. We were out in the open -for thirty-six hours, with very short rests, no sleep, and excessive -labour, but we revelled in every minute of it. The mountain was in a -dangerous condition, and the last five hours on the way home we spent -in wading, waist-deep, through soft snow. It was rather painful, of -course, but there was a certain pleasure even in our pain, for it -helped to make philosophers of us. We agreed to think of other things -in the midst of our sufferings, and we succeeded creditably well. I -believe now that I could stand almost anything in the way of pain or -exposure.’ - -In 1894 he commenced in the Engadine and then went on to the Dolomites, -where his great skill as a cragsman and his familiarity with all -sorts of rock-work made him much more at home than he yet was among -the snow-peaks, as his list shows. On rocks I think it is not using -the exaggerated language of friendship to say that he probably had -no superior among his countrymen at the time of his death, and -comparatively few equals. Among the great snow-peaks he had not -attained so high a level. Had he lived he would, I believe, have ranked -with the greatest, for he had not done all he was capable of; and when -he met his death he was still in his prime, and he was a man of great -courage, immense resourcefulness, and phenomenal physical endurance. - -In 1895 he devoted himself largely to the reduction of the great peaks -in the Zermatt district, some of which he already knew. In that year -also he returned to the Dom Grat and the Fletschhorn Ridge, whose -acquaintance he had made in 1892. The following passage from the -_Alpine Journal_ derives an added interest from the fact that Elias -Furrer was his guide then, as he was his guide on the last, fatal -climb:-- - -‘In August, 1895, Elias Furrer took me from the Täsch Alp to the -Mischabeljoch, and thence over the Täschhorn and Dom to Randa, a course -of seventeen and a half hours, including halts. Shortly afterwards -Mr. W. E. Davidson followed our route from the Mischabeljoch. During -the same week Furrer showed me a third pair of the Saas peaks. We -bivouacked on the Eggfluh rocks one bitterly cold night, and next day -traversed the Südlenspitze and Nadelhorn. The usual _grande course_ -is to include the Ulrichshorn, and descend to Saas again; but Furrer -had business and I fresh raiment at Zermatt, and we hastened over the -Stecknadelhorn (or was it the Hohberghorn?), and thence by the Hohberg -Pass and Festi glacier down to Randa in fourteen hours from the start.’ - -His energy in climbing this year was remarkable, I had almost said -stupendous. In addition to the long climbs referred to in the -above extract, it will be seen from the list given above that he -twice ascended the Zinal Rothhorn, traversed the Obergabelhorn and -Matterhorn, and did two important climbs without guides. The ascent -of the Rothhorn from Zinal was the first that Mr. Hill and he made -together in Switzerland. The traverse of the Rothhorn and the ascent of -the Weisshorn he did without guides, in company with the Hopkinsons, -who perished in 1898 on the Petite Dent de Veisivi. Mr. W. J. Williams, -who climbed much with Jones in the Alps, has kindly placed in my hands -a very characteristic post-card of Jones’s, giving, in his own brief, -vivacious way, a clearer idea of his boundless enthusiasm and energy -in his favourite sport than anything that anyone else could write. -It is dated ‘Bellevue, Zermatt, Monday, Sept. 2, 1895,’ and reads as -follows:--‘The Hopkinsons and I traversed the Rothhorn without guides -in grand style. Reached the summit from the Mountet in 4¼ hours, -including ¾ hour halt. Had a shock of earthquake on the top. Next day -we went up to the Weisshorn, bivouac in open air, and the day after -managed the Weisshorn. It was delightful. Then they went off to their -people at the Bel Alp, and I stayed on at Zermatt ever since. The -weather was bad at the end of the week (Weisshorn on Friday), but on -Monday I crossed the Furggenjoch with Elias Furrer, whom I took on for -14 days at 20 francs, and Tuesday traversed the Matterhorn; Wednesday, -the Monte Rosa hut; Thursday, Monte Rosa from the Lysjoch, a lengthy -expedition, but magnificent; I carried my camera the whole time; -Friday, the Fluh Alp; Saturday, the traverse of Rimpfischhorn from the -Adler pass, dangerous by falling stones, but very jolly; Sunday, I -rested and photographed down here. To-day I go to the Täsch Alp, and -to-morrow shall attempt the traverse of Täschhorn and Dom in one day. -If the weather still holds I shall then traverse the Dent Blanche, -which is now in fine condition, like ourselves. Love to all.--Owen.’ - -Lived there ever a keener mountaineer? On the day before he was killed, -as we were walking down the Arolla Valley together, I expressed -surprise at the vast amount of eager work he was crushing into every -week. He replied, ‘You see there are only a few years in which I can do -this sort of thing, and I want to get as much into them as possible.’ -Alas! Owen Jones had not twenty-four hours more; the years were ended. - -The season of 1896 was a terribly bad one and Jones suffered with -less energetic and less daring mortals. In the _Alpine Journal_ he -laments that he only did six peaks, but he crossed the Col du Géant -twice, traversed the Aiguille de Charmoz, and did the North peak of -the Périades by the Arête du Capucin. And the disappointments of -that summer season had the effect of sending him to the Alps in the -following winter--his first winter visit. He deserted his favourite -Christmas hunting grounds, Wastdale Head Inn and Pen-y-gwrwd, for the -Bear Hotel at Grindelwald. It so happened that I was there when he -arrived. On the last day of 1896 I had made an unsuccessful attempt on -the Schreckhorn after being out fourteen and a half hours, and after -an accident to the leading guide, which confined him to bed for three -weeks. I returned to Grindelwald and thence to England. Jones, who had -just come out, determined to climb the Sehreckhorn. The first attempt -failed, as the snow was in very bad condition, and he only got as far -as the hut, where he spent a far from comfortable night. A few days -later, however, he made a second attempt with successful results. -Both in print and in manuscript he has left an account of the two -expeditions. I quote a short passage--it has not too close a relation -to the climbs, but it illustrates the playful humour which made Jones -so charming and vivacious a companion, alike in an alpine hut or in the -smoke room of ‘P.Y.G.’ - -‘I approach for a moment with some delicacy the threadbare topic of -the insect population of alpine huts, the fauna of the alpine bed. In -summertime the traveller must not assume that the straw on which he -lies is more dead than alive. Carelessness in this respect may cost him -his peak next day; he should bring Keating and use it liberally. But -in winter he is almost safe and unmolested. Some say that the fleas -go down to the valley with the last autumn party, and come up in the -early summer with the first tourists. Others think that they hibernate -in the warmest corners of the hut and make it a rule to emerge only -when it is well worth while. An occasional winter tourist is probably -too tough, his attractions too few. The solution of the problem I must -leave to others. It will probably be offered by some conscientious -German biologist, in an exhaustive illustrated monograph, published in -the Mittheilungen.’ - -The autumn holidays of this year were again very busy ones. Jones spent -them in the Alps, and, as his list shows, his climbs included the -traverse of the Aletschhorn, Aiguille du Moine, and Pic du Tacul. He -did the Portiengrat and Weissmies in one day, and the Fletschhorn and -Laquinhorn in another. Young Emil Imseng was his guide, and he found -Jones rather too hungry for peaks to be the easiest sort of patron to -travel with. When they had done the Portiengrat he had had enough for -one day, so he suggested that Jones should rest. But he did not know -his ‘Herr;’ the Weissmies was taken that day likewise. - -In 1898 Jones again paid a winter visit to the Alps. Grindelwald was -a second time his centre. He crossed from there to Rosenlaui by the -Wetterhorn-Sattel, and crossed the Finsteraarjoch and the Strahlegg. - -In the Summer of 1898 he went first to Chamounix, and afterwards -to Zermatt, and got through a portentous amount of work. He began -by attempting the traverse of the two Drus, but failed owing to -bad weather. However, he climbed the Grand Dru, and then in rapid -succession the Grépon, Dent du Requin, Aiguille du Chardonnet, Aiguille -du Midi, Mont Maudit, traversed Mont Blanc, climbed the Aiguille du -Géant, and finished up in that district by accomplishing his formerly -thwarted purpose, and traversing both the Grand and the Petit Dru. - -Then he came on to Zermatt. He climbed the Riffelhorn again (by -the Matterhorn Couloir), did the two peaks of the Lyskamm (in -conversation with me the last time I met him he seemed to think this -the most difficult thing he had ever done) and Castor, Strahlhorn and -Rimpfischhorn, Wellen Kuppe and Gabelhorn, Allalinhorn and Alphubel, -Dent Blanche (by the south arête), the Täschhorn by the Teufelsgrat, -and the traverse of the Dom, Täschhorn and Kienhorn. - -I was standing outside the Monte Rosa Hotel, in the main street of -Zermatt, one bright sunny day, that summer, when early in the afternoon -Jones, with his two guides, came in from one of these climbs. He had -been frequently doing two peaks in one day (I believe he had once done -three). All the party showed signs of wear and tear, but Jones was the -freshest of the three. His face and hands were as brown as berries, -covered with dust and sweat; his clothes were literally in rags, torn -to pieces on the rocks. Yet in a few minutes he had washed, changed -into the garb of civilization, and reappeared as fresh in body and as -vigorous and vivacious intellectually as if he had undergone no fatigue -at all. Twenty hours’ physical work did not appear to take as much out -of him as five hours does out of humbler mortals. - -It was just about this time that his friends the Hopkinsons were killed -in the Arolla Valley. Jones was a good deal upset by the news, and -knocked off climbing for a couple of days, a wonderful thing for him; -but then he resumed as busily as ever. Of the climbing skill both of -Dr. Hopkinson and of his young son, who was killed with him, he spoke -in the highest terms. He had frequently climbed with both. - -I have said little of Jones’s British climbs, for the simple reason -that the fullest and best record of his work in Lakeland is contained -in the book to which this brief memoir is prefixed, and his work in -Wales (which he also intended to describe in a volume) is not so easily -accessible or so fully recorded in any published documents as is his -work in the Alps. Apparently there does not exist among his papers any -list of his Welsh climbs, though he kept voluminous shorthand notes of -almost everything he did in the climbing world; but it is not possible, -in the short space and time at my disposal, to attempt to give from -them any complete picture of the work he did in Wales. The Messrs. -Abraham, however, have kindly placed in my hands the following brief -notes of some of the most remarkable experiences they have had in -company with Jones, both in Wales and in the Lake District: - -‘Two climbs with Mr. Jones are most strongly impressed on our memories, -and these two would probably rank as the two finest rock climbs made in -our district. - -‘These are Scawfell Pinnacle from the second pitch in Deep Ghyll in -1896, and the conquest of the well-known Walker’s Gully on the Pillar -Rock in January, 1899. - -‘Both of these were generally considered impossible, and it is probably -no exaggeration to say that no leader excepting Mr. Jones would have -had confidence to advance beyond the ledge where the last _arête_ -commenced on the Scawfell Pinnacle climb. - -‘The same thing might be still more emphatically said of the last -pitch in Walker’s Gully, and to those who know the place it is almost -incredible that the climb could even be commenced under such conditions -as prevailed during the first ascent. - -‘We visited North Wales with Mr. Jones in 1897, and explored the climbs -in the Cader Idris district. The finest climb in this district is the -Great Gully above Llyn-y-Cae on Mynydd Pencoed, and Mr. Jones was the -first explorer and climber of this and most of the Cader Idris climbs. -Some time was also spent at Penygwryd during this visit, but unsuitable -weather prevented any climbs of importance being done. - -‘Shortly after Easter, 1899, Mr. Jones paid his next visit to North -Wales, and on this occasion much new and first-class climbing was done -from Ogwen Cottage as centre. - -‘The second ascent of Twll Du was made by a party led by Mr. Jones, and -shortly afterwards the two great gullies to the right of Twll Du were -first ascended under Mr. Jones’ leadership. Amongst several minor first -ascents the gully in the Eastern Buttress of Glyder Fach and the first -direct ascent of the Northern Buttress on Tryfaen from Cwm-y-Tryfaen -are most worthy of note. - -‘The following Whitsuntide again saw Mr. Jones at Ogwen Cottage, -but the weather conditions were such as to prevent any very notable -climbing being recorded. - -‘Of course it is impossible to give in the space at my disposal any -idea of the large amount of climbing done in these various districts by -Mr. Jones. - -‘To one with his abnormal physical powers, and true love and enthusiasm -for the mountains the most was generally made of every opportunity to -climb. - -‘He was never so happy as when in a really ‘tight’ place, and to -many climbers the spirit and energy shown by him under most trying -circumstances will act as an incentive to worthy imitation. - -‘As a climber he was unique, and many years must elapse ere another -can hope to fill his place worthily; but, as a friend under all -circumstances, he was always to be depended upon, for the weakest and -heaviest members in every party were generally his special care, and -many can never forget his true unselfishness and the kindly way in -which personal blunders were criticised. - -‘Whether the party was struggling up a waterfall or resting shivering -and wet under a huge chock-stone, or clinging desperately to a -wind-swept ridge or icy couloir, everyone felt happy with Jones as -their comforter and leader. - -‘The musical gatherings in the evenings seem now to lack one voice, -and nought but sadness can be left for many of those who remember -companionships which can never be replaced.’ - - - - -CHAPTER III - -_THE LAST SEASON IN THE ALPS_ - - -I come now to the last season in the Alps, the season of 1899. The -first part of his holiday was spent at Zermatt, and then he and Hill -met by arrangement at the Kurhaus at Arolla. They soon got to work, -beginning with the two Dents de Veisivi (the scene of the accident to -the Hopkinsons the previous year) and the Dent Perroc, in twelve hours -from the Kurhaus and back. Then followed the Aiguille de la Za by the -face, a traverse of all the peaks of the Aiguilles Rouges, Mont Blanc -de Seilon and the Pigne d’Arolla in one day, the Dent des Bouquetins, -and the traverse of Mont Collon. A slight accident to one of the party -of which I was a member, necessitated an unexpected descent on the -evening of August 26th to Arolla, in the hope of finding a doctor. -There was none there, but we found many friends and acquaintances, -among them being Owen Jones. On the morning of Sunday 27th, our party -left for Evolena just after breakfast, as we heard there was a German -doctor there, and we wanted our wounded member attended to without -delay. Just as we were starting we found Jones and Hill leaving also, -intending to traverse the Dent Blanche, climbing it by the west arête, -which had only been done twice before, and we all hoped shortly to meet -again in Zermatt. - -It was a bright sunny morning, hot and dusty. For a good part of the -way from Arolla to Haudères I chatted to Jones. We did not go very -fast on account of the damaged member of our party, about whom Jones -was very solicitous. He himself seemed very fit, and was full of life -and enthusiasm for his favourite passion. He chatted freely of all -his climbs, of our first meeting nine years before, of all that had -happened since, of frostbite on the Dom, and the remedy--sticking his -fingers into boiling glue--worse than the disease. His traverse of the -ice arête between the two peaks of the Lyskamm and his Easter ascent of -the Dent Blanche seemed to me to have made the deepest impression on -him of all his achievements in the mountains. He was rather inclined -to underrate his wonderful rock-work in North Wales and in the Lake -District, a department in which, in my opinion, he was really greatest, -though his feats of endurance in the Alps were something off the -common. He told me that his ambitions inclined towards a tour in the -Himalayas, if circumstances allowed of his realising that dream. - -At Haudères we parted company. Hill and Jones, with their guides, who -met them at Haudères, turned up to Ferpècle; we went on to Evolena. If -my friend’s health permitted, I had arranged to see Jones in Zermatt on -Tuesday afternoon. Difficult as was the expedition he was undertaking, -the awful reality of the morrow never crossed my mind even as a -possibility. A stronger or more well-equipped party I had never seen -start on an expedition. It was about 12-30 when we all said good-bye. - -At Evolena the doctor ordered our invalid a day or two of complete -rest. So on Monday morning the third member of our party, with his -guide, started for the Col de la Meina to return to his wife, whom he -had left in the Val des Bagnes, from which we had come. For the sake -of the walk I accompanied them to the top of the Col. About 9-15, just -before we lost sight of the west arête of the Dent Blanche, I searched -the arête with my field glasses to see if any trace of Jones and -Hill’s party could be detected. None of us could see anything, so we -concluded, as the mountain was in very good condition, that they had -probably already got to the top, and were then descending by the south -arête. But they were still on the arête, though we failed to see them -on the dark rocks. Had it been three-quarters of an hour later we might -actually have been witnesses of the accident. - -On the top of the Col de la Meina we were caught by a storm of mist and -rain, blowing up from the west. I bade adieu to my friends and hastened -back to Evolena. That was the mist which caught Mr. Hill on the -gendarme in his descent after the accident and detained him 22 hours -alone on the great mountain. - -But of the accident no one dreamed. No premonition, no presentiment, -troubled our thoughts. Monday and Tuesday passed quietly and -uneventfully for us. - -On Wednesday morning my friend got permission from his doctor to walk -up to Arolla for lunch. We gladly availed ourselves of the new freedom. - -At Arolla we found many of Jones’s friends hoping to meet him shortly -in the Zermatt Valley. On our way back to Evolena we passed the body -of the Tiroler guide, Reinstadler, of Sulden, which was being carried -down the valley. He had been killed on Monday, August 28th--that black -and fatal day in the Evolena Valley--by falling into a crevasse on the -Pigne d’Arolla. - -As we re-entered the garden of our hotel, M. Spahr met us looking very -grave. ‘Had we heard of the great accident on the Dent Blanche?’ For -the first time the thought of danger to Jones and Hill crossed my mind. -I quickly asked him for details, telling him why I was apprehensive. - -He had had a telegram from Dr. Seiler from Zermatt, which he showed -me. It was in French and ran something like this: ‘A tourist and -three guides have fallen from the Dent Blanche. A caravan of guides -is starting from Zermatt to look for the bodies, which will reach -Haudères about six o’clock to-morrow evening. Have four coffins ready -at Haudères. I am coming round myself.--SEILER.’ - -Four bodies! This could not be Jones and Hill’s party, there would -be five or three, for they had intended to make the ascent on two -ropes, three and two respectively on each. If all five had been roped -together, one could not have been saved. My mind grew easier. So we -reason when we do not know. - -But I could not avoid thinking of the awful accident, and as I thought -my fears returned. No other party had left the Evolena Valley for the -Dent Blanche that week. The bodies had fallen on the Evolena side. It -was improbable they had climbed from the Zermatt side. Could it be that -the fifth body had not been seen? One climber and three guides was a -most unusual party? I grew uneasy again, and finally telegraphed to Dr. -Seiler: ‘Have Messrs. Jones and Hill arrived?’ - -While we were waiting for dinner and a reply, a voice hailed me by name -out of the gathering gloom. It was that of Mr. Harold Spender, who had -just driven up the valley with his sister and a younger brother, Mr. -Hugh Spender. We exchanged greetings and discussed the accident. I told -them what I feared. - -We were sitting in the balcony outside the hotel in the summer darkness -when a villager put a yellow telegraph envelope in my hand. I hastily -tore it open, and this is what I read: ‘M. Hill arrived safely this -morning, but Jones and three guides fell an hour and a half from the -top on Monday morning.--SEILER.’ - -Owen Glynne Jones was dead. My mind almost reeled at the fact. -Intellectually I knew it must be so, but I was utterly unable to -realise it. I could almost hear the sound of his voice and the rattle -of the nails of his dusty boots on the stones that last Sunday morning. -But his voice was stilled for ever. - -And Hill! He had escaped, but how? Where had he been since Monday -morning? Out on the mountain alone, without guides, or food, or drink. -The thing was incredible, impossible. But the impossible and the -incredible was true. - -At eleven o’clock fifteen guides and Mr. Harold Spender started as a -search party. My injured friend and myself went with them as far as we -could. The little village was already in darkness, swathed in sorrow. -For the telegram that brought me news of Jones’ death announced the -death of a village guide too. - -In the chapel only lights burned. It was the vigil round the body of -Reinstadler. Silently and sadly we tramped up the valley along the -carriage road to Haudères. Then in single file, like an army on a night -march, we marched up the steep and narrow path to Ferpècle. Far below -us, on our right, the torrent roared. We picked precarious steps by the -light of our lanterns and the aid of our axes. We talked little and in -muffled tones. - -We reached Ferpècle about 1.30 a.m. on Thursday. The hamlet was asleep. -The guides broke eight huge poles out of the fences of the fields and -from the outbuildings. Grim duty! The poles were to make four rude -biers on which to carry the bodies down. - -Between 3 and 4 a.m. we gained the Bricolla Alp, where Jones and -Hill had slept the night before the fatal climb. The kindly shepherd -provided us with milk and a fire--it was now very cold--and we produced -provisions from our rücksacks and had a much-needed meal. It was a -curious sight--the little stone hut, a big wood fire blazing in a hole -in the floor, pails of milk all round the walls on shelves, a circle -of rough weather-beaten men, their faces lighted by the flickering -flames and by the uncertain light of one or two of our lanterns. -Rembrandtesque--and profoundly sad. - -A little after four we went out. The grey dawn was just breaking, but -a cold, thick, clammy white mist had swept down on the alp and chilled -us to the bone. At the top of the moraine my friend and I had to turn -back. We should only have been a hindrance had we gone on, as both of -us were damaged. Spender and the guides went forward. Let Mr. Spender -describe the rest. - -‘At four the column resumed its way. Rain had begun to fall and a dense -mist was closing down upon us. But it was soon light enough to put out -our lanterns, and courage came with the dawn. We rounded the alp, and -then began to climb the long, dreary moraines which lead up to the -glacier. The guides went at a terrific pace. But it was good to be -taken into this noble fraternity--to be accepted as a comrade and not -as a “climber”--to be honoured by a share in the generous quest. - -‘But the pace soon slackened. We halted on the edge of the glacier, -roped in fours, and began to search gingerly for a way through the -terrific ice-fall of the glacier. We were mounting by the old approach -to the Dent Blanche, up the ice-fall, now long since abandoned. The -glacier was, of course, quite changed since any of these guides had -last visited it. The ice was split and rent into every conceivable -shape. We were surrounded with leaning towers of ice, threatening at -any moment to fall on us and crush us. - -‘A great pile of seracs on the Northern ice-fall, across the ridge, -fell with a mighty crash. Away to the right we could hear the thunder -of avalanches. But never for a moment did the guides hesitate. Steadily -and unflinchingly they threaded their way between the menacing seracs. -Crossing broken fragments of ice, balancing between profound crevasses, -not thwarted but ever searching for a way. At last we suddenly struck -upon the tracks of Jones’ party away to the North side of the glacier -close to the rocks. There we scrambled up, half by the rocks and half -by the ice, and then at last, after many hours, found ourselves on the -great plateau beneath the long snow couloir running down from the West -Ridge. There, if anywhere, they were likely to be. And there, high up -among the rocks, we could just see, with the aid of a good telescope, -some dark objects which were not rocks. - -‘“There are our friends,” said the guides. - -‘Yes, there was no doubt of it. It was now ten o’clock and the sky had -cleared. A party was formed, and mounted the rocks to fetch the bodies. -As they climbed, suddenly another army of men appeared below us, above -the ice-fall, advancing swiftly. They were the party of the Zermatt -Guides. They came on unroped, climbing fast. It was a magnificent sight -to see this troop of giants in their own element, a troop of equals, -masters of peril. They halted below the rocks and sent up another small -band to join the Evolena Guides. There was a long pause, and then they -all began to descend, bringing the bodies. - -‘I will draw a veil over what we found. Men cannot fall many thousands -of feet and lie in artistic attitudes.... But it was four o’clock -before the Bricolla hut was reached, and darkness had fallen before the -bodies came to Haudères. The Zermatt Guides were out for twenty-four -hours, and the Evolena Guides over twenty.’ - -Mr. W. R. Rickmers, a German resident in England, and a member of the -Alpine Club, sends the following to the _Alpine Journal_:-- - -‘Mr. Seiler sent out thirty guides under Alois Supersaxo. Dr. R. Leuk, -Mr. K. Mayr, and Mr. W. R. Rickmers joined them. We left the Staffelalp -at 10 p.m. on August 30th, reached the Col d’Hérens at 6 a.m. on the -31st, in fog and snow, which cleared away later on. Descended Ferpècle -Glacier towards termination of W. ridge of Dent Blanche, and ascended -the small glacier which comes down from point 3,912 on the S. _arête_. -At the spot under the “g” in “Rocs rouges” this glacier forms an -icefall (moderately difficult), and besides that a bit of the Glacier -de la Dent Blanche hangs over the narrowest part of the W. ridge. We -then came to the foot of a great gully. On the map it is the first one -from W., and it is very clearly indicated. In the rocks to the right -of the couloir (looking down) and about three hundred feet above the -rim of the glacier, the bodies were found. It was about 10 a.m., and a -party of Evolena guides, accompanied by Mr. Harold Spender, was already -on the spot. - -‘The height above sea-level was ca. 3,600-3,700 m. Straight above, on -the ridge, one saw a smooth cliff (ca. 400-500 feet below summit), -and if that was the fatal _mauvais pas_ the fall must have been about -1,500-1,700 feet in a series of clear drops of many hundred feet. The -rope was intact between Furrer and Zurbriggen. - -‘The guides did their work well; the icefall, of course, caused a great -deal of trouble.’ - -While the search party was crossing the glacier and the snow-fields, I -watched them through my glasses. Presently the sun got the better of -the morning mist, and the pure white snow gleamed beautifully. Then -from the Col d’Hérens there swept a tiny, serpentine black line, -moving fast. It was men. I turned my glasses on them. They were the -Zermatt party, some thirty strong, advancing at a rare pace. It was a -beautiful sight, so masterful, so sure was their progress. - -As the long, hot hours of mid-day passed, I descended to Ferpècle, and -sent up a boy with food and drink for the certainly wearied searchers -when they returned from their sad duties. At length they came, drawing -the bodies over the grass slopes till they reached a path where they -could be carried on their shoulders. Darkness had fallen when we -reached Haudères. - -Late on Friday night Mr. Hill came round for the funeral. His voice -seemed to me strangely altered. Otherwise he had come through his -terrible experience wonderfully, thanks to a splendid constitution and -nerves of steel. Then first I heard the true story of the accident. -I reproduce his own account from the _Alpine Journal_. All had roped -together early in the climb, and the accident took place about ten -o’clock. Mr. Hill says:-- - -‘When I reached the level of the others, Furrer was attempting to climb -the buttress, but, finding no holds, he called to Zurbriggen to hold an -axe for him to stand on. Apparently he did not feel safe, for he turned -his head and spoke to Jones, who then went to hold the axe steady. -Thus we were all on the same level, Vuignier being some twenty-five -or thirty feet distant from them and also from me. Standing on the -axe, which was now quite firm, Furrer could reach the top of the -buttress, and attempted to pull himself up; but the fingerholds were -insufficient, and before his foot had left the axe his hands slipped, -and he fell backwards on to Zurbriggen and Jones, knocking them both -off, and all three fell together. I turned to the wall to get a better -hold, and did not see Vuignier pulled off, but heard him go, and knew -that my turn would soon come. And when it did not I looked round, and -saw my four companions sliding down the slope at a terrific rate, and -thirty feet of rope swinging slowly down below me. - -‘It is difficult to analyse my sensations at that moment. My main -feeling was one of astonishment that I was still there. I can only -suppose that Vuignier had belayed my rope securely to protect himself -and me during our long wait on the traverse. - -‘It must be admitted that Furrer did not choose the best route; but -his choice is easy enough to understand, for the only alternative -did not look inviting. At all events, it is certain that he acted -on his own initiative. I say this reluctantly, and solely for the -purpose of contradicting a statement I have read in an account of the -accident--that he was induced by Jones to climb straight over the -gendarme instead of going round it. It is a pity that historians, who -must of necessity be ignorant of the facts, should go out of their way -to make such conjectures. - -‘The problem before me was a difficult one. It was quite impossible to -climb down alone, and I could not expect to succeed where guides had -failed; the only course open was to attempt to turn the gendarme on -the right. This I succeeded in doing with great difficulty, owing to -the ice on the rocks and the necessity of cutting up an ice slope in -order to reach the ridge. In about another hour I gained the summit, -and was greeted with a faint cooey, probably from the party we had -seen. I could not see them nor make them hear, so made my way down -with all reasonable speed, hoping to overtake them. When I reached the -lowest gendarme--the one with a deep narrow fissure--a sudden mist -hid everything from view. It was impossible to see the way off; and -while I was trying various routes a snowstorm and cold wind drove me -to seek shelter on the lee-side of the rocks. There, tied on with my -rope, and still further secured by an ice-axe wedged firmly in front -of me, I was forced to remain until mid-day on Tuesday. Then the mist -cleared, and, climbing very carefully down the snow-covered rocks I -reached the snow arête, where most of the steps had to be re-cut. The -next serious difficulty was the lower part of the Wandfluh; I could not -remember the way off, and spent two or three hours in futile efforts -before I found a series of chimneys on the extreme right, leading down -to the glacier. The sun set when I was on the high bank of moraine on -the Zmutt Glacier, and in the growing darkness it was far from easy to -keep the path. The light in the Staffel Alp inn was a guide as long as -it lasted, but it went out early, and, keeping too low down, I passed -the inn without seeing it, and being forced to stop by the nature of -the ground, spent the night by the side of the torrent. It was late in -the morning when I awoke, and then a scramble of a few minutes brought -me to the path, near the sign-post, and I reached Zermatt at half-past -eleven.’ - -Mr. Hill’s escape is one of the most wonderful in the history of -mountaineering. His endurance and courage are not less remarkable. To -have been out alone, in bad weather, without anything to eat save five -raisins, and with nothing to drink but ice and snow, on a difficult and -dangerous mountain, and to have returned safely is, I believe, a record -in climbing annals. I may add a few details, given me by Mr. Hill when -I first met him after the accident, which he has not reproduced in the -above narrative. - -He thinks his companions were killed instantaneously. They uttered no -sound; they made no apparent attempt to save themselves. With arms -outspread they rolled helplessly down the awful face of the mountain. -He watched them for a few seconds, powerless to help, if help would -indeed have availed, and then turned from the sickening sight. - -During the last part of his descent, even his great strength began to -fail. Once, on the Wandfluh, he lost his axe and had to spend an hour -in climbing down to recover it, as it was absolutely essential to his -safety. After he left the Zmutt glacier in darkness, he appears to have -become delirious. He was constantly talking to imaginary companions. -He fell into holes in the ground and went to sleep without strength to -rise. He wakened from cold, called to his companions to go on as it was -time to be leaving, stumbled, and fell asleep again. - -On Saturday morning Dr. Sumpner arrived, having travelled straight -through from Birmingham to Evolena. Friends tramped down from Arolla, -others had come from Zermatt, the secretary of Jones’s section of the -Swiss Alpine Club came from near Neuchâtel. A carriage bore Jones’s -plain black coffin, with a gilt cross on it, down from Haudères. We -buried him and the Evolena guide, Vuignier, in the little graveyard -of the Roman Catholic church, almost in sight of the glorious, but -terrible, mountain on which they met their fate. The scene in the -village almost baffles description. All the villagers, men and women, -attended the funeral, clad in coarse white robes. The grief of the -women, especially of Vuignier’s poor old mother, was heart-rending to -witness. The little Roman Catholic chapel was crowded, the congregation -all in white, save the acolytes, two village boys, who served the altar -in their coarse brown, everyday clothes, and the choir, whose strong -voices rang through the whitewashed, humble building. A little knot -of Englishmen, sunbrowned, of another faith or of no faith at all, -joined in the impressive and solemn service. It was a sight that no one -present can ever forget. - -After the service, we bore the two coffins to the graveyard. Rev. Mr. -Scott, the Anglican chaplain, read the English burial service over -Owen Jones’s grave. Mr. Hill sent a beautiful wreath of edelweiss and -the foliage of the Alpine rose. A rude wooden cross marked the spot -till Jones’s friends erected a suitable gravestone. The lovely warm -sunshine and the bright blue sky, and the gleaming snows on the slopes -of the Dent Blanche, formed a curious contrast to the mourning of the -village in that Alpine valley. - -Thus perished, as he would, I doubt not, like to have died, Owen Glynne -Jones, a brave and dashing mountaineer, a cheery and kindly friend, -whose presence will be long missed by all who had the privilege of -knowing him. His death was due to a pure accident, occurring when he -was in the plenitude of his powers, and when he seemed just about to -reap the reward of long years of patient, ardent toil. - - W. M. CROOK. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - MEMOIR OF OWEN GLYNNE JONES vii - - CHAP. - - I. PIKE’S CRAG 1 - - II. DEEP GHYLL, GREAT CHIMNEY AND PROFESSOR’S - CHIMNEY 12 - - III. THE RAKE’S PROGRESS AND CERTAIN SHORT CLIMBS - NEAR IT 29 - - IV. MOSS GHYLL, COLLIER’S CLIMB, AND KESWICK - BROTHERS’ CLIMB 43 - - V. SCAWFELL PINNACLE 69 - - VI. GREAT END AND ITS GULLIES 89 - - VII. GREAT GABLE, THE ENNERDALE FACE, AND THE - OBLIQUE CHIMNEY 114 - - VIII. THE ENNERDALE CENTRAL GULLY AND TWO LITTLE - CHIMNEYS 134 - - IX. THE GREAT NAPES AND ITS GULLIES 146 - - X. THE RIDGES OF THE GREAT NAPES 153 - - XI. THE GABLE NEEDLE 168 - - XII. KERN KNOTTS 175 - - XIII. THE WASTWATER SCREES 190 - - XIV. PAVEY ARK 208 - - XV. DOE CRAG, CONISTON 219 - - XVI. COMBE GHYLL 237 - - XVII. THE PILLAR ROCK 254 - - XVIII. NOTES ON REMAINING CLIMBS 285 - - APPENDIX I. 295 - - APPENDIX II.-- - - CHAP. - - I. THE PILLAR ROCK AND ITS PURLIEUS UP TO DATE 317 - - II. NEW CLIMBS ON GREAT GABLE, SCAWFELL, AND - AROUND WASTDALE HEAD 332 - - III. THE BUTTERMERE CLIMBS, AND THOSE IN OUTLYING - DISTRICTS 344 - - IV. RECENT CLIMBS AROUND LANGDALE, AND DOE - CRAG 358 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PORTRAIT OF OWEN GLYNNE JONES _Frontispiece_ - - THE PIKE’S CRAG GULLIES _To face page_ 6 - - DEEP GHYLL, FIRST PITCH ” 12 - - SCAWFELL PINNACLE AND THE PROFESSOR’S - CHIMNEY ” 20 - - SCAWFELL CRAGS FROM THE PULPIT ROCK ” 26 - - THE ASCENT OF THE BROAD STAND ” 30 - - THE PENRITH CLIMB FROM MICKLEDORE ” 40 - - COLLIER’S CHIMNEY, MOSS GHYLL ” 51 - - KESWICK BROTHERS’ CLIMB ” 66 - - ATTITUDES ON SCAWFELL PINNACLE ” 69 - - SCAWFELL PINNACLE AND DEEP GHYLL ” 73 - - THE LAST HUNDRED FEET ON THE SCAWFELL - PINNACLE ” 76 - - ASCENT OF SCAWFELL PINNACLE FROM DEEP GHYLL ” 83 - - THE GREAT END GULLIES, SEEN FROM SPRINKLING - TARN ” 90 - - TOP OF THE CENTRAL GULLY IN WINTER, GREAT - END ” 99 - - WASTDALE AND GREAT GABLE ” 114 - - ENNERDALE FACE OF GREAT GABLE ” 127 - - GREAT GABLE FROM LINGMELL ” 146 - - THE RIDGES OF THE GREAT NAPES ” 153 - - THE UPPER PART OF THE NEEDLE RIDGE ” 156 - - THE GABLE NEEDLE ” 168 - - KERN KNOTTS CHIMNEY ” 178 - - KERN KNOTTS CRACK ” 184 - - THE SCREES AND WASTWATER ” 191 - - THE PAVEY ARK GULLIES FROM STICKLE TARN ” 208 - - DOE CRAG AND GOATSWATER ” 220 - - FIRST PITCH IN DOE CRAG, GREAT GULLY ” 225 - - THE EAST FACE OF THE PILLAR ROCK (viewed - from the Shamrock) ” 257 - - ROUND THE NOTCH, PILLAR ROCK, EAST SIDE ” 267 - - THE NORTH FACE OF THE PILLAR ROCK ” 271 - - OVER THE NOSE--THE PILLAR ROCK ” 325 - - THE BROADRICK’S AND HOPKINSON’S CRACKS, DOE - CRAG ” 376 - - -OUTLINE DRAWINGS OF THE CHIEF ROUTES - - PLATE - - I. THE PIKE’S CRAG GULLIES _To face page_ 2 - _Diagrammatic_ - - II. SCAWFELL FROM THE PULPIT ROCK ” 46 - _From the photograph facing p. 26_ - - III. THE GREAT END GULLIES ” 94 - _From the photograph facing p. 90_ - - IV. THE ENNERDALE FACE OF GREAT GABLE ” 135 - _From the photograph facing p. 127_ - - V. THE GREAT NAPES RIDGES ” 161 - _Diagrammatic_ - - VI. i. THE WASTWATER SCREES ” 203 - _From the photograph facing p. 191_ - - ii. THE PAVEY ARK GULLIES ” 203 - _From the photograph facing p. 208_ - - VII. DOE CRAG, CONISTON ” 370 - _Diagrammatic_ - - VIII. PILLAR ROCK, EAST SIDE ” 242 - _From the photograph facing p. 257_ - - IX. PILLAR ROCK, NORTH SIDE ” 254 - _From the photograph facing p. 271_ - - X. PILLAR ROCK, WEST SIDE ” 318 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Some eight years ago chance led me to the Lake District for the first -time, and a kindly acquaintance whom I then met at Wastdale taught -me something of the joys of rock-climbing. Since that occasion every -holiday has been spent on the mountains, either in Cumberland or -North Wales or Switzerland, and they have taught me much that is -worth knowing and that when once learnt can never be forgotten. Men -with the highest literary qualifications have written of the charm of -mountaineering, and every aspect of the subject has been touched upon -with fullest justice and with a grace of style that has captivated many -a non-climber in spite of his prejudices. Yet I cannot refrain from -adding my own humble tribute of praise to the sport that has done so -much for me and my best friends. - -It satisfies many needs; the love of the beautiful in nature; the -desire to exert oneself physically, which with strong men is a -passionate craving that must find satisfaction somehow or other; the -joy of conquest without any woe to the conquered; the prospect of -continual increase in one’s skill, and the hope that this skill may -partially neutralize the failing in strength that comes with advancing -age or ill-health. - -Hunting and fishing enthral many men, but mountaineering does not -claim the sacrifice of beasts and fishes. Cricket and football are -magnificent sports, and it is a perpetual satisfaction that the British -races are becoming enthusiastic in their appreciation of keen contests -in these games. Yet there is something repulsive in the spectacle of -five thousand inactive spectators of a struggling twenty-two, and the -knowledge that the main interest of many players and observers is of a -monetary character does not tend to convince one of the moral benefits -that these sports can offer. On the other hand, it is scarcely fair to -judge a sport by those who degrade it in this manner, and we all know -that genuine cricketers and footballers play for love and honour. - -The mountaineer does not reap any golden harvest by his exertions--even -if he writes a book on his subject. He does not exhibit his skill to -applauding thousands; and his vanity is rarely tickled by the praise of -many. He must be content with the sport itself and what it offers him -directly. - -Probably the scientific mountaineer gains most. He is certain to -acquire rare and valuable knowledge of facts in zoology, botany, or -geology, if he starts with the necessary intellectual equipment. The -physicist’s mind is perpetually exercised by the natural phenomena -he witnesses; mist bows, Brocken spectres, frost haloes, electrical -discharges of the queerest description, mirages, all these offer him -problems of the most interesting kind. But the fact is, there is -so much to do that is directly connected with the climbing itself -that the natural sciences are usually left to themselves, and their -consideration reserved for special expeditions. - -On the other hand, science can often assist the climbing. The engineer -can triumph with applications of the rope. He can tell us some facts -worth knowing on the value of friction as an aid to stability, on -the use of an axe as a support or as a lever, or on the safe methods -of negotiating loose stones. The man who knows something of geology -is a useful member of an exploring party; he is often able to guess -correctly where available passages occur in a wilderness of rock, and -can judge at a distance what quality of climbing the party may expect. -The expert in mountain weather does not exist; perhaps he does not dare -to, or perhaps the subject is too complicated for a nineteenth-century -scientist. However this may be, it is worth while paying a little -attention to meteorology and noting the quality of weather that follows -any definite condition of the wind, the barometer, or the atmospheric -temperature. - -The causes that have resulted in the publication of this little book -are as difficult to define as those that produce a rainy day in the -Alps; and, now that the book is written and nothing remains but an -introduction, I wish that the reverse order of proceeding had been -adopted, and that the introduction had been written as a peg on which -succeeding chapters might have been definitely hung. - -From the outset the illustrations have been regarded as the chief -feature of the book, and it was my good fortune early to obtain -the co-operation of Messrs. G. P. Abraham & Sons in the production -of good photographs of the most interesting pieces of rock scenery -that the Lake District affords. Messrs. George and Ashley Abraham -have accompanied me on several climbing excursions with the express -purpose of obtaining artistic and yet accurate photographs of the main -difficulties that beset the cragsman’s course, and I am bound to add -that they are as skilful in tackling severe pitches as they are in -taking successful pictures. The practical troubles in manipulating -heavy photographic apparatus where most people find work enough in -looking solely to their own safety, the frequent impossibility of -finding a sufficient contrast in light and shade among the crag -recesses, and the subsequent difficulties in development of such -awkward subjects, will convince the reader that theirs has been -no light task, and at the same time will offer sufficient excuse -for certain small defects that we have been unable to eliminate -from the photo-mechanical reproductions. These are in collotype -on platino-surface paper which shows the fine texture of the rock -structures. - -For the benefit more particularly of climbers several outline diagrams -have been introduced to explain the outlines of those more important -crags up each of which many different routes have been found, lines of -ascent that cannot be readily recognised in the photographs themselves, -and that cannot be briefly described in words. Some of these are purely -diagrammatic, where it has been found impossible to base them on good -general views. The others are outlined from photographs, and can in -most cases be compared directly with the corresponding views from which -they are derived. - -With the knowledge that I was getting substantial aid in the -illustrative portion of the book, the management of the rest has been -much simplified. There are very many people who come regularly to the -English Lake District to ramble about on the fells and to make the -ordinary ascents. Of these, by far the greater number steer clear of -the precipices and other steep parts, wisely recognising the danger -that attends the inexperienced in such places. Nevertheless, they enjoy -the mountains and are charmed with the scenery. They do not know much -about the innermost recesses of even their favourite peaks. To many -of them Mr. Haskett Smith’s little book on ‘Climbing in England’ must -have been a revelation; for it indicates with sufficient clearness -that every crag in the country of any considerable dimensions has been -explored with wonderful thoroughness by Alpine climbers, and that these -abrupt walls and gloomy gullies are the happy hunting-ground of many -an enterprising athlete. If my accounts of the different ascents were -briefly stated in the orthodox climbing-guide form, the book could -appeal to none but the elect; only an athlete in excellent training -could digest such solid diet. If, on the other hand, they were recorded -in narrative form, with a little expansion of detail where serious -difficulties occurred during the expeditions, the book might at the -same time appeal to many a tourist who loves the country and who likes -to learn more about it. The latter course has been adopted, and it is -sincerely to be hoped that the succeeding chapters will interest such -tourists. - -There was another and more important consideration which helped to -decide on the form actually taken. Our Alpine climbers of the highest -rank are born, not made. But most of the others, taking with them -some natural aptitude and plenty of money, are made abroad. Why do -they not take their preliminary training for a year or two in Wales, -or Cumberland, or on the Scottish hills? It would be much wiser and -cheaper to support the ‘home industry’ so far as it goes, before -making their _débuts_ on the high Alps. Our British hills can give -them no glacier practice, but they can learn a vast deal concerning -rock-climbing before they leave the country. To such as these the book -is primarily dedicated. There are no professional guides in Cumberland -who know anything about the rocks. The amateur must come out and manage -for himself. But it is here intended to show that the Cumberland school -is a well-graded one; that the novice can start with the easiest and -safest of expeditions, and can work his way up to a standard of skill -comparing favourably with that of the average Swiss guide. There is -nothing so instructive as guideless climbing, be it ever so humble in -character. It makes the man wonderfully critical when taken in hand by -guides later on, and renders him also much more able to profit by their -practical instruction. - -For such beginners, the mere statement of the position of a gully -and the number and character of its chief obstacles would be quite -useless. He requires something more; a suggestion here and there of -the manner in which the troubles can be avoided or overcome, and a -comparison of these difficulties with others. It is natural that every -man has his own way of employing the limbs; my way of dealing with a -pitch might not at all suit another climber, who perhaps relies less -upon balance and more on strength of arm than myself, or _vice versâ_. -It is therefore unwise to appear dogmatic in describing methods, and -I hasten to assure those knowing critics that I have never meant to -appear so. And yet it is none the less a definite object throughout -to render the accounts in sufficient detail for those who want -assistance in repeating the ascents. I have not hesitated to draw on -old experiences, gained when the ground was comparatively new to me; -for there is a tendency to depreciate, or indeed to overlook entirely, -the difficulties in any familiar route after constant practice has -removed those elements that introduce risk or uncertainty of success, -and a novice can often explain to a novice far more effectively than an -expert. - -The Lake District is becoming more popular every year as a centre of -operations for cragsmen. Yet there is no corresponding development of -a set of professional guides out there, though I believe they would -thrive exceedingly, and all stock information about the mountains is -confined to a few manuscript books, and to Mr. Haskett Smith’s little -publication already referred to. The new comer is continually at a -loss for details; he has no means of learning what is difficult or -easy, how to circumvent dangerous obstacles or to discover the safe -points of attacking them; he is dependent for such facts on chance -acquaintances made in the country or on correspondence more or less -painfully elicited from authorities. When unsuccessful in these ways -he is sometimes tempted to launch out on his own account and wrest -the information from the mountains themselves. This heroic method is -undoubtedly the most effective, but it involves too much risk for the -unpractised hand, and the wonder is that so few serious casualties -occur in its application. Such accidents do occur through ignorance of -the district, and always will so long as the necessary knowledge that -gives safety to the explorer is confined to the few. - -Mr. Haskett Smith’s book serves in the fullest manner to indicate where -good scrambling can be obtained, to define the few technical terms -in the cragsman’s vocabulary, and to give general advice concerning -the best centres. It has been of the greatest use to the climbing -fraternity, who owe their thanks to him. But he gives no detail of the -scrambling itself. He has appealed more particularly to the expert, who -can manage all his pioneering for himself. Notably is this the case -with the Pillar Rock--practically his own particular preserve--where -most of the routes have long since been made out by him. For years -he knew the Rock as no one else knew it; every chimney and ridge and -wall was within his ken. Yet in his little handbook there is scarcely -an indication of the possession of all this unique knowledge. Most -climbers expected some expansion in the description of his early -explorations; but he has kept rigidly to his scheme of treatment, and -dealt but scant justice to himself throughout the work. This book, -then, is to be regarded in some sense as supplementary in character, -the cordial witness of the good sport obtainable by following his -advice and general directions. - -There are many men who think well of the sport, but speak slightingly -of the narrow field offered for it by the Lake District. No doubt the -Alps offer far more scope both in range and quality. But we cannot -very conveniently reach Switzerland at every season of the year. At -Christmas and Easter it is entirely barred to most people. The expense -of foreign travel is a consideration, and the question of length of -holiday is rarely negligible. Cumberland can be reached in a night -from London; the district is an inexpensive one for tourists. The fact -that there are hundreds of climbs at our disposal in the Alps is no -great inducement in itself; we can never climb more than one or two at -a time, and for most of us there will always remain scores of ascents -that we shall never have the opportunity of accomplishing. One can -learn how to swim as effectively in a swimming-bath six feet deep as -in an ocean; and one can gain an extensive and practical acquaintance -with rock-climbing in a district where the whole set of climbs can be -accomplished by the expert in a few short holidays, as in a country -where the choice is unlimited. Personally I should always go to the -high Alps when the chance offered itself, but Cumberland serves -remarkably well to allay the desire for mountain air and vigorous -exercise when Switzerland is out of the question. - -What does it matter that a climb has been done before? Climatic -conditions and the members of one’s party introduce sufficient variety. -Years ago an expert reporter was trying to teach me shorthand. His -method was to induce me to copy out the same report again and again; -it was an excellent idea, and the system was well vindicated with -apter pupils. Likewise in climbing, an apt pupil will learn rapidly by -repetition of the same ascents. - -This introduces a point on which I am scarcely qualified to speak, -that of physical aptitude on the part of the would-be climber. Mr. -Clinton Dent in the Badminton volume bestows a chapter on the subject -of ‘Mountaineering and Health.’ Here we have an authoritative summary -of the physical qualifications required by the mountaineer, and of the -bodily ailments he may possibly incur. A perusal of the chapter will -convince the reader of the suitability of a mountainous region such -as our own country can offer for preliminary training before the high -Alps are approached. There is much less likelihood of over-strain; -snow-blindness, frost-bite, and mountain sickness are rarely met with -here. - -Climbers are absolutely incapable of any sustained effort when they -reach certain altitudes, and the limit depends on the individual. It -is the misfortune of some to feel an uncomfortable perturbation of the -heart when once a definite level is passed. They are well enough able -to exert themselves below that level, but can hope for no pleasurable -exercise above it. With every desire to climb, with muscle and mind -enough to excel in the sport, they are nevertheless debarred from -enjoying the high Alps. Let them therefore make the best of our British -hills for a while, and then perhaps proceed to the Dolomites in the -Austrian Tyrol for fuller applications at a safe low level of what they -have here learnt. - -Solitary scrambling is universally condemned. Most climbers of -experience have learnt something about it, and are unanimous in their -unfavourable judgment. Nothing teaches the scrambler so quickly, if -his nerve is sufficiently strong; but the penalty paid for slight -mistakes is often extreme, and the risk is too great for him to be -justified in deliberately choosing the single-handed venture. A party -of two makes the strongest combination for most of the ordinary -Cumberland climbs; three are generally better for the severest courses. -Any beyond that number will to a greater or less extent increase the -difficulty of the ascent and the time spent in effecting it. - -A rough classification is here appended of over a hundred well-known -courses judged under good conditions. They are divided into four -sets. The first are easy and adapted for beginners, the second set -are moderately stiff, those of the third set rank as the difficult -climbs of the district, and the last are of exceptional severity. Some -attempt has been made to arrange them in their order of difficulty, -the hardest ones coming last; but the variations of condition of each -due to wind, temperature, rain, snow, or ice are so extensive that -no particular value should be attached to the sequence. But even if -only approximately correct, the lists may help men in deciding for -themselves where to draw the line that shall limit their own unaided -performances. As for the items in the fourth class, they are best left -alone. Mark the well-known words of an expert (Mr. C. Pilkington): ‘The -novice must on no account attempt them. He may console himself with -the reflection that most of these fancy bits of rock-work are not -mountaineering proper, and by remembering that those who first explored -these routes, or rather created them, were not only brilliant rock -gymnasts but experienced and capable cragsmen.’ - - -_Easy Courses._ - - Deep Ghyll, by the west wall traverse. - Cust’s Gully, Great End. - Traverse across Gable Crag. - ‘Sheep Walk,’ Gable Crag. - D Gully, Pike’s Crag. - Broad Stand. - Needle Gully. - ‘Slab and Notch’ Route, Pillar Rock. - Great End Central Gully (ordinary ways). - South-east Gully, Great End. - - -_Moderate Courses._ - - West Climb, Pillar Rock. - C Gully, Pike’s Crag. - A Gully, Pike’s Crag. - Bottle-nosed Pinnacle Ridge. - Westmorland Crag, Great Gable. - Penrith Climb, Scawfell. - Scawfell Chimney. - Old Wall Route. Pillar Rock, East Side. - Deep Ghyll (ordinary route). - Scawfell Pinnacle (short way up). - Dolly Waggon Pike Gully. - Raven Crag Chimney, Great Gable. - Crag Fell Pinnacles, Ennerdale. - Gable Crag Central Gully (ordinary way). - Black Chimney (High Stile). - Pendlebury Traverse Route, Pillar Rock. - Combe Ghyll. - Fleetwith Gully (easy way). - Arrowhead Branch Gully - Smoking Rock, Great Doup, Pillar Fell. - Professor’s Chimney. - Needle Ridge, Great Gable. - Pillar Rock, the Arête. - Arrowhead Ridge, by Traverse from East Side. - Eagle’s Nest Ridge (ordinary way). - - -_Difficult Courses._ - - Deep Ghyll West Wall Climb. - Great End Central Gully (chimney finish). - Pillar Rock by Central Jordan. - The Doctor’s Chimney. - Shamrock Buttress. - Pillar Rock by West Jordan. - Kern Knotts Chimney. - Little Gully, Pavey Ark. - Great Gully, Pavey Ark. - Gable Crag Central Gully (direct finish). - Oblique Chimney Gable Crag. - Gable Needle. - Arrowhead Ridge (direct climb). - Pillar Rock Far West Jordan. - Gimmer Crag Chimney. - Doe Crag, Great Gully. - Pillar Rock by the Great Chimney. - The B Chimney, Pike’s Crag. - Scawfell Pinnacle, by Steep Ghyll. - Pavey Ark, Crescent Climb, and Gwynne’s Chimney. - Keswick Brothers’ Climb. - Pillar Rock, West Jordan Crack. - Doe Crag Buttresses (ordinary routes). - Sergeant Crag Gully (ordinary way). - Mouse Ghyll. - Pillar Rock (by north face). - Smuggler’s Chimney, Gable Crag. - Rake End Chimney, Pavey Ark. - Moss Ghyll (by branch exit). - Bowfell Buttress. - New West Climb (Pillar Rock). - The Brothers’ Crack, Great End. - Sergeant Crag Gully (direct). - Keswick Brothers’ Climb (variation finish). - Stack Ghyll, Buttermere. - Bleaberry Chimney, Buttermere. - Deep Ghyll (by various routes). - Collier’s Climb, Scawfell. - Raven Crag Gully, Glaramara. - Moss Ghyll (by direct finish). - West Jordan Gully, Pillar Rock. - Shamrock Chimneys. - Fleetwith Gully (direct). - Shamrock Gully (left-hand route). - Kern Knotts West Chimney. - Shamrock Buttress (Route II). - Shamrock Gully (ordinary route). - Pisgah Ridge, by the Tennis Court Ledge. - Iron Crag Chimney. - Engineer’s Chimney, Gable Crag. - Eagle’s Nest Ridge by Ling Chimney. - - -_Exceptionally Severe Courses._ - - Doe Crag, Intermediate Gully. - Scawfell Pinnacle, High Man (direct from Deep Ghyll). - Gimmer Crag, B route. - The Abbey Buttress, Great Gable. - Screes Great Gully (direct). - Doe Crag, North Gully. - Gimmer Crag, A Route. - Toreador Gully, Buttermere. - Birkness Chimney, Buttermere. - Warn Gill, Buttermere. - Haskett Gully, Scoat Fell. - Doe Crag, Easter Gully, O. G. Jones’ Route. - Scawfell Pinnacle _viâ_ Low Man by Deep Ghyll, Gibson’s Chimney. - Scawfell Pinnacle by Deep Ghyll, O. G. Jones’ Route. - Kern Knotts Crack. - North Face Pillar Rock, by Hand Traverse. - Doe Crag, Easter Gully, by Hopkinson’s Crack. - Doe Crag, Central Chimney. - Eagle’s Nest Ridge, Great Gable. - Doe Crag, Easter Gully, by Broadrick’s Crack. - Walker’s Gully. - C Gully, the Screes. - North West Climb, Pillar Rock. - Scawfell Pinnacle (direct from Lord’s Rake), O. G. Jones’ Route. - -In every expedition the party should be provided with a sufficient -length of rope--varying from twenty to fifty feet for two men, thirty -to eighty feet for three--according to the character of the climb and -the lengths of its individual pitches. It is very unwise to dispense -with the rope, even on simple courses; the fact is patent in the Alps -that amateurs take a long time to learn how to look after their portion -of the rope when busily engaged on rocks; they are apt to leave all -such details to the guides in front or behind them, and would do well -to practise regular independence in that respect. - -Ice-axes are generally necessary during the colder months of the year. -They are inconvenient to manipulate on very difficult rocks, whether -the climber is going up or down. But in the rapid descent of easy -crags, face outwards, they are invaluable as aids to balancing; and -steep grass or scree can undoubtedly be descended better with their -assistance. The Cumberland crags are too smooth to make _scarpetti_ -(_Kletterschuhe_) worth trying. These are rope-soled shoes that grip -better than nailed boots when the texture of the rock-surface is -sufficiently rough, but our expeditions are best made without them. - - - - -ROCK-CLIMBING - - - - -CHAPTER I - -_PIKE’S CRAG_ - - -The Pikes of Scawfell are bold and picturesque, but their precipices -are slight and climbers can find but little on them that needs the use -of a rope. One genuine exception must be made in favour of Pike’s Crag, -the rock that guards the Pikes end of Mickledore. Here a good deal of -practice may be obtained, and although in comparison with Scawfell -Crag over the way we may feel that everything is in miniature, yet the -quality of the work is good and some of the pitches really severe. Few -people seem to have troubled to examine the detail of the cliff until -September, 1894, when Messrs. Fowler and Wilberforce spent a few days -on it, and prepared the effective diagram of the lines of route that -they subsequently transferred to the Wastdale book. - -The crag is visible from the road near the head of Wastwater, and its -three chimneys show up as black recesses of inviting steepness and -difficulty. These retain their interesting appearance all along the -walk up Brown Tongue, and it is surprising that at Hollow Stones -everybody turns off to the right towards Deep Ghyll, when straight -ahead they cannot but observe the opportunity for novelty that Pike’s -Crag can offer them. - -Between the Pulpit rock that overlooks the Mickledore screes and the -main mass of the Pikes is a little _col_ or neck that can be reached -with ease from either side. A gully runs up to it behind the Pulpit -from the Mickledore screes, with no difficulties whatever to obstruct -the walker. Another (D) leads to the same spot from the Lingmell side, -starting near the foot of the great buttress of the Horse and Man rock, -and boasting of two pitches. Between D and a scree gully well away to -the left lie the three chimneys, A, B, and C, and the best climbing of -these crags is here concentrated. - -It is true that we can get some pleasant scrambling up the outside of -the Pulpit. A grass gully shows well in the illustration, close to -the right-hand edge of the picture. The square tower of rock to which -its left branch leads overlooks the D gully and offers fair sport. -There are probably a few interesting problems in the short gullies -leading from D towards the Horse and Man ridge. But to cover the best -ground in a single expedition I can recommend the ascent of A and -descent by C, then the direct climb up the right branch of B and a -return down the two pitches in the D gully. Such was an afternoon’s -work that I was advised to undertake when inquiring of those who -knew best how to gain a general knowledge of Pike’s Crag. My companion -was unacquainted with Lake District climbing; it was his first day in -Wastdale, and during our walk homewards, after following as rigidly as -we could the directions given us, he was reluctantly compelled to admit -that Cumberland climbing had good points that he had never hitherto -attributed to it. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE I. - -THE PIKE’S CRAG GULLIES. - -AA is about 300 feet high. - - _a_ Initial Variation in the A Chimney. - _b_ Left Branch of the B Chimney. - _c_ Great Pitch in the C Chimney. - D Easy Gully between E and F. - E Horse and Man Rock. - F Pulpit Rock. - G Easy Grass Gully.] - -We bore up from Hollow Stones directly towards the A chimney, over -a good deal of rough ground and an occasional snowslope. It is the -longest climb of the three, and the hand-and-foot work commenced at -once. A block at the bottom, some fifteen feet in height, was turned -by a vertical crack on the left, with excellent holds on the side -wall. An easier way is by the right, up a series of steep, wet, and -mossy ledges. This block was crowned by long tufted grass, and more -moss in the bed of the gully indicated clearly that we were not on a -much frequented route to Scawfell Pikes. A few feet higher we noticed -a grass terrace stretching across the face of the crags to the right. -There proved to be several such terraces on the same buttress between -us and the B chimney, and we concluded that it would be possible to -climb up from one to the other and so avoid the chimneys altogether. -Soon our route became steeper and careful clambering was necessary. -The gully was narrow and its walls smooth, and no chance of further -side-exit was open to us. Then came the first genuine pitch, in three -portions of increasing severity, though the hardest is not in any way -difficult or dangerous. We worked first over a small boulder, then -a bigger one followed, and we were brought to a standstill at the -entrance of a narrow cave. We decided in favour of the right wall, -which showed good holds up near the level of the roof. It looked a -bad bit to surmount, but when once the right leg of the climber had -been swung on to a sloping ledge on the wall, it was only needful to -edge along towards the jammed boulder and step off into the bed of -the gully again. The whole pitch is about thirty feet high. Walking -up the scree that now presented itself, we were rather disagreeably -impressed by the appearance of the second pitch that confronted us. -It was a mossy wall about ten feet high, and water streaming down it -gave us but little hope of continuing the climbing beyond it with dry -garments. Nevertheless the reality was not so objectionable. The wall -stretched from side to side of the gully and offered many routes up. -Taking a course to the right of the middle, we found small footholds -beneath the moss that gave the chance of using the fingers and toes -only. Clammy embracing we avoided, and our satisfaction on reaching the -top was altogether disproportionate to the actual difficulty we had -overcome, and will be unappreciated by those who tackle the gully in -drier weather. It seems to be still better to work up the left corner. - -Forty feet higher we could see the third and last pitch. The gully is -now very much more open. We made a digression on the right again, and -peered inquisitively down the hole at the top of the B chimney--the -hole that was said to discriminate nicely between a thin man and a -thick. The buttress was considerably broken about here, and offered -admirable scrambling of a heterogeneous description; but we had yet one -more stage in our own direct course, and returned to finish it. Several -boulders had combined to form another cave, whose interior appeared -to be rather complicated--judging by the number of times I knocked my -head in exploring its upper regions. We tried hard to force a route -up the right wall, but after twenty minutes had been wasted in futile -attempts we decided to take the regulation route to the left, and leave -the variation for another day that might find us there with an ice-axe. -The left wall is sufficiently provided with holds to make the climb -easy; but at the top there were several stones to be passed that report -said were in a shaky condition. We were not troubled by them, and after -passing over, a glance at the screes that remained above gave assurance -that the presence or absence of a few loose stones at the head of the -pitch would be quite fortuitous. - -After a short halt called for photographic purposes we made for the -head of the C gully, the next to the west that actually reaches -the sky-line when viewed from below. It was nearly all scree at a -steep angle, and we had good reason to be thankful that no exploring -parties were further down. There were two or three places passed in -our descent where the craggy bed of the gully jutted out through the -layer of loose stones, and at such spots, though no actual climbing was -necessary, the danger of one man bombarding the other with projectiles -made us both proceed with an excess of caution. The one difficulty in -the gully, which we were now preparing to descend, is by far the finest -looking pitch on Pike’s Crag. A large boulder with square edges roofs -in a cavern thirty feet high; a stream of water pouring down the gully -spreads over the boulder, and forms a thin curtain of spray stretching -from side to side of the cave entrance. The two walls of the gully are -black and glistening, the floor of the cave is slippery, and slopes -steeply down to the foot of the ghyll. The only safe way up or down the -pitch is by a series of ledges in a square recess on the left, well -marked in the opposite illustration. - -We were ignorant of the character of the climbing here, but there was -no resisting the conclusion forced upon us by a peep over the edge of -the pitch, that the recess on our right offered us the only chance of -descent. The ledges were tufted with thick grass that now and again -threatened to give way. But on the whole we felt very safe, and when -the actual corner of the recess was reached, the difficulties vanished -and we had a simple traverse back towards the waterfall. The descent -of six or eight feet to the foot of the fall was partially under the -spray, but haste on such slippery ground was out of the question, and -we moved one at a time with a solemn indifference to the damping -influences around us, that might have argued a whole day’s previous -exposure and the absence of a vestige of dry clothing. We had a steep -slide down the snow banked up at the foot of the gully, and then picked -a way across to the B chimney, the centre of the series and the most -attractive. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE PIKE’S CRAG GULLIES] - -A and C may be reasonably called easy. They are not too hard for -muscular novices, and are comparatively safe. But the central chimney -is decidedly stiff, and should not be indiscriminately recommended with -the others. It is very narrow all the way to the jammed stone at the -top; it is about as difficult to get out, when half-way up, as it is to -continue the direct ascent, and suitable belaying for the leader or his -followers cannot be found at the hardest parts of the climb. I tried -the chimney once when there was a considerable quantity of water coming -down, and was compelled to give it up: it is probable that even with a -second man to help me I could not have managed it. - -We found our way safely to the entrance of our chimney and started up. -Almost immediately we passed the branch gully on the left. It looks -very formidable, and indeed its first pitch is undoubtedly hard. It -consists of a two-storied cave, the first floor composed of three -jammed stones, which are passed by backing up the crack and traversing -outwards. The second pitch is of a simpler character, consisting -of a cave that can be passed on either side. We had no designs on -this variation, and were contented to throw a casual glance towards -the lower obstacle as we proceeded up the rocky bed of our central -chimney. Our field of view soon became very limited, for the clean-cut -parallel walls on either side were scarcely five feet apart, and the -average slope of the gully exceeded forty-five degrees. During the -first hundred feet the work was distinctly safe and easy, but a glance -backward at the point whence we had started, seemingly the first -stop in the event of our falling, made us both inclined to imagine -dangers in our way. The side walls in intense gloom formed a fitting -frame to the narrow picture of the distant sunlit fells. The general -aspect of the situation closely resembled that of the upper half of -Collier’s climb on Scawfell, and of the Oblique Chimney on Gable Crag, -though in each of those cases the chimney is at a considerable angle -to the vertical, whereas here the fissure in the rocks is almost -perpendicular. We were a little perplexed by some ice that had frozen -in large rounded knobs to a thickness of eight or ten inches over a -steep six feet of the gully. An axe would have summarily disposed of -any icicles of doubtful security, but we had not expected any such -evidences of cold and were unprovided. The ice was not absolutely -continuous; here and there we could kick out levels for our feet, and -to our relief the trouble was passed in a few minutes. Then came the -worst bit of the ascent--the scene of my discomfiture eighteen months -before. First came a vertical wall stretching across the gully, and -rising twenty feet above our somewhat insecure standing. Beyond that -the gully sloped evenly to the dark recesses of a cave, the jammed -boulder of which almost appeared vertically above our heads. We mounted -an upright block at the foot of the wall, and prospected for holds. -None were visible. I peered at the sides in search of scratches, which -would show whether the earlier party or parties had backed up the -chimney. No! they had not availed themselves of that process. Then, -with the conviction that an indirect way must exist, we examined -the walls a few feet below the pitch, and at last hit upon a way of -mounting higher. I was belayed by a rope passing round the upright -block already referred to, and proceeded to walk along the horizontal -edge of a thin crack on the right wall, leaning across to the other -side of the gully for general support on the hands. I had implicit -trust in the rope and the man at the other end of it, or the manœuvre -would have given me agonies of apprehension. Just as the second step -was being made along the crack, its thin edge broke away under my foot -and I slipped a few feet down the gully, till the rope tightened and -brought me to a stop. A second attempt was more successful. The edge -was followed till it expanded into a respectable foothold, and then, -holding myself straight, I was able to reach good ledges for the hands. -It was now easy to stride across to the left wall and climb directly -upwards along its crest to a platform large enough for both of us; -hither my companion followed me, adopting almost the same tactics and -taking but half the time. We were now virtually out of the gully, and -found the sunshine pleasant after so much darkness. But the joy that -might have attended our remaining efforts in working up to the head of -the chimney was marred by the reflection that we had not conquered the -chief difficulty; we had only avoided it. This is right and proper for -snow-climbers, but distinctly unorthodox for cragsmen. Our doubts grew -as we advanced, and at last I proposed to descend again and settle them -finally. This suggestion was met with a very prompt approval, and ten -minutes later found me at the foot of the vertical wall again. It did -not look any easier, and I am not prepared to say how narrowly I missed -a second failure. After leaving the upright block the scanty holds soon -disappeared, and with some desperate struggling I found myself backing -up the chimney with the feet thrust hard against the left wall. Both -sides seemed dangerously smooth, but cautious wriggling for a distance -of two or three feet brought a handhold within reach, and the top of -the wall was gained. The only other ascent known to me was by a man -with a singularly long reach, and in some marvellous way he managed to -climb the wall without any backing up. - -Thence to the cave was fairly easy after a few mossy loose stones -had been flung down, and the finish was effected by a neat little -ledge along the left wall, passing out just at the edge of the pitch. -The hole through the cave is not so small as the first investigators -imagined; the trouble in passing through is due to its crookedness, -but the name of the chimney is generally supposed to indicate with -proper remoteness the garment that is here threatened with a complete -inversion. - -We hurried across the top of C gully and round the Horse and Man to -the Pulpit rock. The D gully had a great deal of snow in it, and we -indulged in sundry glissades. The snow was not too hard nor the angle -too great, otherwise ice-axes would have been necessary. The upper -pitch was passed on our left with perfect ease. Then further snow -led to the lower pitch, a much more imposing sight. Two sharp-edged -boulders of immense size formed a cave. On the side of the Pulpit rock -there seemed to be no chance of passing it. The other side, though -mossy, might easily be made to go. In our descent we kept a little -further away, and came down ledge after ledge with excellent holds to -the foot of the pitch. Then more glissading brought us down to the open -fell again. We spent a quarter of an hour watching with much interest -a party coming down Scawfell Pinnacle by Steep Ghyll, and having seen -them safely into the lower part of the ghyll, where the steady click -of the leader’s axe intimated slow progress over ice-covered rocks, we -turned our backs to the fell and moved leisurely homewards. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -_DEEP GHYLL. THE GREAT CHIMNEY AND PROFESSOR’S CHIMNEY_ - - -DEEP GHYLL.--This will remain for long a favourite resort of -climbers, partly because the two pitches are always interesting and -may be turned in so many different ways, partly because the gully -gathers annually a big snow drift, which can generally be relied upon -between Christmas and Easter to afford some practice in the use of the -ice-axe, and partly because the rock scenery is of the finest character -throughout. The ghyll has been familiar to the visitors of Scawfell for -many years. It was first ascended in March, 1886, by Messrs. Geoffrey -Hastings and Slingsby, and an interesting account of the expedition -appeared in the ‘Alpine Journal.’ It had been descended twice before, -in 1882, by Messrs. Mumm and King, with heavy snow blocking the -pitches, and in 1884 by Mr. Haskett Smith. The quickest way of reaching -the foot of the ghyll is to walk up Brown Tongue till within a couple -of hundred feet of the level of Hollow Stones. It is here unnecessary -to keep straight over towards the centre of Mickledore, for a shallow -depression to the right of Brown Tongue may be traversed obliquely -upwards, and the scree struck close to the well-defined edge of the -lower crags of Scawfell. Thence it is best to keep close under the -cliffs, following an easy gradient up to the Lord’s Rake. This is the -large scree gully passing up to the right, under the main mass of -Scawfell. The scree forms at the foot of the Lord’s Rake the usual -fan-shaped talus, which here stretches down towards Hollow Stones. In -summer it may occasionally be worth while making directly up the centre -of the scree. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -DEEP GHYLL, FIRST PITCH] - -Just opposite the corner round which one turns into the Lord’s Rake -a rather slightly marked gully starts up from the side of the rake. -It becomes better defined a few yards higher, and leads directly -into Steep Ghyll. Almost at the same spot a ledge is to be noticed -passing round to the left of the huge wall fronting us at this corner. -This is the start of the Rake’s Progress, the happy name given to -the well-known terrace leading to Mickledore. We shall have further -occasion to allude to this ledge, but we now pass up the Lord’s -Rake till in a few feet we come to a magnificent gully on our left, -recognizable under any conditions except the most snowy by the cave -at its foot. A fine View of Deep Ghyll and its surroundings may be -obtained by scrambling up to the low ridge that faces us as we look -outwards from the cave. The ridge is somewhat broken up, and the -terrible accident that caused the death of Professor Milnes Marshall -at this spot must be a warning to any who wander up without thought of -danger. - -The orthodox route up the first pitch in Deep Ghyll is by the cave and -chimney. It is the most interesting way, and probably in dry clean -weather it is the easiest. When the chimney is cased with ice the route -may become impossible. In that case a recess in the right wall (right, -of course, when looking up at the climb) is often taken as a winter -emergency exit; for although the holds are slight in summer, loose -stones well bound up make it quite feasible in frosty weather. - -The hardest way up the pitch is by the thin cleft between the big -boulder and the left wall. - -Passing up for about 150 feet we find a steep slope of rock occupying -the left half of the gully. The scree in the other half leads up into a -cave whose black rectangular aperture may have been observed from the -Lord’s Rake ridge. The cave is formed by the ubiquitous jammed boulder, -and no through route can be effected. A thin chimney cuts between the -rock slope and the huge vertical left wall that rises with scarcely a -break to the Low Man on the Scawfell Pinnacle. This chimney constitutes -the easiest and safest route over the second pitch. On the right face -an irregular ledge leads to a larger chimney (Robinson’s), which with -some trouble can be followed till a level about twenty feet above the -top of the cave pitch is reached. Thence a small terrace offers an easy -promenade to the upper bed of the gully. A third way of taking the -difficulty has been found; indeed, it is the most obvious way, though -much the hardest. It is to climb the left wall of the cave entrance, -and then wriggle up between the rock slope and the cave boulder. - -There are many pleasant reminiscences of parties in Deep Ghyll. The -hardest struggle I ever had with the first pitch was on Christmas -Day, 1897. The rocks were badly glazed, and though we had no trouble -in penetrating to the inmost recesses of the cave, we could find no -easy way of getting higher. We were loth to try, seeing that one of -our party had, with a mistaken philanthropy, loaded his rücksack with -preserved fruit, prunes, and Carlsbad plums, and proceeded forthwith -to dignify our primitive lunch with these unwonted luxuries. A halt -called to consume a beef sandwich may be quickly terminated--and -that, moreover, without a sense of sorrow, unless the beef is very -bad--but those who know Carlsbad plums will realise how easily we were -demoralised by their seductiveness, and how much we preferred to sit in -our cave and argue on complicated topics with the plum-box open. But -the owner was a man of some resolution, and heroically vowed that we -should see no more of the plums till we reached a small recess at the -top of Moss Ghyll, where we should ensconce ourselves after climbing -the gully. So we made a start at once. The back way out of the cave -promised well at first. It showed no trace of ice, but on emerging -from the chimney (at the spot where the lower figure is shown in the -View facing p. 12), and looking straight down to the entrance of the -cave, it was found that a thin sheet of ice covered all the rocks. -Generally speaking it would be better to let the rocks alone on such -an occasion--in fact always, unless Carlsbad plums are at stake. Then, -perhaps, the second man may be held firmly by the rope from behind -while he gives the leader a shoulder. This help is of no use unless -the leader can venture to trust the icy handhold above him, by which -he is to swing round the awkward corner to the right. Some such scheme -our party devised, after many futile attempts to fix an axe firmly as -a foothold, and the leader dragged himself up the glazed surface to -the deep snow above. In the ordinary state of things, be it remembered -that where the climber emerges from the hole, he has first to stride -round to a small ledge on the right. He can use as a take-off the -rough surface of the boulder, and can reach a rigid handhold of small -dimensions but good shape. Thence to the top of the pitch is easy -scrambling, though care is needed. - -The snow in the gully was in grand condition for kicking steps, and -after the last man had been brought up the pitch in safety we marched -to the upper cave and discussed the question of route over the second -pitch. The direct way was ruled out of court at once, for its largest -ledges are but half an inch wide, and ice on these rendered them -useless. With a keen recollection of our trouble down below, we thought -of the Robinson Chimney on the right, which is quitted by crossing -on to a slabby rock that slopes down towards the centre of the gully. -With ice on this an attempt to force the way up would more likely find -us shooting over to the foot of the cave. Such a finish to our little -day would no doubt exactly coincide with the anticipations of our more -sanguine relatives and friends, but for the moment we had to consider -each other’s feelings and I suggested the easy way up. There was a -smiling unanimity of agreement in the party which pleased me far, very -far more than a hundred strictly impossible ascents. We descended the -gully again to the foot of the rock slope, and rounded into the little -chimney. Things went very well for a few feet. But as we rose the ice -became more troublesome, until it was necessary to chip it away from -each diminutive ledge, and to proceed upwards with the utmost caution. -The first part finished with a little snow patch twenty feet above the -top of the cave boulder and the bed of the ghyll. Some years before, -when first I visited Deep Ghyll, we had found it impossible to climb -directly upwards from this point, and a man was let down by the rope -into the ghyll. He cut steps up until he had obtained a higher level -than the others waiting, and then induced them to traverse out a bit -and jump into the snow below. The process was possible only with a long -rope. Here we could all rest and contemplate the rock slab opposite -which finishes the Robinson Chimney. Forty or fifty feet higher we -could see, well marked out by the snow, the upper traverse that enables -a careful walker to pass up Deep Ghyll without any hand-and-foot work. -It is readily accessible from the Lord’s Rake, a few feet higher than -the ordinary entrance to Deep Ghyll, and leads at an easy angle to a -point in the main gully some hundred feet above the second pitch. - -Looking up at the left wall of the Ghyll we could see that our slender -chimney was but the beginning of a long crack that cut obliquely into -the wall, and curled upwards in a fine sweep of eighty feet towards the -summit of the Low Man. The curtain of rock that closed in the crack -on its right hand made our next few yards rather troublesome, for it -encroached on our ledge and rendered the work too open. Facework is -always more trying than chimney climbing, especially when ice is about. -But the leader’s recollection of the ease with which this part could -be overcome in summer time divested it of all its fancied terrors and -perhaps of some of its real dangers, and he had therefore a better time -of it than his companions, whose extremities were somewhat benumbed -by their patient waiting in awkward places, and whose activities were -confined to their vivid imaginations. All actual danger was over when a -horizontal ledge was reached well above the centre-level of the gully, -which we followed with ease to the broken rocks that almost form a -third pitch for Deep Ghyll. - -Here the pleasantest way of finishing the day was to cut steps in the -snow up the central gully, the angle gradually steepening from 35° to -55° at the top. That way we therefore took, and were soon enjoying -the plums. But a rise of a few feet will show the Professor’s Chimney -immediately to the left, cutting deeply into the rock between the -Scawfell Pinnacle on the left and Pisgah on the right, and terminating -at a fine-looking notch, ‘The Jordan,’ in the sky-line. Exactly -opposite, on the right-hand side of the ghyll, is the Great Chimney, a -black and formidable square-walled recess crowned by a jammed boulder. -This was for a long time regarded as impossible and scarcely ever -attacked, but at last it yielded to the combined ingenuity of Messrs. -Blake and Southall, and has since shown itself to be very amenable when -approached with due precaution. - -_First pitch, New route._--The Christmas Day of 1896 was very windy and -cold. Our party had fought continually against the weather all the way -to Deep Ghyll, and inasmuch as we had only the previous day arrived -at Wastdale our limbs were scarcely fit for such a desperate grind. -I had the pleasurable responsibility of guiding a lady, Mrs. H., who -had been persuaded to accompany her husband on a winter excursion. We -had a great deal of very soft snow to get through on our way up, and I -was looking forward to a long halt in the lower cave, where we should -at least be protected from the wind and snow. Great was our distress -when we found the entrance completely blocked up by a huge drift. It -must have been fully twenty feet deep in front of the cave, and the -prospect was most disheartening. In disgust I clambered up the wall -immediately to the right of the boulder, and at last managed to reach -the aperture leading into the cave from above. It was festooned with -huge icicles, and at first the entrance looked effectually blocked. -Smashing down the ice with the energy of despair, the tremendous -clatter suggesting to my friends that of a bull in a hardware shop, I -discovered that the chimney was only iced at its entrance, and that the -upper storey of the cave could be reached. Some of the others quickly -followed, and we found ourselves in a spacious chamber into which the -great heap of snow had scarcely encroached. This was delightful. We -threw ourselves into the drift that blocked the main entrance, and cut -away at it with vigour till at last we had tunnelled through to the -daylight. The biggest man of the party yet remained outside and we -persuaded him to insert his legs into the aperture. Without giving him -time to change his mind we seized his boots and hauled hard. For one -dread moment we thought him jammed for ever, but immediately afterwards -we found ourselves lying on our backs in the cave with a yawning -opening in the snow-drift, the while our massive friend measured his -diminished circumference with a loop of rope. The others then came in -and made themselves at home on ropes, ice-axes, and other people’s -cameras. We were a party of ten, large enough to be a merry one. -Our surroundings were weird and savage, unlike the British notions for -a Christmas Day, but I remember that we behaved like civilized people -in perhaps one respect. We discussed the year’s literature. Fancy -Troglodytes discussing ‘Trilby’! Then it occurred to us that our feet -were very cold, and that we should not have much daylight for climbing -if we waited longer. Our intention had been to climb Deep Ghyll in -two separate parties, by the ordinary way. But the drift suggested a -trial of the crack up the left-hand side of the first pitch. The snow -would serve as a high take-off, and also a good cushion to soften the -fall if the leader were destined to fail. The first difficulty was to -get safely into the crack; then it was found that the holds were very -scarce, and the recess somewhat too constricted to allow any bracing -across from one side to the other. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE AND THE PROFESSOR’S CHIMNEY] - -Think of a foothold; double it. Put your whole weight on to it as -you straighten out. Take away the hold you thought of, and you will -find yourself wondering how you got there. In some such vague way are -very bad bits climbed, and while gasping for breath at the top the -climber usually feels that it was the worst place he has ever been in. -Seriously, however, this route is severe at all times. In summer the -drift is absent, but with rocks slightly wet, as they usually are in -that corner, the effort of working upwards is extreme. It is probably -best to keep one’s back to the boulder all the way up. - -My section of the party came up first. We were very cold, and some -fear that Mrs. H. would have frost-bite prompted us to change our minds -concerning Deep Ghyll, and to traverse away to the left towards the -foot of Steep Ghyll. The others came up the pitch by our route, led in -good style by Mr. H. V. Reade. They expressed regret at our untimely -departure, and worked laboriously up the ghyll. It was ungenerous of us -that evening to gloat over the fact that they had had a terribly cold -time of it higher up. - -Our route out of the ghyll was known to Mr. Haskett Smith in 1882. -It is not often used, and, indeed, in winter it offers certain risks -of its own. Starting from the top of the pitch we bore directly down -towards the entrance to Lord’s Rake, and when within a reasonable -distance of the snow, jumped down to it, sinking in up to our necks. -Hurrying down to Hollow Stones as fast as our limbs would carry us, we -endured the pangs of returning circulation in our hands and feet, and -finished the descent in exhilaration, and with a sense of having well -earned our share of the Christmas festivities. - -_Second pitch, Variety routes._--A description of the direct way over -the second pitch is scarcely necessary. The leader must start just at -the entrance to the cave, and work up the corner to the recess between -the jammed stone and the cave boulder. The holds are minute, and the -necessary stress on the finger tips excessive. He should try it first -when there is snow below him, and with his second arranged to pay -out twenty feet of rope from the innermost corner of the cave. If the -leader is destined to slip, it will take place at the point where the -slope suddenly becomes easier, for then his fingers are fatigued, his -centre of gravity wants for the first time an onward as well as an -upward motion, and his foothold will fail him at the crisis. Therefore -his centre of gravity will describe the ordinary parabola back into -the snow, and the tremendous jerk on the rope will make the man wonder -whether the remains of his centre of gravity are worth retaining. -Supposing that he has safely rounded this awkward edge, the utmost -caution is necessary for six feet till the scree is reached. Then comes -the trouble of manipulating the rope without shaking down stones on -the next man who is to pass up. If the leader wants the rope to be in -actual tension on his account, he has a hard task in bracing himself -firmly without dislodging the scree from under his feet. This trouble -of course is minimised when good firm snow can be cut to supply him a -footing. - -On the whole this direct route over the second pitch may be regarded -as too risky, except under the best possible circumstances--such, for -example, as existed when Messrs. Robinson and Creak found the two -pitches in Deep Ghyll entirely covered with snow, and an easy route -available straight up the middle from bottom to top. Then there was no -second pitch! - -The chimney on the right is excellent, but is not a course open to -beginners. It is in two parts. At the two places where it must be -quitted the route lies up the buttress on the left. I recall the remark -of an unenterprising follower as he looked up at the vertical walls -above him; he had been in difficulty down below and was inquiring -my intentions. His patience had been all but exhausted, and he said -so, adding: ‘It is not merely steep parts that so upset me. They can -be borne, but I don’t like this infernal dangling.’ The discussion -was diverted into a side issue, as to whether the adjective was -permissible, but in justice to his memory--he never visited the Lakes -again--be it said that very few climbers like the sensation of suspense. - - -THE GREAT CHIMNEY.--The position of this has already been -defined. Its ascent affords the best finish to the Deep Ghyll climb if -snow is absent from the gully and the screes are wearisome. The aspect -of the chimney is most forbidding from below, and there is probably -but one way of vanquishing it. I had been told how the first party had -proceeded up it, and had also heard an account of their defeat at a -second attempt. There is much likelihood of defeat even when one knows -the way, by reason of the awkwardness of the corner that needs careful -negotiation, and I am bound to admit that a first ascent rapidly -accomplished may help the climber very little in his second attempt. At -the time of my visit the rocks were warm and dry, our party of three -had just come up Collier’s Climb, and were keen on completing their -knowledge of Scawfell by making for the only chimney with which they -were unacquainted. We all gathered together high up in the recess, -and then, when the rope had been satisfactorily arranged for a long -run out, I started working up the right wall by some small but strong -ledges till the roof of the cavern was approached. Then it became -necessary to work out of the cave and round by the jammed stone. Just -outside was a ledge within reach for the hands; but to work the body -up the corner so as to kneel on the ledge was very awkward, the main -trouble arising from the depressing effect of the corner of the jammed -stone which forced head and shoulders almost to the level of one’s -feet. The prayerful attitude realized, I could anchor myself a little -by looping the rope round a stone in the roof and had then only to -stand up and clamber between the boulder and the living rock, trusting -to footholds on the latter. A few feet landed me in safety and the -others came up like smoke, carrying my cap that the gymnastics round -the corner had shaken down to them. A short scree and a few easy rocks -completed the gully, which both in regard to the aspect from above and -to the form of its one great difficulty reminded us of the Shamrock -Gully over in Ennerdale. The main differences in these two pitches are -that the Shamrock Gully pitch looks easier but proves to be harder, -also that it has less cave and more boulder. Neither pitch is suitable -for beginners. - -By walking across to the foot of the lower part of Professor’s -Chimney--a name, by the way, given first to the easy exit on the right -of Pisgah--a pitch of some severity can be taken or left, as fancy -dictates. The platform above this pitch leads well into the chimney and -the climb again gets stiff. A direct ascent of the pinnacle is probably -feasible from this level, but the first thirty feet will need the -utmost enterprise on the part of the daring aspirant to fresh honours -in this well-explored region. - -THE PROFESSOR’S CHIMNEY.--This looks almost as difficult as the -Great Chimney opposite, but is more a test of style than skill, the -only trouble being that of loose rocks. Though unworthy of perfect -confidence at all times, it may become most friendly in times of frost; -many loose stones occur that can be safely _pressed_ though dangerous -to _pull_, so that with a slight modification of style they are -rendered highly useful. Then of course two loose stones may share one’s -weight when one cannot take it. - -The introduction of all this elementary practical mountaineering is -due to my recollection of a huge stone that came away near the top of -the Professor’s Chimney when my party were coming up it. I was out of -harm’s way on the Jordan above, but in wrestling with the last part of -the chimney, a portion that slightly overhangs, the second in the party -pulled away the rock. It bounded down, ricochetting from side to side, -and for a moment placed the startled climbers in imminent peril. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -SCAWFELL CRAGS FROM THE PULPIT ROCK] - -In conclusion, just a word to pedestrians who have come out to climb -only by telescope. The ascent of Scawfell from the Lord’s Rake may be -safely and rapidly accomplished by following its lead past the entrance -to Deep Ghyll. - -The best plan is to keep as straight a course on the scree as the -up-and-down nature of the Rake will permit, with the steep rocks -immediately on the left. A pinnacle is almost at once passed on the -right that in former times was oft mistaken by the unlearned for the -great Scawfell Pinnacle, more especially because a cairn had been -erected on its crest as a decoy, by the wily discoverer of the true -pinnacle. Then it becomes necessary to descend a little, taking care -not to slither down to the right with the loose _debris_. After a few -yards the slope again rises for a while, and an easy gully shortly -discloses itself on the left, following which the tourist will -find himself in a few minutes on the stony plateau that at an easy -inclination travels away westward to Burnmoor. In clear weather he -will see the huge cairn that crowns the top of Scawfell, at a slight -elevation above the top of the gully, and can safely make a bee-line -for it. Climbers often descend by this route in bad weather when the -Broad Stand appears to elude their anxious search. - -The quickest way down from Scawfell is to make for the head of this -gully, and then, instead of descending, leave it on the right and -follow the edge of cliff straight towards the head of Wastwater; -where the edge is deflected to the left, a scree-run to the foot of -Brown Tongue takes us over rough but safe ground to the diminutive -footpath that starts at the stone wall. It should be learnt first in -clear weather, if possible, as there is no royal road to safety for the -befogged novice on the fells. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -_THE RAKE’S PROGRESS AND CERTAIN SHORT CLIMBS NEAR IT_ - - -THE RAKE’S PROGRESS.--This happy title dates from about 1881. -The Progress is an easy ledge leading from the lower end of the Lord’s -Rake to the point where the Mickledore ridge joins the main mass -of Scawfell. It runs along the base of the vertical walls of this -mountain, and though at a great elevation above the huge Mickledore -hollow, is scarcely entitled to the thrilling adjective _vertigineuse_ -of the French climbing vocabulary. Yet it is capable of carrying one -into the finest situations; and even the hardened expert, with his -steady head and well-trained muscles, realises while on it that danger -is hovering about him at every step, though it does not touch him. -Years ago I read, in Freshfield’s ‘Italian Alps,’ of the Pelmo traverse -in the Ampezzo Dolomites, and memory seized on the Rake’s Progress as -the nearest approach to it that mountain experience had then afforded. -Let there be no rise on the Mickledore; make the Progress thrice as -long, and a little more rakish; change the rock from porphyry to -magnesian limestone; let the drop below the ledge be a few hundred feet -instead of a few score; make it necessary to crawl on all fours in one -or two corners, and the resemblance will be perfect! In a few yards -after the preliminary scramble on to the ledge, the crags are broken on -our right by the short chimney entrances to Steep Ghyll and Moss Ghyll. -These cannot be mistaken, inasmuch as they mark the last possible -points of attack on these cliffs for one-half of the traverse. - -Passing the entrance to Moss Ghyll, to which we must return for the -ascent of this fine gully, a steep rise marks the accomplishment of -one-third of the course. A little further a thin cleft cuts obliquely -up the cliff towards the left. It is wonderfully straight, and the -slabs of rock on either side are hopelessly smooth. The crack widens -higher up, but until 1897 the terrific simplicity of its lower portion -had warned off all who examined it with the view of storming this side -of Scawfell. The upper half, reached by an ingenious zig-zag route on -the face, is now well known as one of the safest and best climbs on -Scawfell. Shortly afterwards we reach a rectangular recess looking as -though it had been quarried for a gigantic monolith. Here again the -great difficulty of starting up is manifested at a glance, though in -the same direction up above the recess is so much more deeply cut and -the sides so much nearer to each other that one’s safety is assured for -the second half of the climb. In this case also, the middle is reached -by a slight detour on the left. A few yards further along the Progress -are two thin cracks uniting at a height of twenty feet and leading to -a platform ten feet higher. Thence a perfectly safe cleft passes -directly up for another forty feet, till a grassy ledge, clearly -visible only when marked by snow, takes one easily to the middle of the -long chimney. To mount the chimney is an undertaking well within the -powers of the average rock-climber, and with the additional merit of -being perfectly safe for a party of three. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abrahams & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE ASCENT OF THE BROAD STAND - -(_Face page 30_)] - -Such are the Keswick Brothers’ Climb and Collier’s Climb, two of -the best conceived problems of the district and worthy of their -discoverers. The lower half of the latter is undeniably severe; even -the best have failed at it, and I propose in a separate section to -describe an ascent in detail, to point out the method our party adopted -to eliminate the risk that the climber is popularly supposed to accept -as inevitable, and to indicate how the Keswick Brothers’ route enables -us to avoid the worst piece altogether. - -The next halt we make close to the Mickledore, within thirty-five feet -of the end of the Progress. Here a thin cleft, known as Petty’s Rift -for the last twenty years, leads to a square recess ten feet up, and -marks the start of the North or Penrith Climb up the Scawfell crags. -These are now only a few score feet above us. The illustration facing -page 26 shows how the upper outline of the cliff and the Mickledore -ridge approach to within a few feet of each other. - -Having reached the Mickledore ridge it is well worth while walking -along it to its furthest end, and then bearing to the left on to the -Pulpit rock, for the sake of the fine view of the climbs we have -just been enumerating. The Eskdale side of Scawfell is terminated by -an abrupt vertical cliff that seemingly offers no sort of route for -the cragsman. Half way down to the corner of this cliff, a gully cuts -deeply into the mountain, and passes upwards at an apparent angle of -45° towards the tops of Moss Ghyll and Collier’s Climb. - -The gully--Scawfell Chimney or Mickledore Chimney, as it is sometimes -distinctively called--has its own peculiar difficulties in wet or snowy -weather, but when at its best it may be attacked by comparatively -inexperienced men, if they are properly equipped and exercise ordinary -precautions. On the other hand, the gully represents the drainage -channel for a considerable area, and is usually wet. - -Undoubtedly the easiest way from Mickledore up to the ridge facing us -is by the Broad Stand. The start is made in the cleft half way between -Mickledore and the foot of Scawfell Chimney. Three short pitches, each -less than ten feet, take us on to an easy slope that can be followed -to the upper part of the chimney. To keep up between the chimney on -our left and the steep cliffs to our right is an easy matter in clear -weather, till Pisgah appears on our right, the descent into Deep Ghyll -straight in front of us, and the cairn-crowned summit of the mountain a -hundred yards away towards the left. - -This finishes the preliminary survey of the eastern face of Scawfell, -during the perusal of which the reader is recommended to examine the -diagram facing page 46. - -THE BROAD STAND.--My first climb in the Lake District was up the -Broad Stand. Dr. S. and I had planned a week’s walking tour over the -Cumberland fells, guided by Baddeley and Jenkinson, and ignorant of the -existence of any regular rock practice hereabouts. We walked up from -Langdale one Sunday morning in heavy snow to the top of Rossett Ghyll, -and then studied the guide book for information concerning the small -tarn that lay a few feet beneath us. ‘Deep and clear, and good for -bathing,’ we read; so we bathed. It was long ago, and neither of us has -bathed during a snowstorm since. Our feet got benumbed standing on the -snow while we were dressing ourselves, and we had much ado to restore -circulation. Then as the day advanced and the air cleared a little, -it seemed possible that we might find a way up Scawfell Pikes, which, -we had read, was the highest point in England. With much ploughing -through soft snow, loaded with heavy knapsacks, and supported by but -one broken walking stick, we reached the topmost cairn in perfect -safety and realised the height of that Easter ambition. Then it was -that Dr. S. read aloud to me a thrilling description of the Mickledore -chasm, which presented an almost impassable barrier between the Pikes -and Scawfell, a terrific gap that only hardy cragsmen of the dales were -able to traverse. The ice-cold bath on that Sabbath morn had done much -to quench our spirit, but we had partially recovered ourselves, and a -burning desire to scale the majestic peak opposite flamed up in each -of us simultaneously, and drove us down towards the Pulpit rock that -sentinels the Mickledore. The guide-book was not wanting in detail. -There were three Ways of attacking Scawfell from Mickledore; first -the Chimney, then Broad Stand, and then the Lord’s Rake. I believe we -guessed the position of the chimney correctly, for after all there is -something to show for the name; but we were hopelessly at sea with -the other two. Dr. S. argued that Lord’s Rake sounded so much worse -than Broad Stand that we were bound to go for it wherever it might be -and however easy its aspect. Nobody at home would believe us if we -described a Broad Stand as a vertical wall hundreds of feet in height, -glistening with ice, and guarded above by overhanging boulders ready -to pulverise the bold invader. On the other hand, the Lord’s Rake -seemed remotely to suggest Jacob’s Ladder, and offered the imagination -a goodly choice of adjective and epithet. Where, then, was the Lord’s -Rake? We had little time to consider, and rapidly decided that the -Broad Stand was away down in Eskdale on the left, and the Lord’s Rake -straight up from Mickledore. Wherein we were wrong, as the previous -pages may show the reader. Then we tried to get up the wall just where -the Mickledore ridge strikes the cliff, but the cold soon drove us to -seek some easier start lower on the left. Thus it was that fate took -us to the actual Broad Stand, up which, inexperienced though we were, -we could scarcely help finding the correct route. Place a man at the -right starting point, and he will easily find the upward line of least -resistance, though not so swiftly as he would trace out the downward -line if he slipped. - -Twelve yards down from the Mickledore we came to a deep recess in -the mountain side, large enough to penetrate if one is not burdened -with a knapsack. (A confirmation of the right spot is supplied by a -thinner crack six feet lower down the screes.) Wriggling up into the -recess and then out on to the slightly sloping platform above it was -a matter of only a few seconds, and we then found facing us a wall of -from eight to ten feet in height offering very little hand or foothold -for a direct attack. But by descending the sloping grassy ledge at its -foot we could see some iced ledges (clear rocks show the marks of many -boots) that suggested the circumvention of the difficulty. To these we -in turn trusted ourselves, and by passing round the somewhat awkward -left-hand corner of the wall we found an easy though steep route to -its flat top. Then a smaller wall of about seven feet barred the way. -It was easier than the last, though in those days the frost had not -scooped out the hollow on the edge, and by the help of my comrade’s -shoulders I reached the summit. The difficulties were obviously over; -we could walk up by the right on to the snow slope, above which, as our -early inspection from the Pulpit rock showed, there was an easy route -to the top of Scawfell. Unfortunately my friend was not up the last -step. I could not reciprocate his kindness and offer him my shoulders. -We had no rope, and the rocks were all glazed. I had not intended to -mention our ropeless condition, but the truth will out sooner or later; -neither had we nails in our boots. But apparently we had sense enough -to realize that an accident might happen if we tempted Providence any -further, and with some sorrow we decided to descend again. We found -our way down the Mickledore screes and Brown Tongue to Wastdale, and -there learnt that we had tried conclusions with the Broad Stand at -its worst. We also learnt that from the top of the third step which I -had reached the route lay up the snow slope to the broken rocks, then -slightly to the left until the easy part of the chimney could be looked -into, then obliquely up to the right over rough ground to the small -cairn overlooking Deep Ghyll. Many times since then, rattling down the -Broad Stand when the rocks were dry and our party well acquainted with -every inch of the ground, have we recalled that Easter Sunday and our -first essay of the Broad Stand. There have also been many occasions to -remember the golden rule in the descent of these crags. First find the -top of the Scawfell Chimney; keep it on the right till its one pitch is -just below. Then bear to the left down the grassy slope and hunt for -the notch in the top step of the Broad Stand. - -The usual thing in a fog is to find oneself down in Eskdale. I remember -a photographic friend once leaving his camera at the foot of Deep Ghyll -while he went for an hour’s round of Lord’s Rake, Scawfell Cairn, and -the Broad Stand. The dense mountain mists gathered about him at the -top, and rendered useless his efforts to steer the true course. That -night he discovered himself at Boot, and three days elapsed before he -found his camera, suffering from the effects of over-exposure as much -as himself. - -THE NORTH CLIMB.--This starts at Petty’s Rift, already -referred to on page 31, about twelve yards from Mickledore along the -Rake’s Progress. From a distance it looks as though the climb would -necessarily include the funnel-shaped gully below the Progress, and -the whole aspect of the work is somewhat forbidding. Nevertheless the -difficulties are concentrated in the first six feet. When once the -climber can get a foot on to the floor of the little square recess, his -safety is assured. In the photograph facing page 40 the positions of -the three members of the party indicate sufficiently well the course -usually taken. The last man is taking off with his left foot, and has -his right hand at the edge of the recess on to which he intends to -climb. The face is very exposed in wintry weather, and several stories -are told of parties who have suffered here from frostbite. It is not a -safe place to descend when ice is about the rocks. - -The following account of the North or Penrith Climb is taken from Mr. -C. N. Williamson’s article in ‘All the Year Round.’ Introducing, as it -does, Mr. Seatree’s original description, I make no apology for quoting -it in full: ‘There is yet another and a more direct way of climbing the -Scawfell cliffs from Mickledore, which, for want of a better name, we -may christen the “North Climb.” The route is known to very few. It was -discovered for himself in 1874 by Mr. George Seatree.... Major Cundill -had already climbed it in 1869. - -‘From the ridge we traversed a ledge of grass-covered rock (the Rake’s -Progress) to the right until we reached a detached boulder, stepping -upon which we were enabled to get handhold of a crevice six or seven -feet from where we stood. To draw ourselves up so as to get our feet -upon this was the difficulty. There is only one small foothold in that -distance, and to have slipped here would have precipitated the climber -many feet below. Having succeeded in gaining this foothold, we found -ourselves in a small rectangular recess with barely room to turn round. -From here it was necessary to draw ourselves carefully over two other -ledges into a small rift in the rocks, and then traverse on our hands -and knees another narrow ledge of almost eight feet to the left, which -brought us nearly in a line with the Mickledore ridge. From here all -was comparatively smooth sailing. - -‘The detached boulder may be identified with certainty by noticing -that it is imbedded in the Rake’s Progress close to the top of a -funnel-shaped grassy gully about ten or twelve yards from Mickledore. -None but experienced climbers should attempt the North Climb from the -Mickledore.’ - -SCAWFELL CHIMNEY.--A year after our first sorry attempt on Broad -Stand Dr. S. and I were being shown the merits of Cust’s gully on Great -End as a school for step-cutting, by an enthusiastic wielder of the -ice-axe, Mr. C. G. Monro. Neither of us knew much about the subject, -but it was pleasant to be well instructed, and on reaching the summit -of Great End we wondered where we could cut steps next. Monro suggested -an adjournment for lunch at Mickledore and a subsequent passage up the -doubtless snow-filled chimney: to which we all agreed. - -On reaching the chimney, Monro took the lead and hopefully ploughed -through heavy wet snow as a preliminary. Unfortunately, the snow became -softer and deeper as we advanced, until at last we were up to our -waists in slush, and wet through. The pitch was not very far to seek. -We saw long dripping icicles barring our direct route onwards. Both -sides of the gully were heavily glazed with wet ice, and we foresaw -an anxious time of waiting while the leader prospected. At the time -we were not aware that the usual exit was upon the right-hand side of -the pitch, by a couple of easy broad ledges. Nor could we see that the -pitch was in two parts, cave upon cave, with a large resting-place -between; for the icicles hung in an impenetrable curtain. Monro -attacked the icicles valiantly. Twice he succeeded in working half -way up between the centre and left wall, but twice he was repulsed -vigorously, and found himself landed in the snow below. I was getting -cold and impatient. Monro was willing to take a breathing space. I -unroped and made for the left wall. Cutting little steps for hands and -feet in the ice that covered the wall, and using the fingers for all -they were worth, in some ungainly fashion I reached the level of the -top of the pitch and traversed on to the snow above. The axe had been -used, I suspect, more like a croquet mallet than anything else, and -introduced its own particular dangers. But it was of no consequence, -the pitch was climbed, and the shivering pair below tried to fling up -the rope to me. This was a matter of much difficulty, placed as we -were, but by approaching each other as far as we dared, a happy fling -brought the end of the rope to my hand, and I responded by throwing -down, to their extreme peril, the ice-axe that they needed to effect -their ascent. We managed the rest badly. My position was insecure in -the upper snow of the gully, or at any rate it seemed to be so. The -others were benumbed with cold and wet, unable to feel the holds or to -rely on getting any help from me. We certainly were not a strong party, -and there was no possibility of mutual aid. The only consolation was -in the fact that all danger was absent; a fall could only result in a -plunge into ten feet of soft snow, but we never afterwards spoke with -pride of that afternoon’s work. The other two decided to give it up, -and go down to Mickledore again. My own feelings were not consulted, -but what matter? The Broad Stand was somewhere about. I might descend -that way and shout when in trouble. We joined again at Mickledore, and -rather gloomily glissaded to Hollow Stones. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE PENRITH CLIMB FROM MICKLEDORE] - -That evening at Wastdale we hunted out Williamson’s reference to the -Scawfell Chimney. ‘It is impossible to get straight up the chimney, -as the way is blocked by an overhanging slab, and escape must be -effected either by the right-hand wall near the top, where handhold is -miserably inadequate, or by the “corner,” forty feet up the chimney. -The passage of the corner is a matter of stride and balance, as there -is no positive hold for the hands. There is a bad drop into the chimney -behind, and a slip in rounding the corner would end in broken limbs, if -not a battered skull. A man essaying the corner must apply himself like -a plaister to an unpleasantly projecting rock, and then by shifting the -weight from one foot to the other (for the legs are stretched widely -apart) he can creep round.’ - -The chimney has not often been climbed by that variation of mine since -then. In dry weather it is perfectly safe to ascend or descend direct -by the pitch. In the ascent both sides of the gully may be used at -first; then comes an awkward crawl over the first jammed boulder, into -the secondary cave. Then, taking care of a few loose stones, another -jammed boulder forming the roof is overcome--it is only a few feet -high--and a passage out on the right is made possible. A long stretch -of scree next fills the bed of the gully, the right wall of which is -here broken away almost entirely, so that the climber generally makes -an exit, and passes straight up to the Deep Ghyll cairn. But a pitch -still remains to terminate the scree, and must be climbed by him who -would assure himself of having explored the gully in its entirety. - -THE PARSON’S GULLY.--An easy way of descending to upper Eskdale -other than by the Mickledore route was pointed out a few years ago by -the Rev. T. C. V. Bastow. It is by a short gully with two pitches, -due south of the summit cairn. When drift snow lies about it, it is -generally possible to walk or glissade down the whole length of the -gully on to the screes below. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -_MOSS GHYLL, COLLIER’S CLIMB, AND KESWICK BROTHERS’ CLIMB_ - - -MOSS GHYLL.--There are accounts of explorations of this famous -gully as far back as 1889. It was styled Sweep Ghyll by Mr. R. C. -Gilson, partly for euphonious grouping with Deep Ghyll and Steep -Ghyll, and partly as a suggestion of ‘the probable profession of its -future first climber.’ In June, 1889, a strong set of four managed to -penetrate upwards into its recesses a yard or two beyond Tennis Court -ledge, 300 feet above the Rake’s Progress, and almost exactly half way -from start to finish. Here the explorers saw the great jammed boulders -apparently barring all further progress, and decided to return the way -they came. Then, a few days later, another party went round to the top -of the gully and descended to the lower edge of the small scree that -so quietly terminates the high and difficult last chimney. Here they -firmly anchored themselves, and let down an adventurous member on 160 -feet of rope. He descended in this way as far as the upper portion of -the great obstacle in the middle of the gully, but saw no way whatever -for an ascending party to circumvent or attack successfully the immense -barrier. He apparently realized that the upper chimney could be fairly -climbed, though of course it would tax the resources of the best of -cragsmen; but the jammed boulders he judged to be insuperable, and -returned to tell his companions the melancholy news. They left Moss -Ghyll with the conviction that it would never be climbed, and until -December, 1892, everyone else who came and saw turned back with much -the same impression. - -On the 27th of that month Messrs. Collie, Hastings, and Robinson made -a determined attack on the ghyll. The winter was exceptionally fine -and the rocks were clean and dry. They easily reached the Tennis Court -ledge, and thence traversed into the gully. Penetrating the cave below -the big pitch, Dr. Collie, who was leading, climbed up to the roof -and out by a small window between the jammed boulders. Thence, by the -ingenious expedient of hacking at a thin undercut plate of rock, he -exposed a small foothold on the wall that enabled him to traverse out -from the pitch and into a place of safety beyond. Thence to the top of -the pitch was an easy matter, and the remaining members of the party -quickly followed him. It has since been discovered that the hardest -part of the gully was yet before them. They, however, had practically -solved the main problem, and were contented to work out of the gully by -steep ‘mantelshelf’ climbing up to the left. The honour of the first -strict ascent of Moss Ghyll fell to Dr. Collier a few days later, -who climbed the ghyll from beginning to end under the impression that -the previous party had done the same. Dr. Collier was accompanied by -four others, and was emphatic in his opinion that the final chimney -represented the hardest part of the climb. Two days later he took -up Professors Marshall and Dixon, and from the former I obtained -sufficient information to start off one morning on my own account to -learn for the first time what Moss Ghyll was like. - -It was distinctly a day of adventure, and I learnt a great deal -concerning the ghyll. The passage across the Collie step appeared -to me the most difficult, but the loose slabs over which one has to -walk adroitly were then covered with fresh snow. The famous step was -invisible, and I had to stoop and scrape in order to determine its -exact shape and position. At the first attempt on the traverse I -slipped, and fell into the snow-bed of the gully below. The result -was scarcely surprising, though eminently uncomfortable. But the -falling was, under the circumstances, almost part of the programme, -and a rope had been fixed in the interior of the cavern, passed out -through the ‘window,’ and then attached to my waist, to eliminate the -danger of plunging some 400 feet down to the foot of the gully. The -second attempt was successful, though I confess to a feeling of lively -apprehension as the critical point was being passed. - -Thence to the parting of the ways was easy travelling, and an exit -was made by the left-hand route. I returned two days after to fetch -axe and rope, that had been left at the big pitch, but it was not -until the Whitsuntide of 1896 that a suitable opportunity occurred of -visiting Moss Ghyll at its best, for the purposes of comparison and of -exploration of the direct finish. During that interval the climb had -been repeated many times, and Moss Ghyll was by way of becoming ‘an -easy day for a lady.’ Hot-headed youths would arrive fresh at Wastdale, -inquire for the hardest thing about, and at the mention of Moss Ghyll -would straightway fling themselves into the breach and by hook or crook -wriggle themselves up and out in triumph. Others were unsuccessful, -and it was always amusing to learn where the stupendous difficulty -had arisen, where no mortal man could have gone further. The personal -equation was always in evidence, both in the actual climbing and in the -history thereof. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE II. - -SCAWFELL FROM THE PULPIT ROCK (p. 26). - -The height of Pisgah above the Lord’s Rake is about 520 feet. - - _a_ Scawfell Chimney. - _b_ Broad Stand (p. 30). - _c_ Penrith or North Climb (p. 40). - _d_ Collier’s Climb. - _e_ Keswick Brothers’ Climb. - _f_ Moss Ghyll. - _g_ Dr. Collie’s Variation-exit. - _h_ Steep Ghyll. - _j_ Pinnacle Climb from Lord’s Rake. - _k_ Low Man. - _l_ Scawfell Pinnacle (pp. 69 and 76). - _m_ Pisgah. - _n_ North Ridge of Pinnacle (p. 83). - _p_ Lord’s Rake. - _q_ Easy Terrace into Deep Ghyll. - _r_ Great Chimney. - _s_ Entrance to Deep Ghyll (p. 12). - _t_ Rake’s Progress. - _v_ Mickledore Screes. - _w_ Mickledore. - _x_ West Wall Climb (App.).] - -My companions at Whitsuntide were Messrs. W. Brigg and Greenwood. -Neither of them had been in the ghyll before, but both were very keen -to make its acquaintance, though so far as reading could take them the -smallest details of the climb were perfectly well known. We separated -off from a larger party on the Rake’s Progress, and at the entrance -to the gully, which I have already defined in position, we roped up -and began the rock climbing at once. There are a few small and stiff -pitches that may be taken as they come in the first fifty feet of -ascent from the Progress; but we were quite willing to make the -usual divergence to the right from the entrance to the first cave. This -led us up easy grass and rock close to the gully, which soon dwindled -into utter insignificance by reason of its right wall being almost -entirely cut away. Keeping out in the open until the slope suddenly -steepened, we made a traverse into the gully, and walked up the screes -until stopped by a long and awkward-looking grass-crowned chimney. Then -we were hemmed in on both sides, and my friends were invited to define -the nature of the next move. They knew something of the locality; -we had to climb up the right-hand wall on to a level platform some -eighteen feet higher, and then work back into the ghyll by a slightly -upward traverse. The platform was the well-known Tennis Court ledge, -and its vertical wall was one of the chief difficulties of former days. -When in 1893 I had first occasion to climb the wall, there was much -ice about and it was easiest to work some way up the chimney before -stepping out on to the wall. The second attempt, two days later, was -in worse circumstances, and I preferred working directly upwards to -a still higher level before diverging. On that occasion it seemed as -though the simplest plan would have been to avoid the Tennis Court -ledge altogether and keep to the chimney. But Mr. Kempson has since -pointed out that the grass holds at the top are unreliable except when -frost holds the earth together. With Brigg and Greenwood I should -have been loth to leave the Tennis Court unvisited. So we clambered -directly up to it. The holds in the lower part of the wall were slight -but very firm. The surface was rough and reliable. Two-thirds of the -way up we found a little spike of rock that offered an admirable hold, -sufficient to belay the rope safely while rounding the top edge of the -wall and drawing up on to the platform. The others then came up with -ease, and we halted a moment to look at the view. - -The ledge is scarcely large enough for tennis, it might be eight feet -long and two or three feet wide; the name is just the overflow of the -pretty wit of some early explorer. Above us rose threateningly the -vertical rampart that separates Moss Ghyll and Steep Ghyll. We could -see the jammed boulders a little higher up in our ghyll. They appear -small from Hollow Stones, but from our ledge each looked almost as -large as a church. Wastdale Church we had in mind. The opposite wall of -the ghyll looked hopelessly inaccessible, and we were little surprised -that so many before us had been content to look and return. The -traverse into the ghyll again was not so easy. If the leader slipped it -would require clever management of the rope on the part of the others -to avoid an unwilling follow on, though I believe a party was once -tested here in that manner--and survived the test. - -It was necessary to pass round a small buttress on to the scree bed -of the gully. The first two steps were upwards, with just a steadying -hold above for the hands. It was not desirable to keep too high, -an unnecessary lengthening of the _mauvais pas_ that some climbers -recommend. The footholds are not perfect; they are large, but slope the -wrong way. When dry, the friction is ample to prevent slipping. Where -the rocks are glazed, as I have good occasion to remember, the passage -is distinctly dangerous, especially the return from the gully to the -Tennis Court ledge. - -Thence, when all had rounded the corner safely, we walked up scree into -the large cavern formed by the two jammed boulders. The one would of -itself have formed a bridge across the gully, with a recess between it -and the steep bed of the gully; the other, which is much larger, has -fallen on to the first and roofed over the recess. When well within the -cave we could see the ‘window’ high up between the two boulders, the -one weak point by which the pitch could be attacked. I clambered up -the interior of the cave and on to the window-sill. One of the others -followed me, the third staying below to anchor the rope more firmly. -From the window we could see the smooth steep wall on our right by -which we were to traverse outwards. A couple of feet below our level -we could observe that the rock formed a sharp horizontal edge six feet -long, below which it overhung considerably. Just along this edge we -were preparing to walk, using two steps that were sufficiently large -for our needs. The first was the step cut by Dr. Collie. The second -was at the further end of the short promenade, and was just capable -of holding the toes of both boots. Starting with the right foot on the -first step, the further end of the second step was taken in a long -stride with the left. The right was then brought up to it, and the left -reached round the corner at the end on to a respectable and satisfying -foothold. The trick of balancing was not very difficult, providing of -course that the body was kept as nearly as possible vertical. A tumble -when no snow was about would be painful even with a rope to limit its -freedom, so we moved with deliberation and with a due sense of the -difficulties of the place. After passing the dreaded _pas-de-deux_, -I reached in about ten feet of ascent a satisfactory recess, where a -‘belaying pin’ was to be found. It is an excellent projection of rock, -sometimes overlooked by climbers, behind which the rope can be slipped, -and held with firmness in the event of a fall. It is a little awkward -for the leader to pass directly up into the ghyll again before the -second man moves away from the window. Such a course would require a -long rope. Using the belaying pin we found that a sixty-feet length -of rope was ample for the party of three, and no time was lost in -unroping or re-adjusting. When our second man reached the pin I quitted -the recess to make room for him, and mounted into the gully while he -played up the last man. A few feet of easy scree brought us into the -large open portion of the ravine which marks the only spot where it is -possible to break away to the left from the gully. The final crags in -front rose abruptly up for another 200 feet, and were deeply cut -by the vertical Collier’s Chimney, which starts almost at once from -our level. The skyline trended downwards by the left, so that the open -route to the top was not so long in point of distance as the other. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -COLLIER’S CHIMNEY, MOSS GHYLL - -(_Face page 51_)] - -It certainly was easier to work up the wall to the left. It rose at -a steep angle, and was columnar in structure, with long, porphyritic -slabs crowned by small levels of tufted grass. The leader would often -be unable to help his followers with the rope, but the successive -ledges could be so chosen that no great distance would exist between -the resting-places. Such open work is often more trying for the nerves -than harder chimney climbing, but it is always admirable practice when -the ledges are reliable. - -I had quitted the gully by this variation three years before, and -wanted both on my own account and that of my friends to work out the -alternative route. I started up the right wall, at first steadied by -the left, but soon found myself too far out of the chimney to feel -at all comfortable. Thirty feet up was a jammed stone blocking the -narrow way, apparently very effectually. But we had heard of a possible -wriggle behind the jammed stone, and with a reprehensible lack of -daring I made a traverse to the chimney again, and began working up -it with back and knee in the orthodox manner. The situation was safe -enough, but the effort of lifting oneself inch by inch was supremely -fatiguing, and when I discovered the hole behind the boulder to be -about half my minimum sectional area I began to regret the scheme. But -it was too late to return, and with a dread fear of closing up the -‘through’ route for ever, I straightened out one arm above my head and -thrust it through the hole. Fortunately I had no camera sack to hold -me back, a frequent source of annoyance in a tight place. Here we were -all travelling light, and I had nothing to thrust through the aperture -but a limp body that was at every moment lessening its rigidity. As -soon as both shoulders were well in, the rest followed more easily -by vigorous prisings with the elbows, which are so useful in upward -thrusting. Dragging myself into a standing position on the jammed -boulder, I called on the others to follow. They chose the outside -course, making two little détours out and back on the vertical wall, -probably the exact plan adopted by Dr. Collier in the first ascent. My -position in this little ‘sentry-box’ was secure, and the rope could be -manipulated with all necessary care till the three of us were gathered -close together in the tiny recess. Then we had a somewhat easier -scramble up the next vertical portion of the chimney, to pass some -small jammed stones twenty feet higher. We used the same wall and found -the footholds in it more obviously arranged for our convenience. The -first climber had surely a bad time of it on this wall, seeing that it -was all moss-covered, and required an immense amount of preliminary -clearing before the holds could be discerned. But moss has had no -chance of growing there for the last four years, and we had none to -trouble us. A couple of minutes carried us from the sentry-box to the -top of the next pitch. The slope of the ghyll suddenly became easier, -scree led to a short and easy rock pitch, somewhat spoilt by loose -stones, and then a walk to the top brought us in contact with friends -and the commissariat. - -THE PISGAH BUTTRESS.--In the second chapter mention was made -of the small pinnacle of Pisgah that flanked the Professor’s Chimney. -Viewing the crags from Mickledore, it will be seen that this pinnacle -is the culminating point of the ridge between Moss Ghyll and Steep -Ghyll. It is convenient to introduce here a brief account of the first -ascent of this ridge directly from the ‘Tennis Court.’ Messrs. G. -and A. Abraham had repeatedly assured me that their inspection from -neighbouring points of view had been favourable, but it was not until -April 22, 1898, when ascending Scawfell Pinnacle by the Low Man, that -I examined the Pisgah ridge with the object of attacking it. The same -afternoon these two friends awaited my arrival on the ‘Tennis Court.’ -I came along the Mickledore towards the Pulpit Rock to enjoy a rest -and the society of a party of friends, but was disappointed of both -by a call from the Ledge. In ten minutes from the Mickledore I joined -them, and while recovering breath, was interested to hear of their -attempts to reach the Ledge by other ways than Moss Ghyll. Then, -disposing the rope properly, we went to the extreme right corner and -started the real business. I had a vertical crack about twelve feet -high to surmount. It led to a small platform similar to the one from -which we began our climb, and presented the usual difficulties--no hand -or foothold. A shoulder was given me, then probably a head, then a -steadying hand for my struggling feet, the left arm being thrust well -into the crack and the right doing as best it could on the wall, until -it could reach the grassy edge of the platform above. Once on this the -prospect was pleasing, and we dubbed the spot a ‘Fives Court.’ Thence -a steep chimney rose directly towards the ridge. I mounted some twenty -feet and debated whether the others might safely come up and help. -There seemed to be a fair chance of entering an overhanging chimney -away up to my left, or of following the direct route to the ridge. The -first course attracted me a yard or two along a narrow ledge, until the -way was barred by an immense poised block. It trembled as I touched -the horrible thing; so did my friends down below, and they besought -me to play the straight game, and aim for the arête instead of aiming -at them. They were perfectly just in their choice, and it is as well -that their advice was followed, for we should have had a terrible time -working the overhanging chimney. Ten or fifteen feet of rather careful -scrambling brought me to the edge of the buttress, at a point where I -could descend a little on the Steep Ghyll side and belay the others -with absolute security while they mounted. - -The point we had reached was on a level with the top of the Slingsby’s -Chimney on the Pinnacle. Another party of climbers were operating over -there, and gave us some useful information as to the work we had above -us. Our rock was not altogether firm and reliable, so that the next bit -of vertical ridge in front was discarded in favour of a slight détour -on the left face. Belayed as he was by the others, the leader ran very -little risk, and employing a succession of moderately firm, tufted -ledges, he dragged himself steadily up for another twenty feet before -his companions quitted their belay and joined him. Then we unroped -and walked up the remaining hundred feet with no trouble whatever, -astonished to find that our difficulties had been so few and so rapidly -overcome. In an hour from the ‘Tennis Court’ we were swinging down the -Broad Stand ledges. - -COLLIER’S CLIMB.--For many years it was currently supposed -that any attempt to scale the precipice between the North Climb at -Mickledore and Steep Ghyll round by the Pinnacle, ranked the daring -enthusiast as one _quem Deus vult perdere_, and, moreover, that the -gods would not give him the chance to finish his undertaking. But -with the advent of a greater number of experienced climbers, coming -to Wastdale with recollections of the stupendous rocks in the Swiss -Alps or the Austrian Dolomites, a reaction gradually set in. To many -nothing seemed impossible with a party of three and an Alpine rope. -But a line must be drawn somewhere to separate the possible from the -impossible, and some try to draw it by their own experience. These -constitute what is called the ultra-gymnastic school of climbing. Its -members are generally young and irresponsible. With years will come -a desire to depart this life in one piece, after the common joys are -realized that life is able to offer. The quick-burning fever for wild -adventure dies away with the approach of workable theories of life. -Whatever the mental phenomenon may be, I am convinced that the physical -is vestigial--a trace of our former savagery, a suggestion of the -lively past, when the struggle for existence involved more muscle than -mind. - -Wherefore let live the ultra-gymnasts, if indeed they can pass through -their March-madness without coming to grief; nor should we attempt to -inoculate them with some harmless sport, for the result is to render -the sport dangerous. - -To return to the separating line that suggested this digression. Those -who have sought to define it theoretically have been of the foolish -ones, for it has no absolute position for mankind. Each individual -possesses a line of his own, and at first in looking for it he causes -it to re-arrange itself. What was once impossible for him becomes easy. -But his search is more rapid than its advance, and a time comes when -he realizes that he is perilously near; and in wisdom he vows evermore -to keep at so many feet or centimetres (according to his choice of -units) from its nearest point. The nearer he habituates himself to -approach, the oftener does he discover some obvious retreat of his -line. Those who live far from it find that it can narrow its limits. -Which things are an allegory, for this line is a closed curve and -limits us in all directions, only one of which leads to rock-climbing. - -Our walk along the foot of the Scawfell wall by the Rake’s Progress -showed three breaks in the cliff after we left Steep Ghyll. The first -marked Moss Ghyll, the second Keswick Brothers’ Climb, the third -Collier’s Climb. The history of Moss Ghyll and its gradual yielding to -the persistent attacks of active parties has been recorded in the first -section. The news of its ascent came as a surprise to all who knew -the place, so great a surprise that no room was left for wonderment -when Dr. Collier a few months later proved the practicability of his -route. But whereas Moss Ghyll became popular in a week by reason of -the writing-up it immediately received, Collier’s Climb was almost -untouched for three years. The unknown is always the most terrible, and -the brief note in the Wastdale climbing book recording its first ascent -left much to an anxious imagination. Queer tales were told round at the -inn of men who were flung back over the Rake’s Progress after rising -only ten feet. Even Dr. Collier was reported to have said he never -wished to see the place again. Report was inaccurate, but that made no -difference. I candidly admit that there seemed little chance of ever -getting up such an awful wall. It was not till I found myself twenty -feet up the crack that the attack seemed in the least degree hopeful. - -It was just after Easter in 1896 (April 22), and my party had been -climbing well on the Screes and in Deep Ghyll. The rocks were in -marvellously good condition, perfectly dry and warm to the touch. G. -and A. were with me, their last day before returning home. I thought -it imprudent to take their votes, and announced that we were going to -look at the first part of Collier’s Climb, and to ascertain where its -difficulty lay. Fortunately they were both sanguine, and placed their -heads and shoulders at my disposal as footholds. We made straight for -the right spot in an hour and a half of easy going from Wastdale. There -could be no possible doubt of the place. A thin crack rose direct -from the Progress, overhanging for the first ten feet, then leaning -back a trifle towards the left. A yard or two to the left of this a -square corner led directly up so as to join the crack just below a thin -chimney, that started some twenty feet above our heads. To get to this -chimney was the difficulty. Either the cleft or the corner should be -taken. Which was the easier? - -I first tried the cleft, but it overhung so seriously that I dared not -venture further. Equally futile was the attempt up the corner. Was it -possible that we had mistaken the right take-off? To gain time and -recover our spirits we walked over to the other side of Mickledore -and prospected the climb. There could be no doubt that I had actually -started on the correct way. Thirty feet up we could plainly distinguish -a grassy platform that promised us temporary safety. If we could get -as high as that we had Dr. Collier’s authority that the remainder of -our chimney offered no such difficulties as those we had overcome. -Even if it had, we could as a last resource fix an axe in the chimney -and descend on a doubled rope in the usual Alpine fashion. In this -manner, assuring ourselves that we had the worst immediately before -us, we returned with some little courage to the attack. This time we -decided to take the corner. A. was to stand on a small ledge about -a foot above the Progress, and brace himself firmly enough to hold -my weight. G. acted as a sort of flying buttress for his brother, -and paid out my rope with extreme care. From A.’s shoulders I could -just reach a high handhold with the left. But one grip at that height -was useless, as the body had to be lifted up on to the rib of rock -separating the two clefts. A. then padded his head with a handkerchief -beneath his cap, and begged me to stand on it. However steady a young -man may be, there are times when his friends think him weak in the -head. Such a time was this, and I anxiously asked him if he could hold -it perfectly still while I used it. ‘You may do anything except waltz -on it,’ was the encouraging rejoinder, and I promptly placed my left -foot on his parietal. ‘That’s all right,’ the tough young head called -out, ‘you may stay there all day if you like.’ This was reassuring, -but I had come out to climb and meant to move on. Yet for the life -of me I could not see what to do next. The left foot required a lift -before the high handhold could be employed, and there was nothing for -it to rest against except the square corner of the recess. Two or -three times I tried hard to grip the corner with the toe of my boot, -but ineffectually. Then A., seeing my trouble, reached up a hand and -held my boot on an infinitesimal ledge. It felt firm, and I trusted to -it. With the first movement upwards my right hand felt a charmingly -secure depression in the rib above, and swinging clear from A.’s head -I dragged up on to the buttress and felt that the game was half won -already. The rib was easy to ascend for a foot or two, till indeed it -terminated at the small chimney above. But caution was the instinct -uppermost in my mind, and the climb to the grassy platform above might, -in spite of appearances, prove nasty. Casting around for some means -of anchoring on my own rope, I saw that in the crack to my right a -bunch of small stones were firmly jammed, and that daylight could be -seen behind them down a hole that pointed through to the Progress, -fifteen feet below. Here was a chance that, if we had known of it at -first, might have been used to conserve our strength and nerve from -the start. The others were as yet unroped. Calling to them to let go -the rope, I drew up the free end by my teeth and my ‘unemployed’ hand, -and let it fall straight down the hole to them. If a fall occurred now -in trying the next few feet I could only tumble three or four yards, -and should not pass over my friends’ heads and the Rake’s Progress. -But the chimney into which a few moves brought me was of no high -order of difficulty; the situation was certainly a trying one, for a -downward gaze could only take in the rib of rock immediately below and -the distant screes 200 feet beyond. I flung some loose stones far out -into space, and could only just hear a faint clatter as they touched -the scree. Now was the time to appreciate the joy of climbing, in -perfect health, with perfect weather, and in a difficult place without -danger, and I secretly laughed as I called to the others that the -outlook was terribly bad and that our enterprise must be given up. -But they also laughed, and told me to go higher and change my mind, -for they knew by the tone that my temper was unruffled. A few feet -more and I drew up to the platform. It was about a yard wide and three -yards in length, reminding us strongly of the Tennis Court ledge, a -similar formation half way up Moss Ghyll. Between the ledge and the -wall rising above it a fissure cut down into the mountain. It still -held some old winter snow, and its depths were cold as a refrigerator. -Shouting to the others to rope up at a distance of thirty feet apart, -I sat down on the grass with my legs dangling in the frigid fissure, -bracing myself to stand any jerks that might be given to the rope by -a sudden slip of the second man at the rounding of the rib. G. came -up second, using his brother’s shoulders and head much as I had used -them. When he reached the ledge he helped me to haul his brother. A. -was unable to stand on his own head as we had done, though we reminded -him of Dent’s famous climber’s dream, and he hung on to the rope with -both hands while we pulled. It must have been rather an unpleasant -sensation that of swinging away from the rocks, but he bore it like -a philosopher, and caught cleverly on to the rib and so up to us. I -am afraid our satisfaction was now somewhat premature, but we were -certain of a safe descent whatever the remainder of our climb might -involve. But there was no sign of failure in store. The chimneys above -us looked steep, but they were deeply carved and therefore safe. Also, -they cut obliquely up the vertical wall, and were not likely to involve -any inch-by-inch wrestling against gravity. These surmises all proved -correct, though we were astonished at the ease with which the remaining -difficulties were overcome. It was now two o’clock in the afternoon, -and we had been half an hour getting up the first thirty feet. The -remainder only took us an equal time, though five times the height, and -consisting of genuine rock-climbing all the way, as the following notes -testify. - -After a short lunch and a few minutes spent in erecting a diminutive -cairn, we moved on. Dr. Collier had climbed into the upper part of -the next chimney by a traverse of some difficulty from the right. I -started the same course, but A. had descended a little to look up -the direct route, and called out that it was safer, though perhaps -awkward. Therefore we all descended and entered the chimney, which -is practically a continuation of the crack up which our climb had -started. It sloped slightly to the left, and offered just a sufficiency -of holds, without demoralizing us with a superfluity. In fifteen -feet its difficulties were over, and a few yards higher we reached -another grassy ledge, more protected than the former but giving an -equally grand view of the neighbouring precipices. There then followed -a vertical pitch of twelve feet, simple enough with the help of a -shoulder--or without it, for that matter--and an easy step from the top -towards the right led to the beginning of the upward grassy traverse -that so strikingly marks the break in the continuity of direction of -Collier’s Climb. Many people have expressed doubts as to the safety of -this traverse; on the other hand, these many have not all been there -to see. The route is perfectly safe; there are corners on the Rake’s -Progress that are intrinsically as hard, though perhaps the sublime -situation may have its effect on some susceptible organisations. -Possibly in wintry weather the traverse may have its difficulties, but -if ever it were dangerous the first pitch would be impossible. - -We found the first part of the final chimney slightly moist. Probably -it is very rarely dry. As the diagram facing page 46 indicates, it -slopes up towards the left and is very deeply cut. The first piece was -practically a walk up a steep incline, using tiny ledges that were -disposed along the slope in the most suitable places. It ended with a -magnificent pull up with the arms over a projecting edge on the left. - -Then came the pleasantest part of the whole, the negotiation of -twenty-five feet of smooth, slabby rock by faith in friction and -occasional reference to the overhanging side of the gully. Collier had -rightly made special mention of this part, but to his account I should -like to add that with dry rock and rough garments all will go well. -Even a slip on the part of the leader will not be serious if he is -carefully watched and fielded at the bottom of his slide. - -At the finish of this exciting portion we saw the sky-line a few feet -in front of us, and with a spurt we ran up and reached the summit -breathless. - -Since that time I have descended by the same route with a different -party. We had just come up Moss Ghyll, and my two friends were well -contented with their day’s work; for Moss Ghyll had been the limit of -their ambition, and they were willing to rest contentedly on their -laurels. To tackle Collier’s Climb had never entered their heads -before--like the death-dealing pebble for poor Goliath--and they shyly -suggested that we had climbed enough for one day. But with the sense -of possession of a trump card up my sleeve--that handy rope-hold at the -bottom pitch--I succeeded in rousing their enthusiasm sufficiently, -and we started downwards. They were perfectly safe men to accompany; -this had been proved in Moss Ghyll, and it was perhaps not so very -wrong to indulge in a harmless exaggeration of the excitement that -the finish had in store for them. But they climbed extremely well in -spite of forebodings, and gratified me immensely by agreeing that for -beauty of surroundings Collier’s Climb has no equal in all the gullies -of the Lake District. The descent was rather easier than the ascent--a -state of things so often experienced in difficult climbing work--and -we reached the lowest grassy platform in half an hour. There we found -the little cairn I had erected a few months before, and were cheered -to see a couple of friends approaching from Mickledore to give us any -aid necessary near the finish. I let down the first man by the rope; -he went well till within ten feet of the Progress, and then, slipping -away from the hold, was left for an uncomfortable moment dangling in -mid-air. Lowered a yard or so his legs were seized by the men below and -he was pulled to their level in safety. There he unroped, and thus also -descended the second man. But he came on the middle of the rope, and -before reaching the spot where he was destined to quit the rocks he was -instructed to slip the lower end of the rope through the safety-hole. -On reaching the Progress he also unroped, and with the united strength -of the party holding me through the jammed stone I also was willing, -when my turn came to let myself hang and be lowered gently down like a -bale of goods into a ship’s hold. - -To descend alone, without adventitious aid of this kind, it would be -better to take to the crack. - -KESWICK BROTHERS’ CLIMB.--This occupies a position between the -two chief routes already described in this chapter, but chronologically -it comes last, and on that account we find it best to treat of it after -the others. The brothers Abraham and I had independently arrived at -the conclusion that the Scawfell face offered a feasible route between -Collier’s Climb and Moss Ghyll, of which only the lower half required -any elaborate planning. In the summer of 1897, before I had a suitable -opportunity of trying my fortune there, came the news that my two -friends had succeeded with their design, considerable assistance having -been given them by the preliminary scrambling of Mr. J. W. Puttrell at -the lower end of the course. - -On Christmas Day, 1897, I was one of a large party exploring the new -route and its environs. An attempt to work directly up the long crack -marked by the top _e_ in Plate II. was thwarted at a height of forty -feet or so above the Rake’s Progress by the smoothness of the rocks, -and by the presence of ice in the crack. It will probably go some day -when conditions are more favourable. I managed to traverse to the edge -of the buttress on my left, but the prospect round the corner was -not a bit more attractive. A descent was therefore effected and the -ordinary route tackled forthwith. It was interesting and remarkably -safe. We started close to the foot of Collier’s Climb, and, working -along a nearly horizontal cleft, arrived without trouble at the corner -of the rectangular recess of which mention was made on page 30. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE KESWICK BROTHERS’ CLIMB - -(_Face page 66_)] - -Thence we had a steep bit of edgework for thirty feet before the leader -could ask his second to advance from the Progress. This part admits -of a little variation, but the main fact to be grasped is that the -long chimney in which Collier’s Climb finishes is retained close on -our right for fully ten yards, until it suddenly narrows, and a grass -platform extends away to the left with ample accommodation for a score -of people. This platform, in fact, is part of the same grassy ledge -that forms the first resting place after the troublesome introduction -to Collier’s Climb; and since that date I have frequently taken friends -up and down the latter course by this variation. The expedition is one -that can be strongly recommended for moderately good parties, both for -its beauty and its sustained interest throughout. That day, however, -our course was ordered differently. We had first to follow the original -line of ascent for fifteen feet up an awkward chimney with its best -hold insecure. Then on reaching an upper grass corner there came an -open movement across the face of rock to our right, working gradually -upwards and aiming for a narrow cleft that partially separated a small -pinnacle from the face. The view of this pinnacle from the middle -of Collier’s Climb is simply exquisite, well worth showing to an -enterprising camera. - -From the pinnacle a slight descent gave an inspiring view downwards -of the long smooth corner that I had unsuccessfully attacked a short -time previously. At our level the crack had expanded into a respectable -chimney, that could be easily entered twenty feet higher after a -brief clamber on the buttress. It was disappointing to find then that -something very like a scree gully, with only moderately interesting -scrambling, was to finish our work in the great cleft. Rather than -close the operations so quietly the majority voted for an attempt on -the slightly-indicated branch exit thirty feet to the right; and their -enterprise was rewarded by the conquest of a particularly neat pitch at -the top. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -ATTITUDES ON SCAWFELL PINNACLE - -(_Face page 69_)] - - - - -CHAPTER V - -_SCAWFELL PINNACLE_ - - -ORDINARY ROUTE.--This magnificent pinnacle offers the finest bit -of rock scenery in the Scawfell _massif_. It rises up some 600 feet -from the foot of Lord’s Rake in steep and almost unclimbable slabs of -smooth rock, forming the left-hand boundary of Deep Ghyll and the right -of Steep Ghyll. The latter, and the Professor’s Chimney springing up -out of Deep Ghyll, cut it away to some extent from the main mountain -mass, from which it is separated by a narrow _col_ or gap familiarly -known as the ‘Jordan.’ Unfortunately this gap is too high, and the -top of the pinnacle is reached therefrom by a couple of minutes’ -scrambling. If only the gap were impossible to reach from above, the -climb of Scawfell Pinnacle would necessarily involve some splendid -work, and it could almost claim the suggested name of the Little Dru of -the Lake District. - -From a higher point of view Mr. Williamson’s comparison is very apt. -‘The most conspicuous object at the upper part of Deep Ghyll is a -pinnacle rock with some slight resemblance, from certain points of -view, to the celebrated Pieter Botte, in Mauritius, except that the -stone on the top is much smaller than the knob which forms the summit -of the Mauritius mountain. The Deep Ghyll Pinnacle is perhaps best -named the Scawfell Pillar, for on examination it will be found to -have several features in common with the Ennerdale Pillar. Both have -a Pisgah rock and a Jordan gap, both have a High and a Low Man, and -both have a slanting slab in similar positions. So inaccessible does -the Scawfell Pillar appear, that it is probable no one ever thought of -making an attempt upon it till Mr. W. P. Haskett Smith, whose climbs on -the Ennerdale Pillar were referred to in a previous article, looking at -the rock with the eye of a genius for climbing, thought he could see -a way to the top. He made the attempt alone in September of this year -[1884] and successfully reached the top, being the first man to set -foot on the summit of this ‘forbidden peak.’ - -But the gap can be reached easily from the summit of Scawfell. If we -walk over to the top of Deep Ghyll we may look across to the pinnacle -on the right and notice the black out made by the Professor’s Chimney -that separates it from us. The knob of rock to the right of the Jordan -gap is appropriately called ‘Pisgah’; it is almost exactly of the -same height as the cairn on the pinnacle, and is barely thirty feet -away from it. By rounding Pisgah to the right, and carefully skirting -the head of Moss Ghyll, we reach the Jordan, and find ourselves on a -narrow ridge with extremely steep plunges on either side. The short -climb that faces us begins in an awkward way, for we have to get up a -few feet of overhanging rock before the slope eases off, and a slip -backwards of an unroped man would inevitably result in a fall down the -Professor’s Chimney or down Steep Ghyll. The firmest rope anchorage -for the leader is at the top of Pisgah, but with more to follow him -the usual plan is to descend to the gap and loop the rope over a large -boulder that lies on the crest of the _col_. He need not worry about -the danger of the pitch if the rocks are in good condition. When Mr. -Haskett Smith first found this way up on September 3rd, 1884, a few -days before he reached the top by way of Steep Ghyll, large quantities -of moss had to be removed, and the finger-holds cleared of earth before -they could be estimated and safely utilized. Not a particle of moss -remains here now; nay, more, a decade of gymnasts have removed much -rock by dint of scraping with their nailed boots, and have made obvious -the safest route to the summit. - -It starts a yard or two to the right of the gap, where a sloping -foothold in the overhanging wall shows traces of considerable wear and -tear. The hands can find a sufficient bearing pressure near the edge of -rock above, but it is unwise to place them too high up on the sloping -slab. Then, straightening out on the foothold for a moment, the left -hand can find a thin crack good enough for a hold while the body is -being levered up over the awkward edge. Then the crack can be followed -up the slab to the left till it ends near a little chimney, up which -a scramble of six feet brings the climber within touch of the cairn. -Formerly a small tin box held many visiting cards, and an ancient -pocketbook with the names of the early climbers of the pinnacle. It -was almost a breach of etiquette to pay a call here without leaving a -card, but the polite old days are past, and men come and go now without -this ceremony. A year ago I hunted in vain for the box and fancied that -some curiosity-monger had feloniously appropriated it, but since then I -believe it has again been seen there. It may easily slip down between -the loose stones. - -This little climb is dangerous in icy weather, and should not then be -undertaken. For there is no particular fun in it when the rocks are -glazed, when bare fingers are necessary for the diminished holds, and -the slow going inevitably involving benumbed hands. - -The long routes up are impossible except when conditions are favourable. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE AND DEEP GHYLL--WINTER - -(_Face page 73_)] ] - -The first long way up the pinnacle was climbed on September 20th, -1884, by Messrs. Haskett Smith and John Robinson. They made the ascent -of Steep Ghyll, and then, emerging on the right, climbed up a steep -_arête_ to the pinnacle, where they left their names in a glass bottle. -Descending again to the upper portion of Steep Ghyll, they passed over -to the Jordan and so on to the mountain. With but slight variations, -these were the only ways known until 1888. In July of that year a -party led by Mr. W. Cecil Slingsby succeeded in climbing out from the -lower part of Steep Ghyll on to the north-east face of the pinnacle. -By a long and difficult chimney in this wall they reached the Low -Man, as the nearly horizontal crest of the first huge buttress is -called. Thence a sharp ridge took them direct to the final rocks, which -were sufficiently broken to make the finish easy. This route at once -commended itself to the better climbers at Wastdale as being safe and -sound. The rocks throughout are excellent, and indeed enthusiasts like -to compare the finish with the famous ridge of the Rothhorn from Zinal. -The chief objection to be urged against the climb is the exposure to -wind and cold. I remember once starting up with Mr. Robinson one wet -day in August. He led as far as the foot of the difficult Slingsby -Chimney, and then resolutely refused to budge an inch further because -of the wind, which he asseverated would blow us away to Hollow Stones. -I am inclined to believe him now, but at the time we wrangled all the -way down to the Lord’s Rake, where some damp but enterprising tourist, -pointing up to the vertical crags down which we had been dodging our -way, inquired in a feeble tenor voice: ‘Is there a road up there?’ - -It was not until December 31, 1893, that I made my first complete -ascent by this route, accompanied by M. and C., the latter leading -all the way up. We crossed the foot of Lord’s Rake, and made for the -slight suggestion of a gully that serves to mark the beginning of the -ordinary Steep Ghyll Climb. It was quite easy to follow, and rapidly -deepened as we rose. In a hundred feet we were in view of the enormous -cleft of the ghyll, with its black and glistening walls apparently -almost meeting each other a hundred feet over our heads. None of us -were attracted by that climb, which is never quite free from hazard, -and we looked about for the spot where our route diverged to the right. -Here the side of the ghyll was very steep for thirty or forty feet -up, but was cut about by ledges and clefts quite good enough for us -to mount the wall safely. Then we bore up a little towards the left, -so as to approach the smooth outer face of the Low Man. Advance was -only possible in one direction, our course taking us out on a nose or -pinnacle of rock separated from the main mass by a deep fissure. - -The position was very exposed. It could only be approached from one -direction, that of Steep Ghyll. A glance down the fissure beneath -us revealed the lower half of the tremendous wall to which we were -clinging, and though we had plenty of room to sit down and rest -ourselves, there was a sense of coming peril in the next move. The -illustration facing page 73, taken off the wall from the Lord’s Rake -ridge, shows the pinnacle and the fissure that partially separates it -from the face. Standing on the highest available point, C. had next -to draw himself up on to the little shelf by means of the smallest -of holds and the use of his knees. We were able to guard against his -slipping back, and were glad to see him clamber up easily to the -beginning of the Slingsby Chimney. This begins very awkwardly; it would -be proof of unusual agility and nerve for the leader here to manage the -first six feet without assistance from below. But an unaided ascent -is not impossible, and careful examination will generally cause the -climber to discount much of the terror that he is pretty sure to have -invested in the spot after reading the early literature of the subject. -We hoisted C. up on our shoulders; without hesitation he crept well -into the crack vertically above our heads, and wriggled his way out -of sight. When we had paid out forty feet of rope, he shouted out to -M. to advance, and I was left to speculate on a possible variation of -the ascent by the left of the chimney. In due course M. was firmly -fixed, and my turn came. The steepness of the first fifteen feet was -rather appalling, but it was so simple a matter to wedge firmly into -the chimney that there was no sense of insecurity. After the vertical -bit, the chimney sloped back at an easier angle, and though some -distance had to be climbed before a man might be of much help to those -behind he would be perfectly capable of looking after himself. When -we reached this level the aspect of the remaining rocks was very much -less threatening. It was still a matter of hand-and-foot work, but we -could all forge ahead together instead of moving one at a time. The -slope eased off again when we reached the Low Man, and by preference we -kept to the ridge on the right as much as we could. This was for the -sensational view down into Deep Ghyll, though that day we saw little -but the rolling mist above and below us. The rock was firm and rough -to the touch, and we could well appreciate the comparison with the -best parts of the Zinal Rothhorn. Leslie Stephen’s frontispiece in the -‘Playground of Europe’ might have been drawn on our ridge. There was a -sense of perfect security out there as we sat astride the sharp ridge -or clasped the huge blocks with a fraternal embrace. My only regret was -that the _arête_ was all too short--we arrived at the pinnacle much too -soon. I proposed to descend to the Jordan and down by the Professor’s -Chimney, but my companions pointed out that the latter would be damp -and rickety, and such a change from our recent sport that we could get -little fun out of it. I reluctantly yielded to the vote of the majority -and went off to a halting-place in the hollow at the head of the Moss -Ghyll variation exit. - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE, DEEP GHYLL ROUTE.--In October, 1887, a strong -party led by the brothers Hopkinson found a way down the outside face -of the Scawfell Pinnacle, to a point on the ridge within a hundred feet -of the first pitch in Deep Ghyll. There they built what is now known -as the Hopkinsons’ cairn. In April, 1893, Messrs. C. Hopkinson and -Tribe worked up the left wall of the ghyll from the second pitch, -and reached the main north _arête_ about sixty feet above the cairn. -They were apparently unable to force a way directly up the ridge, and -managed instead to descend it for a few yards and then to climb up the -face of the Low Man by the 1887 route on the east side of the _arête_. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE LAST HUNDRED FEET ON THE SCAWFELL PINNACLE - -(_Face page 76_)] - -They thus succeeded in reaching the summit of the pinnacle from Deep -Ghyll, and an examination of the illustration facing page 83 of the -great wall that they climbed will prove that the performance was an -unusually brilliant one. (The photograph shows the north ridge twenty -feet to the left of the leader, who is about forty feet above the -second man.) - -Very little was generally known of that day’s work, the note in the -Wastdale climbing book being of the briefest description; and it cannot -be counted unto me for originality that in a climb made in 1896 that -was intended as a repetition of the above our party left the older -route at a point eighty feet up the Deep Ghyll wall, and reached the -Low Man by a new line of advance. - -We were a party of three. Messrs. George and Ashley Abraham were very -keen on trying the new route, and equally anxious to get some good -photographs of the great wall. We climbed up the first pitch in Deep -Ghyll by the crack on the left, and took the second in the ordinary -way. Just where the traverse commences fifteen feet above the top -of the central obstacle, a crack starts up the left wall, with a -prominent jammed block guarding its entrance. Traversing over a leaf -of rock on to the jammed stone, I was steadied for the first twenty -feet of ascent by the rope, and could not have come to much harm in -the event of a slip. But there was scanty room for a second, and I was -compelled to rise with an ever lengthening rope below me. The crack -was followed closely, though it soon became so thin and so erect that -there was nothing to do but keep on the face of the mountain just to -its left, every now and then gripping its sharp edge for handhold. It -seemed to be a virgin climb, though this part had really been visited -two or three times before. Stones had to be flung down, and grit -scraped from the tiny ledges. But on the whole that first sixty feet -was not very difficult, though markedly sensational, and I went on -slowly to a little niche in the wall. - -The eighty-feet length of rope just reached to the crack from which -the start was made, and getting George to tie himself on at the lower -extremity, I mounted to a higher and larger niche while he cautiously -climbed up the crack. The situation was very novel. Some may remember -the _firma loca_ in Mr. Sanger Davies’ account of the Croda da Lago. -This grass-floored hermitage of mine was truly a _firma loca_, and -sitting down comfortably in it I took out a biscuit from my pocket and -tried to realize all the view. - -It was every bit as appalling as a Dolomite climb. Direct progress -upwards seemed quite impossible; a feasible traverse over some -badly-sloping moss-covered ledges to the right led to the sky-line -at a spot where the _arête_ made a vertical spring upwards for forty -feet. A descent would have been seriously difficult, but it was the one -thing we did not want. I could hear another climbing party finishing -an ascent of the pinnacle by the ordinary route, their voices echoing -down the ghyll and cheering me with a sense of neighbourliness. My -companions were holding an animated discussion below on the subject of -photography. The light was excellent, and our positions most artistic. -The cameras were left in the cave at the foot of the ghyll. Ashley was -afraid I meant to go up without him; but his professional instinct got -the better of his desire to climb, and, shouting out to us to stay -where we were for five minutes, he ran round to the high-level traverse -on the other side of the ghyll, and down the Lord’s Rake to the cavern. - -George had the tripod screw and could not hand it to his brother; so, -asking me to hold him firmly with the rope, he practised throwing -stones across the gully to the traverse. Then, tying the screw to a -stone, he managed to project this over successfully. We composed our -limbs to a photographic quiescence. Ashley had a splendid wide-angle -lens, which, from his elevated position on the traverse opposite, could -take in 400 feet of the cliff, showing the entire route to the summit. -It was his turn to take the lead. ‘Mr. Jones! I can’t see you, your -clothes are so dark.’ I apologized. ‘Will you step out a foot or two -from that hole?’ I was in a cheerful mood and ready to oblige a friend, -but the platform was scarcely two feet square, and to acquiesce was to -step out a few hundred feet into Deep Ghyll. For this I had not made -adequate preparation and told him so. ‘Well, will you take off your -coat?’ That I could do with pleasure, and for a while his instructions -were levelled at George. - -He was in an awkward place and was much cramped in ensuring safety, -but Ashley was dissatisfied and insisted on his lifting the left leg. -This gave him no foothold to speak of, but in the cause of photography -he had been trained to manage without such ordinary aids. He grumbled -a little at the inconvenience but obeyed, resolving that if he were -living when the next slide was to be exposed he himself would be the -manipulator and his brother the centre of the picture. The ghyll had -become rather gloomy and we had a lengthy exposure. I was glad to slip -on my jacket again and draw in the rope for George’s ascent. When he -reached the smaller platform just below me, we tried the traverse over -the slabs to the north ridge, and found that it went well enough. We -were delighted to find traces of the previous party on the rocks at -the corner. They were made by the Hopkinsons three years before (April -2, 1893) in their attempt to mount by the ridge. Their cairn was fifty -feet further down, and we now had the satisfaction of seeing for -ourselves how to connect the Hopkinson cairn directly with Deep Ghyll. - -Then came the question of getting our third man up. We tried to -throw the rope-end to him, but it persisted in clinging to the face -vertically below us and would not be caught. I had to return to the -_firma loca_ and throw the rope from there. Ashley now reached it -safely, tied himself on, and hastened up to our level, having left his -camera on the traverse below. In this way we found ourselves together -again, on the corner of the _arête_. The others fixed themselves to a -little belaying-pin while I attempted to swarm up the vertical corner. -A couple of feet above their heads I found that the only available -holds were sloping the wrong way. They could be easily reached, but -were unsafe for hauling, and after clinging for some minutes without -advancing an inch I was compelled to descend and reconsider the -problem. I thought of Andrea del Sarto: - - Ah! but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp - Or what’s a Heaven for? - -and wondered whether Browning meant this to apply to the crests of -climbing-pitches as well as to other objects in life. - -At the time we did not know the exact history of the early attempts on -the _arête_. As far as we could judge our corner might be inaccessible -except with the help of a rope fixed above us. Certainly the scoring -of bootnails on the face was scanty. The earlier party three years -before might have planned to avoid the bad bit. With doubts like -these, I craved permission to look up a chimney on the Deep Ghyll side -of the ridge. The other party of climbers had now reached the top of -the ghyll, and were watching our manœuvres with interest. Seeing my -hesitation they called out to inquire whether we should like a rope -from the Low Man. We were grateful for the suggestion, but there was -no peril our position, and we asked them to wait for awhile at the top -of the gully, and see the issue of our next attempt upwards. Then, -traversing over a buttress, I looked up and down the chimney. - -It was what is generally called hopeless. To speak definitely, it was -much worse than the _arête_, and seeing no alternative I returned to -the corner and prepared for another attempt. This time Ashley gave me -a shoulder at a slightly lower level on the ghyll side of the ridge. -A trying drag upwards with very scanty fingerholds brought my knees -on to a satisfying hollow in a little ledge, and steadied by the two -side faces of the sloping slab I stepped up and on to it. The cheers -of the observing party told us that our _mauvais pas_ was practically -overcome. The other two men came up with a little assistance from -the rope, and we cleared away the loose stones from our platform. It -shelved badly downwards and offered no guarantee of safety in case -I fell from the next vertical bit. But George sturdily rammed his -brother close against the wall and intimated that the two would accept -the responsibility of fielding me if necessary. I mounted their -shoulders, and reached up at arm’s length to a sharp and firm edge of -rock. A preliminary grind of my boot into a shoulder-blade and then a -clear swing out on the arms, a desperate pull-up with knees and toes -vainly seeking support, and at last the upper shelf was mounted. But we -were all breathless. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -ASCENT OF SCAWFELL PINNACLE FROM DEEP GHYLL - -(_Face page 83_)] - -The lower edge of the broken crest of rock that marks the Low Man was -now close at hand. Close by was the fine cairn built when the pinnacle -was first climbed from Lord’s Rake. A few yards off to the east the -edge of the cliff was cut by the top of Slingsby’s Chimney, and before -us remained the magnificent ridge up to the summit. - -Boot scratches were now numerous, both along the ridge and by the left. -We took the finish hand over hand, and reached the pinnacle cairn in -five minutes. Our time up from Lord’s Rake had been slow--something -like four hours--but much had been spent with photography and in -reconnoitring. Another day, two years later, I managed it in less than -half the time. - -A party of three should have 150 feet of rope, or else our awkward -tactics in letting the rope down to the ghyll would have to be -repeated. Perhaps the long run out for the leader will prevent this -route ever becoming popular. It is a great pity that there is no -resting-place half way up the wall. With icy conditions it would be -criminal to attempt the open face. Yet the climb is one of the very -best in the district, and I shall always look back with pleasure to my -first introduction to this side of Scawfell Pinnacle. - -We hurried down Deep Ghyll by the traverse above both pitches. One of -us rushed down too jubilantly, and ill repaid the kindly attention of -the other party, now below us, by a profuse shower of stones. With -thoughts of all the possible consequences of this indiscretion, we -picked up our cameras and strode more sedately down to the others and -to Wastdale. - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE FROM LORD’S RAKE.--A very fine expedition -was undertaken in December, 1887, by Messrs. C. Hopkinson, Holder, H. -Woolley, and Bury. Their note on the day’s sport is quoted almost in -full: ‘Three of the party, led by Hopkinson, made an attempt on the -Deep Ghyll Pinnacle from the entrance to Lord’s Rake. They succeeded -in climbing 150 to 200 feet, but were stopped by a steep slab of rock -coated with ice. From this point, however, a good traverse was made -to the first gully, or chimney, on the left. They forced their way up -this gully to the top of the chimney. At the top there was a trough -of ice about 30 feet long, surmounted by steep rocks glazed with ice, -which brought the party to a stop. They descended the chimney again and -returned to Wastdale, unanimously of opinion that the day’s excursion -had afforded one of the finest climbs the party had ever accomplished.’ - -So we may well think, and it is a great pity that the icy conditions -of the rock prevented their direct ascent into Slingsby’s chimney. The -gully they entered and almost completely ascended, is marked plainly in -the general view of the Scawfell Crags from the Pulpit, and at first -sight appears to run up continuously to Slingsby’s chimney. Actually, -however, it finishes on the side of the nose or pinnacle of rock a few -feet lower down, and I believe this pinnacle could be ascended from -it by either side. What this earlier party found impossible in the -Winter of 1887, Mr. G. T. Walker and I in April, 1898, favoured by the -best of conditions, were just able to overcome. We had spent a long -and exciting day in the neighbourhood, and were descending Slingsby’s -chimney late in the afternoon, when we were suddenly struck with the -idea of descending the fissure behind the nose and prospecting the face -of rock between it and Deep Ghyll. A rough inspection of the first -fifty feet below us proving satisfactory, we hastened down Steep Ghyll -and traversed across to the top of the first pitch in Deep Ghyll. In -spite of the late hour I could not refrain from a trial trip on the -edge of the great Low Man buttress. At the point where the earlier -party found the direct ascent barred by smooth ice on the wall, and -decided to traverse off to the gully on the left, we had a council -of war. It resulted in my throwing down my boots to Walker, and then -crawling up fifty feet of, perhaps, the steepest and smoothest slabs -to which I have ever trusted myself. This brought me to a tiny corner -where I essayed to haul in the rope attached to my companion. But he -also had to remove his boots and traverse to a point vertically below -me before he could follow up in safety. We were now some distance to -the left of the edge of Deep Ghyll, and straight up above us we could -distinguish the crack where our new route was to terminate. Getting -Walker to lodge firmly in a notch somewhat larger than mine, six feet -away on the Steep Ghyll side, I went off again up another forty feet -of smooth rock, aided by a zig-zagging crack an inch or so in width, -that supplied sufficient lodgment for the toes, and a moderate grip -for the finger-tips. After both had arrived thus far, we were able, -with extreme care, to reach the side wall of the nose itself, and at -a point, perhaps, fifty feet from its crest we turned round its main -outside buttress and found ourselves in a spacious chamber with a flat -floor and a considerable roof, the first and only genuine resting-place -worthy the name that we found along our route. We could look straight -down Hopkinson’s gully, and would gladly have descended into it -and ‘passed the time of day’ with a little speculative scrambling -thereabouts. But darkness was coming on apace, and we had yet a most -awkward corner to negotiate before finishing our appointed business. -Standing on Walker’s shoulders I screwed myself out at the right-hand -top corner of our waiting-room, and started along a traverse across -the right face of the nose. The toes of the feet were in a horizontal -crack, the heels had no support, and the hands no grip. It was only -by pressing the body close to the wall, which was fortunately a few -degrees away from the perpendicular, and by sliding the feet along -almost inch by inch, that the operation could be effected. It was with -no small sense of relief that the end was reached in a few yards, and a -narrow vertical fissure entered that gave easy access to the top of the -nose. Then we put on our boots again and hurried. - -It is thus possible to reach the summit of the Scawfell Pinnacle by a -route up the buttress quite independent of either of the great ghylls -that flank it. A good variation that has yet to be performed in its -entirety, though I believe that every section has been independently -climbed, is that of the Hopkinson’s chimney, the nose, and Slingsby’s -chimney. Further, that evening’s climb has convinced me that we could -have safely reached Hopkinson’s cairn on the edge of Deep Ghyll, and -that there is in consequence a most thrilling piece of work possible -in the direct ascent of the buttress, the whole way up to the High -Man from its base. Slight divergences are, probably, unavoidable in -the lower half of the climb, but permitting these there now remain -only about forty feet of rock hitherto unascended. It is worth while -inspecting the view on page 73. The top of the nose is there plainly -seen in profile 4⅜ inches from the bottom; our climb was roughly -speaking up to the nose, by a vertical line drawn an inch from the -left edge of the picture--somewhat less as it approached completion. - -UPPER DEEP GHYLL ROUTE.--Three days after the ascent recorded -in the last section, I found that the sharp ridge between the Low Man -and the summit of the pinnacle could be reached from the foot of the -lowest pitch of the Professor’s Chimney. The suggestion is due to Dr. -Collier, who told me some years ago that the only real difficulties -are concentrated in the first thirty feet of the ascent. The climb is -almost in a straight line, running obliquely up the Deep Ghyll face -of the Pinnacle, and is best inspected from the west wall traverse. -The first part overhangs considerably, and the holds are of the same -character as those on the long slabs of the Low Man buttress, with a -sort of absent look about them. But the rocks were dry and warm, in -the best possible condition, and two minutes of deliberate movement -led me out of danger. There is great variety just here, but the -simplest course was to make for a slight chimney in the sharp ridge -above my head. In twenty minutes the High Man had been crossed, and -the starting-point reached by way of the Professor’s Chimney, but if a -companion and a long rope had been vouchsafed on that occasion it would -have been a pleasing undertaking to have tried the traverse along the -wall to the _firma loca_ of the second section in this chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -_GREAT END AND ITS GULLIES_ - - -As we walk up towards the Styhead Pass from Wastdale we may see well in -front of us the long ridge of the Pikes monopolizing a goodly portion -of the sky-line. The high dependence at the head of the valley we are -skirting is Great End, a reasonable enough name for the north-east head -of the range. It sends down a buttress towards the Styhead Pass that, -at a closer view, is shown to be well separated from the main mass by a -deep gully of some architectural merit. This is Skew Ghyll. It twists -its way up to the ridge, and offers a pleasant variation route over -to Sprinkling Tarn, whence a steep rise brings the tourist to the Esk -Hause, the lowest point between Great End and Bowfell. The climber’s -interest will be concentrated in the view of the long northern face of -Great End, well seen from Sprinkling Tarn, and his experienced eye will -notice at once that the face is marked by various gullies that invite -approach. The whole ground has been thoroughly well examined from time -to time, with the result that several gullies which from below or above -appear to promise continuous climbing have proved to be deceptive in -this respect. Yet there remain two that are always interesting, and a -third that is at any rate popular as a winter course. - -Seen from the tarn there are two gullies that cut the full height of -the precipice from top to bottom. The lines of fresh scree that trail -down from their lower ends show up plainly on the older _débris_ that -marks the decay of this mountain wall. They both slope downwards -towards the left when seen from this point, and are both obviously -provided with variation exits at their upper extremities. That to the -left was formerly called Robinson’s Gully, but is now generally known -as the South-east Gully. There has always been a lack of originality -in the nomenclature of such places, and with several routes on the -same mountain the christener’s wits seem driven to all points of the -compass. The second gully is a hundred yards to the right of the first, -and has long been known as the Great End Central Gully. It divides half -way up into two well-marked portions, the right-hand route constituting -the main bed of the gully, and terminating at a huge notch in the -sky-line. The left-hand branch as seen from below appears to terminate -blindly in the face, but actually it leads to a deep and narrow chimney -cutting into the top wall within a hundred feet of the main gully. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE GREAT END GULLIES SEEN FROM SPRINKLING TARN - -(_Face page 90_)] - -Far away to the right, where the cliff has shrunk to but one-third of -its full height at the Central Gully, a black cleft may be descried -that leads from scree to sky-line. This is Cust’s Gully, indifferent -as a summer climb, but always beautiful in the richness of its rock -scenery, and especially interesting in winter, when drift snow offers a -royal road to the top. Every one has a kind word for Cust’s Gully. It -is only called the Cussed gully by ignorant novices who inquire whether -Skew of Skew Ghyll fame was a member of the Alpine Club. When it is -marked out by snow we can from the path just distinguish the great rock -bridge or natural arch across the upper part of the cleft. - -GREAT END CENTRAL GULLY.--This wonderful ravine offers some -special feature every winter. Its individuality changes so completely -under the mask of snow, or ice, or rain, that an attempt to describe -the gully by an account of any one expedition must of necessity be only -partially successful. - -One fine winter morning a year or so ago we had a large party -at Wastdale, and for once in a way were all of the same mind as -to our day’s plans. The walk up towards the Styhead Pass--the -Schweinhauskopfjoch of the Swiss travellers among us--would just suit -our conversationally-minded fraternity, to whom Brown Tongue or the -Pillar Fell or the Gable-end offered gradients too steep for words. We -sallied forth from the inn with many axes and great lengths of rope, -and lazily worked our way along the valley. The lower path, entirely -obliterated by the snow, took us across the stream to the right on to -the low slopes of Lingmell. Piers Ghyll stream was crossed without -notice, for here the gorge is not at all in evidence and requires -closer examination to reveal its magnificence. Then, rising a few feet, -we crossed the hollow of Grainy Ghyll and made towards Spout Head and -Skew Ghyll. The snow gave us some glorious effects on the hills around. -The Mosedale amphitheatre of noble mountains towered above Wastdale, -and mutely questioned us as to the accuracy of the surveyors who could -give them not even three thousand feet of elevation above us. Nowadays -theodolites are taken to the mountains and misused with great effect; -why should not the Pillar and Red Pike benefit similarly to the extent -of a thousand feet or so? There above us on our left was Great Gable, -a White pyramid cutting into a dark sky, at least ten thousand feet -of mountain beauty between us and its snowy crest. Who could believe -that the summit was only 2,900 feet above sea level? But the engineer -among us calmly reminded me of an interesting aneroid observation I had -once taken of the top of Moss Ghyll on Scawfell, making it a hundred -feet higher than Scawfell itself. Was I to rank myself as a truthful -scientist and be contented with the ordnance survey records, or as -an artist who should represent heights, shapes, and colours as his -imperfect senses make them? We closed the discussion in favour of the -artist and then sloped (without slang) up to Skew Ghyll. - -This was in splendid condition; the snow was deep and hard, and out of -sheer pleasure in step-cutting, three or four enthusiasts carved their -own staircases up through the ‘narrows’ and away towards the little -pass above us. It was to be noticed that the steps gradually converged -to one line as the leaders felt their muscles wearying, and they were -willing to fall in with the caravan now trailing up in single file -like the elements of a kite’s tail. At the top of our little pass we -could see straight down Borrowdale. Skiddaw and Blencathara formed the -distant background. Derwent-water reflected a dark sky, and by contrast -with its snowy shores looked of an inky blackness. Styhead Tarn was not -very beautiful; ice had formed on it a week before, but had since been -broken up by the wind, and the great flakes of crystal unevenly crusted -with drift snow gave a sense of roughness and of incompleteness out of -keeping with the finished beauty of the surroundings. - -We stayed up here for a few minutes, and then contoured along the side -of Great End in the direction of Esk Hause. The ground was rough; here -and there the snow required cutting. But no difficulties were met with -until the narrow entrance to the Central Gully suddenly disclosed -itself in the precipitous wall on our right. The gully points down -towards the eastern corner of Sprinkling Tarn. It begins where the -cliff stands nearest to the Esk Hause path, and is not to be mistaken -for the South-east Gully that points directly towards the sharp bend in -the little stream rattling down to Borrowdale. - -At the entrance to our climb we stopped to consider the question of -roping up. ‘Union is strength’ only within certain narrow limits, when -the bond of union is an Alpine rope. It often involves loss of time. - - Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, - He travels the fastest who travels alone, - -and his speed is inversely proportional to the number of his followers. -We decided to split up into three equal parties of four, my men to -lead up the main gully, the engineer to convey the second set up the -middle course, and the more substantial residue to bear to the left, up -a slighter branch that contains a very creditable cave pitch half-way -towards the summit ridge. - -Our work was easy at the outset. The gully was narrow and steep, but -the snow was good, and small ledges on either side were utilized -whenever the little icicle-clad pitches were too slippery for direct -attack. Where the gully widened a little we could see the first -serious obstacle in front of us--a vertical wall with a ragged -ice-curtain flung over it in a most artistic way. It would perhaps -have been possible to cut directly upwards, but the crowd of eager -climbers behind could not be expected to fight against frostbite for -an hour or so while the leader amused himself, and the obvious method -of circumventing the difficulty had its own merits. The right wall -slightly overhung; close below was a glazed rib of rock leading up at -an easy angle to the top of the pitch. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE III. - -THE GREAT END GULLIES (p. 90). - -The height of BB is about 450 feet. - - A Holmes’s (or Brigg’s) Cave Pitch. - B South-east Gully. - C The Central Gully. - D Cust’s Gully. - E Head of Skew Ghyll. - F Sprinkling Tarn. - c Left Branch of the Central Gully. - d Difficult Chimney.] - -Steadying myself against the wall, I started cutting slight steps up -the thin ice on the rock, keeping as near to the corner as possible. -Now and again the foothold felt insecure, but for the most part the -ascent was safe, with slight probability of a slip into the snow below. -The second man followed close up, and steadied my feet occasionally -with an ice-axe. Then came a more gentle snow-slope, up which we could -kick steps without effort; and while the second party were busy with -the difficulties that we had just overcome, we reached the second pitch -and hastened to leave it behind us. This was rather a harder task than -we had yet undertaken. The gully was more open and its ice covering -less extensive, but the pitch was higher and involved our climbing up -to the centre from the right-hand wall, so as to reach the base of -the big boulder that crowns the pitch. All this would have been easy -with the rocks clear and dry, but we had to make our footholds on the -flimsiest rags of ice, and the traverse to the middle demanded some -long stepping with scarcely a hand to steady. On reaching the boulder I -was compelled to crawl on all-fours round its front to the slope on the -left-hand side of the gully, and then by cutting a dozen steps or so in -the hard snow found myself in the wide part of the gully at the foot of -the great divide. The others of my party followed on rapidly, and we -shouted adieu to our companions beneath. - -Here we had the finest view of the climb. Below, the beauties of the -two pitches were greatly increased by our own elevation. They looked -very difficult, and the picture offered its living element in the -cautiously advancing parties now just in the interesting part of the -climb. Above us rose the huge buttress that divides the gully, and on -either side the most fantastic drapery of ice well-nigh frightened us -with its appearance of impregnability. We advanced carefully up to -the right, congratulating ourselves on having taken the lead, for our -friends were not pleased with the battery of hard chips of snow that -our step-cutting gave them. The buttress was rounded, and we gained a -full view of the troubles in store for us. Immediately on our left a -smooth rock-shoot led straight up to the top of the buttress. Between -the vertical pillar on the right of this shoot and the opposite side of -the gully rose a sheer wall of ice, like a frozen waterfall twenty-five -feet in height. So far as we could see at first, there was no chance of -forcing a quick way up this obstacle, and it was obvious that slowness -would introduce the risk of frostbite. During the previous summer my -fingers had been rather badly frostbitten in the Alps, and there was -some chance of their still manifesting a susceptibility to cold. We -almost turned back to follow our friends up another way; we could -trust each other to exaggerate the terrors of this bit, which honestly -enough was a trifle too stiff for a cold winter day. But while mentally -framing an excuse for the return, I had advanced up to the left-hand -edge of the ‘ice fall,’ and started the ascent of its spiky edging of -rock. From below the spikes had appeared fragile and untrustworthy. -Actually they were too well frozen into place to become detached with -one’s cautious drag. This discovery altered the prospect for us all, -and the chilly watchers below warmed up with the returning enthusiasm. -In fact they needed reminding that I might yet come down suddenly to -their level and sweep them off their feet unless they were prepared to -receive me. When ten feet up, the axe was called into requisition to -cut a few steps in the fall itself. These were useful just so long as -the left hand could utilise the rocks, but they tended to carry me away -from my comparatively safe corner, and I soon decided to keep away from -the fall as far as possible. The corner where the gully sloped back -was very exciting, for implicit trust was reposed in the benumbed left -hand that had been thrust, well gloved, into a thin and icy crack in -the wall, and held there by frost and friction. It offered no sensation -either of security or of danger, but it could not very well slip out, -and we hoped for the best. A few moments’ struggling landed me safely -on the steep slope above the pitch, and a vigorous handling of the -ice-axe on the bed of the gully fully restored circulation to my hands. -Then followed my cold companions, who had been shivering spectators for -a long twenty minutes. They were thus handicapped from the outset, and -found the pitch very severe, notwithstanding the gentle suggestion of -safety that the rope offered. - -We had some careful work still before us. The bed of the gully led -steeply up to another large and slightly overhanging boulder that -blocked the direct route, and our only possible method of getting above -it was to cut steps away on the right, trusting to sundry very insecure -grass holds. But these were much better than usual by reason of the -frost. In fact the whole climb is perfectly sound in winter, though -rendered very difficult. In summer it is often easy but dangerous. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -TOP OF THE CENTRAL GULLY, IN WINTER. GREAT END] - -From the steep right-hand side of the gully we could traverse with care -to the main bed again, just above the boulder; whence to the top of -the gully, looking from here like an Alpine pass, was a broad stretch -of unspotted snow. There we joined the second party, who had come by -the steep grass ledges of the central route. Their labours had been -great--or else, indeed, they would easily have managed to get ahead of -us--but not so much from the intrinsic difficulty of their route as -from the need of continual caution in the more open portions of the -climb. They had reached a ledge that overlooked the right branch, and -were proposing to descend to our snow slope and cut steps up with us. -We were nothing loth to give them a chance of showing their skill with -the axe, and for a while halted to enjoy the grand prospect behind -us, looking straight away towards Sprinkling Tarn and Borrowdale. But -we found ourselves frequently buffeted by strong gusts of wind that -swept furiously down the gully. The whirling snow at the little -_col_, now so near, warned us of an approaching _tourmente_ on the -ridge. Our section soon decided to start again, and just below a small -cornice that crowned the gully we forged ahead, and plunged through the -powdery fringe of overhanging snow. We sank in up to our waists, and -had to wrestle mightily against the hurricane to find a firm footing on -the wind-swept rocks beyond. It was no joke standing about there with -the sharp, cold, drift snow from the Pikes blowing into our smarting -faces. We could not hear ourselves speak, it was almost impossible -to see the correct course; but there were two or three among us well -acquainted with this ridge in its bitterest moods, and to these the -others trusted. We floundered down to the right towards Esk Hause -across the wilderness of blocks strewn over the great plateau, and in a -hundred yards came to a boulder large enough to possess a lee side of -its own. Here we halted for a chilly half-hour, waiting for the third -section to arrive. I possessed their luncheon in my knapsack, a most -regrettable circumstance from our point of view, inasmuch as it tied -us to Great End so long as it pleased them to amuse themselves down -there on the leeside of the mountain. We quickly demolished our own -share of the provisions, and with an unselfishness rarely present in -the great latterday mountaineering expeditions, decided to leave them a -few sandwiches and to cloy the hungry edge of our remaining appetites -with tobacco. We were not all smokers, but everybody present assisted -in lighting the first pipe, such a labour was it to keep a match -burning. We waited there in a close bundle until our feet were half -frozen and our faces stiff with icicles. Then we became rather nervous -about our missing friends, and debated whether they meant to reach the -top that day, or whether they had turned their backs to the lunch and -made for Sprinkling Tarn. The latter course seemed at once the most -expedient for them and the most convenient for us, and gladly we acted -on this assumption. It was just as well we did so, for the frost had -sharply nipped some of us, and it was long before my heels gave me any -sensation but that of a pair of snowballs in my boots. We slung round -the Esk Hause, and had some fine glissading to the hollow of the hill -below the crags. - -When well opposite our climb at the point whence we had started some -five hours earlier, our united shouting brought back an answering call -from the gully. Soon we could see the burly form of their greatest -member slowly descending the crags at about the same spot where we -had long before left him. Having distinguished him as a preliminary -landmark easy of recognition, the three others were one by one made -out. We were relieved to observe that they were all coming down in a -normal condition; no broken limb or sprained ankle had occurred to -spoil their pleasure and stop their climbing. After a few minutes’ -waiting we learnt their story. The left-hand route had begun in -a vertical ice-sheet twenty feet high that took them two hours to -surmount. Then, when with sighs of relief, or hyperbolic language, or -eloquent silence, that marked each individual’s satisfaction at the -happy completion of a difficult pitch, they had cut their way over the -edge of this wall and rounded the traverse that dominated it, they were -aghast to meet a wall of ice in every respect similar to the first, -but magnified! This was heart-breaking, but they made a bold bid for -success, and started afresh on the new task. But the daylight was -already within an hour of vanishing, and a night on those rocks would -have been too much for even the sturdiest of them. - -So with a wisdom not often met with in such cases where an element of -competition enters into the day’s work, they resolved to retire and -join us below. There we met again, and they received their lunch. I -was censured to a slight extent, but blame is pretty sure to be the -portion of him who carries the provisions. He that shoulders the bag is -a responsible individual, and the condition of good training that it -induces is moral as well as physical. - -Then let me insist on the value of such physical training. The -photographer who takes his camera to the High Alps is often too fond of -his apparatus to give it up to a guide or porter; he frequently decides -hurriedly to take a shot, and soon learns that it is best to carry all -for himself. Economy may often preach the same precept. Now to lift his -own weight is a labour he at first fancies will tax all his strength, -but a little practice in carrying a well constructed and well packed -rücksack on small expeditions will teach him something different. The -weight of the whole equipment for half-plate photography--camera, -three lenses, tripod, and other accessories--is so small a fraction -of his own weight that its mere lift is a negligible consideration. -His pace will be diminished and his back often uncomfortably heated. -But supposing the burden well arranged, many a climber could habituate -himself to it. One of our greatest Alpine climbers is said to train -in Cumberland by carrying a rücksack filled with stones. Without -attempting to persuade any one but a geologist so to burden himself -on principle, I strongly advise the man who hopes ultimately to climb -without guides to get early into the habit of carrying loads on smaller -ascents. It will always be a joy to travel free when occasional -opportunity offers, and then he will assuredly improve his pace. On a -really stiff pitch the sack may have to be raised independently by the -rope, a cause of serious delay when the rope is rigid with frost and -the party inexperienced in tying knots or reliable loops. It should -be remembered that the sack has more than once protected the climber -from serious injury by falling stones, and that a pound or two of extra -luggage carried up to an Alpine hut may mean all the difference between -a night of misery and a comfortable rest before an arduous expedition. - -I have mentioned that the middle route up the Central Gully leads by -easy stages to the upper portion of the right-hand branch. Some three -years ago a strong party effected an ascent of the chimney that points -directly up to the top of the cliff from the high ledge between the two -routes. We found the main difficulty was in traversing over an open -slab on the right of the foot of the chimney. The slab was split by a -narrow fissure, but the handholds were slight and rather insecure. To -have trusted to one alone would have been dangerous, and I recall with -amusement the spread-eagle attitude of the leader as he endeavoured to -distribute his weight equally on four rickety points of support. The -position was good enough in itself, but to move involved a dangerous -increase in the stress on one of the supports. Fortunately the second -on the rope was able to offer an axe-head as additional security, and -the passage to the left was effected in safety. The chimney was narrow -and its sides smooth, but with the exception of a loose stone near the -finish, which rattled down and tended to disturb our wedging, nothing -seriously interfered with our advance. - -But there was one amongst us who, in expectation of falling stones, -had thrust his head and shoulders into the little cave at the foot of -the chimney. When the leader shouted to him he did not hear, and the -accompanying pull on the rope resulted in the hitching of his shoulders -firmly in the cleft and the elevation of his legs only. The previous -evening we had been having a heated discussion as to the futility of -naming the sides of a gully or cave after the manner of the banks of a -river--_i.e._ of calling the ‘true’ right side of a gully its left and -_vice-versâ_. Professor M., who was with us now, had been a listener to -the discussion. Looking down from the top of the chimney and observing -the unusual method of our friend’s ascent, he called out, ‘It’s all -right, Jones, he is coming up well enough--the “true up.”’ - -SOUTH-EAST GULLY.--This in summer time can often be accomplished -in half an hour if the climbers are few and in a hurry. Before -December, 1896, I had not made a winter ascent; moreover, I had -forgotten much of the detail. Thinking of climbing notes, I persuaded a -small Christmas party to join me in exploring the gully under these new -conditions. - -We were only a band of three ultimately, though at Kern Knotts, which -we visited _en route_, our number was considerably larger. The other -two were both experienced Alpine climbers, one a very tall man, the -other very short. I was anxious to determine the advantages and -disadvantages of size and weight, and to that end took the lead myself -and placed the tall man second on the rope. We had but little wind, and -the temperature was slightly above freezing-point. - -The climbing began almost at once, for in five minutes from the foot -the gully walls were close together and were encrusted with thawing -ice. The narrow bed was broken up into easy pitches, but to avoid the -stream of water that came down beneath the soft covering of snow it was -necessary to use small ledges on either side, and span the gully like -diminutive colossi--here I am referring only to myself and the little -one. Now and again we would plunge up the gully for a short distance -in loose snow. Occasionally the crystals became more compact, and two -of us could manage to creep over its surface without slipping through. -Rarely was this the case with our middle man--a sixteen-stone Teuton -with a scientific training. If snow could be crushed he crushed it. -He became so indifferent in the matter after awhile, that he made no -attempt to distribute his weight evenly over the surface according -to the rules laid down by Badminton. The little one, coming last, -naturally suffered by this indifference, and was plaintive over what he -called the ‘fallacy of the undistributed middle.’ - -The first pitch of any size occurred within 200 feet of the foot of the -gully, a perfectly vertical rise of twenty feet in the bed level with a -slender waterfall interfering with our direct progress. The retaining -walls were the least bit too far apart for the utilization of both -simultaneously, and the right side commended itself to us as the easier -to attack. Our only trouble again was the glaze on the rocks, a black, -shiny veneer too thin for axe operations, too thick to be trifled with. -Such ice always interferes more with the hands than with the feet, -for sharp boot nails can roughen the surface of an ice ledge enough -for a foothold, whereas the hands can make no impression. If the ice -is very cold, gloves must be worn as a protection against the frost. -They have the merit of adhering slightly to the ice when pressed, and -often in that way give the climber a safe-enough grip. With wet ice -such regelation will not occur, and if the work is hazardous I prefer -to climb with free hands, trusting to friction to restore circulation -wherever an ‘easy’ may be called. - -Making slowly up this wall to a snowy ledge at the top level of the -pitch, I called on the others to follow, and then worked back into -the gully. Here we found ourselves facing the ‘divide,’ a high and -narrow rib of rock that cut down into the gully and gave us a choice -of routes. Our way lay up to the right, which a distant view from -Sprinkling Tarn had shown us to be really the main line. The other -branch ends somewhat abruptly out on the face, and involves a traverse -into the main again. A few yards further up, and a very imposing pitch -rose before us. It was in three portions, the gap between the second -and the third blocked by a huge stone that bridged the gully. As on -the lower fall, so here the water kept us off the centre-line of the -ravine, and drove us to seek diversion on the right. On the first part -we had the difficulty of snow and wet ice. Without comment I noticed -the little one carefully wipe out a handhold with his handkerchief -when it was his turn to mount. By the same manœuvre he had some -three years before shown me how to scramble up a small boulder in the -Engelberg valley that I was forced to admit I could not climb. It was -interesting to observe how little space he needed for his fingers. On a -wall with diminutive ledges that might easily pass unnoticed, he could -show us all what ‘walking up’ a face of rock really meant, though his -short reach naturally handicapped him now and again very seriously. I -believe a short man generally does best on rocks. His hands are as a -rule stronger in proportion to his weight. The long climber can reach -further but is often unable to utilize the distant grip to which he has -stretched, if it is small or badly rounded. Moreover, he often finds -himself in the attitude of a looping caterpillar, a pose that demands a -firmer handgrip and that rapidly exhausts the muscles. - -We all reached the first ledge safely. Then came the passage of the -bridge. If we passed under it we should get terribly wet and cold, -though there would be no particular difficulty in getting through to -the final chimney. Every inch of the boulder was glazed, and it offered -very few excrescences to hang upon. But it had the making of an edge -at its crest, and I gradually worked up the outside till I could reach -this and pull up. There is one advantage of a glaze--possibly its only -one--it offers no friction to one’s body in an arm-pull. - -Thence it was an easy step over to the final chimney. A small spout -of water as thick as one’s wrist was jetting from the top against -the right wall, and we were inevitably in for a wetting in spite of -the circumvention of the bridge. I essayed to finish the pitch before -the others started from their ledge twenty feet below. A fairly good -lodgment for the right foot was utilized and passed. The body had to be -jammed across the chimney, the fingers seeking for a crevice high up -on the right wall. When a slab is streaming with water and handholds -can be found within easy reach, it is a good plan to keep ‘thumbs down’ -as much as possible; for then the water will drain off by the thumbs, -and run clear of the coat-sleeves. The strain is too great to operate -in this way with arms at full length above the head. That was manifest -in my trouble on the wall. The ice-cold water trickled down my arms -and body, making me wet through in a few moments. But the horror of -it came with the realization that I was unable to move backwards or -forwards. The situation was almost critical, but not an unusual one -for winter climbing in Cumberland. I could at any rate give it my cool -consideration, and decide whether to call up the big one to help me -or to try an independent descent. The men below saw me in trouble and -made a move upwards towards the pitch. Then it occurred to me that the -big one would not be able to force a way under the bridge, and that he -might be a long time working over it, longer than I could manage to -hold out. That decided me, and I started wriggling downwards. Luckily -the hands were not yet benumbed, and by entire disregard of the main -water-supply down the central line of flow, which now included the back -of my neck, I managed to reach the platform again. Until my second -came up it was useless to make another attempt, and indeed it was now -eminently desirable that everybody should get wet. I am not an advocate -for monopoly in such cases. With some slight inducement suggested by -the rope, the big one pulled himself over the bridge and came up to -the platform. Here he was invited to hold himself firmly against the -wall, and give me his shoulders and head for elevating purposes. He was -immediately drenched before I had effected a start up his mighty back, -but there was a sense of perfect security now; it would be impossible -to fall past him. As for the effect of cold and wet on him, we could -neglect so small a consideration. In any case he would not feel it till -the trouble was over. I thought of the old dynamics problem beginning: -‘Let a fly of mass m be crawling up the trunk of an elephant, whose -mass may be neglected,’ and realized for the first time that there was -some sense in the quaint hypothesis. Once on his shoulders I reached up -to a dry ledge, dragged myself on to it, and thence strode across to -the top of the pitch. - -The third man had managed to reach the platform during these -operations, and now nobly offered his little all as a foothold for -the giant. My heart sank when I heard it graciously accepted, but it -rested with me to share the responsibility and let the rope take up -some of the stress. The big one came up grandly with these small aids, -and we hurried the little one to send along my camera sack and then -himself. This pitch was the hardest part of the day’s work, and showed -itself to vary much with existing circumstances. I can just remember -enough of a former expedition to add that it needs care in summer time, -though it cannot, rightly speaking, be called difficult. - -We then went upwards again over snow at a gentle angle till the third -pitch was reached. This was of a simple design, just a cave formed -by a fallen boulder, and no doubt it could be taken in many ways. We -climbed up a six-feet wall on the right from the entrance to the cave, -and scrambled easily into the snow-bed beyond. Thence to the top was -a matter of only ten minutes, the single hindrance being a pile of -boulders that were climbed by an easy tunnel that led to the crest -of the left-hand wall of the gully. We walked out at the top just as -twilight set in, after some two hours’ gentle excitement. We were -naturally still damp, and felt no inclination to stay about on the -ridge, so hurrying round towards Esk Hause we glissaded rapidly to the -path and walked home. - -The left-hand variation in the gully is often taken, but is scarcely -as interesting. Just after passing the divide we find another buttress -of rock cutting the gully into two sections. Here the buttress is not -much thicker than an ordinary brick wall; it is sometimes called the -‘curtain.’ There are pitches on each side of it, that on the right -being more definite and more interesting. It leads up a steep chimney -to the crest of the curtain, which is crossed to the left. The climber -is then in the left-hand branch, and has no difficulty in ascending the -gully till it dwindles down to nothing, and he finds himself looking -into the main south-east gully just above the third pitch. It will be -best, then, to climb down and finish by the usual route. - -CUST’S GULLY.--The climbing in this is of the slightest -character in summer time, there being but one short pitch beneath the -natural arch, and very little in that. But with hard snow about there -is scarcely a pleasanter way of playing at Alpine climbing above the -snow-line than by taking Great End viâ Skew Ghyll and Cust’s Gully. -The snow slope will alter in inclination from about 30° at the bottom -to 70° at the top. If the pitch is but thinly covered, there is -the fun of tackling a pitfall, and of bringing to bear on the safe -crossing all the science that glacier crevasses may have taught us in -Switzerland. Nor let any think that it is all make-believe and that -of difficulty there is none. I have had grand times in Cust’s Gully, -where we were actually tired out with the labour of cutting steps. -The snow when fresh is soft and yielding. Give it a week or two to -settle down, and it will bind together so as to offer firm support -on scraped footholds. But let cold rain fall on hard snow and the -temperature then fall below freezing-point, the surface will become icy -and every step will require careful making. Then should the picturesque -attitudes of step-cutting depicted in Badminton be imitated in all -seriousness, and the axe wielded with the scientific swing. It has -happened more than once that a bad axe has proved its worthlessness -when tested on the Cumbrian fells in a winter expedition--a much less -dangerous discovery than if it were taken new to the Alps and there -found wanting. The difficulty in the latter case is that our axes are -so rarely used for hard work, if we are led up the great peaks by -competent guides. They delight in removing every obstacle in our way, -and it may be that long usage of the axe has really been but a test of -the _bâton_, not at all of the pick. Then comes a time when the leading -weapon is broken, or carelessly dropped, or still more carelessly -pitched up to a ledge of only suppositious safety. Do not imagine that -these things never happen, for each has been within my own experience -during the last three years; and woe to the party if the untested axe -is a weakling when emergency calls on it! - -The upper part of Cust’s Gully when the snow is at its hardest may -almost be regarded as a test of nerve for the novice. I once was -starting to cut down the gully in such a state, with a young man of -limited Alpine knowledge, who diffidently suggested that step-cutting -was rather slow and that he would prefer a glissade if I did not -mind. I shuddered at the vision his naïve suggestion conjured up, of a -species of chain-shot shooting viciously down the tremendously steep -slope, ricochetting from wall to wall of the gully, and scraped very -bare by the sharp-toothed icy surface. That novice had no nerves, and -my remarks are not intended for him. The contention is that an amateur -party cutting up the steepening slope, and forging a way through an -incipient cornice of overhanging frost crystals at the top, will learn -much of the genuine safety of an ice-slope, and will see how to divest -it of its imaginary dangers. There are many Alpine climbers positively -afraid of harmless slopes, that are not nearly so bad as they appear, -and still less formidable than they show up in photographs. Such men -have never led up steep snow. - -Near the foot of Cust’s Gully a branch passes up to the right, of less -altitude and gentler inclination; its rock scenery is not so fine, and -the place is rarely visited. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -_GREAT GABLE. THE ENNERDALE FACE AND THE OBLIQUE CHIMNEY._ - - -Great Gable takes high rank among the hills of Britain for grace of -form and for the beauty of the views it offers to the climber. It is a -square pyramid in shape, and shows nearly its full height (2,949 feet) -from the Wastdale level. It stands at the head of the valley, and when -seen from the shores of the lake appears completely to shut off the -valley from all approach by the north end. Its four main ridges offer -fairly easy walking to the summit. The north-east ridge runs down -towards Green Gable, Brandreth, Grey Knotts, and the Honister pass, a -little _col_ marking the lowest point (2,400 feet) between the peak and -Green Gable. A moderate path leads the pedestrian from Borrowdale up -by way of Aaron Slack towards this little pass, which is known as Wind -Gap, and then bears up towards Great Gable. The pass may be crossed -into Ennerdale and a rough descent taken to the Liza stream. - -The north-west ridge leads down towards Kirkfell. The broad depression -between the two mountains is known as Beckhead (2,000 feet). It is -often marshy in the neighbourhood of the diminutive Beckhead Tarn. A -wire fence that adorns the summit-ridge from Kirkfell can be followed -for some distance up Gable. Thence to the summit is somewhat craggy, -but not difficult for pedestrians. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -WASTDALE AND GREAT GABLE - -(_Face page 114_)] - -The south-west ridge is called the Gavel Neese (Gable Nose), showing -from Wastdale Head as a rounded grassy shoulder leading directly -towards the peak. Up this shoulder we may make the shortest ascent of -Gable from Wastdale, avoiding the easy crags of White Napes that face -us where the upper limit of the grass is passed, by skirting round the -screes on the left. An ancient path with the strange name of Moses’ -Sledgate leads up Gavel Neese till the level of Beckhead is nearly -reached, and then bears away on a traverse over the screes round to -the middle of the Ennerdale side of the mountain, there to lose itself -in the wilderness of stones that are bestrewn all over that desolate -region. - -The remaining ridge to the south-east is scarcely definite enough to be -worthy the name, though from Wastdale it seems to be at least as well -marked as Gavel Neese. It leads towards the Styhead pass (1,579 feet) -and offers a quick route to the top. Mr. Haskett Smith suggests ‘half -an hour’s rough walking,’ but that pace is too severe for most walkers. - -Of the four faces of the pyramid the north and south are precipitous, -the west offers very little scope for the cragsman’s skill, and the -east absolutely none. The north or Ennerdale face is practically a -single, exposed section of some 400 feet of rock, seamed with traverses -and split with numerous gullies and chimneys. The south face is of a -complicated design. Springing up from the 2,000-feet level, the Great -Napes appears in the centre of the south face as a great rock screen -belonging to the main mass of Gable. In reality it is well separated -off by deep hollows cutting behind it to right and left. The highest -point of the Napes is connected with the upper crags of Gable by the -crest separating these two hollows, either of which may be followed -down in safety by benighted wanderers who are past all wish to avoid -screes, and whose one desire is to reach a low level in some inhabited -valley. - -Let us more happily suppose for the present that we are upward bound -and desirous of circumventing Great Napes. We can observe from Wastdale -Head the line of lighter scree that comes down either side of the -Napes. That to the left leads through a beautiful natural gateway -between White Napes and Great Napes, and thence trends to the right up -to the summit ridge connecting the latter to the final crags of Gable. -The streak of reddish scree to the east leads up through larger portals -into the very heart of the mountain, penetrating round to the back of -the Napes, and thence up by the left to the same summit ridge. This -hollow is floored with small red scree that glows with a marvellous -richness of colour in the sunlight. - -The passage between the foot of the Napes and a rock pinnacle at the -entrance to the hollow is called Hell Gate. Philologists may be led to -connect the name with the colour of the scree, for the primitive mind -of the namer would have naturally associated redness with an infernal -intensity of heat. The White Napes offers a little scrambling, but -the Great Napes precipice gives us the best climbing to be had on the -Gable; and if, after reaching the crest of this wall, we bear slightly -downwards across the upper part of Hell Gate screes, we can finish our -climbing by some excellent rocks that lead to the large Westmorland -cairn close to the highest point of the mountain. These Westmorland -crags, as we presently find it convenient to name them, are irregularly -continued away towards the south-east and the Styhead pass, by Tom -Blue, Raven Crag, and Kern Knotts. The last named are in two tiers, the -lower being close to the Styhead path, and only some 1,200 feet above -Wastdale Head. The upper Kern Knotts offer climbing of great interest -and perhaps exceptional severity, and are rapidly becoming popular -among the climbing fraternity. - -THE ENNERDALE FACE.--Looking first to the north side of Gable -it is a matter of regret that no satisfactory inclusive view may be -obtained of the whole width of this mountain wall. Seen from the -slopes of Kirkfell the face recedes in such a way that very little of -its climbing can be prospected. From the ridge between Scarth Gap and -Brandreth we have a front view of the crags, but they are much dwarfed -by distance, and their northern aspect is unsuitable for long range -photography. - -From Kirkfell we can readily mark the Oblique Chimney which cuts deeply -into the upper half of the centre of the face, and terminates at a -right-angled notch in the sky-line. Some distance to the right we may -with a good light identify the Great Central Gully that cuts the face -from top to bottom. To the immediate right of this is an easy scree -leading the whole way to the top of the crags. Near the foot of this on -the right there used to be a slab pinnacle some fifteen feet in height -that has since been completely disintegrated by rain and frost. A year -or two ago the freshly exposed rock that bore witness of the recent -departure of the pinnacle could be clearly recognised by contrast with -the older face. This climb is now reported to have been exceedingly -difficult; such will probably be the future reputation of the fast -disappearing Stirrup Crag on Yewbarrow. A little higher up this scree -slope, on a small platform out to the left, the remains of an old -stone-walled enclosure could once be distinguished. It may have been -the haunt of whisky smugglers or the hiding place of some miserable -outlaw. It is to be regretted that the remains are now in too bad a -state of repair to be recognised as artificial. Between the Oblique -Chimney and the Central Gully lies the easy route or natural passage by -which a mountain sheep of ordinary powers ‘might ascend’; though it not -infrequently occurs that the perplexed climber roundly declares that -the mountain sheep of average mental capacity is not so foolish as to -venture into such a bewildering region of small grass traverses, steep -stony slopes, and ledgeless walls. - -Immediately to the left of the Oblique Chimney is the climb that leads -past the Bottle-shaped Pinnacle and up the huge retaining buttress -of the chimney. Further towards Wind Gap the sky-line suddenly drops -at the upper level of Stony Gully--an easy, though rough, passage up -broken boulders and loose scree, by which the crags can be outflanked. -The wire fence that leads over Wind Gap to Green Gable and Brandreth -begins here, and is a useful landmark in misty weather. Mr. Haskett -Smith found in 1882 a ‘high level route’ across the face at about -two-thirds of the way up. It is an excellent ramble, and full of -strange surprises, passing along exposed ledges, in between towers of -rock and the great upper wall, offering a peep into the black recess -of the Oblique Chimney, and an easy digression up to the Bottle-shaped -Pinnacle. It finishes close to the foot of Stony Gully, and can be -recommended for a preliminary survey of the more difficult routes up -the Ennerdale face. - -OBLIQUE CHIMNEY.--From a few notes added to a sketch of the -known routes up the Ennerdale face, which Mr. John Robinson inserted in -the Wastdale Climbing Book, April, 1890, I derived my first impressions -of the Oblique Chimney: ‘This has, I believe, not yet been climbed and -is not very safe, owing to the jammed stones in it being loose, and -the clean-cut walls on each side making these stones of consequence.’ -This description was realistic though brief, but I thought little of -the place till the Christmas vacation of 1892-3, when I learnt that Mr. -R. C. Gilson had proposed to attack the chimney one fine day, but was -forestalled by Dr. Collier’s party. These latter took the precautionary -measure of partly descending the chimney, so as to clear away the -_débris_ and loose stones that hovered over the edge of each pitch; -they then returned to the foot of the chimney and forced a way directly -up to the top. The important jammed stones required for the middle -portion were quite firm enough for safe holding, and the party returned -with a fuller praise of the beauties of the chimney than any one had -anticipated. I was given an account of the expedition a day or two -later, and was glad enough to get the opportunity of trying conclusions -with the crags on that side of Gable, which till then was unexplored -country for me. - -My companion that Christmas was a learned classic, weary of brain work, -whom I had induced to take a little climbing in Cumberland as a tonic. -Some people cannot take quinine, others apparently cannot benefit by -rock-climbing. This latter I found to be the case with my friend, whose -struggle with the _confracti rudera mundi_ made him despondent instead -of inducing a healthy exhilaration. The sore limbs and torn clothing he -never seemed able to forget, far less to enjoy. Yet the ruling passion -of phrase-making was strong even _in extremis_, and he longed to put -his sufferings into words. Sometimes on the rocks I might casually turn -to see that he was coming up well. His eyes would be gazing at nothing -and his lips moving as if in prayer. But it was not prayer, it was a -Greek or Latin quotation, preferably the former because of its rich -vocabulary for description of scenery. On the whole he was enjoying -the new experiences hugely in his own melancholy way, and I felt no -compunction in insisting on his joining K. and A. when we planned our -excursion up Gable by way of the Oblique Chimney. The day was rather -cloudy and snow threatened, but we took plenty of provisions, and K. -carried a pocket compass. We started somewhat late in the morning, -and walked leisurely up Gavel Neese and round the Beckhead by way of -Moses’ Sledgate. But on reaching the wire fence we found that the -mist completely enveloped the Gable crags and gave us no chance of -identifying our climb from below. Then we skirted along the base in the -vain hope of a momentary disclosure of the chimney by a parting of the -mist, but no such chance offered, and we reached Stony Gully without -making a start up. Here we saw the ‘rake’ or traverse that has been -described as passing along the face about two-thirds of the way up. -It was an obvious course to take, inasmuch as it led to within a few -feet of the foot of the Oblique Chimney--so near that even the dense -mist could scarcely prevent our striking it. Here the classic assured -us that he would much prefer ascending by Stony Gully to the top of -Gable, and that it would give him extreme pleasure to carry our lunch -up to the cairn and wait for us there. We let him go, and promised that -we should join him again by three o’clock in the afternoon. Thus did -we lose our lunch, not to find it again for another week. There was -much ice and fresh snow plastering the rocks, and the so-called ‘easy’ -traverse wanted all our care. K. was an expert Alpine climber, his -friend A. a plucky young Harrovian with plenty of nerve and endurance -in him, but at that time with next to nothing in the way of experience -of the mountains. He came along well enough, but our pace was -necessarily very slow. Three o’clock found us still working westwards -on the traverse, but without a sight of the Oblique Chimney. I think -in one place we must have descended too much. At any rate, we found -ourselves in difficulties on a sloping slab of glazed rock that gave me -serious pause. A. slipped on this, and started slithering away rapidly. -Luckily he held his axe tightly, and was brought up by the rope with a -jerk. Shortly after this, he pointed to some blood on the rocks, and -solicitously asked me whether I had cut myself very badly. It turned -out, after a hasty glance at my hands, that he himself was the wounded -one. My little complaint was a slight frostbite in the finger-tips, my -gloves having been worn threadbare by much scraping with the hands. - -At last we reached a pinnacle that promised us variety. We tried to -climb up it by the outside edge, but found the ice too troublesome. -Then, when resting on the shoulder half way up, we saw a deep and -narrow cavern in the mountain wall behind the pinnacle. Surely that -must be the object of our quest and our pinnacle the redoubtable -‘bottle-shaped.’ Eagerly we scrambled over the shoulder and down a -slight gully on to the scree that issues from the mouth of the cavern. -It was getting dark, and we were very hungry. My jacket pocket still -held the crumbs of a pulverized biscuit that I had taken up Snowdon -the week before. These and a fragment of chocolate we scrupulously -shared, and then began the attack in earnest. The conditions had much -changed since Dr. Collier had effected his ascent, and though the -gully overhangs too much to permit any drift snow to settle in it, the -smooth walls of the gully were black and shiny with ice, and the damp -cold of this dark hole tried our endurance to the utmost. It must be -admitted that my ascent of the first part was slow and ungraceful. I -had started with my back resting against the left wall, bracing my feet -as firmly as the ice would permit against the diminutive knobs on the -opposite side. Now in this position the back cannot be worked up an -overhanging wall unless the hands have something definite to thrust -against. The process went on fairly well for about twenty-five feet, -working outwards as well as upwards, but then the two sides of the -chimney became perilously far apart and the smooth left wall commenced -to overhang. - -Then ensued a few moments of awkward suspense, an uncertainty as to -the best method of transferring one’s weight to certain small ledges -against which the feet were now pressing. - -The process of ‘backing up’ is excessively fatiguing, the thrust -necessary to hold oneself firmly _in situ_ being as a rule much greater -than the equivalent of one’s weight, and the whole of this thrust being -at every slight lift transmitted through the arms. He who fails to -realize the attitude I am describing may easily perform an experiment -that illustrates the mechanical principles involved, by sitting down -across a doorway or narrow passage, and attempting to work upwards by -pressure of the feet against one side and back against the other. If, -when some three feet from the ground, he waits a minute or two and -then attempts to move again, either up or down, he will perceive that -the simple holding in place has tired his muscles and made advance or -retreat equally difficult. - -Our doorway had already extended up for twenty-five feet and yet -another five remained before a comfortable halting-place could be -reached. The cleft forming the chimney was so much undercut that the -view vertically downwards included the scree some distance below the -entrance to the cavern, and anything that I might have let fall, myself -for instance, would have dropped some feet further out than the two -men waiting below. The halt was a mistake; there was only one course -open, and that should have been taken at first. It was to work inwards -until the doubtful jammed stones could be reached with the left hand, -and then, trusting mainly to the footholds, hoist the body over to -that side of the gully and thrust the hand into the recesses between -the stones. K. shouted up some suggestion to this effect from below. -How he managed to discern the proper place through the dim twilight -I never was able to ascertain. But I resolved to try it, and in some -strange way the cramped muscles that had appeared incapable of further -effort were in a second or two relieved by the change of attitude, and -the pull over to the right side that I had dreaded as the severest tax -on my strength proved to be easy enough. With fists in two convenient -little holes clenched to prevent the hands slipping out, I was able -to take a momentary survey of the slightly rickety ladder of jammed -stones that led to safety. The passage of these few feet was not at -all pleasant. Had ours been the first climb of the chimney we might -have reasonably decided to brave the perils of descent and return again -by daylight, rather than fumble about in the dusk pawing at wabbly -boulders that threatened to fall out with us at even a caress, much -more promptly at a cross word. - -But the knowledge that others had tried them, and had learnt the -futility of these threats, gave me some degree of courage, and, taking -heart of grace, I, walked up the ladder and out of the first great -difficulty. A. came up next, and as the hour was late and we were all a -little anxious to finish, he did not scorn to use the rope at the bad -corner just below the ladder. K. came up remarkably well, and I felt -that if he had led us we should have mastered the pitch earlier. - -We were now able to walk towards the roof of the upper portion of the -gully, which was as completely closed in as the cave below. The left -wall everywhere overhung so much that there was no chance of climbing -out by its aid. The right wall was nearly parallel to the left and -showed a few more possibilities. - -Looking backwards we could see the two walls projecting several yards -out, apparently a little nearer together at their extreme edges than -they were in our upper chamber, which was now much too wide for any -opportunity of backing up. But we knew that the second pitch was not -so bad as the first, and started prospecting. I crept up as high into -the cave as possible, and then felt round the edge of the roof for a -firm hold. This came to hand almost at once, and with a step out on to -the sloping wall, and probably a steadying hand from below, I worked up -between the roof-stone and the right side. This led to a steep little -snow-slope, evidently covering loose stones that might prove excitable -in dry weather, and thence a few yards of broken rock extended to the -summit of the crags. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE ENNERDALE FACE OF GREAT GABLE] - -In five minutes we had assembled there, and decided that we were still -distressingly hungry. I felt in my pocket for more crumbs, but only -brought out stones. We hurried up to the cairn at the highest point -of the mountain. It looked a picture of Alpine solitude. Not a trace -of the classic, no hope of our lunch. Fresh snow had fallen during -the last hour or two, and had obliterated all signs of his visit. -Nay, worse, we had not that implicit confidence in his knowledge of -the district to feel certain that he had found his way safely down to -Wastdale, for he had never been on the mountain before; nor was he -quite so familiar with the mountain mists as we proud climbers of the -Oblique Chimney. But he had the laugh of us that night! We expressed -sorrow for the poor man, and then with a sigh turned to consider our -own position. It was a trifle unpleasant to be on the summit of Great -Gable after six p.m. on a snowy winter’s night, with something of a -wind blowing through us and very little to obstruct its free passage. -But for all that we were happy enough, and arranged elaborately to -steer by compass direct for White Napes and Gavel Neese. South-west by -west was our direction. K. was positive of that fact, and offered to -lead. Some twenty yards behind him came young A., still going well; -then I followed at an equal distance behind him, just able by the -reflected light from the snow to distinguish the leader and keep him in -the straight line he was marking out for us. - -By the light of a match that we kept flaming for a sufficient time -in an improvised tent of coats, he examined the pocket compass he -carried, and was confident that ten minutes’ good going would carry us -down to the grassy shoulder below the White Napes. On we went steadily -downwards, and I wondered whether, if we took to running when the -boulders were passed, we might get down in time to start dinner at the -usual hour. Happy thoughts in this connection kept me from attending -particularly to our route and its details, but when we got to a thicker -mist I looked about for a landmark. Nothing could be recognised. The -ground sloped rapidly down on the right; the left seemed to rise most -oddly to a sort of ridge. But the strange thing was that there seemed -to be another mountain fronting us. K. was at a complete loss, and took -out his compass again. We erected the tent once more, and all crowded -over the instrument to determine our fate. Alas, we had been travelling -towards the north! K. had mistaken the two poles of the magnet. The -mountain mass looming ahead was the Green Gable, and we were within a -few feet of the Wind Gap. Our dinner was at least two hours further -away than ever, and we were still hungry. There was nothing to be -done but walk round the mountain by way of the Styhead tarn and pass. -We had no lantern, and it would have been a legbreaking business to -attempt to skirt the Ennerdale face and strike off the Moses’ Sledgate -in the dark. The snow was soft all the way down Aaron Slack. I have -often come down in daylight since and wondered what we could have -found to tumble over that night; we were always slipping through snow -pitfalls into water, or tripping over boulders and on to our heads -in snowdrifts. Now and again we would find ourselves sitting side by -side in the stream, the leader’s tumbling having been too sudden to -permit of any warning to the others. Such occasions we generally seized -on as suitable opportunities for halting, only to be ended by sleepy -realization that the water was both damp and cold. And all the time the -inexperienced classic was enjoying his dinner and his phrase-making in -princely luxury and comfort at the inn. - -At last we reached the shores of the frozen tarn and turned wearily -up to the right. The path was in a shocking state, and on arriving at -the cairn at the top of the pass we found a continuous glaze of ice -along our route. So, at any rate, it seemed to be that night--my first -experience of crossing the Styhead in the dark. It was nothing less -than actual hand-and-foot work in many an awkward corner. Subsequent -opportunities of climbing down the path in the dark have often been -given me, but that first night was the worst. How we managed to avoid -broken limbs has ever been a mystery. We would suddenly slip over on -the ice, and slide furiously down the path and into some obstruction -below. We had tried to smoke, but pipes were too dangerous to hold -between the teeth during these unpremeditated rushes. But time ends -all things. By ten o’clock we were anointed with Vaseline and massaged -with Elliman, with the prospect of substantial fare to follow. The -classic slippered into the dining-room to report himself. He had waited -on Gable cairn till half-past three, and then had returned by the way -he had come. Our lunch he had left under a stone, and as a guide to -our finding it had stamped the snow down and drawn with his finger -several arrows or asterisks or other marks of reference in the snow. -It was very clever, but the fresh fall thwarted his ingenuity only too -effectually. - -The Oblique Chimney rapidly became popular, and has since been visited -by many climbers. But it can never be regarded as an easy ascent. - -Some time during the summer following I looked down it to see how -a descent might be managed. The loose stones at the top were most -uncomfortably unstable, and the clamber down towards the entrance of -the upper cave required great care, without being exactly perilous. A -friend was with me who counselled waiting till we should find ourselves -up there again with a rope, and ultimately his advice prevailed. Some -eighteen months later, in January, 1895, a large party of Wastdale -Christmas revellers made for the Oblique Chimney top. The crags were -approached from the scree below, a few feet to the north of the -entrance to the Central Gully. We took to a little chimney at once, -and then up a grassy slope to another chimney that brought us to steep -grass and scree with frequent outcrops of rock. - -Thence we made up towards the entrance to the Oblique Chimney then -visible, and before reaching it clambered up an incipient gully on the -left wall that bounds the scree just there. It led over the sharp crest -of the buttress that supports the bottle-shaped pinnacle, and thence we -had a steep but fairly easy descent of ten or twelve feet to a ledge -that led round to the other side. The rocks were dry and very free from -snow, so that each member of our party found himself able to pull up -easily from ledge to ledge in the little gully till the notch between -the pinnacle and the main wall was reached. - -Thence the leader turned up to the left, and recommenced a similar -series of ledge-climbing operations, of which only the first from the -notch could be called in any sense difficult. We had a magnificent view -down the face, which is particularly steep just here, and the frequent -halts rendered necessary by the size of our party afforded plenty of -time to admire the huge slabs that separated the ‘sheep walk’ from -us. A small stone-man marked our point of arrival at the summit of -the crags, and after adding a block or two as our contribution to the -cairn we turned right, and in a few yards had reached the rectangular -entrance to the Oblique Chimney. - -The main difficulty in the descent was to prevent stones sliding on to -the heads of men lower down, who were in the direct line of fire and -rarely able to raise a protecting arm for themselves. The upper ones -were continually cautioned by those in peril to keep an eye to the -rope, and prevent its dragging over the bed of the gully. All passed -down safely, but I remember making a mistake when descending the great -overhanging pitch at the bottom, in assuming that it was an easy matter -to climb down with a camera sack on my back. I had descended part of -the ‘ladder,’ but then found the need of a back pressure, and hesitated -about crushing in the contents of my sack. The rope is of no use to -the last man in a place of that kind, and I therefore was permitted to -untie the knot round my waist and fix on the sack instead, letting it -down gently to the others by the left hand. The right was needed to -hold on firmly to the ladder, so that the teeth were in requisition for -the tying. The descent offers another instance of the ease with which a -chimney that is exceptionally severe in the ascent may be traversed in -the reverse direction. Where gravity helps the motion we have only to -consider the best means of opposing it. During an ascent much strength -is spent in the mere lift, to say nothing of the extra force needed to -prevent slipping. - -At the foot we joined up again and traversed round to the ‘sheep -walk.’ This was easy to discover but hard to describe. The route bore -obliquely upwards towards the right, always well out in the open, -giving us pleasant hand-and-foot work the whole way. We reached the -top in safety, and then proceeded homewards by way of White Napes. - -Mr. Haskett Smith says that the top of the easy passage bears 23° east -of north when viewed by prismatic compass from the highest point of -Great Gable. It probably means magnetic north, and the fact is of value -to benighted climbers who know which end of the compass is the north -pole. - -On April 3, 1896, a new variation route was found into the upper cave -of the Oblique Chimney by Messrs. C. and A. Hopkinson and H. Campbell, -who worked up a slightly marked gully in the great wall to the left -of the sheep walk, and then, after an ascent of fifty feet, traversed -round by the left into the chimney. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -_THE ENNERDALE CENTRAL GULLY AND TWO LITTLE CHIMNEYS_ - - -There is no royal road to learning, and the converse proposition is -equally true. There is no learning along a royal road. Some years -ago I went up the Central Gully of the Gable behind an experienced -climber, when conditions were at their best. It was a royal road to me, -and I came away with but a vague notion of its difficulties, without -having learnt anything. It is the leader that can give the truest -description of an easy climb. Where the one man can do all the work, -his followers go up without a thought beyond their rope’s length. When -difficulties are shared discussion is necessary, and the memory is -assisted by subsequent references to faulty moves or to troubles that -all were instrumental in overcoming. It is astonishing how few men can -recall the details of a rock climb to the extent of recapitulating -the successive pitches in, say, two hours of gully work. And yet the -faculty is well worth cultivating, inasmuch as it accentuates the -pleasures of retrospection and may be called into active service by the -inquiries of others wishing to follow. Indeed the best introduction to -guideless climbing is to ascend rock peaks that we have afore-time -accomplished with guides in front of us, where we shall find our -memories taxed now and again in the effort to recall the route taken -previously. To lie in bed and remember every foothold on the Matterhorn -may require more ascents than one; but however wicked it is for a -Zermatt guide to indulge in such a pastime, the average amateur may -well envy him his accomplishment. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE IV. - -THE ENNERDALE FACE OF GREAT GABLE, Showing about 400 feet of Cliff. - - A Wind Gap. - B Stony Gully. - C The Oblique Chimney. - D The Bottle-shaped Pinnacle Ridge. - E The Sheep Walk. - F The Ennerdale Central Gully. - G Scree Gully. - H The Doctor’s Chimney. - K An Easy Scree Gully. - L Gable Crag Traverse. - X Engineer’s Chimney. - _d_ The Bottle-shaped Pinnacle. - _f_ Chimney Finish of F. - _g_ Smuggler’s Retreat.] - -Quite recently I had the opportunity of joining a party up the Central -Gully. We had come over to Gable Crag after an hour or two on the -Eagle’s Nest _arête_ and the neighbouring rocks. Our plan was to get -up the chief pitches in the gully, and then, instead of bearing up to -the right at the foot of the final wall, to take to the narrow vertical -chimney that passes up its centre and leads to the highest point of the -crags--to treat it as an old friend with a new face. - -But before taking to the gully there was another little chimney to -visit, that had been recently ‘invented’ by Dr. Simpson and Mr. -Patchell, on their way to the Great Central. It is a singular thing -that this remarkably interesting way up Gable Crag should have so -long remained undiscovered. The reference in the Wastdale book is as -follows: ‘A walk of a hundred feet along a grass ledge from the point -where the wire fence from Beckhead touches the rocks of the Gable, -followed by a hundred feet of scrambling up a wild and much broken -gully, leads to a small cairn which marks the foot of a chimney on -the left. This runs up in a direction parallel to the face of the -cliff, and so is not clearly seen except at close quarters. It is very -straight and narrow, especially in the middle pitch, and makes an -interesting climb of about eighty feet.’ - -We worked round the scree and broken rock from the top of the Napes to -Gable Crag. Then by keeping fairly low down we arrived at the end of -the wire fence from Beckhead, and were in a position to profit by the -description already supplied. The fence ends abruptly on the face of a -crag that is somewhat separated from the main mass of Gable. Between -the two a scree gully runs downwards in the direction of Brandreth, and -the Doctor’s Chimney is found to spring from a point a hundred feet -up from the foot of this gully. The crag interferes with the view of -the chimney from the neighbourhood of Beckhead, though from the nearer -slopes of Kirkfell the little climb is almost as well marked as the -Oblique Chimney. - -The hand-and-foot work begins on the right side of the recess, and -the climber makes directly up to a little pinnacle about thirty feet -above him. There is no need to back up the chimney at first. The -pinnacle offers comfortable standing-room for one only, but the leader -can manipulate the rope for the second until the latter is within -a foot or two of the platform. Then by passing a few coils of rope -round the top of the pinnacle he can make the second safe while he -effects the rather awkward passage back into the crack. Both hands -seize an excellent hold on the opposite wall, perfectly safe but a -trifle remote for a man with a short reach, and then the foothold is -quitted and the body dragged into a good jamming position. The crack -is very narrow, and extensive slipping is almost an impossibility. -It now becomes necessary to wriggle up inch by inch with slight hold -for the extremities and too much for intermediate excrescences. A -few feet higher and the chimney is at its narrowest. Here follows an -uncomfortable rearrangement of the system. The handholds have hitherto -been best on the left wall, and the climber has accordingly faced -that way. But now the holds dwindle down to nothing on that side and -others appear on the right. We may either climb out of the crack and -on to the buttress, or preferably effect a half-turn of the body and -so get to face the right wall. This is most safely accomplished by -working outwards a bit before twisting. A small stone is half jammed -in the crack and may be used for a foothold, though too insecure -for any hauling purposes. The struggling now becomes a little less -irregular. The ledges are excellent for the hands, and in a few feet -we reach the level of the floor of a little cave roofed in by a -couple of overhanging blocks. This place again is only large enough -for one cave-dweller to inhabit, and the leader has his choice of -procedure--either to run out another twelve feet before the second man -comes up, or to wait till his follower reaches the narrowest part of -the crack. To avoid the trouble of re-arranging the rope, the latter -plan is better, though it involves a little risk of peppering the crack -man with small stones that are only too willing to lower their present -level at the roof of the cave. - -The last move is moderately easy. By pulling up on to the horizontal -ledge on the left buttress the loose stones are almost avoided, and -then some easy steps land the leader in safety a few yards from the -upper edge of the crags. When all are up, a traverse of about fifty -yards to the right discloses a rough but quick route down to the scree -gully and the wire fence, or the same traverse continued along the -contour-line leads to the Westmorland crags and the beginning of the -ordinary scree descent towards Gavel Neese. - -The Doctor’s Chimney deserves to be popular. It is a perfectly safe -climb, and offers excellent practice for the arms. On the whole it is -probably a little easier than the Oblique Chimney, especially when -descended, for it is so narrow that there is little need to seek -footholds until the level of the pinnacle is reached. It has the -advantage over its more famous rival of being easily hit off in misty -weather; for a scree gully is then less mistakable than a rocky sheep -walk, and a wire fence than a ‘bottle-shaped’ pinnacle. - -Such, then, was our digression before making for the foot of the -Central Gully. Another party of friends had comfortably ensconced -themselves in various corners on the small crag opposite the chimney, -and were interested observers of our performance. They smoked -cigarettes and offered advice freely; their day’s work was done, and -to watch others still hard at it was perfect luxury. When we emerged -panting from the top they threw away their cigarette ends and strolled -down to Wastdale for tea. It required much moral strength to refrain -from joining them, but there was the Great Central still on hand, and -that other little chimney to prospect. If it were as difficult as -report said, then we were bound to stay and climb it. So we worked -round to the end of the wire fence and looked for our gully. Its name -perhaps suggests a great gap in the mountain side, visible for miles -round, and as unavoidable by the wanderer on this side of Gable as the -Edgware Road is said to be by the Frenchman in London. But if this -be so the name is misleading. Many people fail to find the gully in -bad weather. Its entrance from below is narrow and its exit above is -ill defined. A short distance to the east of the Doctor’s Chimney the -scree-walk up the crag, that leads past the relics of the smuggler’s -inclosure, insures a safe passage to the top of the cliff. This scree -gully faces Kirkfell, and but for the usually poor light on this north -face of the mountain it might be easily recognized from that side. -Scarcely a hundred yards away from the end of the fence the narrow -opening of the Central Gully may be found; from Beckhead it appears -in profile, and is not-always manifest. Walking eastwards along the -scree beneath the crags, it is the first really obvious passage into -the heart of the mountain after leaving the Doctor’s Chimney; the easy -scree walk is not much impressed in the face, and in a mist it has -often been entirely overlooked. Even in cloudy weather the first pitch -of our gully can be discerned a few feet above us, and identified by -the buttress that partially divides it, the chock-stone in its right -branch, and the fine-looking ‘jammed-stone pinnacle’ that shows up a -little higher on the left. - -The first clear account of the gully appeared in the Wastdale book: ‘In -the great gully are found two pitches near the bottom. The top part may -be varied by crossing a grass slope and joining the easy scree route, -or the climb may be continued by going straight forward. This looks -very hard, but on close inspection the difficulty entirely disappears; -for the climber is able to pass behind a square tower of rock, and in -this way to enter on the final bit of grass and rock that brings him -out at the top.’ - -We were a party of three, and managed comfortably with eighty feet of -rope. The first pitch was easy, what with dry rocks and warm weather. -Our guide started up the buttress that divides the gully, and at a -convenient opportunity stepped back on to the loose stones in the bed. -A few feet brought us to the second pitch, a trifle harder than the -first. Again the leader worked up a buttress on the left of the gully, -but this time well in the hollow. Near the top of the obstruction the -left leg had to take the place of the right, a good handhold above -serving to insure the safe transfer, and then a ledge could be reached -by the right foot. The body was next swung over to that side, and so to -the crest of the pitch. - -Here the gully looked very attractive. On the left rose the -jammed-stone pinnacle, an easy chimney leading up to the cleft that -separates it from the mountain. Two big boulders bridge the cleft near -the crest of the little passage, the higher one offering a safe way -to the summit of the pinnacle. It is from here that the progress or -‘rake’ can be made out across to the foot of the Oblique Chimney and on -towards Stony Gully at the east end of Gable Crag. - -Just above us a third pitch barred the way. The gully was much -wider here, and greater diversity of method was now possible. The -guide counselled the direct attack of the short crack in front. The -philosopher prudently suggested that time was an object and the crack -a hard nut; we ought to take the easy corner on the left. The friend -that completed our trio gave the casting vote in favour of overtime -and ten hours’ work per day during holidays. The crack was certainly -awkward. It was at first easiest to face towards the right and work up -nine or ten feet. Then when the foothold was of the fanciest of orders -it became desirable to effect a half-turn of the body so that the other -side of the crack might be faced. Once the turn was accomplished, a -fine hand-hold made the rest easy; we could pull up the corner and walk -out at the top, some twenty-five feet above the foot of the pitch. Our -friend was thinking evidently of his casting vote when he followed the -guide; for at the turning-point a slip cast him on to the rope and -gave him an extra turn that he scarcely appreciated. But the leader -was safely ensconced above, and the poor fellow hastened up to assure -himself that the rope really had been held tightly. The philosopher -eschewed the cause of this momentary retrogression, and came quietly up -the grass and rock corner well to the left of the gully. - -We were now almost out on the face of the mountain. Very little -remained of the gully as such. The ordinary walk away towards the right -was perfectly plain. Mr. Robinson’s route upwards, described in the -extract just quoted, was a little to the left, but not at all easy to -locate, for the square tower of rock blocked the direct view of the -climb. Straight up above us we saw a wall of about a hundred feet of -apparently sheer rock, down the centre of which passed the crack or -chimney that we were to take for our finish. - -Loose earthy steps led to the foot of the wall, and for a moment we -thought with some apprehension that the first part was going to be -seriously troublesome. At a height of twenty-five feet or so some -narrow splintered boulders completely filled up the crack and overhung -considerably. Just below them the climbing was obviously awkward, -by reason of the footholds that were not there, if the ancient -Hibernianism may be tolerated, and the necessary leverage on the -boulders when we were using them for all they were worth would imperil -their stability and our own. But after mounting the first twelve feet -with, perhaps, more case than we had anticipated, a narrow ledge showed -up on the right wall for about ten feet, and we noticed with relief -that at its further extremity another traverse led back to the crack -in a slanting direction to a point just above the critical spot. This -diversion we promptly accepted, and found it altogether satisfactory. -The lower ledge was just wide enough for the feet, and handholds just -good enough for the balance of the body during the transfer. At the -further end it was easy scrambling to the upper ledge, which showed -itself as a broad and safe path to a little niche where the crack was -somewhat enlarged. The floor of the niche was formed of loose stones -supported on the larger jammed blocks that had affrighted us below, -and was sufficiently commodious for all the party to place themselves -securely thereon. Probably the next part of the climb was the hardest. -That, at any rate, was the opinion of those who had recommended the -route to us, and after their kindly advice we were gratefully prepared -to accept anything from them in the way of opinion. The chimney was -vertical and its two walls almost holdless. - -Direct progress seemed barred by three thick plates of rock wedged into -the crack and projecting outwards some three or four feet. Over these -we had to make our way, and if their edges proved to be unsatisfactory -for the fingers to grip or the arms to clasp, then we should have to -return with the ignominy of defeat. On the one hand appearances were -against us; the pitch looked impossible. But on the other we knew it -had been climbed once or twice before, and assuredly under no better -conditions than were vouchsafed to ourselves. Far away down at the -foot of the gully we noticed a couple of men who had been walking -Wastdale-wards after a hard day, but were gazing up at us in some -curiosity to know how we were going to tackle our problem. It would -never do to go back now. - -And thus, after sacrificing such time and small reflections to the -reputed difficulty of the place as its admirers would have claimed -of us, we turned our gaze upwards and climbed the pitch. It went off -pleasantly enough. An easy clamber led to a second platform immediately -below the jammed plates. A foot or two higher, and a ledge on the left -could be used for the one hand, the edge of the lowest overhanging -block with the other, while the left leg was swung up on to a shelf. -The attitude was awkward just for the moment, but with both arms -clasping the plate of rock, which was perfectly trustworthy, there -could be no thought of falling for the leader, who had only to thrust -himself forward into an upper recess and wriggle into safety. - -Here he discovered another level platform, neatly turfed and obviously -constructed as a climber’s resting place. It would have been easy to -stay there and negotiate the rope for the other men below, but the next -pitch was only ten feet higher up, and led to a still better corner. -Therefore he went on by straightforward hand-and-foot work, and climbed -the pitch by its left-hand branch. The chimney is here about eight feet -wide, divided into two by a long and narrow boulder. - -The right-hand branch is just possible, but the sense of insecurity at -one spot almost demands help from below. On the left a deep recess is -floored with splintered blocks that threaten to break away but cannot -easily manage it. The boulder offered enough assistance in the way of -holds, especially a sharp edge at the top, and when overcome showed -itself to be the last genuine obstacle in our course. We were soon -all gathered together at the little notch that marks the top of the -chimney, and after adding a stone to the cairn that stands there, we -marched up some thirty feet of solid buttress and broke at a plunge -through the thick cornice of old snow that yet remained as a token of -the hard winter that had come and gone. - -The easy finish to the right of the last vertical wall passes up scree -from the top of the third pitch, and takes us on to a ridge of rock -above the Smuggler’s Retreat. Here it joins the Scree Gully, and we -have a small piece of hand-and-foot work before it narrows, then curves -away to the left, and finally ends on a ledge of broken rock close to -the highest point. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -_THE GREAT NAPES AND ITS GULLIES_ - - -It has already been explained that the Great Napes rises like a huge -screen out of the southern slopes of Gable. Its crest runs from -north-west to south-east. It is possible to travel along the whole -length of the ridge from Hell’s Gate (called Deep Gill on the Ordnance -map) to the White Napes scree at Little Hell Gate, and this route, -religiously followed without divergence on to either face, will be -found to offer many interesting pitches. The outside face of the Napes -is cut by the Needle Gully, the Eagle’s Nest Gully, and the Arrowhead -Gully, taken in order from east to west. - -The Needle Gully has two separate branches leading to the crest of -the Napes, neither of them particularly difficult or interesting. -The Eagle’s Nest Gully is in summer time little more than a scree -walk. So likewise is the main Arrowhead Gully, which, however, has -a branch up to the left leading to a fine-looking chimney and out -on to the open face two-thirds of the way up towards the ridge. To -the west of the Arrowhead Gully the Napes is much less imposing, and -though small gullies cut it up considerably they are too indefinite to -particularize. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -GREAT GABLE FROM LINGMELL - -(_Face page 146_)] - -The chief _arêtes_ on the face are, taking them in order from east to -west, the Needle ridge immediately to the right of the Needle Gully; -the Eagle’s Nest ridge between the Eagle’s Nest Gully and the Needle -Gully; and the Arrowhead ridge between the Eagle’s Nest Gully and the -Arrowhead Gully. All these _arêtes_ offer most enjoyable climbs. The -Gable Needle (or Napes Needle) is a sharp pinnacle rising vertically -from the lower part of the Needle ridge. It is a climb for experts -only, with steady heads. The Bear rock is a smaller pinnacle a few -yards to the west of the foot of Arrowhead Gully. Its ascent is a -simple problem in rock-climbing--a pull up with the arms from the notch -at the back--but it is worth visiting on account of its singular aspect. - -THE ARROWHEAD GULLY is almost entirely devoid of interest. -It has not often been visited, for the reason that its material is -loose, its one pitch is easy, and the neighbourhood is very rich in -more inviting climbs. A large party went up it last April and were -exceedingly unhappy so long as a single member remained in it. Our -interest had been concentrated on the Eagle’s Nest ridge, and after -some considerable time had been spent about the crags, we found -ourselves at the foot of the Arrowhead Gully, afflicted with the -unanimous desire to reach the summit of the Napes by a way that none of -us had attempted before. There remained to us this gully and its branch -up by the left. It soon became manifest that we should have to divide, -for the place was too small to hold us, and too narrow to permit free -passage of loose stones that the higher members almost immediately -began to dislodge. We lunched a few feet up the left branch, and were -decidedly uncomfortable during our hasty meal. The ledges that we had -chosen were so uncertain and the scree below so steep that all were -glad when the sandwiches were finished and preparations commenced for -roping-up. My own section of the party elected to follow the branch -to its abrupt ending out on the face. The others kept to the main -gully, and were busy chimney-sweeping most of their time. Their one -pitch was straightforward, but loose blocks abounded and required -careful treatment so long as their fall might endanger the safety of -any one. Over would go a boulder as soon as the last man had passed -it, smashing from side to side, and we in our gully vaguely wondered, -at each successive bombardment of the Arrowhead, whether it would not -be fair to give the next comers the credit of trying a new climb; -the old gully was rapidly altering, and the change in its ancient -landmarks testifying to the influence of man as a geological agent. But -in spite of their extensive quarrying operations they reached their -destination before us. We found that our variation involved some good -climbing, spoilt, however, by a plentiful supply of dangerous _débris_ -on all its available ledges. I was leading, and therefore safe from -bombardment; but those below me were now and again peppered, and my -feelings hurt by their objurgations. Those who read this book as a -literary production will, no doubt, sympathise with the writer in his -difficulties with so limited a vocabulary as climbing affords. That -words of primary importance are few is a fact patent to all students -of the “Alpine Journal.” But in moments of excitement the climber is -urged to expand his limits, and to call on other sciences (notably the -theological) for suitable expressions that will relieve his feelings. - -We started by working up on the right to a ledge at the foot of the big -pitch. Then followed a traverse across to a short chimney on the other -side. This chimney was obviously a possible route, but for greater -safety and in order to avoid a lengthening of the rope between the -second man and myself, I worked up for a few feet and then rounded -the buttress into the central portion of the gully, where a second -crack started upwards. Six feet higher this crack terminated at the -same level as the left-hand chimney, and some dangerously loose grass -holds helped me to drag up into a small cave where moderate anchorage -could be obtained. Unfortunately a block as large as my fist managed -to escape past me and to attack deliberately the unlucky member of -our party. He, poor man! has the reputation of never being missed by -a vagrant stone, and on this occasion he was hit rather badly on the -head. It was no use hurrying, but we feared a faint, and when two of us -were squeezed well into the cave, the wounded man was engineered up -to our level. He was a bit dazed, but on the whole seemed moderately -jubilant at this latest proof of his case-hardened condition. When -reassured as to his welfare we wriggled clumsily out of the narrow -cave, feet foremost, and made our way easily by the left wall to the -roof of the cave and the top of the pitch. The rest of the gully was -little more than mere walking, and a few minutes later we joined our -friends on the crest of the Napes. - -THE NEEDLE GULLY has rather a bad reputation. My personal -experience of it has not been altogether pleasant. I tried it in -January, 1893, with the enterprising classic referred to in my account -of the Oblique Chimney, and found the soft snow so troublesome in its -steepness and want of tenacity that we decided to leave the gully for -some more auspicious occasion. The opportunity came in the following -August, after an ascent of the Needle, and with it came the conviction -that in dry weather the gully possesses no interest to the climber pure -and simple, if such an anomaly exists, but that it should be visited by -those who take pleasure in rock scenery. The Eagle’s Nest ridge is a -marvellously fine sweep of clean-cut rock bounding the western wall of -the gully. The jagged outline of the Needle ridge on the eastern side -is scarcely inferior in grandeur. - -We found two easy pitches to begin with, taking us to about the level -of the Needle summit. Then a vertical wall interposed itself directly -in our way. We scrambled in or near a slight cleft on our right, -using rather treacherous grass-covered ledges, and distributing our -weight over as many points of support as possible. That portion of -the pitch was only about three feet high, and then came a momentary -‘easy’ before another steep little bit of eight feet. The resting -place is just large enough for one man. At the top of the second piece -a ledge led round by the left past an awkward corner that seemed to -alarm our more substantial members by its narrowness, and then two -or three steep grass steps had to be taken directly upwards. There -we found a projecting knob forming a convenient saddle for each to -anchor as he manipulated the rope for the man below, a deep crack -offering itself in the right position for belaying the rope. A foot -or two higher, and we were able to traverse back into the bed of the -gully, and thence find an easy way up screes and short rock slopes to -the top. The climb along the ridge itself to the highest point of the -Napes was pleasantly varied. We could readily distinguish the points -of articulation of the chief buttresses, for the general angle was too -steep to disguise the contours. When close to the connecting ridge -between Napes and the Westmorland crags we bore down on to Hell’s Gate -screes and crossed over to the opposite rocks to hunt out the little -climb up to the Westmorland cairn. This was not so easy to find, and we -wasted much time in attempting an attack by some smooth slabs too high -up the scree. At last we found that the climb began in a small gully -some distance down, which bore upwards a little to the right till a -short pinnacle was reached. Then from the neck behind the pinnacle we -traversed across the face to the left for a few yards, before climbing -hand over hand to the summit ridge. It came as a surprise that the -ascent had such neatness; and we were all at the end willing enough -to indorse the favourable opinions expressed in the climbing book. -Be it remembered that the cairn at the top was built by the brothers -Westmorland of Penrith, not for the purpose of indicating the finish -of a climb, but to mark the coign of vantage for one of the finest -mountain views in the country. Remember also that proposition of a -well-known mountaineer that the view from a summit is much the same -whatever be the route taken to get there; and apply it by visiting -Westmorland cairn to look at the Napes, even if the expedition involves -no troublesome climbing. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE RIDGES OF THE GREAT NAPES - -(_Face page 153_)] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -_THE RIDGES OF THE GREAT NAPES_ - - -THE NEEDLE RIDGE is usually taken from the foot of the Needle -itself. It was explored first in 1884 by Mr. Haskett Smith, who then -made a general survey without actually completing the climb. Two -years later he effected a descent of the whole route; and in 1887 Mr. -Slingsby’s party made the first strict ascent, and were emphatic in -their praise of its fine character. - -The introductory few feet from the notch behind the Needle are -difficult, the problem being to climb up a steep slab of six feet or so -to the foot of a slight grass chimney that slopes upwards to the right. -Three fingers of the right hand can be inserted in a curious pocket in -the slab; rather poor foothold is all that can be found for steadying -purposes, and for the rest just enough will manifest itself to enable -the climber to cautiously drag himself up to a small ledge, and thence -to the foot of the chimney. - -This takes him easily to about the level of the top of the Needle. -There a poised block is passed on the left, that used to give trouble. -I once saw my leader attempt to climb directly over it. When in the -very act of pulling himself on to its upper surface it slowly swung -round, as if pivoted at each extremity. Fortunately he was not tempted -to let go, and it readjusted itself in a firmer position without -quitting its niche. My friend led no more that day, and we afterwards -solemnly warned folks against the boulder variation. The stone is yet -there and is still insecure, but climbers pass round by the right and -then work back on to the edge of the _arête_ and up to the foot of -the vertical wall that begins the second part of the climb. It is not -unusual for the first part to take so long a time in severe weather as -to convince a prudent party that it is expedient to utilize a grass -traverse into the Needle Gully that here discloses itself on the left. -This ledge takes them safely to a point in the bed of the gully above -the chief pitch, and within a few minutes’ easy scrambling of the top. - -The first part of the Needle Ridge may be neatly varied by climbing the -buttress up from the gully, or by working across to the same buttress -from the Needle notch. These variations are a little harder than the -usual climb, but both are safe in dry weather. - -As illustrating the way not to use a rope, an amusing story is told -of the first difficulty on the Needle ridge. Two young fellows had -walked up to the foot of the gully with another party of climbers, and -had lazily discussed their lunch and their plans for the day while -the others were busy on the Needle. After deciding that they knew the -Needle too well to learn anything by climbing it, they went on to -examine critically, from a distance, the Eagle’s Nest opposite and to -point out the way that they would insure their own safety in an attack -on it. They scoffed at its reputed severity, and would really have then -and there shown the neatest method of vanquishing it. On the other -hand, it was a warm day, and they felt a little slack. Perhaps the -Needle Ridge would tickle their jaded appetites a bit. Yes! they would -walk up the ridge and get some fresh air 400 feet higher. Then they -tossed up for leadership, and tied on their forty feet rope--one man at -each end. Away went the leader from the notch, over the slab and up the -chimney. When at the end of his rope it occurred to him to look back -and see what his companion was doing. The poor fellow had stuck at the -slab, and was in imminent danger of falling backwards. ‘Good gracious, -man, what are you thinking of?’ shouted the indignant leader. ‘I am -not going to be pulled down for any one!’ and promptly began to unrope -himself. Then the man who tells the story hurried up from below, and -fortunately arrived in time to prevent a catastrophe. Such an aspect -of the utility of the rope need scarcely be commented upon, but I was -not surprised a day or two after hearing the story to be characterized -by a non-climbing acquaintance in town as a desperate venturesome -individual, one who went about climbing mountains _with a rope_. By -non-climbers a rope must indeed be regarded as a source of danger. - -The plainest view of the upper platform of the Needle and the awkward -corner that rises from it is to be had at the expense of a few minutes’ -digression from the ridge. It is best to climb from the top of the -grass chimney over to the right, and then down a steep and loose recess -to a grass platform. A photograph of the Needle from this point of view -has been published, and is an interesting one to study. - -The second part of the Needle Ridge begins with a vertical wall of -rock that from below appears very formidable. With ice about it is -certainly difficult, and the traverse to the gully on the left is the -wisest course to pursue under such conditions. But on close inspection -a square corner discloses itself in the wall, and the fifteen feet of -scrambling in the cleft are perfectly straightforward. At the top of -the wall the ridge is broken up in a wonderful way, and huge blocks are -distributed along the route in great profusion. The climbing becomes -very easy, though retaining its interest to the finish at the top of -the Napes; and the whole ascent may be disposed of summarily in half an -hour from the Needle notch. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE UPPER PART OF THE NEEDLE RIDGE - -(_Face page 156_)] - -THE EAGLE’S NEST RIDGE was climbed on April 15, 1892, by a -strong party of cragsmen. They were led by Mr. G. A. Solly, who was -well backed up by Mr. Cecil Slingsby. They left a record of the -expedition in the Wastdale book, and let the climbing fraternity -decide for themselves as to whether the ascent was worth repeating. -No exception can be taken to the rocks, which are perfectly sound -and reliable, but an inspection of the ridge from the Needle shows how -little hold there is for hands or feet. Moreover, the hardest part -is so situated that a safe descent from it is well-nigh impossible -for the unlucky leader who finds his strength or skill inadequate to -cope with it. Nevertheless, I have recently discovered that with an -exact knowledge of the available holds, and with the best conditions -of the rocks, a man may safely tackle the ascent if well supported -by a sturdy second. The situation is terribly exposed for the first -140 feet, and will try the nerves of even experienced mountaineers. -Dependence is often placed on small footholds that slope slightly to -the climber’s disadvantage; and on such ledges good nailed boots and -perfect confidence are essential. The fact is that the ridge is not -to be recommended; and its virtue is that there is no deception about -it. The clean sweep of the sharp nose of rock from the green platform -at the foot up to the patch of grass where the slanting chimney begins -scares everybody away, tyros and experts alike. That almost vertical -buttress looks impossible, and to nearly everybody it is so. - -It was a felicitous discovery of Mr. Solly’s, a day later, that the -worst part of the _arête_ could be avoided by taking to a chimney a few -feet away to the left. Looking up at the ridge from the grass platform -at its foot, the appearance presented is that of a vertical face of -rock out by two chimneys each about a hundred feet long. The right of -these is shallow and open, with tufts of grass interspersed with smooth -slabs. Whether it can be climbed or not I have never ascertained. But -the left chimney or gully is deeply cut into the wall. Its aspect is -ferocious, but its disposition gentle. It can be easily reached and -comfortably climbed. Solly’s original route was up the strict _arête_ -to the right of both chimneys. The _arête_ to the left of both was -investigated at Easter, 1895, and manifested an inclination to yield to -the attack of a party. But the party has not yet preferred the attack, -and the suggestion may be taken at its worth. Our gully is rather -earthy for the first forty feet, and care must be taken by the leader -to avoid dislodging stones on those below him. Then the rockholds -change in character just above an outstanding pinnacle on the left, and -there is an interesting passage into a niche at the back of the gully, -a sloping and well-worn hold for the right foot offering the safest -support as the body is dragged over into the corner. Hence the route is -up the crack for a few feet and across a long slab to the right-hand -wall, care being taken with a loose splinter that is generally seized -as the handiest grip available. The rest of the gully is of grass -and small scree, and at the top a view may be obtained down into the -Arrowhead Gully. But for the ridge climb a divergence is made to the -right almost immediately after the chimney pitch is passed. - -A split is noticed in the _arête_, forming a small and sharp pinnacle, -just below which the shallow, grass-tufted chimney finishes in sorry -fashion. The climber passes through the cleft, utilizing a large block -that is not quite fixed. On the other side he finds the junction with -the original ridge route, ten feet below the finish of the curdling -part. His next move is awkward, over a smooth rock with unsatisfactory -sloping footholds, but there is no real danger with the second man at -the cleft, and the leader reaches the grassy recess where, in the words -of the first explorers, the difficulties moderated. It is large enough -for two men to brace themselves firmly, and manipulate 150 feet of rope -for an enterprising third man who may wish to come up by way of the -outside edge. - -This route to the recess we shall now briefly describe, suggesting at -the same time that no man should attempt to lead up it who has not -already explored the ground with the safeguard of a rope from above. -From the horizontal grass platform at the foot of the climb a narrow -cleft runs up to the ridge in such a way as to separate off the first -fifteen feet from the main mass. The cleft is mounted with facility -by aid of numerous holds of first-rate quality. At the top we find -ourselves on the strict ridge, but after mounting ten feet the holds -disappear entirely, and the verticalness of the next seven or eight -feet makes a slight divergence absolutely necessary. On the face of the -ridge that bounds the Needle Gully below us two parallel cracks run -up steeply about a yard apart. They are so closed, and they run so -obliquely up the wall, that good foothold is impossible in either, and -handhold of even moderate quality requires much seeking. Nevertheless, -they are both of immense importance, and are capable of giving all -the required aid. The leader should here be joined by the second, and -should belay himself to the highest effective part of the broken rock -below him. His companion should be belayed independently. Then his next -move is to work up for three feet on to the right-hand crack, with his -fingers gripping the other, until the latter is felt to be good enough -for a pull towards the ridge. The transfer of the right foot into the -crack on the left is critical. I prefer to effect the passage without -boots, as the toes can feel so much better where the crack is deepest. -Then the outside edge a yard away to the left is within reach of the -hand, and the leader, cut off from further assistance below, must -manage very carefully to climb on to the ridge. - -His holds are obvious; the difficulty is not so much in finding the -way as in keeping to it. Fortunately a little flat platform is now -reached, on which he can sit in comfort and recover his strength -before attacking the next part. It is at about the level of the top of -the Gable Needle, and Mr. Slingsby tells me it is the spot that the -first climbers named the Eagle’s Nest. It is just visible against the -sky in the view facing page 153, 3-1/2 inches from the foot of the -illustration. The awkward part first ascended is scarcely twelve -feet high, but is exceptionally severe if the leader takes it without -the assistance of a second. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE V. - - THE ARROWHEAD RIDGE. THE EAGLE’S NEST RIDGE. THE NEEDLE RIDGE. - From the South-east. From the South-east. From the North-west. - - _a_ Eagle’s Nest. - _b_ Easy Chimney Route. - _c_ Finish along the Ridge. - _dd_ Severest Portion. - _e_ Ling Chimney. - -THE GREAT NAPES RIDGES.] - -The consequences of a slip in the next portion of the climb are more -serious, but probably it is technically less difficult than the lower -bit. The Eagle’s Nest is barely large enough for the leader to brace -himself firmly when helping the second man up on the rope, and he may -naturally prefer to mount higher without assistance rather than peril -the safety of both for the sake of a helping shoulder up the next -piece. There are no belaying pins, and traversing to either side of the -buttress is seemingly impossible. If he cannot be certain of holding on -to the rope when a slip occurs to his follower, he had better decide to -advance another fifty feet before the second man moves from his secure -position below. The first ten feet above the Nest are remarkable for -steepness and smallness of holds. If the rocks are cold and the finger -tips benumbed, the holds cannot be appreciated at all, and the place -becomes horribly dangerous. Yet there is a sufficiency of grip for -hands and feet, and bootmarks can now be detected on the chief ledges. -With perfect coolness and the exercise of his best judgment, the -solitary leader will gradually mount the ridge step by step, and the -tension on his nerves and muscles will be relieved when the level of -the narrow pinnacle to the left is reached, and he notices the numerous -scratches on the rocks of those who have climbed to the junction by -the easy route. Mr. H. C. Bowen and I made the second strict ascent in -April, 1898, with 100 feet of rope between us. - -At the foot of the slanting chimney it again becomes possible for -the leader to obtain assistance from his companions, though he is -not the sort of man to require it if he has come up by the difficult -way. The climbing is now delightfully safe and interesting. The holds -are good and the ridge varied. From the top of the slanting chimney, -which can be ascended without trouble, the true _arête_ below looks -desperately stiff. The remainder of the climb will be found to consist -of alternating horizontal and vertical passages. It is often possible -to pass down the grassy ledges on the left, but the ridge is much -pleasanter, and in wet weather actually safer. The views down the -vertical walls on the right into the Needle Gully are magnificent, and -the Needle Ridge is seen at its best. - -The first party took two hours and ten minutes to accomplish their -ascent. The ridge with the initial variation by the chimney has been -climbed in half an hour by a party of three; hunger lent wings, for -their lunch was waiting them on Gable. - -THE ARROWHEAD RIDGE derives its name from a very prominent crag -a short distance to the west of the Eagle’s Nest Ridge. It offers a -very fine specimen of rock architecture, though the artist photographer -has been known to express dissatisfaction at its outline, and to claim -artistic license in modifying his pictures to suit his theories. Many -of those who have been attracted to the Great Napes in search of the -original have been much perplexed at the discrepancy between the old -photographs and the modern reality. Some in their wrath have desired -to get the photographer and his camera below them in a rickety gully, -where, as Dent puts it, no stone is left unturned in their struggle to -reach the top. - -But if the artist cuts away a few thousand tons of rock from his -negative with one fell stroke of his brush, if he commands the sun -to stand still and the shadows to move on, if he subjects his angles -to the influence of the personal equation of the climber instead of -the mere observer, these weaknesses are not to be recorded against -him. Mountaineering as a sport owes its advancement far more to -the inaccurate descriptions of its literary devotees than to the -simple statements of facts of the scientific, and its best pictorial -advertisements have been those where art has assisted nature and -laughed at science. - -This to some extent is what we all need, and what we all understand. -From the top of the Kern Knotts’ crack the evidence of a freely -hanging rope as to the direction of the vertical actually contradicts -one’s best judgment. The Kern Knotts wall is perhaps 15° from the -vertical, but looking down it one would judge it perpendicular. Yet -we never fancy a foothold horizontal when it is at a slope of 15° to -our disadvantage, else the Eagle’s Nest Ridge would lose much of its -terror. Rather are we then inclined to magnify the angle, and the -actual slope plus our own inclination make together something like the -30° that would figure in a fancy sketch or a popular article. - -Education is a marvellously fine thing, and in mountaineering it works -wonders. It enables men to interpret the barren truth in accordance -with their own experience. Notes of new ascents in the ‘Alpine Journal’ -they can enjoy and assimilate; but, as in eating caviare, the taste -needs cultivation, and many remain unequal to such food to the ends of -their lives. Now because there are many false translations possible of -the one true original, it must be easy with a knowledge of the truth -to interpret it variously, and correspondingly difficult to get at -the correct version from a bad translation. Even the mountaineering -education fails to help us. All it does is to give us the taste for -truth, and the sense of right to demand the genuine article. It might -be printed in italics at the beginning of the chapter, like the usually -inappropriate and obscure poetical references, and so isolated from -the author’s personal exposition. This text and sermon notion has -not, so far as my little library of Alpine books can tell me, been -adopted by any popular writer on mountaineering, though the difficulty -has been grappled with in other ways. Thus the Alpine historian or -geographer may find the required facts neatly gathered together in a -brief appendix, or still more briefly summarised in a letter published -simultaneously with a review of the book in the ‘Alpine Journal.’ - -The sale of caviare is strictly limited, and the demand for ‘Alpine -Notes and New Ascents’ confined to the few. Hence mountaineering -books intended to sell well are written for the uneducated many, not -for teaching purposes, but for the satisfaction of their desire for -tales of adventure. So long as climbers tolerate this professionalism -introduced into mountaineering--and there is every reason why they -should in all cases where the professional is recognized as such--they -must necessarily give the artist a free hand, whether he writes or -paints or takes photographs. Personally I should ask for information -as to the treatment of any negative that has been employed for -reproduction of pictures. ‘From a photograph by,’ nowadays suggests a -bad camera, a shaky tripod, an amateur operator, a cunning artist, and -a long purse. But ‘truth is mighty and will prevail,’ so we may as well -get on to the Arrowhead. - -Viewing this Arrowhead from the easy ground near the Bear rock, it is -seen to bear some resemblance to the Gable Needle (see Chapter XI.). In -each case the rock forms the lower extremity of a Napes ridge, and its -sides are remarkable for their steepness and smoothness. The outside -edge of each is broken by a well-marked shoulder, and the head of the -Arrow may be fairly well likened to the top overhanging boulder on the -Needle. Here, perhaps, the resemblance ends. Certain parts of the -climbing on the Arrowhead must be characterized as insecure, whereas -the Needle is firm throughout. The former may easily be attacked from -the notch behind it, the Needle cannot be similarly treated. The -original climb up to the shoulder on the Arrowhead was by a recess on -the east side, that up the Needle by a narrow crack on the west. (See -photograph facing page 153.) - -The first ascent dates from April, 1892, when a large party attacked -the rock on the lines just indicated. The lower part of the buttress -was mounted by a steep and open recess on the western side, a good -climb leading directly to the shoulder half-way up, where the route -was joined by the upper end of a corresponding chimney on the other -side of the buttress. Thence the climbing was straight up the corner. -It was not very difficult, but at a point a few feet below the final -bit the rocks were insecure and the situation alarming. The stones -are better now than formerly, but great caution must be used. In 1893 -another party repeated the ascent, and showed that it was possible by -passing round to the gap at the back to continue the climb along the -ridge. The usual route nowadays is to reach the ridge by the scree -gully between the Arrowhead and the Eagle’s Nest _arête_, climbing -up the side wall to the notch, and so avoiding the Arrowhead itself. -The wall is steep, but its ledges are conveniently disposed, and no -trouble should be experienced in the ascent. Once on the ridge the -climbing is delightful. The holds are good, and the narrowness of the -crest along which we pass gives the spice of sensationalism that at -all times offers an apology for easy climbing. The actual ascent of -the ridge need take but twenty minutes, the descent about half an hour -for a party of three, when conditions are favourable. There is one -_mauvais pas_ of moderate quality: a wall of ten feet must be mounted -to reach the crest of a tower on the ridge. Then follows a long stride -across the gap on the other side, and it is sometimes amusing to watch -the timid climber who fears that he may not be able to swing the hind -leg over when in the colossus attitude half-way across. Above this all -difficulties soon disappear; the gullies on either side rapidly rise to -our own level, and the ridge ends shortly before the crest of the Napes -is reached. - -The view facing page 153 shows the Arrowhead at the left-hand top -corner, the Eagle’s Nest Ridge against the sky, the lower half of the -Needle Ridge, and the Gable Needle itself. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -_THE GABLE NEEDLE_ - - -The best-known rock problem in the district is offered by the Gable -Needle. Its position has already been defined. As we walk towards -Styhead from Esk Hause the Needle stands out from the west face of the -Gable very plainly; but from Wastdale it is almost invisible against -the background of the indistinguishable Napes rocks, and only those -who know exactly where it should be are bold enough to say where it -is. Very few people seem to have seen it before 1886, when Mr. Haskett -Smith reached the top, though Mr. Wilson Robinson made a pencil -outline-sketch of both the Needle and the Bear rock as long ago as -1828. Many even who were acquainted with the crags of the Napes had -not noticed it. The fact is that a face of rock is very apt to look -flat and void of detail at a short distance; and it is the joy of the -rock-climber to discover its thousand beauties when he engages with it -at close quarters. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE GABLE NEEDLE - -(_Face page 168_)] - -The Needle is indeed a fine fellow as rocks go--just the sort of -ornament for one’s back garden in town, a gymnasium in itself. It has -now many admirers. The few footholds on the top boulder bear the -marks of many nailed boots, even its smooth face is scored by futile -scrapes of the nervous, but it retains its charm for the Wastdale -enthusiast. In his dreams he takes a hammer and chisel, and chips away -an important hold, and with the dreamer’s ease swarms up the rock -unaided. Again a hold is chipped away confidently with the faith that -removes mountains, and again he glides up and down; till at last its -small top draws him up without effort and he hastens down to Wastdale -to invite the attention of climbers to the new edition of the Needle. - -Mr. Haskett Smith climbed it alone in 1886 and left a handkerchief on -the top. Those who have been once on the Needle will readily believe -that this first ascent is one of the most daring things that have been -done in the Lake District. - -He pointed it out to Mr. John Robinson one day when they were -traversing the face of the Napes on to the Needle _arête_, and they -both agreed that it had a future before it, that their successors in -the field of climbing would make it their resort and perhaps even build -a diminutive shrine on its crest to the discoverer. Nearly three years -elapsed before Mr. Geoffrey Hastings made the second ascent. Then, -in June, 1889, Mr. F. Wellford climbed it, and Mr. Robinson made the -fourth ascent in August. In the following year Professor Marshall’s -party attacked the climb, spending three-quarters of an hour in -flinging a rope over the summit for the benefit of the leader. On that -occasion Miss Koecher reached the top--the first lady, at any rate in -modern times, to succeed in doing so. - -Dr. S. and I travelled down to Drigg one night. We breakfasted there -early and walked the twelve miles to Wastdale, halting only for a -plunge into cold Wastwater. After the manner of our kind, we inquired -at once for the Climbing Book, to learn the latest news from the Fells. -The ‘Pall Mall Budget’ article of June 5, 1890, on the Needle, had been -inserted, and we read how it might be vanquished. In the afternoon we -worked our way up to the Napes. Being the more enthusiastic, I found -the Needle first, and was breathless on the top of the crack when Dr. -S. arrived. He threw a rope up from the small platform (seen at the -bottom of the picture facing page 168) and came after me. The crack -up the face seemed difficult that first time; most people find it so. -The first movement obliquely up to the left is easy, but the next part -is a trifle too safe for the new comer. He gets his left thigh almost -hopelessly jammed into the crack, and can move neither up nor down. The -best plan is to work more with the left foot and knee in the crack, -both hands on the edge of the leaf of rock, and the right leg getting -general support by pressure outside, until the most constricted bit -half-way up is passed. Then the leaf of rock can be swarmed up with -much greater ease, and the climber soon finds himself looking down the -other side of the crack. - -From here the route for ten feet is directly up the right edge. The -holds are not numerous, but good enough when the rocks are dry, and -we find ourselves on a platform or shoulder, very conspicuous in most -aspects of the pinnacle, that serves as an excellent take-off for the -last struggle. The terrors of the crack often scare off people from the -final piece. They almost did our little party. I found my watch-chain -broken--some links still remain in the heart of the Needle--and my -watch badly dented. The ‘Pall Mall’ had promised us that the last bit -was the worst, and we thought for a moment that a little preliminary -training for a few days would be the correct thing. However, I took off -my boots, for they had no nails, and, standing on a shoulder of Dr. -S;, stepped on to the right end of the ledge on which the top block -rests. This corner is difficult to climb alone and exceedingly daring -work, for the climber drags his body on to it over a sheer drop of a -hundred feet, and feels no certainty of safety till he is up. It is -like climbing on a narrow mantelshelf five feet high, that is only just -wide enough to allow standing room. An ice-axe offers a useful take-off -in the absence of a sufficiently responsible shoulder. The disposition -of one’s centre of gravity must be carefully considered, and there is a -sense of alternate peril and safety in inspiration and expiration. Once -on the ledge the game was evidently in our hands, and traversing along -it to the left I found a rounded boss of rock eighteen inches higher -that offered good hold for both feet. Then the left was brought well -up to a little ledge nearly an inch wide, the right hand gripped the -right edge of the boulder, and on straightening out the top edge could -be grasped. An arm pull was helped by sundry roughnesses for the toes, -and I sprawled half across the top triumphantly. In a couple of minutes -Dr. S. was by my side. We had no intention of climbing higher that day, -and willingly spent half an hour in examining the routes of the Napes’ -ridges, two of which are seen to advantage from this spot. - -We descended without serious difficulty, Dr. S. going first. I -half decided to fix our rope round the top block and use it for my -own descent, but it would have been an awkward matter to detach it -afterwards. Moreover, others had not found a fixed rope necessary, -and we did not wish to have anything to reproach ourselves about -subsequently. Dr. S. placed himself firmly on the shoulder, drawing in -the rope as it came down. If I fell it would have been on to the rocks -a few feet below him; he would experience no great shock, and could -easily hold me in. The descent was by the exact route of the ascent. On -reaching the crack again we re-adjusted our boots and slid down easily, -the remembrance of the leg-clasping constriction preventing our jamming -in the descent. - -Two or three days later we took other men up the Needle. It was like -introducing an old friend. Though I had lost no respect for him, he was -easier to manage and offered new features for inspection. - -The side of the Needle facing Lingmell exhibits an obvious alternative -route to the shoulder. The climbing is twelve or fifteen feet longer, -and rather more interesting. Facing the Needle at its foot with our -backs to Lingmell, we bear to the right into a square corner. We pass -up this on the left to a little level platform, reached best by an -armpull and a foothold well away on the buttress. I have seen good men -in much trouble on this corner. From here the route is straight up -the wall, with a halting-place ten feet higher in a huge slit on the -right. Then we climb the same cleft whose other side constitutes the -first part of the old route. This side, however, is wider, and contains -sundry jammed stones for convenience of passengers. The old route is -joined without difficulty, and the shoulder reached as before. - -To effect the ascent of the top boulder without help it has always -appeared to me easier to start by standing on the small shelf just -under the left-hand end of the overhanging part--the shelf, in fact, -that is occupied by the sitting figure in the view facing page 168. -Practice on ordinary strong mantelshelves enables one to mount up this -corner with a certainty of success, the right hand being thrust into a -thin horizontal cleft rough enough to offer some friction for the back -of the hand as well as the palm. - -If people are at the Needle and wish to explore it, they may like to -know that Mr. W. H. Fowler has shown that the ‘outside edge’ can be -followed from bottom to top. Also, that it is not so difficult to work -from the foot of the ordinary route round to the other side of the -cleft that splits the Needle. To photograph the Needle we usually get -up the other side of the Needle Gully at the foot of the Eagle’s Nest -_arête_. Indeed, this grass ledge is so popular for the observation of -a performance that it is known as the ‘dress circle.’ One photograph -exists of the Needle in which nearly all the climbing details are -masked by a crowd of daring maidens swarming up it. Two have reached -the top, and are supporting a terror-stricken man, who, poor fellow, -had rashly undertaken to lead up. The picture suggests the old problem -of the mediæval theologians--how many angels can balance on the point -of a needle? - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -_KERN KNOTTS_ - - -KERN KNOTTS CHIMNEY.--This is one of the prettiest things in the -neighbourhood, and it photographs well. The small bunch of hard rock -that crops out of the wilderness of scree on this side of the Gable was -at one time rarely visited, though so near the actual Styhead path. Its -name was almost unknown. I confused it with the Tom Blue crags higher -up on the fell. Nowadays the good quality of the chimney attracts many -visitors, and several come to see it who do not actually climb. The -Knotts are in three parts--Raven Crag, and Upper and Lower Kern Knotts. -The middle part is the steepest and longest. A prominent nose or -buttress springs down its centre, and is visible in profile at a great -distance. The buttress is split off from the main mass by a vertical -crack extending from side to side, varying in thickness from three or -four inches to a foot. - -The chimney had been inspected by earlier climbers before I had ever -heard of it. The uninitiated of Wastdale often lament the secretiveness -of those who know where new things exist but who keep the knowledge -to themselves. Nestor is very reticent, and it is to be counted unto -him for righteousness that one Christmas week, after bad weather had -deprived us of all the ordinary climbing, he announced to the engineer -and me that there was a fascinating little thing, the fancy of an ‘off’ -afternoon, lying conveniently close to the hotel, that he would show us -how to climb. I was lying on the billiard table just then thinking of -the different kinds of nothing. ‘Where is it?’ I asked. ‘In Tom Blue’ -was the reply, and as this was yet but a name to me I wondered whether -Tom’s blueness measured his difficulty. The engineer was enthusiastic, -and declined to allow me to remain longer on the billiard table after -hearing this news. So in the gentle rain we marched out of the inn -that afternoon, and worked our way up the Styhead path till we had -passed the little spring that crosses it near the zig-zag. There we -saw the great rocks looming up on the left and were told that Tom Blue -awaited us there. The steep slope leading up to our climb was strewn -with huge boulders in chaotic confusion. We could either keep to -these or else make for an interesting crack in the Lower Kern Knotts -that stood directly in our way. To give us a foretaste we took to -the crack, finding as usual that its aspect from a distance gave no -clue to the wealth of useful detail in the shape of handholds. Then a -few yards more of mercurial skipping from boulder to boulder and we -reached a little terrace at the foot of the fine wall of the Upper Kern -Knotts. Since that day a huge cairn has grown up on this terrace at an -astonishing rate of development, to mark the beginning of the climb. -Perhaps by the date of publication of this volume the cairn will have -grown to rival the crags in height, the climb may be _viâ_ the cairn, -and Kern Knotts Chimney blocked up for ever. But for the sake of the -afternoon strollers from Wastdale we pray that this may not be. The -ascent is apparently in two portions, the lower one being the easier. -Actually there is a third pitch, the one of perhaps greatest intrinsic -difficulty, starting at the top of the split buttress and quite -unnoticeable from below. For this reason the climb must be regarded as -deceptive; it is one thing to struggle up the middle pitch with the -impression that the worst piece is being tackled, and quite another -to find a part of exceptional severity higher up. With that portion -impossible the only alternative is to descend again, and that does -not commend itself to many men who climb more for amusement than for -instruction. - -To return to our narrative, we roped up with hopefulness and took to -the lowest chimney. The rocks were streaming with water which rapidly -discovered that its line of quickest descent was along our arms and -bodies, with only a slight delay at the boots while they were filling -up. The chimney was sufficiently well provided with small ledges, first -in the middle, then on the right-hand side, to enable us to draw up -easily. Then we worked round to the foot of the second pitch on a level -platform large enough for us all to rest ourselves comfortably. The -chimney now became much narrower, just sufficiently large to receive -the right thigh. With dry rocks the slight holds on the left wall now -facing us would have been ample for the pull up to the level of a -jammed stone in the crack; but they were now doubtful, and the obvious -course was to insert the right hand beneath the jammed stone and -utilize the grip it afforded. A loose block thus handled from within is -much less liable to come out than when held by its projecting parts. -In a climb where every jammed stone has been tested scores of times, -sundry small precautions such as this may be omitted; but a new route -should always be attacked with respectful caution, otherwise it may -exact a speedy vengeance, and promptly repulse the careless climber. - -Just above the level of this useful block, which was immediately proved -to be safe enough, the footholds were a short way out of the crack on -the left wall, and were not particularly good in the heavy rain. The -next ten feet appeared to be very hard, for the only hold was to be by -the grip of the right thigh in the crack, and the next jammed stone -(on which a climber is standing in the opposite illustration) seemed -insecure. It was desirable to pass this without clinging to its outer -edges, and to test it when its dislodgment could do no harm. The motion -upwards in such a case is rather slow; the leg that does the work -must not be thrust too far into the recess, or else the business of -balancing is awkward, and the lift at each ‘stroke’ is insufficient. -The unemployed foot, as the skater calls it, can often help by a -momentary purchase on a minute ledge; even the width of an eighth of an -inch will suffice to steady the lift. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -KERN KNOTTS CHIMNEY] - -The jammed stone offered a fair grip underneath, but the ledges were -now on the right wall, and the turn towards them was difficult under -the circumstances. If we had known that the stone would hold we could -have pulled straight up over it; but, out of desire to play the -scientific game, I swung round by the hands so that the left leg was -in the crack and the upper handholds visible just above my head. Next -a pull-up enabled me to get the left knee well on to the stone, and -finally to ensconce myself safely in the recess above it. Then our -Nestor came up in splendid form, but with some anxious thought for the -upper part of the climb. He asked me to mount up to the bridge above -and see whether the remainder were feasible, for if not the best plan -would be to descend at once. We disagreed over this, but being grateful -for the introduction to ‘Tom Blue,’ and not knowing that it was Kern -Knotts, I clambered up to please him while he was negotiating the -engineer’s rope, and committed myself to the opinion that it was ‘all -plain sailing from there.’ - -From the jammed stone which Nestor was now testing, the route was out -over the right face of the chimney, and round again to the left where -the top figure is shown in the photograph. A big block forms a bridge, -beneath which meet the two chimneys from the opposite faces of the -buttress. - -We all reached the top of the bridge, and examined the final ridge that -springs up for another hundred feet. The angle is not an easy one at -first, and there is a scarcity of holds. The stylist who works only -with fingers and toes would have much difficulty in getting up, even in -dry weather. We one by one surmounted it by offering as many points of -contact as possible to the rocks. They were streaming with water, and -in a much more slippery condition than we should have preferred for a -first ascent. The leader accepted a shoulder at the start, but he felt -rather insecure till he was about twelve feet up, when a fine hold was -found on the right. From that point the ground is more broken, and easy -scrambling led to the top of the crags. - -I have been told since then that it is easier to work round to the left -from the bridge, and then up to the right; but a recent visit convinces -me that both ways have their difficulties when the rocks are wet. Both -are safe in dry weather. The direct route up from the bridge has lately -been simplified by an artificial step, evidently cut with a chisel. It -is a pity the timid mason did not go round another way. - -To reach the main shoulder of Gable from here we may keep on towards -Raven Crag and strike up a short chimney in its centre. It is not -difficult, but its exit from the top takes time if the climber attacks -the problem incautiously. Thence to the summit of Gable is a glorious -walk. - -From the ledge at the foot of the Upper Kern Knotts there rises another -buttress a little nearer the Styhead. Between the two buttresses a -short gully is found which offers a satisfactory route of descent -from the crest of these crags. The entrance to the gully is difficult -if tried from the foot of the buttress, but easy and suitable for -beginners if taken on the left. It was from this spot that our party -had the first view of the ‘crack’ that was to offer such sport a year -or two later. Nestor with his characteristic caution vetoed the whole -affair, and vowed he would never speak to me again if I attempted to -climb it. The engineer, on the other hand, thought that it could not be -much worse than the chimney which we had just climbed in safety, and -that it might be a good thing to keep in mind for settled weather. - -In December, 1895, I went up the chimney with Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Hill. -The rocks were slightly damp, the weather misty and unpleasant. On -the natural bridge I halted, and looked down the smooth wall of rock -facing the Styhead. The crack was straight beneath, and Hill nerved me -to the sudden resolve to descend by the rope and prospect the middle -portion of the climb. We had only sixty feet of rope, but I was let -down carefully and at full distance found myself in a splayed-out -portion above the first pitch. The bit beneath looked very awkward, -so awkward indeed that it seemed impossible to effect a descent on -to the boulders below. There was only one course available, that of -climbing up again. This was not so hard as I had fancied it would -be, for with the sense of the perfect security in the rope that Hill -carefully manipulated, came freedom of movement and a bolder style. -This is the reason why many Alpine climbers who know not the joys of -leading are entirely ignorant of their own powers; they as often err -in underestimating as in overrating their skill; they can gauge their -strength only by practice without rope from above. Emerging from the -crack I joined up on the rope again and finished the rest of the climb, -wondering the while whether a chance would ever come of penetrating the -crack from below. - -Before leaving the ordinary chimney, let it be added that the climb -may have an initial variation by pulling up the vertical rocks to the -west of the foot of the nose; the distance to the first big platform is -increased about fifteen feet, but the way is pleasanter thus. - -KERN KNOTTS CRACK.--One fine morning in April I started off -for Keswick, grieved to leave Wastdale and feeling strong after a -fortnight’s scrambling. Surely if the crack could be done at all now -would be the time, with weather and physical fitness corresponding. Our -party was small; two men were coming with me to look at Kern Knotts, -and subsequently to exploit the Oblique Chimney, the where-abouts of -which had puzzled them the previous day. It was a bargain between us -that they should help me in the crack and I should lead up the Oblique -Chimney afterwards. The advantage was thus all my own, and their -brotherly kindness drew me to them. It was in the preceding winter -that Hill had let me down from the top of the crack for a distance of -fifty feet to a small loose platform of rock, and I had with extreme -effort managed to return without tugging the rope. Since that time -there had been opportunity to reflect and decide that if I could get up -to the platform from below and then help another to the same level, we -could jointly manage the ascent of the crack without further aid. If -the platform could not hold two, it would be a case of ascending the -worst part of the crack, the splayed-out portion some twelve feet high, -without assistance. - -On reaching the spot things looked cheerful enough. The rocks were -dry, and I found that imagination had somewhat magnified my early -impressions of the wall. But the reality is bad enough. The wall is one -side of a buttress about one hundred feet in height, and marvellously -smooth to look at. It is out down from top to bottom by a clean-edged -slit passing right through the buttress and forming on the other side, -as I have already explained, the now familiar Kern Knotts Chimney. At -a height of thirty feet or so from the foot is the little platform, -the niche at the back of which looks as though carved out for the -reception of a piece of statuary. The portion of the crack that leads -up this first part has a slightly different outlook; it is more open, -and is provided with holds of a shaky description. Getting a companion -to hold himself in this, I mounted his shoulder and felt about with -the hands. There was nothing at all that seemed firm. So I called for -the axe, and, remembering certain tactics in an awful rock climb in -Northern Italy some years before, I rammed the axe longitudinally into -the crack and endeavoured to use it as a hold. The plan is sometimes -effective; it is not sufficiently often adopted _in extremis_; but on -this occasion it would not act; the loose stones in the cleft were -simply levered out of place, and I had to pass the axe down again. -Then ensued a few moments’ fatiguing suspension from one arm with but -poor foothold to ease the strain. It was no go this time; I had to let -myself down and rest awhile. Next we sat on a boulder opposite the -wall, and stared at it silently for a space. Surely that must be a -foothold ten feet up on the edge of the crack. If, while I mounted his -shoulder, the second man could hold the ice-pick in a minute fissure in -the face, I might manage to step on to the axe-head and reach the edge -of the platform. It would at any rate prove safer than the crack route. -The plan commended itself to all, and we placed ourselves in position. -It turned out that the axe was scarcely necessary, for with a little -delicate balancing I reached the top hold with both hands and dragged -up to the lower step in the ledge. Thence to the platform was an easy -matter, and we all began to breathe freely. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -KERN KNOTTS CRACK] - -It never occurred to me that I had made no mental note, in my previous -ascent of the crack, of the method of getting up the next part. It was -certainly a stiff struggle that Christmas, but I was then out of form, -and might reasonably hope to succeed more easily now. Nevertheless, -when it came to the test I found it impossible, three times in -succession, to get my head above a certain projecting block at the top -of the niche. Each time it caught me by the back of the neck, and would -not release me till in desperate extremity I let myself down again--no -easy matter with exhausted arms. After the first try my two friends -went round to the other side of the buttress, and hastily climbed -the chimney so as to be ready to help me. I could hear their every -word through the fissure, and rather surprised them by making a quiet -remark. On a small scale we were having the Funffingerspitze incident -repeated. Neruda was climbing that famous Dolomite, the scene of his -tragic death in 1898, by a new route and heard another party ascending -by the older way on the other side of the mountain. - -My pockets had been emptied out before the start. After these failures -I flung away my coat and tied on to the rope that had been let down -from above. With renewed confidence the fourth attempt was successful. -When the first twelve feet were passed I found two wedged stones a -short distance above my head. These forced my body out of the crack -altogether, but they offered respectable holds during the process. -Above these the next pitch involved a process of backing up, though the -chimney was much too narrow to brace firmly across from side to side. - -I joined the other men at the top after a few more struggles, -breathless and exhausted. Resting a few moments we descended the Kern -Knotts Chimney and went down to lunch near the spring. Later on, when -I effected the ascent without a rope, a rapid passage of the worst bit -left me with enough reserve strength to climb up the rest of the way -comfortably. The eighty feet and the descent by the chimney on the -other side were then disposed of in seven minutes. - -The remaining passage upwards from the cave is by the _mauvais pas_ of -the ordinary route. - -The account of this crack has been given in much detail. It is the sort -of thing for a strong party to climb on their way out of Wastdale, or -some afternoon after a wet morning’s imprisonment in the hotel. The -danger of the first pitch can be minimised for the leader by holding -him with the rope from the right-hand recess of the wall. In fact there -is a pinnacle in this recess at about the level of the niche, which -could be utilized as a holding-place. A shoulder to start from and an -ice-axe support in continuation are certain to be appreciated. Messrs. -Reade and McCulloch have lately shown that the niche can be reached -by the crack. On the worst bit which immediately follows I expect a -steadying hand from below will be generally necessary. - -When a man can go up this without assistance from above he may well be -regarded as fit for the Grépon crack. This latter is of the same length -and general character. It is easier, but harder to enter, and it comes -after more climbing; moreover, there may be ice in it to create trouble. - -KERN KNOTTS, WEST CHIMNEY.--A note may here be added concerning -the only remaining chimney on these crags that can claim to be a -distinctive feature visible at a distance. It is about sixty feet to -the north-west (or Wastdale side) of the ordinary route, and is plainly -discernible from the lower part of the Styhead path. A diminutive cairn -now marks the foot of the chimney; another stands on a flat ledge a -couple of yards above the narrowest and hardest portion of the climb. - -There are two or three ways of reaching the foot of the main difficulty -in the ascent, all converging to a point about twenty-five feet above -the lower cairn. Here a vertical crack rises abruptly, varying from -ten inches to nothing in width, and terminating ten feet higher in a -right-angled corner of the rocks that will on no account permit any -‘backing-up.’ For some distance the recess looks as difficult to tackle -as the corner of a room, and it is only when the climber gets to a -height of fifty feet that his troubles appear to moderate. One wet day -some twelve months ago our party could make nothing of the ascent, but -shortly after last Easter (1897) I made another attempt on it. To help -me on the difficult pitch a second man was persuaded to scramble up to -the foot of the crack, as I anticipated the need of a sturdy shoulder. -But the platform on which I was waiting proved to be much too small -for two, and when, by elevating myself a few feet, it was safe for him -to follow, I was too high to use his shoulder and had to manage with -his encouraging suggestions and the little excrescences on the right -wall. The first pull up the crack was by an excellent hold for both -hands on the left, using a narrow ledge with the inner side of the -left foot, and the crack itself for the right thigh. It then became -desirable to turn round so that the outer edge of the left foot should -grip it without losing its support during the process of turning. This -accomplished, the method of ascent became obvious. Small holds for -hands and feet were distributed regularly up the right wall, perhaps -three ledges for a rise of ten feet. During the latter part the left -hand sought support in the grassy corner of the chimney, which here -began to open up again. Then a long pull with the arms brought me up to -the flat ledge that marks the finish of the difficulty. There a cairn -was built with the loose stones that needed shifting, the second man -coming up like a lamplighter to help in the operation. - -Thence our route was partly up the buttress, by rather exposed -ledges, and partly in the chimney. The rocks were excellent and the -open mountain side was reached in another fifty feet. The climb is -worthy of Kern Knotts. It is more risky than either the chimney or the -‘crack,’ but with a steady party and dry rocks it will go perfectly -well. Nevertheless, I am far from willing to give it an unqualified -recommendation. A slip of the leader on the awkward part would almost -certainly cause the second to be pulled away from his hold, and the two -would have an objectionable fall over twenty-five feet of steep rock. -But the striking appearance of the difficult pitch is enough to keep -away all weaklings. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -_THE WASTWATER SCREES_ - - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE SCREES AND WASTWATER] - -Wastwater, the deepest lake in the district, occupies a flat-bottomed -depression in Wastdale. It is just three miles long, and its very -regular shores somewhat detract from the prettiness of its scenery. But -the wild character of the hills that inclose it gives it a grandeur -that is not possessed to an equal extent by any of the other lakes in -the country. Its direction is north-east and south-west; Upper Wastdale -is at its northern end. The road up the valley from Strands runs close -to the lake along its north-western side, and is good enough for -driving or bicycling as far as Wastdale Head. There it terminates as -a driving-road, but paths lead to the north over the Black Sail Pass -and eastwards over the Styhead. As we walk up the road, Buckbarrow -towers in steep crags a mile away to the left; then on the same side -we skirt the gentler slopes of Middle Fell, and after crossing Nether -Beck, Yewbarrow exhibits a singular change of outline, from that of -a steep and narrow pyramid to a long level-topped grassy ridge with -no architectural pretensions whatever. On the other side of the lake -is the ridge of the Screes, one of the most singular mountains in -Britain. Its highest point is by no means striking to look at, a matter -of 2,000 feet above the sea. For a length of three miles the ridge -is broken away in a line of cliff of almost uniform height, towering -1,500 feet over the lake. The character of the rock, and perhaps also -an unusually great exposure to weathering influences, has caused an -enormous wear and tear of the face of the cliff. Thus it is that huge -screes have been formed that flow straight down into the lake. The -action is still going on. If we take a walk along the edge of the -cliff, and this way of enjoying the round of Wastwater may be strongly -recommended to tourists, we cannot help noticing that at the heads of -the big gullies which indicate the regions of maximum erosion, slight -preliminary landslips have already occurred. The grassy ridge is marked -in many places by curved terraces, showing definite subsidence and -taking the general shape of the gully head. A few years ago a great -mass of rock detached itself from the top of the cliff near its highest -point, and thundered down towards the lake. It happened at night and -nobody was there to see, but the terrific noise gave serious alarm to -the inhabitants of the valley. It has been estimated that the volume -of rock that broke away was as great as the Manchester Town Hall, but -the comparison is perhaps worth little, for to many a north-countryman -there is nothing greater than the Manchester Town Hall, and the -expression may have been used merely to denote that the rock-fall was -very big. The scar may still be seen on the face, if one knows where -to look for it; the scree below it appeared fresh for many months. The -rich colouring of red and yellow in the rocks has caused the scree -itself to assume an astonishing variety of tints, and when viewed in -sunlight the effects are most remarkable. - -From the climbing point of view this continual weathering is altogether -unsatisfactory. The rocks are too uncertain, and in most cases the -gullies are too much occupied by scree. But towards the lower end of -the lake we find that certain different conditions obtain. The rocks -are firmer, there is less scree at their base, and it shows plainly by -its grass covering that the fresh supply is strictly limited. - -The last great bastion of the high ridge rises opposite Wastdale Hall. -It is cut off from the crags on the left by the Great Gully, which -runs up to the sky-line through a height of a thousand feet. On the -right a slighter gully practically indicates the end of the precipitous -portion of the face. Cutting deeply into the centre of the bastion -itself is a third gully that is continued straight on to the sky-line; -if anything it is a few feet shorter than the Great Gully, though much -more difficult to climb. I propose to describe these two only. From all -accounts it would appear that they represent fully the satisfactory -routes up the Screes. The sketch in Haskett Smith’s book shows them as -B and C (the reader can let B stand for ‘big’ and C for ‘central’). -That which is marked A in his sketch is no climb at all. It is just -a gully and nothing more, but it was not quite so worthy of being -labelled as the next great one to the left. - -The B gully was first climbed in the winter of 1891-2 by Messrs. -Collie, Hastings, and Robinson, and an interesting account of -the ascent, contributed by Dr. Collie, appeared in the ‘Scottish -Mountaineering Journal’ for January, 1894. A year later Mr. Mummery -made the second ascent. Not so long afterwards Robinson showed me the -way up with a large party of enthusiasts, whose strength and nerve were -pretty well exhausted by the time we dragged ourselves over the last -pitch. - -Concerning the early history of the attempts on the C gully I have -not been able to gather much information. Many parties have started -up it with the impression that they were undertaking the Great Gully, -but they never succeeded in finishing it. On April 19, 1895, Messrs. -Lawrence, Simpson, and Patchell, made a magnificent assault on it, -and by the merest accident they had to give in almost at the moment -of success. They climbed seven pitches, the gully getting harder at -each successive pitch. Then, when worn out with fatigue and exposure -to wet and cold, they misjudged the difficulty of the ninth pitch. It -is certainly most formidable to look at from below the eighth, but -on closer examination its difficulties vanish. That is to say, they -become insignificant for a party that can get over the seventh pitch. -They saw two more huge obstacles looming above the ninth, and were -completely disheartened. There happened to be an easy exit on the left, -and they took to it. Once or twice since that date others have tried -the gully again, but without effecting any further advance. In April, -1897, Mr. H. C. Bowen accompanied me from Wastdale in an attempt. -Circumstances favoured us throughout, and the gully yielded to our -attack. I believe it is one of the hardest climbs that either of us has -yet effected in Cumberland, but that may be because it is one of the -most recent. Before attempting it visitors to the district should see -first if they can comfortably manage the B gully. - -THE GREAT GULLY OF THE SCREES (B).--The usual way of reaching -it from Wastdale Head is by the road as far as the second field beyond -Wastdale Hall. There a path across the bridge can be found, and the -course of the stream followed up to the lake side. The foot of the -gully is reached in fifteen minutes by bearing obliquely upwards -across ancient scree. Its aspect is such as to directly face the small -peninsula across the water a trifle to the left of the Hall. The right -edge of the gully extends further downwards than the left, and a small -stream of water is usually finding its way down the rough scree bed. - -A few feet up we reach the first obstacle, in the shape of a broken -waterfall altogether about thirty feet high. It is usual to take to -the steep grass on the left, a route that looks easier than it actually -is. When the soil is damp the earth comes away like sand, and there is -little reliability in the holds all the way up. We step with relief -into the bed of the gully again, and look up to see what the prospect -is. An easy slope leads towards a second waterfall, considerably -higher than the first. Ordinarily there is no chance of surmounting it -directly, but a way of avoiding it discloses itself as we approach. The -gully divides into two, the main portion being to the left, and a fine -branch passing up to a height of 150 feet on the right. We start by -climbing the first pitch in the branch gully--a narrow vertical corner -in the wall down which a vigorous spout of water jets like a hydrant. -There are a few ledges on the left side which enable us to avoid some -of the water, but if there has been much rain before our expedition it -is impossible to keep dry during the ascent. - -It was here that I saw a sinful act of revenge that grieved me much -at the time. My companions had been with me up the Scawfell Pinnacle -by the Deep Ghyll route on the previous day, and one had kept the -others in painful attitudes on the cliff while he leisurely proceeded -to photograph us. The partner of my woes vowed vengeance, and exacted -it here on the Screes. His turn it was to manipulate the camera, and -his wicked malice prompted him to insist on taking a photograph when -his brother was half-way up the corner. We had given him the right of -choosing his subject and could not complain, especially as he was loud -in his praise of the view and in his grief at his brother’s cramped and -drenched condition. But he was in good humour for the rest of the day, -and that was worth paying for. - -The position now is that a buttress separates us from the main gully. -We have to clamber a few feet up this, next along a shallow, sloping -scoop as far as it goes, and then traverse across to the head of the -big fall. The leader is not able to derive much help from the rope -in case of a slip, but it is as well for the second man to climb -thirty feet up the right wall of the branch gully, so as to be higher -than the pioneer. The buttress looks much broken from below, but the -general slope is to our disadvantage, and the final traverse is along -a crumbling ledge of earth and grass. Frost occasionally makes the -climbing easier, by binding the earth firmly to the rock. - -The view across the lake from the top of the waterfall is very -beautiful. The rich dark green of the pines that grow down to the -water’s edge on the other side form a striking contrast to the gaunt -and barren walls of black rock that close in the view. Buckbarrow fills -up the background, the severity of its seamed precipices softened by -distance. - -The branch gully, it may here be mentioned, has never been climbed -throughout. It ends on the bastion at no great height above us, and is -probably not very stiff. I tried it one Christmas Day with Messrs. -Robinson and Fowler, but we rose no higher than the little notch on the -thin curtain of rock that forms its right boundary. We got soaked in -the little waterfall, and the bitter cold drove us back unsuccessful. -We had difficulties with the awkward chimney above the narrow corner. - -Keeping up the main gully, an easy stretch takes us to the third pitch. -It is a water-slide, and we must hurry up quickly if dryness is still -any consideration. The best way is on the left. There are many holds -under the water, and our efforts to prevent its trickling down our arms -will be futile if we get flurried by nasty remarks from those behind. -Almost before we can gain breath again we are confronted by a similar -difficulty. The water-slide here is taken first on the right, until a -slanting crack leads across to the other side. The climbing is rather -stiff near the top, and careful search should be made for the safest -footholds. - -The fifth pitch that we now approach is generally regarded as the -hardest. It is undoubtedly difficult when taken by the route first -discovered. A long wet slope of rock divides the gully into two parts. -On the right there seems little likelihood of finding a way up. The -great overhanging slabs are fifty feet high, and water is continually -pouring down them. On the left the chance of success is greater. A -slanting crack lies between the rock slope and the side wall. It leads -straight up to a hole underneath a huge overhanging boulder that -dominates the pitch. There we can see a choice of route. The way first -adopted is to wriggle up the chimney between the boulder and the left -wall; but it is preferable to crawl out of the hole to the right and -make an exit over rounded boulders to the top of the obstacle. The -chimney is extremely stiff, the main difficulty being to make a start -from the hole. If the cave had a level bottom the difficulties would -be much moderated. There are no holds on the boulder itself and very -few on the side wall, but those few make it worth while starting with -the face to the wall. Six feet higher, when the climber is in the most -exposed situation, he must turn half round and use both sides of the -chimney. If the leader cannot get into the crack unassisted, it is -a good plan for the second to hitch himself to a jammed boulder at -the back of the cave and proffer a shoulder as a take-off. The first -explorers had ice to contend against and proceeded in a still more -cautious manner, all three combining their strength at the awkward -corner. I have three times seen men swing off on the rope when half -way up the chimney, and am bound to admit that there is too much -touch-and-go for the way to suit any but very strong climbers. The -easier way out of the hole--first taken, I think, by Messrs. Whitaker -and Thorp--seems to reduce the difficulty considerably, and will -probably become a favourite exit. - -Above the fifth pitch we step out into a huge amphitheatre of rock. -It is difficult to decide which is the main gully, and many men are -willing to conclude that there is no more hard work in front, and that -a speedy passage out of the hollow will conduce most to their happiness. - -The real gully passes up on the left. A branch starts pleasantly -enough to the right, but after one or two fairly easy pitches we are -confronted by a blank, wet wall. The sides are steep and spiky and -rotten; it was a most miserable hour I once spent getting over forty -feet of this dreadful _cul-de-sac_, and ever since I have solemnly -warned others from any such attempt to shirk the final part of the -Great Gully. If they wish to get out, they should keep still more to -the right, over steep grass and occasional slight rock. Traversing in -a westerly or south-westerly direction, they pass across the heads of -several gullies, above the worst portion of the C gully, and then out -on the fell side, whence an easy run takes them down to the bridge. - -The three or four pitches that must be overcome in mounting to the head -of the true Great Gully are short but difficult. The ghyll is narrow -and wet and it is almost impossible towards the finish to avoid a -drenching by the slender stream that monopolizes the direct route. The -last pitch is ordinarily circumvented by passing up the nasty wall of -loose earth and rocky _débris_ on the left. This diversion leads on to -an easy broken buttress from which we can walk into the gully again and -up its scree finish to the crest of the precipice. - -On the occasion of my first ascent we were four and a half hours in the -gully. A second expedition to the top of the fifth pitch took three -hours; and half that time was spent at photography. - -THE CENTRAL GULLY (C).--Bowen and I had been climbing together -for some days last Easter (1897), and were reserving an attempt on the -C gully for the latter end of our holiday, to give ourselves the chance -of getting into good form and the place an opportunity for drying up. - -One fine morning we heard that another party were driving down the -valley on their way to the Great Gully. They offered us seats in their -wagonette. We gladly accepted, and had a pleasant drive along the -lakeside as far as Wastdale Hall. The walk round to the foot of our -climb occupied us the best part of half an hour, and we then left our -friends to continue their journey, arranging to look out for them at -the top of the Screes a few hours later. - -The gully was easy at the outset, but far up above us we could see -difficulties in plenty, and we began the scramble with a sense of -future bliss that rather detracted from our present enjoyment. - -We passed up on the left-hand side of the first pitch at 11-18, over -fifteen feet of steep grass and rock. The holds were fairly good beside -the waterfall. A few feet further on the gully narrowed at a second -pitch--a steep gutter down which the stream endeavoured to smooth a -way. We could use ledges on either side, and at the top a tree-stem -that has lain there for some years gave us assistance. The pitch is -about twenty-five feet high. - -Then there followed two easy ten-feet bits before we found ourselves -compelled at the fifth pitch to quit the bed of the gully. This -obstacle sent us off to the left up a steep grass bank before we could -traverse back into the narrow chimney at an assailable spot. We were -obliged to use our knees for wedging safely in the V-shaped corner, and -thus had our introduction to the water-way. The ledges were few and -slippery. Ten feet up the corner a jammed stone and a slippery slab -guarded the head of the pitch. We reached the former actually behind -the water, and hastened out to the left with but slight steadying holds -for the hands. - -Then we halted a little and looked about us. We had gone through the -preliminaries, and realized that our gully was now getting stiff. The -view upwards showed the great seventh pitch, but nothing higher. Far -below we could see the end of the lake. The prospect was not nearly so -fine as that from the Great Gully; the rocks were not so boldly carved -out, nor the outlook so fair. - -The next obstacle was formed by a jammed boulder thirty feet high, -impossible to climb direct. It would perhaps have been best to take -it on the right, but we advanced tentatively up the other side, and -then, seeing that it would just go, kept on to the top. Our route lay -up the narrow crack between the boulder and the side wall. A shoulder -was useful for the leader at the start, but he had a bad six feet just -above. The only hold for the right hand was obtained by clenching the -fist inside the crack so as to form a wedge. A far-away notch in the -wall gave an oblique push-off for the left foot, the struggle being -mainly to keep close to the crack. - -The difficulties now became almost continuous, and we were unable -to define exactly the beginning of the seventh pitch. Some twenty -feet of steep climbing up the bed of the ghyll first followed and we -reached a little platform whence a branch gully of steep grass led out -on the buttress to our left. The main gully was thirty feet across, -narrowing a little higher up. An almost vertical rib of rock some six -feet thick divided the gully into two parts. That on the right was a -wide recess roofed in by a great stone nearly a hundred feet overhead. -From our little platform we could see the water streaming over the -edge of the roof, and forming a thin veil at the entrance to the cave. -The left-hand side of the rib was a narrow crack sloping back at an -angle of about 45°, but after the first thirty feet continuing to -the top perpendicularly. The route we chose lay first up the crack, -then across the rib and into the cave. A second start being made from -there, we proposed to climb up the vertical rib, taking to the crack -on its left whenever the difficulties became extreme. At the level of -the roof of the cavern we were to traverse across on to it and make -directly up its smooth slope and round by the left of a higher jammed -block that overhung the finishing portion of the pitch. I think the -route differs a little from that of the first party, who were somewhat -assisted by a jammed stone then in the crack. In fact one member -considered the stone essential for a successful ascent, and that its -untimely removal closed the upper half for ever. But there can be no -doubt that in a dry season the obstacle can be overcome by a moderately -strong party, and that in the normal ‘streamy’ state of the gully the -climber needs but the knowledge of a route and the nerve to follow it -without hesitation and without regard to dryness. - -[Illustration: - - -I. PLATE VI. - -THE WASTWATER SCREES (p. 191). - -The height of CC is about 1,000 feet. - - A An Easy Gully. - B The Great Gully (1891). - C The Central Gully (1897). - D A Minor Gully, not very difficult. - _b_ The Curtain. - _c_ The Easy Traverse. - _d_ Descent from Traverse. - - -II - -THE PAVEY ARK GULLIES (p. 208). - -The height of BB is about 400 feet. - - A Little Gully (1886). - B The Great Gully (1882). - C Easy Scree Gully. - D Jack’s Rake. - E Stickle Tarn.] - -We found the way easy up to the cave. There Bowen braced himself firmly -amidst the bright green ferns and endeavoured to reconcile himself to -the prospect of a long wait. He could not trace out my route upwards, -for the curtain of water was between us, but now and again when -troubles were thickest he would inquire feelingly after my condition. - -It was straightforward climbing out from the cave and up to the -vertical buttress. But the absence of suitable holds in the crack on -the left made the next twenty feet very severe, and I was glad to find -at last a series of ledges across to the top of the cave. The holds -were wet and my fingers benumbed. If the ledges had been anything but -satisfactory the traverse would have been highly incorrect, not to -say immoral. Then the rope had to be lengthened out and the wait was -unpleasant. But the rock slope was a much simpler matter than it had -appeared to be from below, and the rest of the pitch was scarcely more -than a walk. I drew up over the last block with much relief, and paused -to recover warmth and feeling before drawing in the rope for Bowen. He -climbed with great rapidity and practically left out the traverse; it -was rather vexatious to find that he emerged fresh and comparatively -dry. It was now 12-34 P.M., and so far we had advanced rapidly. - -A few feet in front was a long thin crack, looking easy but proving -awkward at close quarters. We found it best to traverse up the smooth -slab on the left and then crawl along a rickety ledge of grass and -rock back to the gully again. Were we nevermore to find an easy -piece? Almost at once a ninth pitch faced us, looking somewhat like -the eighth. The gully suddenly narrows to a V-groove which springs -up vertically for twelve feet, then slopes away at 45° for twenty -feet, and finally is blocked by a few boulders before widening out -again. Just before the constriction occurs, the walls of the ravine -slope outwards at an easy angle, and the tangle of thickly-matted -grass disguises the treacherous character of the rock underneath. -This has been splintered and loosened by frost and sturdy vegetation. -Great masses in many steep places are ready to fall at a touch, -and scrambling is robbed of its pleasures by the sense of possible -insecurity of every available hold. I tried at first to keep up the -crack, but just at the corner where it trends obliquely upwards the -difficulties of holding on proved too great and a cautious descent -had to be effected. Then we looked to the left up a steep little gully -fifty feet high. It ended abruptly in the main wall of the ravine, -but a great splinter of rock at the highest corner gave us a chance -of belaying. Bowen clambered gingerly over the broken ground and tied -himself to the rock. Then, slipping my rope round it, he prepared to -hold me during the next move. Our plan was to clamber up the loose -face on the left of the awkward pitch and traverse into the gully -twenty-five feet higher. My rope was dragging along the wall, and would -have dislodged a good deal if suddenly called upon to break my fall. -The worst bit was the last six feet of traverse, which I very much -loosened during the passage. The gully was then bestridden and both -sides used for the finishing portion of the pitch. When Bowen came -along, the traverse broke away at his touch, and it was rather alarming -to see him start falling backwards. But the rope was tight above him -and he simply swung round into the gully; it was the most expeditious -mode of entering, but he bruised his leg a little at the final bump. We -afterwards agreed that the second man ought to take the whole obstacle -direct. Trying to repeat the ascent again in April, 1898, by exactly -the same manœuvres, the slight remnant of traverse broke away with me -and I had a bad fall. I was saved, of course, by the rope. The direct -ascent of the watercourse has been proved to be possible, and is now -much the better way. - -Such was the ninth pitch, probably the one misjudged by Dr. Lawrence’s -party on April 9, 1895. They had taken four hours to climb to the -eighth, remarkably good going when one considers the bad condition -of the gully during their ascent and the amount of new ground they -managed to cover. We had mounted in a little less than an hour and -three quarters; but we were only a small party and the circumstances -very favourable. They saw a hundred-feet pitch following on a few yards -higher and endeavoured to estimate its difficulties. From below the -aspect is terrifying, and after a slight survey they decided to work -out of the ravine by an easy exit up the left wall. Thence they saw a -few more pitches higher up beyond the tenth, and were convinced that -they had done right. But they were mistaken, as our experience proved. - -A little direct scrambling up the bed of the gully took us to the foot -of the great obstacle. A water-shoot splashes on to the left wall -eighty feet up, and is deflected into the cavernous depths of a black -recess formed in the gully by a long buttress that divides it into two -parts. The climb up through the splashing water appears to be almost -hopeless, and a view from above of the last twenty feet shows that the -risk would be extreme if the pitch were attacked on that side. But the -buttress will be found on inspection to close in a sort of chimney on -the right, fairly easy to reach and most comfortable to follow up to -its finish three feet above the level of the top of the waterfall. -This branch chimney is safe and dry. There are no loose stones about, -and the occasional glimpses of the furious shoot over the way are very -pleasing. They were so to us, at any rate, who had been in fear and -trembling lest we should be compelled to attack the pitch through the -waterfall. We were surprised at our good fortune, and none the less -on seeing that the difficulties above were insignificant. A short -scree and an easy twelve-feet obstacle brought us up to the well-known -traverse across the face of the mountain. - -We could hear occasional shouting of our friends in the Great Gully. -It tempted us to work over to them and finish on the final chimneys -of their climb. But we felt constrained to keep straight up, lest any -further pitches should linger unclimbed. The C gully was to acknowledge -itself vanquished from beginning to end, and we set ourselves to finish -the task. Little actually remained. A steep climb of thirty feet, -using both sides of the gully, with poor holds near the top, virtually -brought us to an end of its interesting and extended series of pitches. -A scramble up the last water-slide and a muddy slope led to the long -scree finish, and we emerged at the summit shortly after two o’clock. -The walk home over Ill Fell took an hour and a half. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -_PAVEY ARK_ - - -The Langdale Pikes form a beautiful group of hills four miles to the -east of the Scawfell Pikes. They lie at the head of Langdale, and -the highest point, Harrison Stickle, is a prominent object in many a -favourite landscape. - -Harrison Stickle is splendidly shaped, and manages to give an -impression of much greater height than it really possesses (2,401 -feet). Half a mile to the west is the Pike of Stickle or the Sugarloaf. -It has a little climbing on the west face. Mr. Gwynne writes of it -thus: ‘The Sugarloaf itself is a very fine peak, that, viewed from the -valley, has very much the appearance of the Mönch. It runs down towards -the Stake Pass in a spur, which must be the starting-point of most of -the climbs on this mountain. There is a curious gully here, which is -worthy of the climber’s attention. It does not run from top to bottom, -but suddenly begins about the middle of the crag. The difficulty is -to get at this gully, and some pretty climbing can be obtained in the -attempt.’ - -Somewhat south of the mid-point between Harrison Stickle and the -Sugarloaf is the summit of Gimmer Crag. It overlooks the old hotel of -Dungeon Ghyll, and offers in dry weather a considerable amount of -indiscriminate scrambling. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE PAVEY ARK GULLIES FROM STICKLE TARN] - -One of the finest little tarns of the district lies 900 feet below -the summit of Harrison Stickle, on its north-east side. Stickle Tarn -is almost as solitary as Easedale, and its surroundings are decidedly -finer. It is about an hour’s walk from Dungeon Ghyll, by a small -footpath keeping close to the stream that is fed by the lake waters. -The view across the tarn is a delight to climbers’ eyes. The great -cliffs of Pavey Ark, rising 700 feet above the lake, are darkly -reflected in the still waters. They are deeply cut by two gullies -that immediately arrest attention. Each marks a little notch in the -sky-line. A third notch further to the left indicates the head of a -slighter indentation in the face of the cliff, which, so far as I know, -has not yet been explored. The right-hand ‘Great’ Gully was first -climbed by Haskett Smith in the summer of 1882. The left, called the -‘Little’ Gully by way of antithesis, the same climber explored in June, -1886. A lady ascended the Great Gully in 1887, and later years have -seen a steady succession of visitors to these crags. - -Well towards the north end of the cliff is a wide scree gully with a -square notch at its crest. Near the foot of this a safe natural path -may be followed obliquely across the face. This is the well-known -Jack’s Rake. It starts rather steeply, but soon assumes a gentle, -uniform gradient. It crosses the Great Gully a hundred feet below the -top; there then follows a rather awkward bit for the walker, who will -need to scramble up a corner to get on to the last portion of the -rake. It crosses the Little Gully within fifty feet of the Summit, -and ends on the buttress just beyond. Two chimneys spring from the -level of Jack’s Rake to the north of the Great Gully, which both look -interesting. Our pleasant scramble is thus described by Gwynne: ‘This -ledge [i.e. Jack’s Rake] offers a multitude of good opportunities -to the climber. It runs obliquely across the face of the precipice, -but it need not necessarily be followed throughout its length by the -mountaineer who wishes for something a little more exciting. About -half-way up there runs on to the ledge a chimney which--when it is -not a small waterfall--forms a pleasant climb to some broken rock -above, whence the summit is easily reached. If, however, the water in -the chimney makes it uncomfortable and unpleasant for the climber, he -may still arrive at the top of it by choosing a long bit of steep, -smooth rock on the left. There are two clefts which afford fairly good -hand-and-foot holds, and from there the top of the chimney is attained.’ - -THE LITTLE GULLY.--Some six years ago I paid my first visit to -Pavey Ark. The accounts of the Great Gully were very enticing. One -visitor spoke of it as having only one pitch, ‘but that was severe.’ -Another, commenting on the first, remarked: ‘Yes! it has only one -pitch, but that one lasts all the way up!’ Then a celebrated climber -had estimated its height at double the actual amount, which was a -testimonial to its good qualities all the more acceptable because it -was given unconsciously. - -There were tales of a leader pawing about for half an hour on the -second man’s head and shoulders, in search of holds. Gloves and sticks -and other impedimenta were understood to lie in profusion at the foot -of the stiffest bit, left there by those who could climb no higher, -or those who sadly expected that after their despairing attempts had -failed they would have no further need for such articles. In short, -there was a good deal of pernicious exaggeration concerning the Great -Gully, and I went for it expecting great things. It was rather a long -walk from Wastdale, over Great End and Bowfell. The descent to Dungeon -Ghyll was taken for the sake of a look-in at the waterfall, and for -the next half-hour hurrying up to Stickle Tarn, I felt to the full the -futility of having run down from Bowfell to Langdale to save time. -Arrived at the small dam that holds in the waters of the lake, I saw -the two gullies on the other side, and concluding that the left-hand -one looked harder, skirted the lake, and made for its foot. It was a -foolish mistake, thus to confuse the two routes. The Little Gully was -ascended that day, and until Haskett Smith’s book came out three years -later, describing the locality in some detail, I fondly imagined that I -knew the best thing on Pavey Ark. - -The gully is narrow at first. Its walls are red in colour, and a film -of water generally covers them. The holds are not particularly good, -and the steepness of the gully renders extreme caution necessary. -Both walls are used, and our advance is after the fashion of a man -on a ladder. Then the gully widens, and the difficulties come in -successive steps till a great overhanging boulder blocks the direct -ascent. Here the right wall is sufficiently broken to offer a method -of circumventing the pitch, but in wet weather the place is bad. -Just above this I found a stick, conclusive evidence to the simple -mind that the hard bit of the Great Gully was now being approached. -It looked as though it had been there for years. The view backwards -was most impressive, the tarn appearing almost beneath my feet. The -second obstacle was now to be considered. The gully narrowed to a thin -vertical corner plastered over with wet green moss. The take-off was -earthy and disagreeably loose. The only holds were on the right wall -near the corner, and were few and far between. I hesitated below for a -long time, scarcely knowing how best to start operations. A big jammed -stone came away in my hands as I made a first attempt, and crashed down -the gully from side to side. At last I rammed the left knee tentatively -into the wet corner, and edged up a few feet with the aid of sundry -slight supports for the right foot. Ten feet higher an excellent -hold was reached with the hand, and the chief trouble was over. Huge -boulders were piled overhead confusedly, but they gave plenty of -opportunities, and no longer had the smooth, almost shiny surface that -characterized the rocks further down. The top of the gully was reached -three quarters of an hour after starting. It was half-past five, and -snow was beginning to fall; I thought it desirable to hurry, and a -steady trot westwards round the head of Langdale Combe and the further -side of Black Crags brought me in three miles to the path at the Angle -Tarn and the foot of the up-grade towards Esk Hause. Thence a steady -two hours’ walk in the dark brought me safely to Wastdale, in happy -ignorance of the fact that I had only visited the Little Gully. But to -this day I think it as hard as its neighbour. - -THE GREAT GULLY.--Shortly after Easter, 1896, I begged some -friends to come over and climb the Great Gully with me. It was my -last day at Wastdale; I was due at Coniston the same evening, and the -Langdale Pikes offered a pleasanter walk to the Old Man district than -is given by the Eskdale and Cockley Beck route. My friends stipulated -that we should call a halt at Kern Knotts on the way out and attempt -the ‘crack.’ This we managed with expedition, and continued the journey -betimes over the Styhead and Esk Hause. - -The three miles from Angle Tarn to Pavey Ark are rather tedious, though -the view of Bowfell and of Pike of Stickle relieves the monotony. It -is a wild open moor that we have to cross, and its gentle slope is -very deceptive. For a long time the sky-line in front of us, after -rounding Langdale Combe at the top of the Stake Pass, recedes as we -advance, and it is not till the grassy ridge of Thunacar Knott is -gained that we begin to see the upper crags of Pavey Ark. Nevertheless -it is much better to approach the crags in this way from the Wastdale -direction than to descend first towards Dungeon Ghyll. The great rocks -strewn about the crest of the cliff are most singular in character. -Their surface is as rough as that of the magnesian limestone in the -Dolomites. If only the whole face of Pavey Ark were of this formation -we should have a fine opportunity for practice with the scarpetti or -rope-soled shoes used by the Tyrolese rock-climbers. - -We descended towards the tarn by an easy slope between the cliff and -the north-east ridge of Harrison Stickle. Then at the level of the base -of the crags we crossed a water-course, and traversed over the scree -to the foot of the Great Gully, passing the entrance to the other on -our way. The remarks already made, and reference to the diagram on page -203, will perhaps give sufficient indication of the place at which we -now found ourselves. In misty weather the locality can be identified by -the branch gully to the left, that starts at once and loses itself 200 -feet higher up. - -The lower part of the climb very much resembles the corresponding -portion in the other gully. The side walls are close together, the -rock is steep, and hand-and-foot scrambling fairly continuous for -about 150 feet. When the rocks are wet some special care is necessary -at a place thirty feet from the starting-point. Then comes the first -pitch, a remarkably fine piece of rock scenery. An enormous boulder -completely blocks the way, projecting at least fifteen feet at its -upper part. The left wall is practically hopeless, but the other side -shows a series of small ledges that enable the climber to work up to -the flat corner between the boulder and the right wall. Formerly this -bit was grassy. Only a few small tufts now remain, and the holds are -therefore more obvious. A pleasanter way lies through the cave and out -by a narrow tunnel in the roof to the same flat corner, which is just -discernible from below. That way our party followed. The dripping water -from the roof was a trifle unpleasant sometimes, but there was a great -sense of security in adopting the through route. The tunnel required -careful going until one’s eyes got accustomed to the darkness. Then the -handholds could be distinguished and the platform reached in safety. - -The view outwards was most brilliant. Sunlight on the distant range -of Fairfield and Helvellyn, the serpentine Windermere appearing here -and there far away to the south; Langdale in all its loveliness, -with the watch-tower of Harrison Stickle at its head; and the gloomy -Stickle Tarn 500 feet beneath us. Our own situation was sufficiently -striking for the recollection of this pitch to remain impressed on -our memories. We stood (one at a time, by the way) on the very edge -of the overhanging eaves of the huge cave beneath. The side walls of -the gully seemed to cut us off from all communication with the world. -We could only realize the solid platform and the enduring rock to -which we hung; all the rest might have been a fantasy. Even the bold -fisherman down by the shores of the tarn, slowly manipulating his rod -as he cautiously waded knee-deep in the water, seemed to belong to -another species. It was incredible that I should be crossing London -within twenty-four hours; and the thought of it only stirred slightly -in my mind, without actually shaping itself until this present time of -writing. - -The difficulty was not quite passed. To reach the top of the pitch we -had to haul ourselves up a tight little corner between the boulder -and the side wall. Formerly the headroom was so limited that it was -necessary to keep out a little, and effect a rather sensational haul -over the front of the boulder. Since the first ascent a piece of rock -has fallen away, and the corner is easier. There is no actual danger -for the leader, as his rope can be securely held in the interior of the -cave. In fact, he may, if he chooses, obtain any desired assistance -from the second man properly belayed on the platform. The corner is -only ten feet high and the rocks are very good. - -Almost immediately after the first pitch the gully undergoes a great -change in appearance. It still remains narrow, but the bed has -alternately vertical and horizontal stretches of wet and slippery -rock. The hardest piece is generally regarded as the second pitch. It -consists of a long slab thirty feet high, constituting the true bed of -the ghyll and the only available way up. It is set at a steep angle, -and appears to be singularly devoid of useful holds. On the occasion of -the first ascent it was ‘lubricated by a film of fine mud,’ and our own -observations gave strength to the conviction that such was its usual -condition. Loose gravel is being continually washed down the incline, -lodging in a most annoying manner on the best holds. Small wonder that -this ‘brant and slape’ part gives pause to many climbers. Yet it has -been climbed even when ice is about, thanks no doubt to good nails and -cool judgment. We treated the pitch with the utmost respect, carefully -clearing away the grit from each little ledge and working as close to -the corner as the holds would permit. Fifteen feet up we passed the -worst spot, ugly to look at but not bad enough to turn us back. Then -the slope eased off and we could walk up grass and scree on to Jack’s -Rake, a hundred feet above the pitch. The rake really terminates the -gully. To the left is a small chimney forming a genuine little obstacle -to an advance along the rake. That was certainly no suitable finish -to our climb. A few yards to the right showed what we wanted, a gully -that should lead out to the top of Pavey Ark. We found the rocks -there presented the rough surface that characterised the boulders up -above. There were several great slabs blocking our way at first, but -it was a real delight to get over them. A short and narrow chimney -followed, with such gripping powers that our clothes clung to the sides -tenaciously. As Haskett Smith remarks, ‘it would be quite difficult to -make a slip on them.’ Then we walked out to the top, three-quarters -of an hour after entering the gully, and while leisurely coiling up -my rope we discussed the question of tea. Should the others accept -my invitation to Dungeon Ghyll and then return to Wastdale at dusk, -or should they make straight for Wastdale at once? To my sorrow they -objected to the suggested extension of their walk and strode off to -the west. My own course lay first to the foot of the crags, where my -rücksack had been left, and thence to Dungeon Ghyll and Coniston. - -THE RAKE END CHIMNEY.--Besides the third chimney described by -Gwynne as running half-way up on to the ledge, there is a short but -excellent route up the crags starting near the foot of Jack’s Rake. The -following note was supplied by Mr. Claude Barton:--‘The climb is in two -pitches, the first being broken up into places where you can play up a -second man. The _mauvais pas_ is just at the top of this. A moss-grown -wall and two jammed stones must be surmounted, and the leader may need -some support. The second pitch is a fine chimney blocked by a large -stone that is passed by the interior, and then used as a take-off for -the final easy concluding portion. The climb is certainly harder than -the Great Gully.’ - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -_DOE CRAG, CONISTON_ - - -This happy hunting-ground for the rock-climber is within an hour’s -walk of Coniston. It forms part of the range of hills that includes -Wetherlam and the Old Man, but unlike these great neighbours it has -hitherto been left untouched by miners and quarry-men. - -From the Old Man we may look westwards across the upper end of Goat’s -Water, and see the summit of Doe Crag almost at our level, some 900 -feet above the lake. We are facing its grand precipices, and are in an -excellent position to prospect the various gullies that cut deeply into -the 500-feet wall of rock. - -The first of these, as we glance from left to right, causes the -greatest impression in the sky-line, but is of the least interest to -mountaineers. It is an easy scree gully, possessing a rotten pinnacle -that was first climbed by Mr. Slingsby in 1887. The second is generally -known as the Great Gully. It is much longer, and includes a fair -amount of genuine hard work in its ascent. At a distance it appears -to have a Y shape, by reason of the two branches that diverge from a -point about half-way up. The Great Gully was first climbed in July, -1888, by Messrs. Hastings, Haskett Smith, and E. Hopkinson, its first -pitch being then taken by the ‘shallow scoop’ on the left of the great -obstacle. Nearly a year later the brothers Hopkinson effected a direct -ascent of the pitch by an ingenious utilization of the rope, to which -we shall refer subsequently. - -To the immediate north of the Great Gully we see a huge buttress that -springs further down the scree towards Goat’s Water than any other -part of the crag. The lower 300 feet of this buttress exhibit a nearly -vertical gully that may escape detection altogether unless viewed in a -favourable light. In the view on the opposite page it is well marked -by the deep black shadow of the rocks on its south side. Apparently it -joins a sloping gully that leads up to the sky-line; but in reality it -finishes abruptly on the face, at a small grass platform that stretches -a hundred feet across the buttress. It is now known as the Central -Chimney, and was first climbed in April, 1897, by Mr. Godfrey Ellis and -myself. In the first edition of this book, the chimney was erroneously -identified with one of Messrs. Hopkinson’s ascents of April, 1895. The -route cannot be recommended except to experts, by reason equally of the -genuine difficulties in the chimney and of the exposed nature of the -awkward situations in it. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -DOE CRAG AND GOATSWATER - -(_Face page 220_)] - -The next gully to the right forms the northern boundary of the great -central buttress. It is but slightly marked at the lower end and -possesses serious difficulties in the first half. We shall call it the -Intermediate Gully. It was first climbed in April, 1895, by Messrs. -Campbell, and Edward, Albert, and J. H. Hopkinson, and described by the -most experienced of their party as the severest climb he had done in -the district. Mr. W. J. Williams and I went up it at Easter, 1898, when -making a fairly complete survey of all these splendid, but practically -unknown gullies. - -The Easter Gully now needs localization. It comes next to the preceding -and is easy to identify. It has a huge cave pitch near the bottom, -then from a great hollow in the crags a vertical chimney springs up -over a hundred feet in a right-angled corner; above this the gully -divides into two branches, both of which give good climbing until we -are nearly at the summit-ridge. Careful inquiry enables me to say that -this was first climbed by Messrs. Haskett Smith and Robinson in 1886; -they avoided a considerable amount of the trouble, inevitable in a -passage of the lower half of the direct ascent, by working up the great -buttress on the right, and by traversing back into the gully when the -opportunity disclosed itself. The first passage of the gully by the -extremely difficult second pitch, and thence directly onwards, was made -on Easter Day, 1895, by Messrs. Otto Koecher and Charles Hopkinson, -who, however, circumvented the comparatively simple cave pitch at the -foot. They thought they were on entirely new ground; so did I when -on Easter Day, 1898, Mr. W. J. Williams accompanied me over the first -pitch, up a zig-zag course to left and right of the long chimney, and -then along the direct finish to the summit. - -The sixth and last great gully is known as the North Gully, to see -which it is necessary to go well towards Goat’s Hause. Three huge -boulders block up the middle and form the only pitch. The gully was -formerly supposed to be Messrs. Haskett Smith and Robinson’s climb of -1886; actually it is the place where Haskett Smith was let down on a -rope, and gave tribute to the grandeur of the region by remarking on -its ‘terrific aspect.’ In 1895 a party went up what they called the -North Gully, but they encountered no difficulty during their ascent, -and it seems more likely therefore that they climbed a slighter ghyll -between the real North Gully and the Easter Gully. They traversed -into the latter above its difficult chimney. It is hard to say what -exploration has been made here. Mr. Williams and I descended the gully -in 1898, and halted there sufficiently to convince ourselves of the -feasibility of its ascent. But whether the climb has ever been taken -upwards throughout its whole length is an open question. - -Climbers should visit Doe Crag more frequently. The rocks give -magnificent sport, the scenery is more than ordinarily impressive -even to the hardened cragsman, and there yet remains a great amount -of exploratory work to be done. Only the gullies have hitherto been -tackled. The buttresses are almost untouched. - -THE GREAT GULLY.--The satisfactory part of this climb is that -its greatest difficulty confronts us at the outset. Once the first -pitch is accomplished we are perfectly certain that the combined -skill of the party is sufficient to insure a successful ascent of the -remainder. There is no gradual increase in the technical difficulty of -the subsequent passages, to vex the soul of the conscientious climber -with doubts as to the morality of advancing, when a critical position -might be reached where descent is dangerous and further ascent beyond -his powers. The first pitch is severe, and perhaps a little risky for -the leader, but the remaining four are easy, and the method of tackling -them obvious. This species of gully is suitable for those who tire -quickly, or whose impressions of the work before them depend on the -height they have attained. On the other hand, there are climbers who -like to feel that there is always something serious looming ahead, who -want the troubles to last them all through their climb, and rejoice -in a _bonne bouche_ at the most elevated situation. Such lingering -sweetness they can find in the Central Chimney, but not here; it is -not surprising that many men are satisfied with one visit to the Great -Gully, and never make for it a second time. - -It takes us ten minutes to walk up from the lake to the entrance of the -gully. Then a few yards of scree and broken rock lead into a cavern, -below a chock-stone that offers much resistance to the direct passage -up the pitch. A massive buttress encroaches on the left, and renders -the gully almost narrow enough for both sides to be employed together; -but close inspection shows that near the top of the pitch the walls -are too far apart and the handholds too few. The climber does well to -descend a few feet and prospect the buttress itself. This exhibits -a safer route (see view on page 225). Close against the side of the -vertical left wall the buttress shows a slight fissure, that starts -from an easy grass platform and runs steeply up to a level some twelve -feet higher than the top of the chock-stone. The difficulty lies in -working up the corner, following the crack as much as possible, and -taking sufficient care that the body does not swing away from the -footholds. A stout individual is likely to feel handicapped at an -awkward little ledge half-way up from the grass platform. The fissure -can be followed straight up into the gully, but it is easier to contour -round the buttress and on to the top of the true pitch. There is -excellent belaying for an ascending party, the rope lying along the -crack and gripping well at several points. It grips just too well for -the safe belaying of the last man in a descent; he had better adopt the -dangling method and work straight over the chock-stone. This latter -direct route over the obstacle was tried once or twice before 1889, but -without success. It was left to the brothers Hopkinson to show in that -year that it offered a perfectly safe variation, though probably -most climbers will agree that it needs more muscle than is wanted -for the crack route. They clambered into the cave and thrust a rope -through the small aperture in the roof. When a sufficient quantity had -been poked up in that way, it fell over the front of the cave and was -available for climbing. But it is very severe work to swarm up a thin -rope; in this case there is slight assistance from the sides of the -gully, and the transfer of hold from the rope to the rock comes when -the arms are tired. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE FIRST PITCH IN DOE CRAG GREAT GULLY - -(_Face page 225_)] - -After this difficulty is passed, some yards of scree lead to the -second pitch. The gully is narrow, and the block is produced by two -boulders one above the other. There is no trouble in working through -the cave and on to the lower block, whence an easy pull over the upper -stone takes us again to a long line of scree of the impulsive variety. -This part of the gully is pleasant only when snow is about, when the -ankle-twisting propensities of the scree are not permitted full play. - -We are near the point where the gully opens out considerably, sending -a branch up on the right. But before that we have to mount two small -pitches, the first taken straight up, the second by either right or -left wall. - -The branch exit on the right has no serious difficulties, but it -abounds in loose holds that the climber may find hard to avoid. It -leads on to the great middle buttress of Doe Crag, above all its -dangerous parts, and within easy access of the summit. The direct -ascent of the gully is interesting only at the last step, where a -narrow chimney must be passed. Its right boundary is a long smooth -slab, unusually deficient in holds. There are three or four wedged -stones and the pitch is often wet, but by keeping close into the -chimney and working up the right wall the trouble may be overcome. It -is always possible, of course, to descend a little and climb out of the -gully on the right. - -DOE CRAG CENTRAL CHIMNEY.--This climb is known to very few -people. Many are aware in a vague manner that there is splendid -climbing on the great buttress of Doe Crag, but only one or two -cragsmen have learnt where to go for it. So far as my own experience -is concerned it was almost a matter of accident that brought me soon -after Easter, 1897, to the foot of the Central Chimney. The previous -day had been spent with Messrs. George and Ashley Abraham on Lliwedd, -in the Snowdon district, and a tiresome cross-country night journey -to Coniston had not tended to put the keenest edge on my hunger for -adventure. My companion, Mr. Godfrey Ellis, and I were really intent on -ascending by the ‘intermediate gully of terrific aspect,’ down which -Mr. Haskett Smith had climbed in 1888. The Central Chimney certainly -looked terrific, more so than anything else we could find about there. -It was also reasonably intermediate, and we came to the conclusion that -our gully was found. Later investigation showed that we had made a -mistake, for Haskett Smith’s chimney is at the north end of the crags. - -The Central Chimney attracted the attention of Mr. Slingsby in 1887, -but apparently ours was the first ascent. Messrs. Broadrick have been -up it since, and I have been advised by one of their party that the top -of the chief difficulty is dangerously loose. - -We had heavy rücksacks to carry over to Wastdale that day, and decided -to leave them at the foot of the climb, rather than suffer the -inconvenience of dragging them up with us. We had eighty feet of rope, -and needed it all near the top. - -Our work started easily. Three obvious courses led in about thirty feet -to a broad, grassy platform, from which the chimney made its proper -beginning. Each of the three ways involved scrambling; they started -a few feet to the left of the lowest part of the crags, and formed -between them a very fair presentment of a gully entrance. But a glance -upwards showed that, for some distance at least, we should have very -little of the nature of a gully to guide us. From the platform sprang -up the vertical wall that gives the central buttress its appearance -of inaccessibility, almost unrelieved for several hundred feet. Our -chimney commenced as a thin crack in the wall from the platform, only -large enough for a hand to be thrust in, and so sharp-edged that -one’s fingers were badly cut in climbing the first five yards. Then -the crack seemed to widen gradually until from below it appeared -sufficiently broad for wedging. Appearances would have been comforting -but for the curious absence of retaining wall on the right-hand side -of the crack. The left was excellent; on that side the rock stood out -from the corner and formed the finest part of the great buttress. But -the right wall was out clean away, leaving smooth slabs that were sure -to give trouble when we should find the chimney too shallow for further -progress. - -I started up the thin crack, and found the strain very severe on the -arms. When it became wide enough to support a knee it was possible -to halt and prospect a little. The next ten feet up the crack were -obviously most difficult, and a glance at the north side showed that it -would have been easier to work up the right wall for twenty feet from -the platform before traversing into the crack again. Ellis suggested -that he should come up to my level by means of a slight fissure in -the right wall, and steadied by the rope that I had flung over a -small projection some six feet above his head, he managed to reach a -shaky, sloping ledge of grass, and then to manœuvre the rope for my -own passage to the same resting-place. We next worked upwards into the -chimney, and kept close in it for twenty feet or so. There were good -holds on the right until some small boulders and _débris_ formed a -little platform, over the edge of which we were able to pull ourselves. - -The scenery about here was particularly impressive. Our resting-place -was scarcely big enough for both, and a glance vertically downwards -showed us the spot where we had commenced operations three quarters of -an hour previously. The black depths of Goat’s Water formed a striking -foreground to the view of Coniston Old Man across the valley, and it -almost seemed as though the tarn could be reached by a stone falling -from our tiny ledge. Up above us the crags loomed fearfully. They -overhung considerably in places, and we saw that our only course was to -follow boldly the line of our chimney till it abruptly terminated in -the face. Fortunately the weather was good, the rocks dry and warm. To -have attempted the chimney with much ice or water about would have been -foolhardiness worthy of our wildest days. - -From the ledge we found the climbing splendid, keeping up the slight -rib of rock on the right that formed the nearly vertical boundary of -the chimney. The holds were just sufficiently large to give ample -support, especially when the back could rest on the opposite side of -the crack. ‘Backing up’ is usually a very constricted performance, -with but limited views of the scenery around. Here on Doe Crag it -seems as though most of the mountain is cut away excepting those parts -of obvious utility to the climber. We crawled round the rib when the -crack became too thin, and worked up several feet of slabby rock until -the appearances seemed to indicate that an actual gully was now about -to manifest itself and commence a fresh run up the wall. We therefore -traversed again to the left into a large recess, and after a little -scrambling upwards found ourselves brought to a stop by a dead wall. -The bed of our recess was loose and steeply sloping. Its sides were -slightly iced, and considerable care was needed in settling securely -down to consider the situation. - -The wall was about twenty feet high and too smooth to climb. On each -side of us were huge overhanging buttresses that projected considerably -beyond the latter portion of our route. It was not manifest which of -these would offer the best way of surmounting the wall, and it might -be that neither was suitable. We could see that a traverse out of the -difficulty might be made in the northern direction, but it was very -exposed and it led too far away from our chimney. - -Ellis braced himself firmly at the highest corner of the recess, and -manipulated the rope with special care. I started working up between -the two buttresses in a manner that recalled to us both the well-known -picture of the Funffingerspitze chimney in Sanger-Davies’ book. When -some twelve feet above him, it seemed safe to quit the left-hand -side altogether, and a stride effected the change of style. But the -return was now almost impossible, and in the anxious five minutes that -followed I had time to repent the sudden resolve. The top of the wall -was within reach, but it was fringed with loose grass tufts that -scarcely seemed secure enough to offer purchase in the upward heave -that I wanted to give myself. However, the time spent in hesitation was -sheer waste, for at the end the pull-up was perfectly safe and easy, -and a little wriggling over rock and steep grass brought me to a long -terrace, that naturally suggested a halt for the second man’s advance. -In good time his head appeared above the grass tufts that formed the -limit of my foreground, and a few seconds later he was sitting at my -side and speculating as to the length of the difficult piece. The -whole climb so far had been veritably one single pitch; we had had no -interval of comparative ease, and were now eager to find some temporary -freedom. - -That we found in perambulating our terrace. It was about a yard wide -and fifty feet long, and gave evidence that our gully as such had -practically terminated. We found it rather awkward clambering up the -wall some thirty feet to another similar terrace. This stretched -horizontally from the large ravine that now disclosed itself on our -right, and across the face of the mountain towards the Great Gully. -The former, we could see, involved some pretty climbing a hundred feet -below us. At our level it was merely a scree-walk finishing at the -highest part of Doe Crag. - -Our route lay up the rocks above the terrace. Two narrow clefts offered -choice. We took the one to the right, about fifteen feet long and -sufficiently tough to make us remember the place. Then followed easy -hand-and-foot work till we could distinguish the branch exit of the -Great Gully. Down this we carefully picked our way, and then returned -to gather up our belongings and make tracks for distant Wastdale. The -round had taken three hours. - -THE INTERMEDIATE GULLY.--We had a glorious afternoon for this -climb. The previous night had brought us from town to Coniston, and -we meant to give ourselves an easy day. But fearing that the weather -might change we were tempted to seize the opportunity and start earnest -business at once. Identifying the gully as the first to the right of -the longest buttress of the crags, we entered it and began scrambling -immediately. After five minutes of ‘staircase’ work, using both sides -of the gully, we came to a point where the left wall overhung a little -and the gully closed in. A flank movement was then effected on the -right, over steep rocks and unreliable grass ledges, returning by a -narrow traverse into the gully at a point forty feet higher. The second -man came straight up, finding two pitches confronting him, both of -which he thought we could have taken directly if time had allowed us -to risk an attempt. We kept in the ghyll for the next two pitches, -both of them fairly simple. A fine flat stone at the top of the second -offered a good standpoint for the inspection of the overhanging wall -that now faced us. The gully had shrunk again into the merest crack in -the wall. My friend called it the extreme pitch of refinement. On our -left a smooth right-angled corner that probably thought itself a branch -gully led up to the ridge separating us from the Central Chimney. Again -it seemed desirable to take to the right by a course that was at any -rate feasible, although it took us away from our direct line of ascent. -After fifteen feet of traverse the buttress looked accessible, but -recollecting the poor holds that we had encountered in a corresponding -situation lower down, we went further away still, descending slightly -to a level platform where the leader could be belayed during his direct -ascent of the wall. Fortunately the rocks were quite dry, as otherwise -the work that followed would have been risky. At first the handholds -were unsafe, but in ten feet our industrious cleaning away of the grass -and earth disclosed an excellent cleft in the wall, safe and sound. -Thence the way was pleasanter, swinging upwards towards the left again -by immovable rockholds. We had several yards of a narrow ledge tilted -upwards at 30° before entering our gully again, and arrived in it just -below a little pitch of the type that tries the elbow. - -Great caution was now needed. Not that the climbing was difficult or -dangerous, but the gully had dwindled into little more than a slight -indentation in a vertical wall, and each man had to move with the -utmost deliberation. Holds were numerous, generally better on the left -wall, but they were all rather wet. Soon we were engaged in a violent -struggle with a small angular jammed block that barred our way. It -seemed loose at first, but we proved its stability that afternoon by -many minutes’ hauling and wrenching from below and above. The chief -difficulty was to get the shoulders firmly fixed between the sides -of the cleft above the jammed stone; with only the block to hold -and no rest for the feet this manœuvre was very awkward to perform. -Above this a few steps led to a narrow cave, which we climbed by its -right edge and found to be a trying piece of arm work. Here the gully -expanded into a large scree-bedded ravine with only two moderately easy -obstacles between us and the top of the crag. To our left we could see -the ledge that marks the end of the Central Chimney. Our own gully, -looking backwards, seemed to be a vertical plunge straight down to the -bottom, and as usual we caught ourselves wondering whether anything -else could be called difficult after this. - -We reached the summit in two hours from the start, and then skirting -the lower edge of the crags from Goat’s Hause, we made note of each -gully as we passed its foot. An easy scree shoot, followed by a -buttress set back at a gentle angle, but with splendid practice on it; -the North Gully with its awe-inspiring middle pitch like the great -obstacle in Moss Ghyll; a branch gully leading into the North Gully; a -second branch, looking rather interesting but lacking definition higher -up; the Easter Gully with its double centre portion; the Intermediate -Gully; the Central Chimney; and the Great Gully. - -THE EASTER GULLY.--The same party came two days later to -examine this climb. The weather was very unsettled, and we were forced -to the conclusion that the main central chimney was too wet to be -approachable. The scrambling was easy up to the cave; then we worked up -the vertical left wall by diminutive ledges till the level of the cave -stone was ours, whereupon an awkward bit of traverse brought us safely -out of the difficulty. We were in the great hollow, and were astonished -to find that in addition to the main chimneys on the right and left -centre, there were splendid branch gullies up to the ridges on either -side. - -I started up the left central chimney. It was dry, but its holds were -fragile. In forty feet it divided into two parallel branches; that on -the left was overhanging, and held a bunch of long splinters of rock -forming a dangerous _chevaux-de-frise_, ready to fall at the slightest -notice. So we left it alone, and looked to the right branch. For twenty -feet it went very well, and there, where one man might safely wedge -himself, it became practically impossible to mount any higher. My -companion, therefore, came up while I worked out on the open face to -the right. Without much trouble a small platform one foot square was -reached, from which we proposed to mount the buttress that separated -us from the right central chimney. I hesitated a long while before -venturing on it; the place was assuredly difficult, we were not certain -whether the upper portion would be feasible, and the strong wind, -swirling mist, and intermittent rain sapped our courage and strength -the more we deliberated. - -The stiff work began with a scramble up into a grassy corner, fifteen -feet above my platform. It was too small to enter, but from it sprang -a narrow cleft to the right, very much like the well-known ‘stomach -traverse’ on the Pillar Rock, but considerably harder to pass, and -without an easy walk out at the further end. At its highest point the -best course seemed to be up a vertical crack in the wall, and a stiff -scramble here of ten feet brought me out on the head of the buttress. -Here there was a chance of walking over to the right central chimney -and finishing by the thirty feet or so that remained of its special -difficulty. But that portion was naturally as wet as the lower part -that we had purposely avoided, and we chose to cross the chimney and -climb up its right wall. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -_COMBE GHYLL_ - - -Many a pedestrian walking down Borrowdale from the Styhead pass, -looking backward at the fearful descent of some 1,100 feet of -rough fellside, reaches a point in the valley where he experiences -difficulty in recalling his track. For the valley between Gable and -Seathwaite Fell is hidden, and his choice hovers between the combe -below Sprinkling Tarn, walled in by Seathwaite Fell and Glaramara, and -the upland valley that nestles between Thornythwaite and Rosthwaite -Fells. His perplexity is increased when he notices that neither -hollow satisfies the condition of background. The one is barred by -the crags of Great End, the other by the steep wall of Raven Crag, a -high dependence of Glaramara; whereas the Styhead pass as seen from -Grange ought to show distant Scawfell as a background, and be easily -recognised. One of these two hollows the climber will do well to -identify. - -Combe Ghyll is the name of the course that drains the north side of -Glaramara, the stream making its way down the little valley that has -already been described as lying between Thornythwaite and Rosthwaite -Fells. At about the 1,000-feet level in the valley the land is flat and -marshy; with little provocation the stream could produce a respectable -lake, and the tourist in wet weather feels that such absence of -deception would be to his advantage. Above this level the mountain -rises abruptly, and the ghyll has to acknowledge two sources. That -which sends its supply straight down the centre of Raven Crag was the -first to be regarded as Combe Ghyll. But the other is longer and more -obvious. Looking up from the marsh the watercourse is very distinct -away to the left, though the climb is equally in evidence on the right. -When a short time since three curious cragsmen (including the curious -writer) penetrated to the recesses of this almost unknown country to -find the climb that Messrs. Robinson and Wilson had discovered and -christened as long ago as September, 1893, we were compelled by that -name to tackle the east branch, but vowed at the same time to go later -to the west. Our conscientiousness was praiseworthy, though mistaken, -but as events developed themselves our mistake had happy consequences. -We managed both ghylls, and were probably instrumental in preventing a -nasty accident to a couple of would-be mountaineers whom we discovered -in difficulties. - -It was on a hot day in April. We had been disporting ourselves for -photographic purposes in the Kern Knotts crack, and had sauntered -down to Seatoller for some soda and milk to give grace to our jam -sandwiches. Then we walked down the Rosthwaite Road as far as the -bridge over the Derwent, and went across the opposite shoulder into -the combe. It was very close down in Borrowdale, and we were glad to -get out of the well of warm air and follow the water for a mile or so -to the marshy upland. Here the walking was soft and pleasant. Water -in our boots was no hardship, and we even hoped that there would be -many waterfalls in our gully. Then came the dilemma and our decision -to keep to the main stream. But the aspect of the Raven Crag gully on -our right, as we skirted the boggy ground below us, was magnificent. -Pitch rose above pitch apparently without any easy stretches, and the -whole gully seemed to form just one vertical chimney in the rocks, five -hundred feet high. Moss Ghyll itself is not grander than the Raven Crag -gully as it appeared that afternoon to our longing gaze, and even now -that the details of the latter climb are impressed vividly in my mind I -can assure myself that it was one of the finest I have ever undertaken -in Cumberland. - -We followed our watercourse right up to its beginning close to a -little pass over towards Langstrath. In general appearance it somewhat -resembled Piers Ghyll, with its slight gradient and short pitches, -its rotten walls and unavoidable water. But in respect to the last -consideration we were almost exempted from a wetting, for the ghyll was -nearly dry, and only in the direct ascent of one pitch did we run any -risk of a drenching. No doubt the normal state of the gully is very -much worse than we found it. - -With hazy impression of a hundred-feet pitch we came provided with two -eighty-feet lengths of rope, but managed our climb with one only. The -first pitch was about fifteen feet high; the left wall was feasible, -the direct climb involved the passage through a dripping cave and out -by a hole in the roof, and the right side of the gully was of steep -grass and insecure rock. We took to the latter, and with care managed -the ascent without dislodging much that might help later climbers. -Above this we had a view of a waterfall about fifty or sixty yards -further up, and inasmuch as the rocks showed signs of nailed boots we -were for some time prevailed upon to believe that we had really found -our quest. - -The bed of the stream was rough but easy for a while. Two small pitches -about six feet high scarcely gave us pause before we reached the -foot of the waterfall that we had seen from the first pitch. It was -about twelve yards high; the walls were four or five feet apart, and -glistening with the wet. They did not appear to offer very excellent -holds, but I found it possible to face the fall and utilize as -footholds sundry diminutive ledges on either side. It was a case of -spanning the gully and walking up. About twenty feet from the bottom -the holds on the left wall were somewhat greasy, but a yard higher the -ledges on the right had so much improved that it was a safe venture -to pull over to that side and effect a traverse to the top of the -double obstacle over which the water was falling. While the others -were rapidly following, we were surprised to hear voices from above. I -advanced a little, and discovered two young men perched precariously -on the face of the steep wall to the right. Almost at the same moment -a large stone fell from their feet towards us, and, in an ecstasy of -fear lest they should bombard our last man, who was yet in difficulties -bestriding the gully below, we shouted to them to stay still a bit -and wait for us to advance to a place of safety. Then with all speed -we clambered up to them, and let them down on the rope into the gully -again. They were distinctly in peril; that side of the ghyll was as -treacherous, with its loose splinters of rock and steep unreliable -grass, as it could manage to be without falling by its own weight. The -top was slightly overhanging, and could bear no extra pulling. The men -were inexperienced; one of them had no nails in his boots; they had -walking-sticks tied tightly to their wrists with string, and when we -reached them they were tired out with the physical and mental strain. -We reflected on our wonderful good fortune in choosing this gully, and -thought with some bitterness that this was the way that the noblest of -sports acquired its notoriety for great danger. It transpired that they -had scrambled down into the gully at the side of the waterfall that we -had just climbed, and saw no means of getting out of the hole excepting -by this loose wall. - -We were now at the foot of a small pitch about twenty-five feet high. -It was divided by a vertical buttress, and the water was flowing down -to the left. The right-hand side seemed rather insecure, so I climbed -some thirty feet up the wall of the gully again, and the second man -clambered up the right-hand recess, confident in the support of the -rope if his foothold gave way. He then traversed easily to the top of -the pitch, and drew in my rope as I descended to his level and followed -him. We asked the last man how were the passengers to be conveyed -up the pitch. He replied, with perhaps just a touch of malice, that -the direct passage through the water was the shortest, quickest, and -cheapest route to the top, and we at the summit were of the same mind. -Then our tourists were tied separately to the rope, and hauled up -through the fall. It was very uncomfortable for them, but we got as -wet ourselves later on. We hoped that their bedraggled condition would -prompt them to a speedy descent and a relinquishment, for that day at -least, of the joys of crag-climbing. That pitch was the last in the -gully of any magnitude, and our friends were able to walk out easily on -to the open fell and so down to Borrowdale. We ourselves gave one last -look around for the hundred-feet fall that was to finish Combe Ghyll, -and then, finding it not, we bore rapidly westwards across the mountain -in search of the genuine article. [Illustration: - - PLATE VIII. - -PILLAR ROCK, EAST SIDE (p. 257). - -About 200 feet of Rock are shown. - - _a_ Left Pisgah Route. - _b_ East Pisgah Chimney. - _c_ Right Pisgah Route. - _d_ Start of Slab and Notch Route. - _e_ The Slab. - _f_ The Notch. - _g_ The Ledge. - _h_ Pendlebury Traverse. - _k_ The Curtain. - - A High Man. - B Pisgah. - C Low Man. - D Jordan. - E East Jordan Gully. - F Great Chimney. - G Savage Gully.] - -As we skirted the foot of the crags we passed two small gullies that -rose steeply above us, and that for a moment made us stop to consider -their qualifications. In twenty minutes from the top of Combe Ghyll we -came to the first deep and well marked watercourse. It was our Raven -Crag Gully, and when we peered up into its dark recesses we felt -that good sport was at last before us. We finished the remnants of our -lunch and drank a little water. It was not a tempting beverage, for -the rocks just above were covered with objectionable vegetation, and -the supply was so much below the average that the pools seemed almost -stagnant. Also, I was haunted with the recollection of a dead sheep -that we had passed in the other gully, lying on a ledge close to the -stream. Mountain water is not always free from microbes, especially in -those craggy regions where sheep come to grief. - -We started on the climb close by a little pool of water at the foot -of a short and greasy pitch. It could have been taken direct, but -we worked round the buttress on the left and entered the gully a -few feet higher. Then, penetrating well into the recess, we were at -once confronted by the first big pitch. A steep buttress divided the -gully into two parts, the left-hand recess being cut deeply into -the mountain and forming a long and narrow waterfall. This was the -true bed of the gully. To the right of the buttress the recess was -comparatively shallow, but its easier inclination somewhat compensated -for its exposed position, and we found that the footholds were just -sufficient to render a rapid advance possible. About forty feet up I -craved the second man’s helping hand, but while he was advancing to -offer assistance an easy way of swarming up the buttress commended -itself; I found a resting-place at the level of the top of the pitch, -eighty or ninety feet above the foot of the fall, where the second man -could join me before I ventured on the traverse round to the bed of the -gully. The traverse reminded us of the steps over the buttress from the -Tennis Court ledge in Moss Ghyll, and was no doubt a place to respect -in wet or icy weather. Our last man came up more directly, keeping on -the inner side of the buttress for the first half of the climb and then -working straight up the pitch. Excepting for an awkward bit of some -three feet at the middle of the ascent, his route had advantages over -ours. The rocks throughout were splendid, and their warmth and dryness -made the scrambling easy. - -A yard or two further, over great boulders bestrewn in the bed of -the gully, and we were brought up at the foot of the second great -obstacle. Here the two side walls approached to within a distance of -four feet of each other, and straight down the centre from a height of -seventy feet dripped the weak promise of a second waterfall. Close to -the water it was impossible to ascend, but some ten feet away from it -suitable ledges on either side discovered themselves. These enabled me -to use both walls in a directly vertical ascent for so long as they -were within four feet of each other. Then I pulled over to a crack on -the right and performed a safety wriggle to more open ground above, -whence it was easy to clamber over the big boulders at the top of the -pitch. The second man was asked to prospect the route on the other -side of the left wall, and came up with the report that the traverse -out of the main gully was easy and that the rest of the ascent, about -eighty feet of solid rock, was just comfortable hand-and-foot work -all through. While the third was adopting the same tactics which we -afterwards remembered had been employed by a previous party from -Keswick, I went on to inspect the next obstacle. It certainly was -the worst-looking pitch in the whole ascent. A large cave was formed -by two massive boulders jammed between the narrow walls seventy feet -above our heads. The first-floor of the cave was fifty feet up, and -from its roof dripped the inevitable water-supply to damp our daring -ardour. The walls of the gully were close together and covered with -wet moss. Holds were very scarce, and for a moment we considered the -advisability of working out on the right as others had done before -us, and traversing into the gully above the cave. But a tentative -backing-up in the main chimney gave some hope of success in the direct -attack; and abandoning all idea of making a final exit with dry -garments, I cautiously worked up the inner face of a leaf of rock on -the right wall, the others steadying my feet on sundry infinitesimal -ledges so long as I was within reach, and then supporting me with words -of encouragement and approval. When within six feet of the floor of -the cave it became necessary to wedge well into the chimney, with back -against the left and scanty hold opposite. Then a desperate wriggle -gave me a lift of about eighteen inches and the handholds improved -sufficiently for haulage. Leaving the left wall, I could just thrust -my knee in a corner under the fall, and lever up to the opposite side. -Next a few easy ledges brought me into the cave, and I paused to wring -the moisture from my coat and cap before inviting the others to follow -on. By regarding their manœuvres and subsequent criticism it impressed -me as likely that I might have saved myself some exertion, and perhaps -have better avoided the water, by keeping up the edge of the leaf of -rock instead of attacking its inner face. But that course would expose -the leader to a greater risk of slipping at a failing hold, and would -demand more ingenious tactics. - -Our cave was large and airy; the water passed into it at the back, so -that we could easily stay at the entrance and avoid the fall. High up -above our heads were a couple of apertures in the roof, probably wide -enough for our passage, but difficult to reach. The right wall of the -gully was well broken up, and without ado we set ourselves at it and -worked round the edge of the nearer overhanging block as a step to -the other. Some thirty feet of my rope ran out before the second man -advanced from the bed of the cave: not that the climbing refused to -admit an earlier start, but that he was busy wringing out his clothes. -I awaited his advance impatiently, for a bend in the gully prevented -my seeing the next pitch above us--the last in the climb. But when he -was firmly braced against the top boulder, hauling in the rope of the -last man, I advanced to the end of my tether to steal an early glance -at the pitch that report had spoken of so respectfully. Robinson’s -account in the Wastdale book was succinct enough: ‘A return on to the -floor of the ghyll was made near the top of the third pitch, when a -little scrambling led to a very fine waterfall more than 100 feet high. -Here climb in the water as little as you can; then diverge slightly -on to the right hand of the ghyll just where the water spouts over a -small recess; next traverse across a rather difficult slab into the -cave under the final boulder, which is climbed on the left hand and -is the last difficulty.’ The only part of his prescription that I had -carried in my mind was the ‘climb in the water as little as you can,’ -and we had been applying it all day with varying success. The trouble -always is to make any headway at all against a descending mass of cold -water, and we had come to regard the advice as indicative solely of -the fact that an available route was only to be found in dry weather. -To climb in the water as little as possible meant to choose a dry -season and to mount by the usual line of flow. Another account that -may prove interesting was given me by Messrs. G. and A. Abraham: ‘Some -enjoyable scrambling in the bed of the ghyll brought us quickly to -the last obstacle and certainly the finest part of the whole climb. -The climber is immediately reminded here of the great amphitheatre -in the Screes Gully, for, although on a much smaller scale, we have -the same gigantic buttresses and receding slabs, with three suggested -exits. The most obvious way out here is up the waterfall as usual. -This we attempted until the amount of water on the steep, slippery -rocks forced us out on to the difficult right-hand wall, about seventy -feet above the beginning of the pitch. Here we climbed straight -upwards, and, traversing round a very awkward corner, landed right -on the top of the pitch, the leader requiring considerable help for -the last twenty feet.’ Our own experiences were a little different, a -consequence of our fixed intention to force a route directly upwards -without any traversing away on to the right wall of the gully. Also, -we were relieved of the necessity of avoiding water, because it fell -too diffusely to be avoided, and so small an area was left to any of us -that could be affected seriously by further saturation. The first part -of the pitch was perfectly simple. We could employ holds on either side -and clamber up to a platform made by an un-jammed stone with rounded -corners that had been caught in the cleft. It was safe enough for our -purposes, and two men could lodge themselves conveniently above it. -Straight up overhead was a formidable chimney that looked feasible in -its upper portion but impossible to reach directly from below. A long -block of rock twenty feet high, possibly part of the living mountain, -prevented a passage up the pitch to the immediate right of the -chimney; but between the smooth slabs of wet rock that formed the right -wall of the gully and this long boulder a narrow crack wound its way up -to Robinson’s cave, and it occurred to all of us simultaneously that -the crack might be negotiated and the awkward slab-traverse thereby -avoided. But the crack was as nothing to begin with, and from our -rickety platform we could obtain but scanty notion of its safety higher -up. I suggested advancing a little to prospect, craving a shoulder to -start from, and a steadying hand for my completer confidence on the -doubtful little ledges that we were calling footholds. The first ten -feet went very well, but although I found the crack useful for the -left knee, it was unable to accept the responsibility of my complete -stability. I sang out for another steadying hand, and my most admirable -second clambered on to the shoulders of the last man without a moment’s -hesitation. They plastered themselves flat against the slab, and I felt -my right foot cease its uncanny trembling as the outstretched hand held -it firmly in the niche it longed to use. This was downright luxury, and -in my sense of security there stole a moment’s shame at the thought of -so much dependence on the others. But there! in climbing as in football -the combination is everything in the highest developments of the game, -and though success may now and again be due to the unaided efforts of -one man, the full satisfaction that should follow victory will only be -felt by the whole party when all have contributed something to the -manœuvring. Be it remembered that in crag-climbing two heads are better -than one, even if the second head is only used as a foothold. But -there we were, three links in a chain that reached from the platform -to the widest part of the crack that was to lead us to the cave. The -position was not to be dwelt upon, and I hastened to relieve the others -of their common burden. In the crack and at arm’s length above me was -a well-secured angular stone round which the rope could be passed. -Using it as a hold I was able to quit the precarious foothold on the -right and thrust the left knee well into the crack. The position was -one that could admit of no slip, the leg being sufficient to hold the -body well in; and before quitting that favoured spot I untied the rope -and slipped the free end through the hole at the back of the jammed -stone before tying on again. The others had descended by this time to -the platform and were taking in all the slack. Whatever the difficulty -of the few remaining moves to the cave, I was insured against a big -fall and could trust to the belaying of the little angular block that -had so neatly adjusted itself to our needs. As a matter of fact the -precaution was scarcely necessary, though eminently proper under the -circumstances. The ledges above me were good and firm, and with the -rope gently paid out from below I reached the cave without more trouble. - -The floor was sloping; but a comfortable and reposeful attitude could -be indulged in, well at the back, far from the dripping eaves of the -cave. But I had committed an error of judgment with the rope, threading -the hole from above the jammed stone instead of from below, before -tying the bowline round my waist. At the time the importance of that -consideration had not occurred to me, but now in my ease, hauling up -the slack between myself and the second, I felt a sudden jerk. The -rope was wrapped completely round the jammed stone, whose angularity, -that had before commended itself to the hands, now introduced so much -friction that the rope would no longer slip freely round it. We were -perplexed for a while, till our enterprising middleman, who had many -times before offered a key to our difficulties, proposed climbing up -as a leader, with the second rope attached to his waist, and the fixed -rope above him used for steadying purposes whenever necessary. We knew -that the jammed stone that fixed the upper rope could not be dislodged -easily, and indeed I was able to hold on to my end and oppose any -dangerous leverage. He climbed up with every confidence, and reached -the crack safely. Then, repeating my movement with the left leg, he -held on while disentangling my rope, tying himself to its lower end as -soon as the complications were unravelled. A few moments more gave me a -companion in the cave, and built, as it was, for two persons only, he -mildly suggested my withdrawal for the benefit of the third man. Thence -our method of advance was practically identical with Robinson’s. We had -a little walk of six feet over towards the left wall of the gully, by -ledges that lay on the very verge of a sheer drop of eighty feet to the -foot of the pitch. Then the ascent was continued by a narrow crack that -commenced in a somewhat sensational manner, not so much by reason of -its difficulty as by the feeling of nothingness to fall back upon in -case of a slip. The second was at my heels, and he was firmly braced up -by the sole remaining tenant of the cave. Lifting the left leg as high -up the crack as possible, and accepting a push from behind, I reached -over a slab on the right and dragged up on to it. That was to be the -last big effort; the final pitch was all below, and the gully eased -away above me to its open finish. I shouted the tidings to the others. -With all eagerness they followed, the last man claiming with pride the -discovery of a grand foothold that he had unearthed or unmossed at the -lower edge of the slab. - -Well! we had had a rare little fight; the gully had taken us an hour -and twenty minutes of continuous work, and we voted it a piece of solid -good business. - -There remained the long walk back to Wastdale and to dinner. I proposed -getting there in an hour and a half, and started on the journey with -a pipe in my mouth. We had about three miles of rough, high-level -skirting along the 2,000-feet contour to Sprinkling Tarn, two miles of -descent to the Burnthwaite level, and a mile of valley walking at the -finish. The consequence was that very little smoking was enjoyed. We -were a quarter of an hour behind time at Burnthwaite, a laudable spurt -in the valley being abruptly terminated by the discovery of another -climbing-party on the track. We had found that if two parties were -late, dinner would await their arrival; hence our motive for haste was -removed and we composed our gait and our thoughts for a more sedate -entry into the hotel yard. - -NOTE: In the first edition of this book, I followed Mr. Haskett Smith’s -nomenclature and located the climb in Eagle Crag. It seems that this -shoulder of Glaramara goes by the name of Raven Crag, and I have -changed the name of the gully accordingly. There are many Raven Crags -and many Eagle Crags in the district, but climbers need only be warned -against confusing the Raven Crag Gully on Glaramara with the Raven Crag -Chimney on Great Gable. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -_THE PILLAR ROCK_ - - -Mosedale is closed in by Yewbarrow, Red Pike, Pillar, Looking Stead, -and Kirkfell. These form a noble amphitheatre of dark mountains, a -cordon through which it is not easy to break. Between the last two -hills we can effect the passage of the Black Sail over into Ennerdale, -which passes down behind the Pillar to the north-west. A more direct -route to Ennerdale is by Wind Yatt (or Windy Gap), a pass 2,400 feet -high, between the Pillar and the Red Pike. On the northern or Ennerdale -side of the Pillar mountain is the famous Rock, beloved of climbers -great and small. It springs up vertically from the steep fellside, with -a north face like a cathedral-front 500 feet high. From the summit of -the fell a descent of 400 feet of steep rock and scree will bring us to -the nearest part of the crag. From the Liza River at the bottom of the -valley we have 1,100 feet of grass and scree to tackle before reaching -the lowest buttresses that support the great wall. - -[Illustration: - - PLATE IX. - -PILLAR ROCK, NORTH SIDE (p. 271). - -The High Man is about 550 feet above the Nose. - - _a_ Shamrock Gully. - _b_ Great Pitch in _a_. - _c_ Great Bridge. - _d_ Shamrock Chimney. - _e_ Walker’s Gully. - _f_ Savage Gully. - _g_ The Nose. - _h_ Easy route, North Climb. - _k_ Cave Pitch. - _l_ Stomach-traverse. - _m_ Split-block. - _n_ The Strid. - _p_ The Hand-traverse. - _q_ The Buttress-route. - _r_ The Ordinary route. - _s_ The Low Man. - _t_ The High Man. - _u_ The Great Chimney. - _v_ Pisgah.] - -From below, the precipice is seen to be divided into two parts by a -long, black chimney. This is Walker’s Gully, named after the young man -who fell there in 1883. Its head is the point of convergence of -sundry lines of scree from the upper fell. It suggests a funnel cut -down along its centre-line, and scree frequently slides down the sides -of the funnel and into the gully. This no doubt is the chief reason why -Walker’s Gully has never been climbed until recently, when snow and -frost diminished the risk from this cause. It would prove difficult -under any conditions, and the risk of a battery of stones from above is -too heavy a handicap for the cautious climber. - -The Pillar Rock itself is on the right of the gully, in our view from -below. The crag on the left is considerably lower, and in fact scarcely -rises high enough over the head of the gully to be visible from above. -But from the east it presents an imposing appearance. Its outline -partly suppresses that of the higher crag beyond, partly combines with -it, audit is often mistaken for the actual Pillar Rock. Hence the name -Sham-rock by which it has been known since 1882. It is a mere walk to -reach the summit from the Pillar Fell. The climbing on the Shamrock -is not quite so good as that on the neighbouring crag, but it cannot -well be neglected. On the eastern side is the well-known Shamrock -Gully, a magnificent looking cleft in the rocks, finishing with a huge -V-shaped notch at the summit. A natural arch spans the gully -half-way up, and an obstacle some few feet higher makes a pitch of -unusual severity--‘one of the stiffest pitches in all Cumberland.’ It -was first climbed by Mr. Geoffrey Hastings’ party in March, 1887, when -a bank of snow below the pitch gave a little help. In December, 1890, -the climb was repeated by a party with the same leader, without the aid -of snow, and since that date various ascents have been made with and -without snow. Among others a new route over the obstacle was effected -in December, 1896, by the writer and three friends. It is probable that -the pitch turns back fifty per cent. of the people who essay to climb -it. - -On the same eastern face, a few yards further away to the north, is the -Shamrock Chimney, a thin crack running somewhat irregularly upwards -to the summit ridge. The credit of the first ascent belongs to Mr. -John Robinson, whose keen eye and sound judgment made the ascent an -accomplished fact, on September 23, 1894, within a few days of his -discovery of the chimney. Shortly afterwards Robinson showed me the -route, and I was convinced at once that in difficulty and extreme -interest it was far superior to the Shamrock Gully, and equal to the -best climbing on the Pillar Rock. The third ascent was made by Dr. -Lawrence in April, 1895. Not many parties have been up it as yet, and I -am hoping that the full account of its details here supplied will tempt -others to attack it. - -I have said that the Pillar Rock lies to the right of Walker’s Gully -when viewed from below. It is bounded on the other or western side by a -broad hollow in the fell, down which a slender stream flows without -any abrupt change of level till the foot of the precipice is reached. -There the ‘Great’ waterfall disturbs the even tenor of its way, and is -said to offer a formidable obstruction to our approach of the west face -from below. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE EAST FACE OF THE PILLAR ROCK] - -From the Shamrock side we can get the best idea of the shape of the -Rock. We have first the Pisgah rising out of the upper fellside, a -pinnacle easily accessible and only forty or fifty feet high. Then -to the right comes the actual Pillar Rock, the ‘High Man,’ separated -from Pisgah by a narrow vertical cleft, the ‘Jordan,’ that renders the -ascent from Pisgah almost an impossibility. At the Jordan two gullies -meet; one up the east side, short and easy, the other up the west side, -longer and more difficult. - -The outline of the rock is marked by a notch to the right of the -summit, where the Great Chimney finishes, and a little further -northwards it shows a sudden drop to the level of the Low Man, the -immense buttress that from below hides the true summit altogether. A -cairn has been erected on the top of this buttress, and the outline to -the right of this falls in one vertical drop of 400 feet to the foot -of the rock. This is the great north wall. It is supported at the base -by a minor buttress, the ‘Nose,’ that stretches across the full width -of the north wall, and along the top of which, immediately below the -precipice, an easy terrace takes us across to the Great Waterfall -from a point near the foot of Walker’s Gully. From the eastern end of -the traverse rises the Savage Gully, a well-marked cleft with sundry -branches, reaching to the top of the Low Man. - -On the western side the rock appears much more formidable. The chimney -up to the Jordan looks black, and its crest is overhanging. The -wall of the High Man itself is built up with long slabs of smooth -rock, broken only by the smallest grass ledges, and its difficulties -appear to increase near the summit. This side of the Low Man looks as -inaccessible as the great north wall. Nevertheless a series of short -gullies starting from the foot of the High Man lead obliquely up -towards the left and offer a very easy route to the southern end of the -Low Man, whence to the summit the climbing is but moderately difficult. - -The best ways of reaching the Pillar Rock are given in full detail -by Mr. Haskett Smith. It will here be sufficient to remark that from -Wastdale the usual course followed is to ascend by the path towards -Black Sail Pass until about ten minutes beyond Gatherstone Beck, then -to make for the ridge on the left leading over Looking Stead and up to -the summit of Pillar Fell. Thence a descent of 450 feet in a northerly -direction brings us to the Pillar Rock. Sometimes Mosedale is followed -straight up, and the steep slope climbed that leads to Windy Gap. -Thence the ridge to the right takes us in twenty minutes of easy -going to the summit of the Pillar Fell. Both these routes involve an -unnecessary ascent of 450 feet, and the ‘High-Level Route’ was designed -to avoid this waste of time and energy. Looking Stead is reached as -before from Gatherstone Beck, and the wire fence followed up for a few -minutes as far as the head of Green Cove. Here a cairn marks the spot -where a rough path starts down the cove. We descend only fifty feet or -so, and then turn round to the left and skirt along the north-east side -of the fell. It is unsafe to attempt the traverse for the first time in -a mist, but with clear weather the various cairns that mark successive -points on the route can be easily discerned, and a half-hour’s walk -brings us to the wide scree gully running down by the eastern side of -the Shamrock. To reach the foot of the Pillar Rock is a simple matter. -The photograph facing page 271 was taken across this scree, and it -will be seen that the route down to the Nose is only a walk round the -foot of the Shamrock. A broad, sloping corridor in the lee of a steep -rock-wall further up the fellside, enables us to steer clear of the -Shamrock cliffs and to reach their head without any hand-and-foot -scrambling. Thence across the scree descending to Walker’s Gully we see -Pisgah and the High Man, and with care we can now make the traverse to -the foot of the Jordan Gully. There we are in a position to start any -of the ordinary short climbs on the Pillar Rock. The west route can be -reached by turning Pisgah on the left and descending the west scree -for 300 feet. The long climbs up the north face are started from the -Nose. - -The Pillar Rock was first climbed by an Ennerdale cooper named -Atkinson, who in 1826 ascended by the west side. The ‘slab-and-notch’ -route on the east side, starting from the upper screes above Walker’s -Gully, was devised by Messrs. Conybeare and A. J. Butler in 1863, -though it would seem that the same side was successfully attacked a -year or two before. Matthew Barnes, a Keswick guide, found a route -across the eastern face to the Low Man, and thence back along the -summit ridge to the highest point. He was climbing with Mr. Graves, of -Manchester. Mr. W. P. Haskett Smith found in 1882 a direct way up to -the High Man from the Jordan, and a second route straight up the wall -a few yards to the east of the first. Two years later he reached the -summit by a particularly hazardous course still further to the east, -passing up close to the buttress whose lower end marks the start of the -‘slab-and-notch’ route. In the same year he made the first ascent by -the Great Chimney on the east side. Mr. Haskett Smith named the first -three routes the ‘West Jordan,’ the ‘Central Jordan,’ and the ‘East -Jordan’ climbs respectively; the latter route is never undertaken, and -the other two are often termed the ‘Left Pisgah’ and ‘Right Pisgah.’ - -For many years Mr. Haskett Smith made visits to the north face, -endeavouring to reach the summit of the Low Man from the easy ledge at -its foot. On the right his course was limited by the almost seamless -wall of rock that gives the Pillar Rock its appearance of hopeless -inaccessibility from Ennerdale. On the left the Savage Gully cut off -all chance of traversing to the eastern side of the rock. The space -between was strictly limited, and it narrowed as he climbed higher. -Within thirty feet of an easy scree gully that obviously led to the -summit of the Low Man, the only available course had dwindled down to a -slender rib of rock in a dangerously exposed situation, much too risky -to attack without guarantee of its feasibility. - -In 1891 this climber, with Messrs. Hastings and Slingsby, succeeded -at last in finding a way of descending into the Savage Gully at that -point. Their leader then mounted its left wall and worked easily across -to the foot of the scree gully. The others followed, and the ‘long -climb’ up the Pillar Rock became an accomplished fact. No published -detailed description of the route is known to the writer. - -SHAMROCK GULLY.--This is rather an unpleasant climb for those -who dislike loose stones. The bed of the gully is very steep and -narrow. It is followed straight up the centre, by using horizontal -shelves on either side that now and again flake off in a most -unexpected way. Extreme care is necessary on the part of the leader, -for his followers cannot avoid any fragments that he may dislodge. -The climbing is otherwise easy, and very little distance should exist -between the separate members of the party. - -Half-way up the gully the bridge is passed, high above our heads when -no snow is about, but occasionally completely blocked by heavy drifts. -Next the bed of the gully runs up into a little cave, formed by the -huge jammed stone that presents the only genuine obstacle in the ascent. - -The block is long and narrow. It leaves just enough room on each side, -between the walls of the gully, for a thin chimney. That on the right -is very difficult to enter but comparatively easy to follow up. The -other is designed differently; it leads the climber by a temptingly -easy beginning into a position twenty-five feet up, that will in many -cases pound him most distressingly, and his descent will be uncommonly -awkward. Hence it is that the right-hand chimney was for nine years the -only course adopted. - -The process of backing-up is, as a rule, safe, though fatiguing. -In the case of the Shamrock pitch, the leader will never find his -attitudinising comfortable. If he starts from the shoulders of a -companion, he can at any rate enter the chimney; but its walls are -undercut, and he needs all his strength to brace himself firmly between -them. A little higher and there is risk of jamming too well. Twenty -feet up he has to turn towards the block and work up over a shelf on to -the scree above the pitch. It is not easy for his companions to follow -on, even with the aid of the rope. - -The left-hand route was climbed in winter. Sundry weak holds were -frozen into position, but the rounded top of the great block was -glazed completely, and the finish was of great difficulty. Dr. Collier -had told me that he thought the upper portion just possible, and our -party of December, 1896, decided to try it. I started up the first -twenty feet and then found the glaze of ice too heavy for further -advance. It was not very difficult to traverse out of the chimney -into a wider gully on the left; but after rising a few feet in this, -the great smooth slabs in front completely barred the way, and I -attempted to return to the chimney. This could not be effected, and -hitching the rope over two small excrescences on the wall I climbed -down the retaining ridge and rejoined my companions. This was very -unsatisfactory, though I was glad enough to be in safety again. We had -a long discussion about the pitch, and referred to many engineering -principles. At last I suggested that the lightest member of the party, -weighing not more than nine stones, should take the lead, and that I -should follow on closely as far as the difficult spot. There I proposed -to brace firmly in the chimney and thrust him straight up to the frozen -grass above. He looked at me apologetically and said that he would go -up if I insisted on it, but would rather hear of some different plan -that deprived him of the honour of leading. Then a bold but heavy -man spoke up and volunteered to take his place. It was my turn to -decline, and we felt completely at a loss. At last I went up again to -the turning-point of the previous venture, and for the sake of safety -threaded my rope through two or three jammed stones in the chimney. -Then followed the longest member close behind me, likewise threading -his rope. I climbed on to his head--it had been tested many times -before--and then got him to steady my left foot on a frozen hold half a -yard higher. An ice-axe was then passed up from the cave, and the pick -rammed hard into the frozen grass above the boulder. The handle then -offered enough stay to enable me to pull up over the smooth icy surface -of the boulder, and the pitch was conquered. I cut steps up the snow to -a safe place for belaying the others, and they then followed singly on -a long rope. The rest of the gully was simple walking. - -SHAMROCK CHIMNEY.--This is shown very clearly in the photograph -facing page 271, as a series of vertical pitches almost in a single -straight line from top to bottom of the Shamrock. We take to the first -set of easy rocks on the north side of the great gully, and for about -160 feet climb over irregularly disposed crags interspersed with grass. -These are usually wet and slippery, and they finish at the extreme -south end of the grassy terrace crossing the Shamrock face. - -We keep straight up and enter the lower extremity of a narrow chimney -thirty feet high. Its two pitches are scarcely separated, and require -careful climbing up to the narrow cavern on the next grassy ledge. The -first real difficulty now lies in front. Ten feet of steep smooth rock -are to be climbed before we can enter the foot of the next chimney, and -the leader will do well to accept a shoulder-up and a lift with an axe -in tackling this wall. It is practically impossible in icy weather. The -chimney is easy enough, with plenty of jammed stones for a distance -of twenty-five feet; but it then dwindles down to nothing, and a very -exposed bit of work follows for the leader, who has to crawl up some -six or eight feet of rock without any respectable holds. This brings -him to another small cavern just sufficiently large for him to take -breath and recover his strength. He cannot see his party below, and -in manipulating the rope for the second man he will need to shout his -directions. Then follow a short traverse to the right, and an upward -scramble over more broken ground to an interesting splayed-out chimney. - -Thence a steep grass slope takes us up to an open gully with a great -overhanging boulder. It may be passed straight over or by a through -route, and we are then at the end of the chimney climbing. A turn -to the right leads to a splendid ridge that runs to the top of the -Shamrock, and offers a finish as charming as that of the Scawfell -Pinnacle from the Low Man. The work is over when a perched flat-topped -stone is mounted; and then we walk to the summit of the Shamrock and -down by easy ledges to the screes above Walker’s Gully. - -PILLAR ROCK, JORDAN CLIMBS.--Very easy scrambling from the -upper fell will bring the climber to the summit of Pisgah. There -is a short chimney on the east side that leads to the same spot; it -is easy to enter, but the exit at the top is very stiff. The view -of the near wall of the High Man is interesting, and there is ample -opportunity for studying the two direct climbs before descending to -the gap. They are both difficult, but the rocks are so much scratched -by nailed boots that the difficulty does not consist in finding the -way up. It is generally supposed to be impossible to descend into the -gap from Pisgah, but inspection will show that there is a series of -small ledges a little to the west, down which a safe passage can be -effected. The Left Pisgah route starts up at once from the _col_. The -holds are only moderately good for the first thirty feet, and fail to -give satisfaction when wet or icy. Next it is possible to force the -body into a narrow crack, and for a little while the climber can cease -his strugglings and rest himself. Above this the rock is more broken -and the holds are better. A thin leaf of rock is crossed and a downward -view obtained of the Right Pisgah final chimney. Then the slope is -eased off, and the cairn on the High Man is but a couple of yards away. - -The Right Pisgah route is generally started low down the East Jordan -Gully. This offers pleasant hand-and-foot work, but no difficulty -whatever up to the Jordan. But before reaching the gap a square recess -on the right is entered, and then a passage is made over smooth rocks -to a clean-cut right-angled corner forty feet high on the south-east -side of the High Man. It is just possible to traverse round from the -Jordan to the top of the square recess, and so up over the slabs to the -corner, but the variation is not worth much. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -“ROUND THE NOTCH”--PILLAR ROCK. EAST SIDE - -(_Face page 267_)] - -The crack climb that now starts straight up the corner is one of the -neatest things on the Pillar Rock. The right wall is used for steadying -purposes when, half-way up, a jammed stone makes it necessary to emerge -from the crack. Some of the holds have splintered away during the last -few years, but there are yet enough to satisfy one’s needs. The finish -is a splendid pull up with the arms on to the leaf of rock already -referred to at the top of the Left Pisgah climb. - -SLAB AND NOTCH ROUTE.--The upper part of the Great Chimney -offers no difficulty to the climber. Its southern boundary is a long -narrow buttress called the ‘Curtain,’ stretching from the top of -Walker’s Gully, to the summit of the High Man. Viewed in profile from -the Pillar Fell, the Curtain shows three distinct notches two-thirds -of the way up; they are about thirty feet above a slab set at an angle -of thirty degrees, and attainable by rough scrambling from the foot of -the East Jordan Gully. The easy route passes along this slab, directly -upwards to the middle notch and thence round the Curtain to the bed of -the Great Chimney. The walk along the slab is to some people a critical -undertaking, for a slip would have very serious consequences. A thin -crack on the line of march makes the course safer, unless ice or snow -have filled it up, but it is not an unusual sight to see men tackling -the walk on all-fours. The Curtain may be crossed at the lowest notch, -the ‘Ledge,’ by good firm rocks, and the Great Chimney entered on -the other side. Formerly it was the usual course to reach the bed of -the chimney at the lower part of the steep grass by what was called -the ‘Eight-foot Drop.’ But there is no need to drop at all; an easy -traverse from either the Notch or the Ledge brings the climber above -the steep grass, and virtually at the end of his cragwork. The chimney -finishes with scree, and lands the climber within a few feet of the -cairn on his left. - -VARIATIONS ON THE EAST FACE.--It is possible to make a way -straight up the Great Chimney from its foot, joining the easy route -about a hundred feet up. Haskett Smith took this course in 1884, -commencing the climb on the stepped buttresses of the Curtain. Since -then the rock has had time to loosen a little, and climbers very rarely -enter the chimney that way. - -The _Pendlebury traverse_ is an excellent variation of the ordinary -route, a popular scramble first indicated by Professor R. Pendlebury, -of Cambridge. From the slab the way lies straight up to the notch in -the Curtain, and then along a horizontal ledge in its south face as -far as the corner where it meets the High Man. Thence up the corner is -straightforward chimney-work, and on emergence at the top the cairn -will be visible close at hand on the left. - -The traverse looks difficult until it is closely approached, when it -will be found that handholds abound on the wall, and that the ledge is -perfectly firm and continuous across the whole width of the Curtain. - -The chimney in the corner of the south side of the Curtain can be -entered much lower down. From the slab a way lies straight up into it, -but the grass holds are not particularly pleasant if wet, and the first -thirty feet are severe. - -From the head of Walker’s Gully a way may be found to the Low Man, -below the immense slabs that crown the north-east buttresses. It -is best to climb the Shamrock first and prospect the route. Sheep -occasionally manage to get across, and the _Old Wall_ was built many -years ago to prevent their passage, but it is now ruined. Sometimes, -ignoring Badminton, they still venture across without a rope, and their -weaker members are liable to get crag-bound. Climbers can tell many -tales of famished sheep found in appalling situations on the Pillar -Rock. They are too weak to resist the slipping on of a rope, and are -simply hauled or slung out of every difficulty till a safe pasturage is -reached. - -THE WEST CLIMB.--This was the route first discovered. It is much -longer than any of the ways on the south or east side, and possesses -but few interesting details. It is more popular as a descent than as an -ascent. - -It is seemingly impossible to climb directly up the west wall of the -High Man, but in the walk down the west screes it will be noticed -that the rocks of the Low Man are more broken, and that several short -scree gullies sloping upwards to the left mark a rough route straight -towards the Low Man cairn. The course is best examined from a distance, -across the great western gully; it lies as close to the High Man as -is possible without undertaking anything but gully scrambling. Not -infrequently climbers find themselves astray on narrow grassy ledges -too much to the right. I experienced the same thing myself when first -attempting to find the way up, and found the ascent by no means so easy -as report had credited the west climb. - -From the level of the Low Man the way lies very nearly along the -sky-line to the highest point. The High Man is struck at the end of a -square corner in the rock, and there is some excellent work for the -arms during the next thirty feet of ascent. - -It is easier to turn over slightly to the east side, and up by the -great jagged boulders on the crest of the ridge. The _Slingsby crack_ -is a short but rather stiff variation a little on the right or western -side of this route and is particularly interesting. Formerly a loose -block at its upper end gave the climber an occasional scare, but there -is nothing unsafe now in the form of detached boulders, and the ridge -can be followed with confidence to the High Man cairn. Nail marks are -strongly in evidence all through the crag-work; the leader should not -attempt the route if snow or rain prevents their recognition, unless he -is already perfectly acquainted with the way. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE NORTH FACE OF THE PILLAR ROCK] - -THE NORTH CLIMB.--For several months after the first ascent -it was difficult to learn anything of the details of the route up -the Ennerdale face of the Pillar Rock. The only way was to persuade -some one who had been up to take the lead and act as guide; for a -complicated course that had taken Haskett Smith eight or nine years to -work out was not likely to be mastered easily by any one who had not -made a special study of the north face. - -My own chance came in the summer of 1893. Mr. John Robinson called for -me at Buttermere one fine afternoon, and took me off to Ennerdale with -another friend, Mr. F. W. Hill. We left the village at two o’clock, -and were back again after a successful ascent by eight in the evening; -whence it may be inferred that Buttermere is as good a starting-point -for the Pillar Rock as Wastdale or Seatoller. - -Our guide led us rapidly by the shortest route over Scarth Gap, and -across Ennerdale to the foot of the Pillar Rock. Then a fifty-feet -length of rope made its first appearance; it had been hidden in a bag -during our walk, lest we should alarm the folks about Gatesgarth. We -tied ourselves up, and made for the eastern end of the terrace across -the Nose. - -Robinson then started along the terrace, and in a few yards scrambled -up to a shelf on the left, five or six feet high, which gave us easy -access to the lower portion of the Savage Gully. This latter has never -been climbed along its whole length. If the gully were moderately easy, -the north climb would be far less complex. But for a great portion -of its length the side walls are at right angles to each other; the -corner is nearly vertical, and the only resting places are diminutive, -grass-grown ledges placed too far apart for any safe employment of the -rope. The right wall of the gully forms part of a conspicuous buttress -on the north face, whose western side is much more broken and less -dangerous to ascend. - -The route that was being shown us lay along the Savage Gully for about -sixty feet, then across to the west side of the buttress and up a -vertical branch gully with sundry small chimneys in it. Higher up, -we were told, it would be necessary to round a cliff still further -to the right, by means of the _Stomach traverse_, to render further -ascent possible. We objected to the inelegant name, but were too far -advanced to hesitate on the score of a faulty title. Above the traverse -our climbing would be easier, until the course returned to the Savage -Gully again. That was to be our _mauvais pas_, and after settling it -the scramble to the Low Man, and thence to the highest cairn, would be -scarcely more than a walk. - -So spoke our guide, and having delivered himself at some length, with -an occasional appropriate anecdote thrown in, he concentrated his -attention on the small pitch that marked our point of arrival at the -Savage Gully. It was a wall seven feet high with indifferent grassholds -at the top, and in scrambling up care was needed to avoid dislodging -loose stones near the edge. It was then easy to clamber into a small -cave somewhat to the left, and out again by a twisted tunnel at the -back. Thence Robinson worked upwards over broken ground for a few -yards, until the point was reached where we were to leave the gully. -The direct route looked feasible for some distance ahead, but there was -no questioning the fact of its severity, and we had not come out that -day for exploration. - -A divergence was made along an easy traverse towards the right, to a -short and narrow chimney that already bore traces of many previous -struggles. Wherever the rocks were clean and free from scree, we could -plainly see the scratches of nailed boots along the route. It was here -that we were rounding the great buttress of Savage Gully, and after a -little rough-ledge work we arrived at a square corner with a grassy -floor. Straight up from this floor a cleft offered safe passage. It -was plentifully supplied with holds, though some discrimination was -necessary in selecting the firmest. The climbing was delightful, and -zest was given to it by the magnificent situation. The corner was not -so deeply impressed in the buttress as to prevent our recognition of -the vastness of the cliff we were slowly ascending. The view downwards -just included the little grass platform, and beyond that the wild and -steep fellside at the foot of the precipice, already some hundreds of -feet below us. - -We kept up the direct route so long as we were able. Then the cleft -in the corner suddenly dwindled down into the thinnest of cracks, -and it was obvious that a change of tactics would be necessary. The -left wall was faultlessly smooth. The right for the most part looked -just as inaccessible. The grass ledge on which we were standing really -seemed to suggest finality, the end of our upward progress, and I -turned to Robinson inquiringly with the impression that some wonderful -engineering process with the rope was now to be explained to us. We -knew that such was necessary on the climb, and were prepared by the -situation to see its application immediately. - -But the solution of the difficulty was of the simplest character. A few -feet from the corner the smooth right wall was split by a single crack -that passed up at an angle of perhaps thirty degrees and terminated at -a notch that broke the clean-cut outline of the rock facing us. From -the notch it certainly seemed as though nothing could be done further, -even if we got so far. Nevertheless, we were assured that when once -we were there all doubts would vanish, and we should have the easiest -hundred feet of scrambling in the whole day’s expedition. The crack was -the famous _Stomach traverse_; it was reached as long ago as 1884 by -Haskett Smith in his early exploration of the north face; and the name, -which had only recently been given to it, was intended to show how the -passage was supposed to be tackled. One of Willink’s illustrations in -the Badminton, showing an intrepid cragsman crawling along a ledge -from left to right, is sometimes criticised as an exaggeration of the -difficulties that rock-climbers have to overcome. This traverse before -us was not so easy as the one so cleverly depicted by the artist. It -sloped upwards, and the ledge was not wide enough for the whole body. -We were in no sense precariously placed, for the cleft enabled us to -wedge with security; but the right half of the body was outside the -leaf of rock on which we hung, and the right leg found no support on -the vertical wall. - -Some twenty feet of wriggling brought us each in turn to the critical -corner, and there to our amazement we had merely to get up and walk -away. The wall we had passed was the last obstacle separating us from -a long stretch of steep grass chimneys and broken rocks. These extend -from the Nose at the foot of the crags up to the final difficulty, -now only a hundred feet above us, and offer the easier route up the -north face. Our own course by the Savage Gully was by far the more -entertaining one, and under most conditions decidedly safer than the -other. - -From the notch we could either walk straight up to the cave-pitch in -the corner now facing us, or work easily round a rib of rock on the -right and join the other route. We chose the former, and found the -pitch decidedly stiff, the main trouble being to get satisfaction out -of the diminutive hand-holds on the upper surface of the top boulder. -However, it was time to be thankful for small mercies, and confidence -carried us up safely. - -A party coming up the easy way would start from the terrace on -the Nose, close to its highest point. Their route would be quite -straightforward, though occasionally the question as to the safest -movement might introduce a slight digression. The great wall of the -Low Man on their right limits in the most definite manner all westerly -climbing, and their only trouble would be in negotiating two narrow -chimneys and some of the grass ledges, where the tufts are unpleasantly -loose and the slopes very slippery. The fact is that this way is not -much to be recommended; until it joins the other there is little merit -to justify the variation. If parties are certain they can finish the -second half of the ascent, they can assuredly climb the lower portion -_via_ the Savage Gully and the Stomach traverse. - -We halted for a moment above our cave-pitch and looked around at the -crags. From a distant survey, such as that indicated in the photograph -facing page 271, it is impossible to realize that so large an open -space of easy ground can exist on the north face. But our opportunity -for advance was strictly confined to one direction. Further westwards -we could not go; the great wall was unassailable. To the east we -could have perhaps traversed away until progress was barred by the -narrow branch of the Savage Gully, which we had utilized lower down. -The northerly direction of course led down the easy route, and the -southerly pointed to an uncompromising extension of the great wall -towards the Savage Gully. - -We were led straight up the small scree to the _split block_, a huge -boulder at the foot of the wall. The leader disappeared into a deep -crack, and after a few moments appeared at the top of the block, having -mounted by a secondary fissure that cut into the left portion of the -boulder. The movement was quite unexpected, and Hill and I were rather -startled at the aspect of things from the summit of the split block. -It stood at the top of the narrow branch of the Savage Gully already -referred to, and the view vertically down this branch was calculated to -make us hesitate before taking the next step. - -This was the _Strid_. Close up against the wall that blocked the -head of the gully, a long stride was to be taken across to a narrow -‘mantelshelf’ on the other side. There was no difficulty in the step, -but the consequences of any slip were so obvious that we were not -surprised to learn how respectfully the Strid is usually regarded. The -mantelshelf led us along under the wall for a few yards, and an upper -ledge was mounted. We were now close to the Savage Gully again, and -Robinson prepared to be let down into it on the rope. We were adopting -the tactics of Haskett Smith’s party in the first ascent. Robinson was -to climb down the wall of the gully by means of an irregular crack -twenty-five feet long, using the rope to steady himself during the -descent. At the foot of the crack he would be able to step into the bed -of the gully, and thence, after mounting it for a few feet, effect an -easy passage up the opposite side. He was then to unrope, and Hill was -to let me down in the same way, there being plenty of friction between -the rope and the rocks to enable him to hold my weight in case of a -slip. When safely landed in the gully, I was to take the rope up to -Robinson and wait the issue of events. - -These went off without a hitch. The crack was difficult, though not -impossible for one man to descend alone; but I am convinced that a -man attempting the climb single-handed would be running great risk if -he proceeded without some sort of belaying with a rope. The little -story is well known of the youth who could not understand why he as -third and last man of his party had to be left behind on the ledge; -he had examined the crack and was certain he could climb down safely -without support from above. Nay more, he insisted on demonstrating the -fact, and when three-quarters of the way to the bed of the gully his -feet slipped and his handholds failed. Luckily the others were able -to prevent a serious fall, and the young man’s ‘climbing down’ was -strictly metaphorical. - -Robinson then rapidly swarmed up to the left of the gully, and, after -mounting forty feet, traversed to the right into a long scree-shoot -that ended abruptly some twenty-five feet vertically above our solitary -companion on the ledge. Upwards the scree led straight to the summit -level of the Low Man, and two of us were of course in a position to -attain this point in a couple of minutes. But there was the third, to -manipulate, and Robinson proceeded to take out a short, spare rope from -his sack and expound the method of using the ‘stirrup.’ - -He tied a loop on to one end of his spare rope, large enough for a foot -to be comfortably slipped therein, and flung that end down to Hill. I -operated with the other rope, sending an end down for Hill to tie round -his waist in the usual manner. The object of the process was to get the -third man up with the least expenditure of energy on our part; in fact, -to make Hill do all his own lifting. The wall was not so complicated in -design as to render it impossible to haul him straight up like a bale -of goods. But neither he nor I had till then seen an application of the -stirrup-rope, and we had come out to be educated. There are many places -where the method is well worth employing. - -The operations commenced by Hill’s fixing a foot in the stirrup and -lifting it a couple of feet as Robinson hauled up his rope. Then, -with Robinson simply holding on firmly, Hill straightened himself on -the stirrup, using it as a foothold, while I pulled up the couple of -feet of slack in the waist-rope. Next it was my turn to hold hard as -Hill raised his stirrup foot, and then Robinson’s to keep the foot -firm while Hill lifted himself on to it. These two moves were repeated -again and again alternately. All through the process the ropes were -held as free from slack as possible, any upward movement of Hill’s -engaged foot or body being responded to promptly by Robinson or myself -respectively. It will be perceived, if the description is as clear -as I want it to be, that all the actual lifting of Hill’s weight he -managed himself during the straightening-out on the stirrup, and that -we others were at most called upon to hold only his weight. Even this -much stress on our hands we could avoid by partial belaying, though in -that particular spot there were no entirely suitable projecting rocks -that could be utilized as belaying-pins. - -Bit by bit Hill worked up the wall, till at last his head and shoulders -appeared over the rounded coping at our feet, and he scrambled on -to the scree. Then we all sat down and Robinson told us tales about -that particular locality. Among others he gave us one to emphasize -the practical lesson we had just been having on the use of the -stirrup-rope. A famous climber, indeed he was sometime president of the -Alpine Club, and in a vague, traditional sort of way years before he -had fallen some hundreds of feet down a vertical gully hard by, without -coming to any harm except that of finding his name ever afterwards -associated with the gully; well, this famous climber was coming up that -same wall by means of the stirrup-rope, and the zealous operatives -above more than responded to his slightest movements. He lifted his -foot a few inches, they hauled up the stirrup-rope a few yards, and -anticipating that he might find the alternations a little laborious, -proceeded to pull him up by sheer strength of goodwill. Thus his -attached foot appeared first over the edge, and the remainder of his -person followed in some confusion. So, at any rate, the story went. - -Sitting as we were with our faces towards Buttermere, the great wall -bore away to the left, and our scree gully marked its eastern limit. A -horizontal crack extended for several feet across the wall, starting -from the top of the pitch below us. Only its end could be seen, but by -carefully working down to the corner on the left, and looking across -the face, we could see the way it cut clean into the rock. This was the -notorious _hand-traverse_, by which it was just possible to reach our -scree gully from the ledge below without the preliminary descent into -the Savage Gully. - -A few minutes’ halt and we continued our course. There was no doubt or -difficulty in reaching the Low Man, and thence following the ridge to -the junction with the West Climb. A quarter of an hour saw us at the -High Man cairn, and another five minutes at the foot of the Central -Jordan. The ropes were stowed away again in the sack, and Robinson -rapidly strode across the screes and down the corridor behind the -Shamrock. In a phenomenally short time we were crossing the Liza -stream, and, without being allowed to halt, a bee-line was drawn for us -over to Scarth Gap by our untiring leader. Luckily for his followers, -the name of this pass, which is sometimes called Scarf Gap, reminded -him of a very good story concerning another famous climber who went -to an evening party without a dress-tie. We were told the story and -recovered breath sufficiently to continue our journey to Buttermere. -I wish now that I had not been so fatigued, so that I might have -remembered the whole anecdote and given it here in all detail. - -THE HAND-TRAVERSE.--Nearly two years after the ascent described -in the previous section, Dr. Collier showed me a way of avoiding the -Savage Gully in the North Climb by following a direct route to the -upper screes. The plan is to work to the extreme east corner of the -ledge that succeeds the ‘mantelshelf,’ and when a narrow overhanging -chimney is reached, to swarm up the steep buttress on its left. It -looks particularly dangerous, but there is an excellent hold for the -hands just round the corner of the buttress, and when the first three -feet of ascent are accomplished the rest feels comparatively easy. - -On the same occasion we each in turn ventured on the _hand-traverse_ -from above. The place has already been referred to; it was known for -some time that the crack could be reached from the terrace below, and -Mr. Solly showed in 1891 that it could be followed to its left-hand -extremity at the scree gully. It is so named because the climber hangs -by his hands, with no footholds at all for the greater part of its -length, and traverses across the face by sheer strength of his arms. -Collier and I were well satisfied concerning the security of the crack -itself. We went to the further end and back again, without coming -across any place where the holds were treacherous. They were probably -more satisfying to the grip than an ordinary horizontal bar, on account -of the acute edge of the rock. On the other hand, we had no opportunity -of trying the ascent from the terrace, which promised to be rather -fatiguing for the arms, and which might render them useless for the -traverse itself. - -On Whit Monday, 1896, a chance came for tackling the pitch in this new -way. It had been successfully accomplished once, and twice had the -climber’s strength of grip failed him when half-way across. So, at any -rate, we learnt by hearsay at Wastdale. Perhaps it ought to be added -that in one case it was the leader of the party who fell off, and the -rope saved him in a manner scarcely short of miraculous; in the other -case the rope was held from the scree gully, and the climber only swung -out on it. Our Whitsuntide party were willing that I should try, and -carefully measured out just a sufficiency of rope for me to reach the -crack. Then two of them stood together at the western extremity of the -terrace, and shouldered me up the first bad bit. There was every reason -to be quick, as resting-places were absent where the strain on the arms -could be eased. In twenty-five feet I reached the crack and halted -for a moment on a scanty foothold before trusting to the ledge. Then -came the swing off and a hasty sliding of the hands along the sharp -edge. The first bit was about eight feet long; then that particular -crack terminated abruptly in the wall, and another, two feet higher, -continued across in the same easterly direction. The lift of the body -up to the second crack was trying, but beyond this critical point the -movement was horizontal. It was somewhat clumsy--the scraping of the -body along the rough surface of the rock, with the legs held clear; but -my sole thought was to reach the end of the traverse twelve feet away, -and no consideration of style was entertained. In a very short time, -though it seemed far too long, the end of the wall was attained, and it -only remained to drag myself up to the scree. - -The rest of the party preferred to mount the buttress by Collier’s -route indicated in a previous paragraph. I think the hand-traverse -has not been attempted since, and it is perhaps just as well. It is -scarcely less than suicidal to try conclusions with this variation -unless the climber has full confidence in his strength of grip, and -unless he has already tested his powers of endurance of long-continued -strain in the arms. But with the leader of the party already at the -head of the pitch, no matter which way he got there, it involves no -serious risk for the others to follow by this route. The last on the -rope had better come up over the buttress. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -_NOTES ON REMAINING CLIMBS_ - - -In this chapter it is proposed to deal summarily with a few remaining -rock-climbs that have not yet been described. Some are rather awkward -to reach, others are perhaps too slight to be worth the time spent in -reaching them unless they actually turn up in the day’s march. One or -two I have not visited, and am reluctant to accept the responsibility -of guiding people up them. But - - What he thought he might require, - He went and took--the same as me! - -is too general a motto among book-writers for me to hesitate long -before incorporating other people’s notes, and the attempt will be made -to acknowledge the source in each case. - -PIERS GHYLL.--This is a fine-looking ravine on the north side -of Lingmell, occasionally visited by climbers. It has four or five -comparatively easy pitches before the big bend, but at the point where -the main gully is bridged by a great mass of rock the whole width of -the ravine is occupied by a waterfall fifty feet high, and any attempt -to force a passage up this pitch is peculiarly unsatisfactory unless a -rainless season has much diminished the volume of water passing down. -Such a season was that of 1893, and in April of that year Dr. Collier -led the first party up the whole length of the ghyll. Even under those -favourable circumstances the climb was very difficult, and no other -party has succeeded in repeating the ascent. Dr. Collier tells me that -the hardest bit is up the narrow pitch before reaching the great fall. -The latter offers a choice of two or three routes. - -Piers Ghyll is conspicuous from a distance, and many a tourist knows -the place. Hence it has a reputation of its own even as a climb, which -it can scarcely be said to deserve. If, as Haskett Smith expresses it, -it is in nineteen seasons out of twenty wholly impossible to get over -the great obstacle, it cannot rightly be called a climb. The scrambling -up to the bend is mostly unpleasant by reason of the water and the -loose character of the rock. An exit can there be made up the wall on -the right, but the friability of this wall makes its ascent positively -dangerous except at one spot where a scree gully runs nearly to the top -of the cliff. - -A most interesting account of the ghyll, giving certain of the -adventures that explorers have encountered, may be read in ‘All -the Year Round’ of November, 1884. It was contributed by Mr. C. N. -Williamson; other parts of this article dealing with Cumberland -climbing have already been referred to. - -HIGH STILE.--The north side of this mountain is precipitous, and -two or three short but interesting gullies can be followed up to the -ridge. Two of them can easily be recognised from Buttermere village. -The central gully faces towards the north-west and is to the right of -the highest point on the mountain. It has two well-defined pitches, the -second being very severe. The writer climbed it in 1893 with Mr. John -Robinson, before taking the chimney described in the next paragraph, -but seemingly it has rarely been visited since. - -To the left of the central gully a wide black chimney can be seen, -leading up close to the summit of High Stile. It offers a short but -very difficult scramble; in pulling up over the edge of the great pitch -care must be taken to avoid the loose stones. In the first ascent the -leader had a bad encounter with three boulders that slipped over on to -his head. - -A long, easy gully in the north-east shoulder of the mountain offers a -pleasant route down from the summit to the shores of Buttermere. - -BUCKBARROW.--The side of this hill facing Wastwater has sundry -attractions. Climbers who are not pressed for time, on their way -from Wastdale to the nearest stations on the Furness Railway, can be -recommended to visit the crag. - -The first main gully at the northern end was climbed at Easter, 1892; -two short parallel chimneys terminate the ascent, that on the left -being supposed to be the harder. Besides this route, there are a few -ways of tackling the face further to the west; but details are not at -hand by reason of the rarity of the visits to Buckbarrow. - -SERGEANT CRAG CHIMNEY.--This was first ascended by Mr. John -Robinson and the writer in September, 1893. The crag itself is reached -by walking up Langstrath from the village of Rosthwaite for about a -mile and then bearing to the left. Close to the stream, at the point -where we leave the track, is the Gash Rock, an isolated boulder that -offers considerable resistance to any one attempting to climb it. It -was climbed first by the writer in 1893. A good hold has recently been -cleared at the critical point on the boulder. The scramble is said to -be quite easy now. - -The gully in the crag is in sight half-a-mile below the Gash Rock, and -is well worth the visit of a strong party. It was noticed in 1886 by -Mr. Haskett Smith, but seven years elapsed before the first ascent was -made. Curiously enough, the second ascent was effected a day or two -later by Messrs. Phillimore and Anderson, in entire ignorance that the -gully had so recently been overcome. - -Information embodied in the following notes of the successive pitches -has been supplied by the brothers Abraham of Keswick, whose interesting -photograph of the great pitch in the middle of the ascent is reproduced -facing page 286. - -_First Pitch._--Chock-stone about fifteen feet high, passed to the left -on the face of the rock. Good hand and foot holds. - -_Second Pitch._--Small chock-stone. Both hands are reached up to the -top of the stone and a straight pull over effected with the arms. The -obstacle is about nine feet high. - -_Third Pitch._--Sundry boulders forming a block, about fifteen feet -high. The right-hand side of the gully is ascended until the leader is -well wedged under the block. Then he can pass out to the left and over -at the top. - -_Fourth Pitch._--This is the most severe of the whole set, and the -direct climb up the left wall is probably as stiff a problem as can -be found in the district. Two immense boulders, one over the other, -separated by a gap of four feet, form the roof of a cave. The retaining -walls of the gully form the sides of the cave, and the ascent is to be -effected on the left. From a short distance this appears to be a smooth -vertical slab; even on close inspection the holds it offers appear to -be of the most minute dimensions. - -The second man on the rope should mount as high up the interior of the -cave as possible. After climbing under the first boulder the leader -takes a long step out to the left wall, on a sloping ledge. Then using -side holds on the boulder itself, with his feet or knees against the -main wall, he has to work up gradually to a little jammed boulder two -feet above the lower one. This is an extremely fatiguing operation. On -to this block he must lift his knees, and then he can cautiously drag -up so as to stand on it. - -The upper boulder is then passed by throwing the left leg across to -a slight foothold, whence a thrust forward of the body is effected -through wet soil and tufted ferns. This is particularly unpleasant -after rainy weather, and is probably at all times somewhat risky. The -height of the pitch is thirty-two feet. - -A variation has been found which makes the passage of this obstacle -much more feasible. It leads first downwards to a grassy ledge on the -right, and then up by succeeding shelves until the upper level of the -pitch is reached, when the return traverse back to the bed of the gully -can be easily managed. Hitherto all parties, except the first and third -in the chimney, have preferred to avoid the fourth pitch, and their -preference is most reasonable. - -_Fifth Pitch._--This is an easy chimney twenty feet long, lined with -grass and ferns, and marked at the summit by a fallen tree. - -_Sixth Pitch._--Two wedged stones one above the other form a pitch -about twenty feet high. The route is first into the cave between the -stones, then up a short chimney and over the upper boulder. The second -on the rope should ascend as high as possible in the cave and, with -splendid anchorage, pay out the leader’s rope carefully. Sundry loose -stones are lodged on the right, and should be left discreetly alone. - -_Seventh Pitch._--This is a chimney thirty feet high containing many -loose stones. It is crowned by a chock-stone. The ascent is directly up -the first part, and then over loose and dangerous rock on the right -for another twenty feet. - -Steep grass leads out to the top, 500 feet from the base of the cliff. - -BLEA CRAGS AND MOUSE GHYLL.--The Blea Crag climbs in Borrowdale -can be reached from Grange in thirty-five minutes; a fine general view -is to be seen from the picturesque bridge spanning the Derwent. There -are three gullies of interest; one to the south is now known as Mouse -Ghyll, climbed and christened in the autumn of 1897, by Mr. W. Cecil -Slingsby’s party; a second less-defined gully leads up the centre of -the crags; and to the north of this a third takes us by loose and -rather unsatisfactory pitches to the summit ridge. - -Mouse Ghyll starts very narrow, with smooth walls running up to a great -height on either side. An easy pitch of ten feet brings us to a little -platform, whence a steep, double staircase, with good steps for each -foot, gives safe access to a great cavern sixty feet higher. Here the -real difficulties begin. The pitch is formed by two huge, overhanging -boulders, one above the other, with a grassy ledge between them. The -leader can be well anchored by his party, and makes a start up to the -left from the top of the rib of rock that supplies the ‘staircase.’ -It is sensational work up to the grassy ledge, where again the leader -requires anchoring, and perhaps also a helping shoulder for the next -little chimney of some fourteen feet, between the upper boulder and the -left wall. When the first party were here, a startled mouse sprang -from the grassy ledge over the leader’s head, and dropped safely at the -bottom of the staircase ninety feet below. May it live long enough to -learn that the ghyll has been named in its honour! - -On emerging from the chimney three routes show themselves. The first is -up two easy pitches that remain in the gully. To the right a chimney -leads by an open buttress to the top of the crags, and can be ascended -without trouble. But on the left a prominent chimney, succeeded by a -narrow crack, gives seventy feet of extremely tough climbing. It was -ascended by Messrs. George and Ashley Abraham, who made the second -ascent of Mouse Ghyll. - -The central gully starts with a chimney, best taken on the right, and -continues with short and easy pitches until some large boulders wedged -in a vertical crack offer better fun. There are no further obstacles. - -I am indebted to Messrs. George and Ashley Abraham and to Mr. Slingsby -for the information in this section. They assure me that the climbing -in Mouse Ghyll is of a first-rate order, and the scenery of lake and -fellside almost unsurpassable in the country. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -WALKER’S GULLY, PILLAR ROCK.--The Christmas of 1898 at Wastdale -was marked by heavy rain and unseasonable conditions. Several large -parties of climbers had come to the hotel, and, after a day or two of -smoking and grumbling, had departed; until, at the New Year, Mr. Jones -and myself were the only climbers left there. To keep ourselves in -training, we struggled up through the powdery snow of the Central Gully -on Gable Crag, performed many rash feats on the end of the barn and the -billiard-table, besides leaving a considerable quantity of our clothing -on the ‘Mosedale Boulder.’ - -Early in January we walked over to Keswick; and found, on returning, -that another party had arrived, amongst whom was my friend Mr. A. E. -Field. We greeted him as warmly as we could under such cold conditions; -and when, later in the evening, we disclosed our intention to climb -Walker’s Gully, he was quite ‘keen’ on undertaking the very necessary -duties of ‘third man.’ Our party was now complete; but the heavy -rain-clouds still rolled up from the sea, and the weather continued -persistently bad. We were forced at last to the conclusion that, -if Walker’s Gully had then to be climbed, it would have to be done -regardless of bad weather and personal discomfort. - -As a result of this reasoning, the early morning of January 7th, 1899, -saw the three of us trudging patiently up the Black Sail Pass in a -tremendous downpour of rain and sleet; but, notwithstanding this, with -the climber’s cheery optimism, a ‘fair-up’ was confidently prophesied. -As an exception to the general rule, our prophecy was fulfilled; for, -just as we reached the soft snow on Looking Stead, the huge banks of -mist rolled up from both valleys, and far away in the north we saw -‘hoary-headed old Skiddaw’ bathed in sunshine, while a keen dry wind -blew up out of Ennerdale. We trudged along through the snow on the -High Level, and about mid-day were facing the ice-covered slabs and -snow-wreathed ledges on the north-east side of the Pillar Rock. Little -was said as we scrambled to the foot of Walker’s Gully; for each of us -fully recognised what was ahead, and it was better to be silent, than -to utter discouraging remarks. - -The rope was put on at the foot of the crags, Field being the ‘anchor’ -of the party, whilst I, as usual, was placed next to Jones, to serve -as a special buttress when hand and foot holds should become scarce. A -strong jet of ice-cold water came rushing down over the first pitch, -so that, not wishing to have our enthusiasm cooled so early in the -day, we climbed up the wet, slippery slabs on our left. About fifty -feet higher we had some difficulty in a shallow sloping chimney, down -which a mud avalanche seemed to have fallen quite recently, and here -our leader remarked ‘we ought to have been equipped with mud-guards.’ -We were soon facing the main gully, with its tremendous chock-stones -rising one above the other, over which streamed large quantities of -water, suggesting a somewhat too rapid cleansing of our mud-stained -garments. We entered the chimney and found it just wide enough to -back up, with both feet on the right-hand wall; the falling ice-chips -apprising us of the fact that hard work was in progress higher up. - -We climbed very rapidly for about fifty feet, close together, until -almost within touch of the uninviting stream of water falling over the -first jammed boulder, which was now just above our heads. Knowing this -to be one of the most difficult pitches in the lower part of the climb, -a short ‘council of war’ was held, for all seemed desirous of avoiding -a cold bath as long as possible. Then, screwing up his courage, Jones -made a bold dash through the waterfall to the back of the cave. Knowing -his objection to monopolising pleasures of this kind, we followed him, -and were soon all gasping and shivering below the jammed boulder. After -further consideration and experiment, the only safe course, apparently, -was for me to stand under the waterfall and give the leader a shoulder -over the _mauvais pas_. As our ablutions seemed likely now to be very -thorough, we ate our lunch and watched, for a time, the falling water, -which, in my opinion, to some extent spoilt the view. The discomfort of -our position, however, soon impressed upon us the necessity of moving. -Field therefore held me firmly from the back of the cave, whilst I -stood under the shower-bath; and Jones mounted on my shoulders, from -whence he reached a hold on the top of the boulder, over which he -pulled himself with an exclamation of delight. I then retired to the -cave with considerable alacrity. Sounds from above warned us that the -leader was scarcely yet secure, so we steadily paid out about forty -feet of his rope, until he reached safe anchorage at the top of the -three boulders forming the pitch. In following we wasted very little -time under the waterfall, and soon joined Jones on a little snow-patch, -from which we could study the situation. A hundred feet or so higher, -and apparently overhanging our present position, was the top jammed -boulder. Evidence was not wanting, however, to show us that we were not -safe from falling objects; for, stuck in a curiously upright position -in the snow in front of us, were three walking-sticks, with two pairs -of torn gloves and some much-worn socks lying by their side. We thought -at first a party of tourists had somehow reached here and forgotten -their ‘impedimenta;’ but our leader remembered that some friends, -having climbed the Pillar Rock at Christmas, had thrown their sticks -and luggage down into Jordan Gap before descending themselves. The snow -proved harder than they thought, their property making an unexpected -descent into Walker’s Gully, and here were we confronted with the -opportunity of acting as a rescue party; but, not thirsting for fame, -we decided to leave the relics undisturbed. - -Jones now led us up several small, wet pitches, until we came to a -sudden stop in a great cave, where there was no apparent way out, -except through a very small hole high up in its roof; an outside route -being practically impossible on account of the accumulation of ice on -both walls. Jones remarked that he was not going ‘to emulate the camel -that failed to go through the eye of a needle;’ so, to reduce his bulk -as far as possible, he emptied his pockets and left his wet jacket for -Field to sit upon. No holds on the side of the cave were available, so -the leader climbed upon my shoulders, but he could barely reach his -arms through the hole. Field, meanwhile, was smoking and making the -most of his comfortable position. With somewhat insincere apologies, we -called on him to form an additional buttress, and, from his shoulders, -I was able to force the leader through the hole, amidst the sound of -tearing clothes and muffled remonstrances from their owner. - -I shall not readily forget my own sufferings in that hole. The first -attempt, from Field’s shoulders, was a complete failure, because the -upper part of my body absolutely refused to fit the shape of the hole. -After several fruitless efforts and much wasted energy, I happened -to look up and saw Jones smiling down at me. “That is not right. Go -down and have another try,” said he. He then loosed the rope rather -suddenly, whereupon I made an unexpected descent upon Field, who was -standing below enjoying my troubles; and there was much confusion in -the cave. After extricating ourselves, Field again kindly placed his -shoulders at my service, but from a somewhat higher level than before, -and this, with the aid of his ice-axe applied from below, ultimately -landed me at the top of the hole feeling very roughly handled. Field -then sent up our jackets, and, after the hole had been slightly -enlarged by removing some loose rocks, he came up himself in good style. - -We were now at the foot of the formidable top-pitch, which had never -been climbed. A sudden seriousness settled on us all as we looked up -at it, and remembered that this pitch had defied some of the finest -cragsmen of our time. The walls on both sides were perpendicular, -and the rounded appearance of the rocks suggested an unusual absence -of hand and foot holds, whilst the presence of ice in several places -caused us much uneasiness. There were three large flat chock-stones -piled irregularly right across the chasm. Towards the upper one, which -overhung considerably, the two walls converged so much that it seemed -possible to ‘back up’ the last part of the climb, if the leader could -only reach it safely. The only other alternative would be to climb up -on the right wall, close under the lower chock-stone, and traverse -outwards and upwards until suitable holds could be found. A troublesome -sleet was beginning to fall; so that we were glad to climb into the -cave directly beneath the chock-stones. A firm ‘hitch’ was discovered -in the back of the cave, by which Field could anchor us; and he settled -himself in a wet corner where his attention was occupied in dodging the -drops of falling water and directing our movements. - -Our first efforts were on the left wall; and by means of an ice-axe -fixed in a narrow corner, Jones skilfully and safely wedged himself in -a crack which led almost to the top of the first boulder. However, for -the next half-hour his attempts to make further progress were in vain, -for a hand could not be spared to chip the ice off the rocks; and it -was found necessary to abandon this left wall and to try the opposite -one, which now occupied our attention for some time. Jones made several -attempts from a shoulder to effect a lodgment below the chock-stone. -Then, whilst enjoying a well-earned rest, we espied a small rock, -wedged high up in the crack between the main wall and the roof of the -cave. That small rock proved to be the key of the situation, for, after -probably the finest piece of climbing I have ever witnessed, a rope was -passed through the hole behind it, and we were in a position to attempt -the climb safely. We were all suffering acutely from cold, especially -Field, on account of his inaction, though he declared that the -excitement of our movements kept him warm. Notwithstanding this, our -leader, taking off his boots and jacket, prepared for a long struggle -on that icy wall, whilst I padded my head to gain an inch or two in -height. Jones now swung up as high as possible on the hitched rope; -then, while standing on my head, he found a very small hold for one of -his toes, and after ascending a few feet was hidden from our sight by -the intervening chock-stone. The next few minutes were anxious ones; -we shivered with cold, and held the rope firmly in case there should -be a mishap higher up. Almost immediately there was a rush of falling -snow far out over the pitch, and it scarcely needed our leader’s jödel -of success to assure us that at last Walker’s Gully had yielded to the -onslaught of the climber. - -We pushed the leader’s boots into his jacket pockets and sent up all -our ‘luggage.’ Owing to the half-frozen condition of our fingers, tying -the various things on the rope took so long a time, that we called -forth an impatient exclamation from above. Eventually we, in turn, -landed safely at the top, after swinging ignominiously on the rope, -in much the same way as our ‘luggage’ had done. However, the great -hitherto unclimbed pitch of Walker’s Gully was below us, and there -followed the usual congratulations. Our progress up from the screes had -been slow, something like three hours, but much time had been spent in -reconnoitring under extremely bad conditions. - -The situation was still rather serious, for we were perched on a narrow -snow-ledge on the very brink of the upper chock-stone; and the three -of us were almost in a state of collapse from cold and the saturated -state of our clothes. The forced inaction of the leader, whilst we were -finishing the climb, had made him so benumbed as to be almost helpless, -and he was sitting with his feet in the wet snow, ineffectually trying -to put on his boots. We had carefully kept some stockings and gloves -dry in the rücksack; but the opening of the sack with half-frozen -fingers proved unfortunate, for its contents escaped, and, with the -other relics which had come down through Jordan Gap, now adorned the -snow-patch far below. It was then agreed that this narrow, exposed -ledge was, under the circumstances, not a suitable dressing room; -so we gathered up our belongings, including our leader’s boots, and -carefully ascended the snow until we came to a safe resting place. Here -we resorted to the usual means of thawing ourselves, and our leader’s -boots were restored to their appointed places. - -The race up the steep snow seemed to revive our spirits, and, by the -time the dry rocks below Great Doup were reached, our sufferings gave -way to the glow of success. One little excitement was still in store -for us, for Jones told us that he was threatened with frost-bite in -both feet. On removing his boots we found that his statement was true, -so we rubbed his feet with soft snow, and, before putting on his boots, -the troublesome feet were placed as far as possible in the pockets -of the warmest member of the party, until circulation was thoroughly -restored. - -Night was drawing on apace; so we bade farewell to our ‘vanquished -foe,’ and were soon scampering along the High Level, bound for the -well-earned comforts of Wastdale. - -IRON CRAG CHIMNEY.--Towards the head of the Shoulthwaite Valley, -which is 3-1/2 miles from Keswick, near the road to Ambleside, may be -seen high up on the right-hand side, a magnificent couloir. It runs up -the south side of one of the steepest faces of rock in the district, -and is called, after the rock, Iron Crag Chimney. We had passed in -sight of the Crag scores of times, but the chimney is so cunningly -hidden away on the far side from the road, that it was not until Mr. -J. W. Robinson told us of it, that we dreamt of there being anything -worth climbing there. He and my brother went to prospect it in March, -1896, but found it in such a very bad condition, that after climbing -the comparatively easy first pitch, they were forced to beat a retreat. -They came back, however, with a glowing account of the second pitch, -and spoke very excitedly about ‘“a thing” at least 100 feet high, wet, -mossy, and with an overhanging stone half-way up, from which the water -dropped out four yards into the bed of the gully, 40 feet below.’ They -thought, however, that a small ledge, up to which they had climbed, -would continue far enough along the left wall of the gully to enable -them to traverse well out from under the stone, and so reach the top -of it. Of the nature of the climbing above that they knew nothing, but -were both anxious to try it and confident of success. - -Continued bad weather hindered another attempt until June of the same -year, when Mr. F. W. Jackson and I joined the other two and we set out -to attack this formidable ‘hundred-footer.’ The day was fine and the -rocks in perfect condition, and we succeeded in climbing the chimney -throughout. I intend to give more detail of the second ascent; but it -may be as well to mention here that the second pitch only yielded after -several attempts, by more than one member of the party, and only with -the aid of a shoulder, given from the little ledge, was the leader able -to climb to the top of the ‘chock-stone.’ After this another thirty -feet of chimney brought us to the top of the pitch, and great were the -rejoicings that we had, after a very severe struggle, mastered it. I -shall never forget how white the face of one member of the party was -when it appeared over the top of the pitch, how he yelled to us to -‘haul in the taut,’ how he ‘quoth “nevermore,”’ and how impolitely -he spoke to the leader for having climbed it at all. Altogether this -second pitch gave us a good deal of trouble, but the top part of the -chimney, though very rotten and steep, and liable to come away in small -quantities, was climbed with comparative ease. - -After this, except some exploration of the Crags by Mr. H. W. Blunt, it -was not visited again by climbers until the New Year of 1899, when Mr. -O. G. Jones, with my father, my brother, and myself, found ourselves -standing at the bottom of the first pitch. We had expatiated on the -difficulty of the second pitch, and Jones was very keen on trying it, -having, in fact, come over from Wastdale with us for that purpose. _En -route_ to Iron Crag we had climbed a gully on the west side of the -_massif_, which consisted of a series of very interesting chimneys, -the pleasures of which were greatly enhanced by magnificent views of -Derwentwater. This had made us somewhat later than we anticipated, -and an animated discussion was held at the bottom as to whether, -considering the lateness of the hour and the bad condition of the -gully, which was streaming with water, it would not be advisable for -two of the party to stay below or go round and join the others at -the top. This was decided against; ‘all or none,’ said Jones, so we -roped up with him leading. He soon reached the small ledge under the -stone, and then stopped to take breath and prospect. ‘Shall I come up -to you?’ shouted my brother. ‘No thanks! I’ll have a try from here -alone, and you would get wet through in no time up here,’ returned he. -This consideration for my brother was utterly unlike him, for, amongst -other similar occasions, I well remember one on which, in a gully--or -rather waterfall--in Wales, he got wet through on the first pitch, -and insisted on our finishing with him all the eight pitches. His -look of glee when we emerged from the top of each pitch with the water -running down us was a thing to be remembered. However, to return, he -jammed his left foot against the left wall of the gully and pressed -his back against the other, and almost before we had time to see what -had happened, was smiling down on us from the top of the pitch. It was -very disgusting to see him just ‘romp’ up the place we had found so -difficult the year before, and when I had climbed up to him he smiled -sardonically and said, ‘Is that your pitch? Well, really----!’ A small -handhold had weathered away since the time of the first ascent, which -somewhat simplified the passing over the ‘chock-stone,’ but even now I -think most people would find it difficult. We could only apologise and -feel small, but, had we known it, there was a surfeit of excitement and -difficulty in store for us higher up. - -The pitch we had just climbed was composed of most excellent rock, but -up above, where we now were, everything was changed, and the upper -rocks, which had been rotten enough before, were now, as a result of -the heavy rain, of the worst description imaginable. Great pieces as -large as one’s head came away at once, and every step had to be most -carefully tested before we could proceed. Now was the time for us to -appreciate our leader, for a less careful man would have ‘pounded’ us -severely before we had made any progress worth mentioning. As it was, -several big pieces had to be removed, and some came whizzing past in -much too close proximity to be pleasant. - -After the second pitch the chimney continues straight up and is fairly -wide for two hundred feet or so; but there is no good anchorage until -the level skyline is reached. Towards the top it narrows down to a -thin, rotten and very steep crack. By slow and very careful progress -we reached this crack, which had been climbed straight up on the first -ascent; but after Jones had tried it a few times he evidently thought -it hopeless, for he shouted down to us, ‘It won’t go to-day. The rain -has made everything too rotten. We shall have to go back.’ It was four -o’clock, raining heavily and nearly dark, and to go back meant in all -probability sleeping on the top of the second pitch, an idea which -none of us relished. So my brother climbed up to Jones and, after -consulting for a while, they decided to climb out of the crack on the -right-hand side. To do this a shoulder would have to be given, from a -small shelving ledge, to enable the leader to reach the firmer and less -steep rock up above. This was the most obvious route of ascent, but the -ledge looked very unstable and rotten, and vibrated a little on being -tested. However, Jones thought it might hold if stepped on in the right -way; so my brother climbed up on to it and Jones followed. By utilising -the side of the crack, they were able to put very little pressure on -the ledge; Jones climbed on to his companion’s shoulders, and, when he -had cleared away a few of the loose rocks, was, after an anxious moment -or two, able to draw himself up on to the skyline and disappear from -our sight. After a few seconds he gave a cheer and called to my brother -to follow him. This he had just begun to do and had left the ledge -about five feet, when I heard a dull ominous crack, and, on looking up, -saw the whole thing coming down. There was no time to do anything but -squeeze into the chimney and warn my father. I succeeded in getting -far enough inside to escape serious damage, but the heel of my left -boot, which projected a little, was torn entirely away. My father’s -escape was more marvellous, for it seemed that nothing could save him; -but on looking down I saw the great rock strike a projecting piece of -the chimney only a few inches above his head, and spread out like a -fan into a thousand splinters which shot far out into the air, falling -again near the foot of the chimney; and thus we escaped with only a -few slight bruises. One shudders to think what would have happened -if the ledge had fallen when Jones and my brother were on it. It may -be of interest to say here that during the whole of our climbs with -Jones, this was the only approach to an accident we had, and under his -leadership the possibility of anything going wrong seemed, and always -was, very remote indeed. - -After this we were not long in joining the other two at the top. By -this time it was nearly dark and still raining heavily, and on the -crest of the chimney we were faced by a bitterly cold wind. Jones, -who had been exposed to this during the time we were ascending, was -shaking with cold, and he shouted through the storm--‘Hurry up! Coil -the rope and then we’ll do a sprint.’ On looking round we found that he -had gone. We finished coiling the rope and hurried up to where he had -been, but could not see him anywhere. We shouted again and again, but -got no answer. After peering about and shouting several times we came -to a standstill. ‘Is he subject to fits?’ inquired my father in a most -doleful tone of voice. We had never heard of anything of the sort, so -set off down the side of the crags in the hope of finding him awaiting -us below. A miserable hour was spent in walking about the bottom of -the crags calling his name; but the whistling of the wind in the rocks -above, and the swishing of the rain were the only answers we got; so we -set off down the fell-side, and, after floundering about in the dark, -over the stone-walls and through the river, we found ourselves at last -on the main road to Keswick. We were very anxious to know what had -become of Jones, so hastened home, where we found him, ‘dressed up in -all his best,’ toasting his feet in front of a comfortable fire. ‘Where -have you been?’ ‘Dinner has been waiting an hour,’ and so on, were the -thanks we got for our weary hunt among the crags for him, and the query -of my father’s about his taking ‘fits’ became one of his favourite -jokes. After proposing the ‘sprint’ to us he had run round a projecting -shoulder of rock to leeward, and started off to Keswick over the moor, -by the route we had taken earlier in the day. We had expected him to go -down to the Shoulthwaite Valley, and in this way had missed him. - -So finished one of the most exciting days we ever spent with Owen -Glynne Jones; and its events are indelibly stamped on my memory. But, -full of incident as the day had been, my pleasantest recollection is -of the evening that followed; when, by the fire and over our pipes, -we fought old battles over again, recalling to life happy days and -exciting moments on the fells, ending with the songs and glees Jones -loved so well to sing, and across the space of years, taking us back -into the ‘dear, dead days,’ will come into our ‘mind’s eye’ the picture -of him kneeling by the piano, singing with the keen enthusiasm which -characterized everything he did, his favourite hymn-- - - Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, - ... - O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, - Till the night is gone. - -ENGINEERS’ CHIMNEY, GABLE CRAG.--This new and interesting climb -is situated about midway between the Oblique Chimney and the Central -Gully. The beginning of it lies at nearly the same level as that -of the Oblique Chimney, and can be reached by traversing some easy -ledges from the ‘Sheep Walk,’ or by ascending directly from the foot -of the Crags. Although the chimney was well known to many climbers, -its ascent had, curiously enough, not been seriously attempted until -July 30th, 1899, when Messrs. G. T. Glover and W. N. Ling made the -first ascent. Since then it has been ascended on two other occasions, -and it seems likely to become as popular as any of the Gable Crag -climbs. The scenery is magnificent and the climbing throughout of a -most interesting character, and in the centre of the lower part of the -chimney a loosely wedged stone adds an element of risk and difficulty, -which is absent from the other chimneys on this face. About eight feet -from its commencement the chimney divides into two branches, but the -route lies up the left-hand one. A good resting place for the second -man is to be obtained in the right-hand branch, and he ought to stay -here while the leader is negotiating the very difficult passage over -the chock-stone. In all the ascents so far it has been found advisable -to pass a rope behind and over this stone, to improvise a handhold, and -even then this ten feet or so will be found quite difficult enough for -most people. After this, another twenty-five feet of careful climbing -brings one to a broad, sloping ledge where a rest can be taken. From -here two routes are available. One is to keep to the chimney, which -continues straight upward for about forty feet, and the other is to -traverse out round the left-hand buttress for a few feet and then bear -upwards, joining the ‘Sheep Walk’ near the top of the Crags. The -former of these involves about twenty feet of fairly easy climbing, -until the small cave, roofed over with the stone which dominates the -chimney, is reached. From this cave the easiest method of ascent is to -utilise a thin crack in the left wall into which some small stones are -firmly jammed and which may be reached by wedging across the chimney -and traversing outwards, a slight projecting ledge affording some help -in the process. The ‘take-off’ into the crack is somewhat delicate -and decidedly sensational on account of the scanty foothold, but once -gained ten to twelve feet of further climbing practically finishes the -chimney. The traverse route round the buttress is much easier, but it -entirely evades the most sensational part of the climb. - -WEST WALL CLIMB, DEEP GHYLL.--For climbers of Deep Ghyll who -ascend the second pitch by the right-hand exit, this new route is -probably the best way out of the Ghyll. After thus passing the second -pitch, the West Wall Climb starts from a point about twenty-six yards -below the entrance to the Great Chimney. By climbing over two small -ledges and up a conspicuous thirty-feet chimney, a broad ledge is -reached, where further direct progress is not advisable. - -The best way lies around a corner to the right and up a series of -easy ledges, working gradually back again to above the commencement -of the climb. About half-way up ‘The Wall’ an undercut pinnacle is -reached and ascended on the left before a lodgment can be effected on -its outside edge, and some enjoyable work follows until a spacious -ledge on the right can be utilised. When Messrs. J. W. Robinson, J. H. -Doncaster, and H. W. Blunt first made the ascent, in the September of -1898, this portion of the climb was considered difficult, and it is -probably the only part where special care is necessary. Above this the -climbing can be varied considerably, but the direct ascent of a rock -ridge, straight ahead, is to be recommended. The course throughout is -well within the powers of most climbing parties, and the magnificent -views of Scawfell Pinnacle and Deep Ghyll add additional interest to -the ascent. - -We are indebted to two friends for the notes on the following -climbs:--To Mr. G. T. Glover for those on the Ling Chimney, and to Mr. -W. R. Reade for those on the West Jordan Gully. - -THE LING CHIMNEY, EAGLE’S NEST ARÊTE.--In the first edition -of his book Mr. O. G. Jones mentions that there are two chimneys on -the left-hand side of the Eagle’s Nest Arête, ‘the right of these -is shallow and open ... whether it can be climbed or not I have -never ascertained.’ On October 15th, 1899, Messrs. W. N. Ling, C. -E. Martineau and G. T. Glover made the first recorded ascent of it, -after a preliminary exploration from above. From the top of the small -grass gully which commences the _arête_ climb, one traverses about ten -feet across some rock to the left, being then in a direct line below -the final chimney. Going straight upwards, by steep rock steps, an -upright slab is swarmed up with the hands and feet on each side, until -a platform is reached, on which the second man can join the leader. -About fifteen feet above this is another platform at the foot of a -narrow chimney which needs careful climbing for about ten feet, until a -foothold can be utilised on the sharp edge of the left wall. - -From here some stiff pulls on the arms land one out either on a broad -ledge above the easy gully route, or up a continuation of the chimney -to the right-hand side of the narrow pinnacle at the finish of the true -_arête_ climb. The ascent, as a whole, requires more care than the -gully route. - -THE WEST JORDAN GULLY, PILLAR ROCK.--This deeply cut gully, -or, more correctly speaking, chimney, is a striking feature of the -Western face of the Pillar Rock, and, together with the East Jordan -Gully, the head of which it meets at Jordan Gap, cuts off the actual -Pillar Rock from Pisgah. Probably many climbers have examined the West -Jordan Gully, but it does not appear to have been seriously attacked -before July, 1898, when Mr. W. P. McCulloch and the writer climbed it. -Walking up the bed of the gully we passed a tempting looking crack on -the North wall which ends in a small cave; above this cave the gully -is ‘chocked’ by several overhanging stones which from below seem very -formidable obstacles. We, however, avoided the crack and, mounting a -series of jammed stones, reached the innermost recesses of the chimney. -We were now almost on a level with the top of the crack, and, the gully -being here narrow enough to brace firmly across, we backed upwards -and outwards for about fifteen feet, reaching the cave without great -exertion. So far we had done well, but still the great jammed stones, -round which we had to pass, loomed black overhead. Holds for the -traverse outward looked anything but satisfactory, so Mr. McCulloch, -after passing the rope round a conveniently placed jammed stone, -climbed on to my shoulders and, with considerable difficulty, dragged -himself into a small cave about fifteen feet above. As this cave would -only accommodate one man, I climbed to Mr. McCulloch’s level, with a -little assistance from the rope, and took the lead. Traversing outwards -for about fifteen feet, I climbed a sensational forty-feet chimney, -which we had surveyed from above several days previously, and landed -safely in the bed of the gully past all difficulties. The height of the -whole pitch is slightly under 100 feet, and, from beginning to end, the -climbing is of a most interesting character. The second ascent was made -by the brothers Broadrick, in August of the same year, but there is no -record of it having been climbed since. - - - - -APPENDIX II - - - - -CHAPTER I - -_THE PILLAR ROCK AND ITS PURLIEUS UP TO DATE_ - - -In conformity with its deserts as the grandest mass of crags in -Lakeland, the Pillar Rock has, of recent years, received most attention -from those in search of new routes and variations. So numerous and -intertwined are some of the latter that it would be difficult to say by -how many different ways the top of the famous rock can now be attained. -There are certainly a score that possess the merit of individuality. -However, though there is one important exception, that of the New West -Climb, the old routes still monopolise the bulk of the traffic. With -the development of the craft of rock-climbing the once popular, easy -routes, such as the Old West Climb or the Pendlebury Traverse, have -become less used than formerly. For a moderate party with an expert -leader the North Climb is now the favourite course, though the ‘New -West’ has become recognised as the finer climb. This recognition will, -probably, in due course make the latter outrival in popularity its -older compeer. But the ‘Slab and Notch,’ with the finish up the left -wall of the Great Chimney, still takes most Pillarites to the goal of -their ambition. In the other extreme stands the New North West Climb, -and fortunately so. It is too difficult and dangerous to attract those -climbers who truly realise that they have a life to lose. Famous -experts--one of whom made the descent alone--declare the New North West -Climb to be unjustifiable. For the descent of the Rock, especially -after reaching the top by one of the longer climbs, the Central Jordan -Crack is most generally used. Even under the worst conditions of storm, -ice, or snow a rope looped around the top retaining wall of the crack -allows downward escape to be made with comparative ease and safety. - -[Illustration: THE PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST SIDE - - A The Low Man. - B The High Man. - C Pisgah. - D The top of Easy Scree Gully. - PP New Pisgah Routes. - _aa_ The original old West Route. - _bb_ The New West Climb. - _dd_ The West Jordan Gully leading up to Jordan Gap. - _ee_ Screes bounding the base of Pisgah. - _ff_ Scree-slopes leading down to the Waterfall. - _s_ The Slingsby Crack. Old West Climb Variation.] - -THE NEW WEST CLIMB.--Taken chronologically in this section, -if for no other reason, this course demands first attention. Its -outstanding features are sound, clean rocks, sensational situations -with magnificent views, and secure belays at each section where they -are really required. The climbing begins about 20 yards down the screes -from the foot of the West Jordan Gully; the exact point is just below -some large boulders which abut against the base of the main rock. Large -hand- and footholds enable the steep lower rocks to be easily climbed, -though at one point, about 60 feet above the start, there is a smooth -place that gives trouble when ice is present. About 20 feet higher, a -well-marked ledge leads to the right and out of the groove up which -the climb has thus far run. Some turfy ledges then soon conduct the -climber up to an impending nose of rock. After struggling up a short, -steep pitch in the base of this, it becomes obvious that a traverse to -the left is advisable. The place is vertical, but bulky and numerous -holds enable the passage to be made in comfort. The traverse finishes -abruptly on a steep buttress, with turf ledges at its foot. On the -right a convenient crack provides means of upward progress for about -30 feet; then an all too short scramble up a steep arête gives access -to two small ledges with accommodation for one climber only on each. -The rocks directly ahead overhang threateningly, and a traverse to the -left into the base of a steep chimney--the key to the climb--becomes -advisable. This movement is sensational, but the handholds nowadays are -ample for the swing across. Yet it is advisable to take the precaution -to hitch the rope over the splendid belay at the beginning of the -traverse, especially if the conditions are adverse. Once across this -section, a large chock-stone in the foot of the chimney can be utilised -as anchorage whilst the leader moves upwards. The upper part of this -30 foot chimney is probably the most awkward part of the whole climb. -If the back be kept on the left wall throughout, numerous small, but -sufficient, excrescences can be found on the confronting side of the -chimney. It would seem advisable to keep as much as possible in the -narrow cleft. - -A secure resting-place, with room for three or more climbers, -is shortly gained, and the chimney, which becomes loose and -repulsive-looking higher up, should now be deserted in favour of an -interesting traverse to the right. The passage around the vertical -corner is impressive, but careful use of the feet prevents the -awkward attitudes so often seen here. The movement across the face -to the right is still continued over capacious ledges in a slightly -upward direction to some prominent shattered rocks. Good anchorage is -available here. The final section begins above the shattered rocks, and -lies up a small, shallow crack which closes in about 15 feet higher -and necessitates a delicate step across a smooth slab on the right. -A well-marked, grassy recess is thus eventually gained. The ascent -finishes up this, and emerges within a few feet of the summit of the -Pillar Rock. - -SAVAGE GULLY.--The direct ascent of this great rift, the aspect -of which is familiar to all who visit the Rock by way of the North -Climb, is too risky and dangerous to deserve serious attention from -rock-climbers. Yet from a historical and topographical point of view -the description of the first ascent by Mr. P. A. Thompson may prove of -interest. Though this indefatigable pioneer was finally safeguarded by -tying on a rope lowered from near the ‘Nose,’ the party who made the -second ascent--Messrs. Barton--conceded the honour of precedence to -Mr. Thompson, saying that the rope thus held could not be considered -any aid. On the lower 110 feet, resting-places have since been found, -and at no point is it necessary for the leader to take out more than 60 -feet of rope. Under the date June 3, 1909, Mr. Thompson wrote:-- - -‘Savage Gully was climbed right through by me to-day after I had -examined the route, held from the top of the Nose by Mr. L. J. -Oppenheimer. The almost vertical portion immediately beyond the point -where the ordinary North Climb diverges is by far the hardest part -of the climb. The leader must run out 110 feet of rope, and there -are no hitches or convenient resting-places on the way. The gully is -divided by a narrow rib of rock, between which and the right-hand wall -the climb starts. The first 25 feet present no great difficulty, but -beyond this point the climbing becomes severe. Backing up does not -appear to be possible, and the holds lie sometimes on the right and -sometimes on the left of the rib, which was crossed in all five times. -These crossings were always sensational, and, one from right to left, -about half-way up, was greasy. At the top of the pitch a platform was -reached, and an excellent holding ground found in a small cave between -the continuation of the rib and the left-hand wall of the gully. Here I -sent my boots down, and unroping, waited while Mr. Oppenheimer climbed -by the ordinary route to the top of the crack leading down into Savage -Gully, from which point he threw down a rope. With a second man in the -cave to give a shoulder the best route would probably lie directly up -the crack on the left of the rib, but this was too difficult to try -alone. On the right the gully was comparatively easy for some distance, -and climbing up for 30 feet I reached the rope and tied on. This branch -of the gully then became too steep and narrow to follow, and another -traverse had to be made across the rib, here expanded to a considerable -buttress, on a shelving ledge, wide enough to kneel on, and with small -handholds. This traverse is the only serious difficulty in the upper -part of the climb. The moral support of the rope was inconsiderable, as -10 feet of slack had to be taken in before the traverse could be made. -On reaching the left-hand branch of the gully 30 feet more of climbing -up slabs which, in stockinged feet, proved easy led to the foot of the -crack. The final steep little chimney was wet, but otherwise not very -difficult. Mr. Oppenheimer came up over the Nose, rejoining me in two -hours after the start from the foot of the gully.’ - -THE NEW NORTH WEST CLIMB.--This exceptionally severe course -was first climbed on the 8th of June 1906 by Messrs. F. W. Botterill, -L. J. Oppenheimer, A. Botterill, and Dr. J. H. Taylor. It is only -suitable for experts, who, moreover, would be well advised to come to -it in perfect form after a lengthy climbing holiday. Success depends -on the skill of the leader. He can receive scanty support from his -companions at the places where such aid is really required. Absence of -a dependable belay for the long lead up the difficult upper section of -the face militates against any claim for safety the expedition may be -said to possess. - -The course starts from the westerly end of the Green Ledge. This is -marked _g_ on Mr. Jones’ line drawing facing p. 254. By a curious error -he named it the Nose. The rocks are comparatively easy at the outset; -some short chimneys lead up to a sloping slab, where a traverse to the -left is made into a more obvious chimney. This gives about 45 feet of -interesting back and knee work until it is possible to work out to -the right, and then up easy rocks to the crest of the buttress, where -stands a prominent cairn. Broad, grass-covered slabs lead to the base -of the nose of the Low Man, where the real difficulties begin. - -The route at first bears away to the west up some slabs, and then -returns around a corner to a good ledge several yards long, whereon -stands a prominent cairn. Anchorage is available at this point. The -ledge is traversed to its extreme easterly end, and, after rounding -a projecting rock, an ascent of about 10 feet allows a V -shaped recess to be gained. This has been called ‘Le Coin.’ Above -this important stance there are three distinct ledges to be gained. -The first of these entails about 15 feet of difficult ascent from -‘Le Coin’; probably the best way lies up the right wall. The first -ledge possesses a sound belay, and the second is recognizable by a -larger belay, which is cracked, but safe at present. A party of three -might foregather here. An ascent of quite 35 feet then leads to a -‘triangular’ ledge, possessing practically no dependable belay. The key -to further progress here is the negotiation of a sensational stride -around a corner to the left and thus into an open, exposed chimney -nearly 50 feet high. Above this there is a difficult and risky traverse -back to the right, mostly on a small, grassy ledge. A broad recess -slightly higher soon gives ample resting space. From the second ledge -above ‘Le Coin,’ whereon stands the ‘cracked belay,’ to this point -entails a lead out for the first man of about 90 feet. The difficulty -and danger of this section will undoubtedly militate against the -North-West Climb ever becoming ‘an easy day for a lady.’ The ascent to -the crest of the Low Man is made up a conspicuous cleft, Oppenheimer’s -chimney, which is reached after crossing some broken rocks to the -right. Two projecting chock-stones facilitate the ascent. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -“OVER THE NOSE”--THE PILLAR ROCK] - -THE HIGH MAN FROM ABOVE THE NOSE ON THE NORTH CLIMB.--This -ascent can be made in several different ways, some of which were made -in the earlier days, but, like many variations on the Pillar Rock, -never recorded by the pioneers. Yet Stony Gully, which gives the -usual route from the Nose up to the Low Man, is best avoided should -the climbers find themselves ‘under fire’ from another party who have -thoughtlessly gone on in advance. There have been several narrow -escapes from falling stones hereabouts. At such times knowledge of the -alternative ways up the High Man may be useful. After surmounting the -Nose, Stony Gully should be crossed and left immediately. Easy grass -and rock ledges then afford rapid upward progress to be made to the -base of the steep rocks of the High Man. All the way up the sharp, -rocky, north-east arête of the peak is conspicuous overhead, and the -point to aim for is a deeply cut chimney somewhat to the left of a line -directly below the summit of the arête. This chimney was climbed some -years ago; its recesses are narrow and steep below, but higher up there -is a broad ledge on the right, whence the pull over the dominating -chock-stone can be taken. The climber emerges on the great, sloping -slabs which slant down the upper right-hand wall of the Great Chimney. -They are an unmistakable feature in the view of the east side of the -rock from the Shamrock. The slabs may be crossed more easily than -their appearance would indicate, and thus the usual upper section of -the Great Chimney entered on a level with the ledge leading around and -below the Notch. - -On the other hand, these slabs can be avoided by climbing upwards to -the right to a broad ledge and then around the prominent perpendicular -nose of the High Man to join the easy, ordinary route from the Low -Man. There is yet another way to the top of the Rock, which was used -by Mr. Botterill’s party in 1909. This runs almost directly up the -nose of the High Man from the broad ledge previously mentioned. The -place is steep and sensational enough to warn off novices, but the -rock is firm and yields sufficient hand and footholds, though these -are awkwardly spaced. The same party reached this nose from below by -climbing up the outer right-hand wall of the chimney first mentioned. -This is probably the easier of the two routes, for the rock is deeply -split into convenient clefts for hands and feet. Incidentally it might -be mentioned that those ascending the Rock by the Old Wall Route, from -near the top of Walker’s Gully, pass below these more difficult climbs -and take a slanting course up to a small square-looking chimney, above -which the usual way from the Low Man is gained. This was one of the -earliest ways up the Pillar Rock, and the ascent involves less real -hand and footwork than any other route. - -THE CURTAIN AND ARÊTE.--This forms the left-hand wall of the -Great Chimney, and may be climbed from bottom to top. At the beginning -there is a variation which slants up to the crest of the Curtain -from a point a few feet below the beginning of the fine pitch in the -Great Chimney. A still more interesting method of attack lies up an -unmistakable cleft behind a huge detached obelisk on the south or -left-hand side of the Curtain. Above the cleft a narrow crack affords -a very pleasing exit. Once on the crest of the Curtain the work is -straightforward, the ordinary tracks from the east side being crossed -_en route_. The final stretch of the arête, which lands the climber on -the top of the rock, involves some exhilarating arm-swings on capacious -holds. - -THE WEST JORDAN CRACK and the FAR WEST JORDAN CLIMB were -discovered in 1909 by Messrs. H. B. Gibson and W. B. Brunskill. A -poised block, which stands a few feet west of the foot of the old West -Jordan Climb, marks the base of operations. From this the ‘Crack’ route -slants upwards to the left over the top of a steep slab to a diminutive -ledge at the foot of a vertical corner, up which rises a narrow crack. -The ascent of this 20 foot corner is the crux of the climb; above it -the summit cairn is only a few feet away. The Far West Jordan Climb is -somewhat the easier of the two problems. From above the poised block -previously mentioned, the route diverges at once to the left, and, -after crossing a grass-floored depression, it makes for a detached -spike, about 5 feet high, close to the left sky-line. This affords good -anchorage for the second climber whilst the leader tackles the ensuing -somewhat exposed section from the top of the detached spike. This -consists of a passage up a crack to the right of an overhanging block. -Above this a fine arête is gained which leads to the summit. - -THE WEST RIDGE OF PISGAH.--The Pisgah problems have never been -considered seriously by climbers, but this longer course up the whole -length of the west side of the prominent little peak is worthy of -passing mention. The route shows to advantage on the line drawing of -the west side of the Pillar Rock. At the point of divergence, about 45 -feet above the screes, the left-hand way is the easier of the two; it -regains the direct route by way of a detached rock-pinnacle. - -WALKER’S GULLY.--Since it almost seems customary nowadays -to become benighted in this magnificent gorge, a few notes may be -given as to altered conditions. Those who pay their first visit to -this exceptionally severe course would be well advised to avoid the -‘watery’ first pitch on the left. If abnormally dry it may be overcome -direct, but this probably involves more severe climbing than anything -encountered in the higher main bed of the gully. The best course for -those who wish to add this initial pitch to their laurels is to start -up the buttress a few feet to the right of its foot. About 30 feet -higher a grass ledge is reached, where a short traverse can be made to -the left, and then the way lies up a narrow sloping scoop for nearly 25 -feet. At the top of this the holds are rather deficient, but it is soon -possible to step across on to the upper part of the big chimney and -thence struggle up directly over the capstone. - -The great cave below the mass of tumbled boulders in the upper part of -the gully has recently given serious pause to at least two parties of -experts. The hole at the back of the cave is blocked by fallen rocks, -and considerable difficulty has been encountered in making the upward -way on the exposed outside edge of the jammed boulders. It may be -mentioned that the blocking of this hole is probably only temporary; it -has occurred before, and been removed by wary experts. During the first -ascent the hole required considerable enlargement. - -The fact that the final obstacle can be overcome by first climbing -up the right wall until the left wall can be reached to assume a -backing-up attitude would seem to be unknown to many parties. Even -a moderately short man can utilise this method. Failure to realize -this has resulted in more than one party spending a night in the damp -recesses of the gully. Yet they would probably find the magnificent -scenery ample reward for the discomfort involved. The great black walls -of the gorge loom gloomily on either hand. To watch the moon’s rays -casting a pervasive gleam athwart the distant peaks is indescribably -beautiful. But this is only ‘moonshine,’ especially to those who have -watched and waited. - -THE SHAMROCK.--The climber who emerges safely from Walker’s -Gully may be glad to know that there is a pleasant scramble thence -to the lower peak of the Shamrock. This acts as a welcome muscular -sedative after the previously severe exercise in the gully. Just to -the left of the top of the great upper pitch a crack will be noticed -slanting to the left up the wall of the Shamrock. This yields about 30 -feet of ascent, and then, turning to the right, the climber mounts, -first on clean rocks, and later over grass-crowned ledges, to the -summit. After a short descent across the head of the Shamrock Gully, it -is possible to mount the opposite wall and emerge quite close to the -cairns which mark the downward path by the Shamrock Traverse. - -THE SHAMROCK BUTTRESS, by the original route, affords a pleasant -excursion in winter time, when the gully and greater climbs close -at hand are scarcely approachable. The course starts up a small but -well-defined gully a few yards to the right of the wide entrance to -the Shamrock Gully. It continues straight up the Buttress, until a -high slice of smooth rock suggests a slight descent and traverse to -the right to the foot of an obvious chimney pitch with prominent -chock-stones. Above this another short pitch gives the approach to the -foot of a steep rib of rock which is crowned by a loosely wedged stone. -The easy bed of the Shamrock Chimney is now entered and followed beyond -the short, final pitch which, except under snowy conditions, possesses -a ‘through route.’ To avoid this pitch an interesting variation can -be made up the steep crack on the right-hand wall, from the summit of -which there is a short traverse to the left to the foot of the usual -arête finish of the Shamrock Chimneys Climb. Curiously enough this -latter course is seldom visited nowadays, yet it is by far the finest -expedition on the Shamrock. - -In 1909 a party led by Mr. H. B. Gibson made a variation on the -Shamrock Gully side of the buttress in its upper part. After ascending -a 25 foot slab and some easier rocks, they entered the gully above -the great pitch. From a pile of loose boulders, since swept away, -they continued up the right wall of the gully, bearing at first to -the right, and finished at the top of the original Shamrock Buttress -course. An extensive fall of rock has taken place on this final -stage of the climb; the place is now decidedly unsafe, and should -be avoided. It might be noted that the falling masses and previous -natural weathering have altered the structure of the great pitch of the -Shamrock Gully. The left-hand route may now be considered the easier of -the two ways of overcoming the obstacle. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -_NEW CLIMBS ON GREAT GABLE, SCAWFELL, AND AROUND WASTDALE HEAD_ - - -THE ABBEY RIDGE ranks as the best discovery on Great Gable since -the ascent of the Ling Chimney in 1899. In the present work (p. 158) -there is a reference to the rocks to the left of the ordinary West -Chimney route up the Eagle’s Nest Ridge. This attracted the attention -of Messrs. F. Botterill and J. Hazard with a happy result--the -annexation of a new climb. This was in the April of 1909. - -The lower part of the new ridge is well defined, but above the broad -ledge, almost on a level with the exit from the ordinary West Chimney, -several routes are available. This section was climbed many years ago -on more than one occasion, notably when the deep, black chimney on the -west side of the ridge was visited. This fine cleft is well seen from -the Arrowhead Ridge, rising above the big boulder pitch in the Eagle’s -Nest Gully. The ascent is not difficult. - -The latter remark scarcely applies to the new portion of the Abbey -Ridge, especially if the direct ascent of the _mauvais pas_ be made. -A long ‘run out’ for the leader at this point warrants the warning -that the lofty sanctuary of the Abbey is only for the expert who is -in perfect training. The climb begins easily, either at the very -bottom of the ridge or by joining it at a point almost on a level with -the beginning of the Eagle’s Nest Ridge. The ascent to the top of a -conspicuous detached mass begins to suggest difficulty. But the real -work starts directly above this, in gaining a narrow grassy ledge which -stretches across the face for several feet. From the extreme left -of this ledge the way lies up the arête until a steep, grassy gully -slightly more to the left affords a finish to the upper ledge on a -level with the top of the Eagle’s Nest Chimney. This is the easier of -the two exits. The direct route bears away to the right below the steep -and grassy gully until an overhanging block rises above the climber. -It is important to make sure of this position, as the rocks are now -very well scratched. The key to the situation is a good hold for both -hands right under the overhanging block. Progress beyond this crucial -point is scarcely safe unless this grip is secured, but once above this -‘step’ the rest is comparatively safe and easy. The rock throughout is -of the usual Gable quality. - -Two other small variations on the Napes may be mentioned in passing. -In the autumn of 1910 Messrs. H. R. Pope and E. T. W. Addyman found an -interesting problem on the right wall of the ordinary West Chimney on -the Eagle’s Nest Ridge. From the big belay half-way up this cleft it -is possible to traverse out to the right on to a steep rock face which -forms the left-hand wall of the Ling Chimney. This wall can be climbed -to the top on ledges which lead across to the right-hand edge and then -back to the left again. The finish can be taken directly upwards. - -It is scarcely advisable to say that anything new can be found on the -Needle Ridge. However, Messrs. A. G. Woodhead and J. Laycock have -accentuated the fact that this much-trodden ridge can be climbed -straight up from the lowest point. The last 15 feet before the old -route is gained require skilful treatment. - -Numerous small and unimportant variations on the ever-attractive -Needle have been made. Records of personal gymnastics are best omitted -here, though the best of all may be mentioned--that of the beginner, -who ‘climbed’ the top stone by a really new method. This enthusiast -assumed a position of repose on the mantelshelf, and for half-an-hour -pored over the view over the edge and down the impressive scree slopes -of Gable. At last the patience of the lusty leader on the top became -exhausted. Though the novice hung on with his hands, he ‘had to come,’ -which he did feet first. - -The attractions of the Ennerdale Face of Great Gable have been -increased by the discovery of a splendid course by Dr. J. S. Sloane -and Messrs. M. Gimson, A. J. Gimson, and J. E. Henderson in the -April of 1909. They appropriately suggested that the rift might be -called the SMUGGLER’S CHIMNEY, and this name has been adopted. -The hand and footwork starts about 100 feet west of the foot of the -Central Gully, with about 20 feet of ascent of steep rock. The chimney -proper, which is vertical and about 85 feet in height, now begins. It -is in three stages, and the first part gives 35 feet of engrossing -climbing before a cave is entered. The hardest part of the climb occurs -where there is an undercut bulge of rock about 10 feet below this -resting-place. At this point it is probably best to forsake the back -and foot method and allow the arms and knees to do most of the work. -The second section of the chimney above the Cave consists of a narrow, -vertical, deeply-cut crack which bears some resemblance to the Monolith -Crack in North Wales. This stretch--though squeeze might be the better -word--is 25 feet in height. The final pitch is almost the same height, -but its extra width will prove gratifying to stout climbers despite -the somewhat constricting final wriggle afforded by the hole of the -‘through route.’ Easy, grassy ground is now encountered, which leads -past the ‘Smuggler’s Retreat,’ and thus to the crest of the crags. - -In the September of 1908 Messrs. G. H. L. Mallory and G. L. Keynes -found two ‘little climbs’ on the Ennerdale Face to the left of the -Bottle-shaped Pinnacle Ridge. They can be reached from the Scree -Gully--marked B on the line drawing--by traversing upwards from the -fork towards a large overhanging crag. This is a prominent feature -of this side of Gable Crag. The new climbs are claimed to be the -nearest routes which can be found to the left and to the right of -the overhanging crag. Cairns mark the start of each course, that to -the left being the easier of the two, and giving about 150 feet of -climbing. On the right a steep crack affords for the most part the -means of ascent. The difficulty is concentrated in the first 80 feet. -Where the crack becomes easier and wider higher up, it is probably -better to end the climb by traversing on to the right buttress. - -A few other minor points of interest on the Ennerdale Face may be -worth mention. For instance, Messrs. H. V. Reade and G. Arbuthnot have -shown that the vertical crack rising from near the foot of the Oblique -Chimney to the gap behind the Bottle-shaped Pinnacle may be climbed, -but not without difficulty. The disappearance of the much discussed -‘rocking-rock’ in the Engineers’ Chimney has not made the ascent any -easier; in fact, the relative difficulty of this section remains about -the same. - -In misty weather the foot of the Central Gully was often difficult -to locate, even though the climber happened to be sitting at it. -Recognition is now a simple matter, for a huge boulder has fallen -and bridged the foot of the gorge most picturesquely. Other slight -alterations have also occurred in the bed of the gully. For instance, -more holds have developed on the steep crack in the middle part of -the gully, where the usual easy route slants up to the left to the -Staircase Pitch. The ascent of this crack is now frequently made. -For those who do not essay the ‘Direct Finish’ there is a steep but -not difficult crack just to the left of the great nose of rock which -so boldly divides the upper part of the Central Gully. The ordinary -route is still further to the left, but there are variations galore -hereabouts. - -’Tis a far cry from Wastdale to the head of MOSEDALE to find an -outcrop of wet slabs less than 200 feet high. Yet several parties of -enthusiasts have developed the art of finding diminutive new climbs in -remote corners. There are two main rifts splitting the Mosedale Rocks. -These are known as the East and the West Cracks. The former is the more -difficult of the two; in fact, the pitch near the top would seem to -require the use of a lowered rope from some friends above if the ascent -is to be made safely. It has not yet been climbed without this aid. At -least two routes have also been found directly on the face between the -two cracks, and two smaller rifts to the right of the East Crack have -been added to the list of conquests. All are well marked and easier -to find than to climb, for the experts of the Fell and Rock-Climbing -Club, usually under the skilled leadership of Mr. H. B. Lyon, have -specialised on the Mosedale Rocks. - -GREAT END. THE BROTHERS’ CRACK.--Glorious as is Great End in the -winter time, it has never appealed largely to the rock-climber pure and -simple. But these latter will be entertained excellently if they join -the brotherhood of the new crack, which owes its exploitation to those -well-known judges of a sound climb, Mr. G. F. and Rev. A. J. Woodhouse. -The crack rises about 60 feet to the north of the well-known Brigg’s -Cave Pitch on the east end of the crags. The actual crack itself is -nearly as high as that on Kern Knotts. It is situated in a corner, and -rises vertically from a large grass ledge. This take-off is reached -by ordinary scrambling, though the final landing is made by means of -a short crack. The real climbing up the main crack, which is here too -narrow to admit one’s body, begins with a slabby section in two parts, -in all about 20 feet high. The crack now widens, and is available for -wedging purposes. After a short stretch of ‘back and knee’ the most -difficult portion is reached, and for this the leader would be well -advised to thread the rope behind a jammed stone. The final obstacle -possesses an overhanging chock-stone, but good ledges on the left wall -simplify the finish. The climb is undoubtedly severe, for the leader -can nowhere receive any help from his companion. - -SCAWFELL.--Of late years but little new climbing of any -magnitude has been done on Scawfell. This is no doubt entirely due -to the fact that in the early days Scawfell was the most attractive -and most exploited of all the Lakeland crags. The present decade has -produced first-rate climbers to an unlimited extent, but their best -efforts have been restricted by the rocks themselves, and, where these -have been forced to yield climbs, what they have given us are in many -cases just beyond the line of safety, even for the best parties. -Another effect of this strenuous search after new routes has been the -discovery of many variations, and some of these are worth description, -although necessarily brief, in a work like the present. - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE CLIMB DIRECT FROM UPPER DEEP GHYLL.--The start -of this climb is described by Mr. Jones on p. 88. After the first 15 -feet or so he traversed away to the left on to the arête of the Low Man. - -Messrs. A. G. Woodhead and W. L. Collinson climbed this lower -difficulty in August 1907, after which they bore straight upward over -shelving and fairly difficult ledges for a hundred feet or so, until -impending rocks forced them away to the left. When almost in a line -with the top of the Pinnacle they struck straight upward from a broad -platform (where a cairn now stands) over a bulge of rock, necessitating -a good arm pull, until a belay was reached. Thence a grassy gully led -them without difficulty to the top of the High Man. The climb is -one of much merit, and deserves more popularity than it enjoys. The -exceedingly difficult start may have acted as a deterrent, but it may -be an encouragement to leaders to know that once they have overcome -this _mauvais pas_ the higher rocks contain climbing of a much easier -order. - -SCAWFELL PINNACLE FROM DEEP GHYLL, VARIATIONS.--A somewhat -easier way of reaching the Low Man from the _firma loca_ (p. 81) than -that of the arête followed in the first ascent, was found and climbed -by Mr. A. H. Binns alone in August 1904. This is now called Gibson’s -Chimney route, after Mr. H. O. S. Gibson, who repeated the ascent in -June 1907, and left a lucid description of it in the Wastdale Climbers’ -Book. - -From the _firma loca_ a traverse is made in the direction of the arête -until a crack sloping up to the right is reached. This is followed for -about 15 feet, and the upper reaches of the chimney described by Mr. -Jones as ‘hopeless’ (p. 82) soon attained. Here a leaf of rock, with -good holds on its edge, affords moderately difficult and strenuous -climbing for 30 feet until the chimney becomes impossible. It is then -abandoned to the left, along a traverse which leads past a good belay -to the arête. The first step upward on this gives a pretty problem in -an exposed position. The holds are small but good until the vertical -piece is scaled. Thence the going is comparatively easy to the crest of -the Low Man. Other variations have been found from the _firma loca_, -but, while some of these many prove useful to a leader unable to follow -Mr. Jones’ route, the original climb is by far the most entertaining -for strong parties. - -A good belay about 40 feet up the lower crack has dispelled many of its -terrors, and now renders the long initial run out on the part of the -leader quite unnecessary. - -DEEP GHYLL, SECOND PITCH.--It is of interest--a melancholy -interest perhaps--to know that it is no longer necessary to climb up -the left or right side of this famous pitch in the historic manner, and -that an inglorious ascent can now be made through a hole at the back -of the cave. Stones drop straight down this hole from the Ghyll above, -perhaps as a hint to climbers to play the game in the old-fashioned way! - -MOSS GHYLL, UPPER VARIATION.--This starts some 20 feet to the -right of the foot of the Great Chimney. A few feet up the face a -crack is reached, and this can be followed to a small cairn. Here a -choice of routes offers, one back to the top of the Great Chimney, and -the alternative one to the Pisgah Ridge. A strong party led by Mr. -F. Botterill first proved the possibilities of this variation, and -described it as slightly more difficult than the direct exit up the -chimney. - -MR. BOTTERILL’S CLIMBS.--The long sloping cracks, the upper -parts of which were followed in the Collier’s and Keswick Brothers’ -climbs, were ascended in their entirety at Whitsuntide 1903 by Messrs. -F. Botterill, H. Williamson, and E. Grant. - -The crack nearest Mickledore Ridge is difficult throughout, and -is, moreover, somewhat earthy and friable; there is no record of a -repetition of its ascent. The companion crack was the scene of a -remarkable _tour de force_. Mr. Botterill’s account of his exploit,[2] -and the warning note sounded by a party of great skill and experience -which unsuccessfully essayed the second ascent, will probably acquaint -climbers with sufficient details to cause them to take the climb itself -‘as read.’ It is in a class apart, and, basing our judgment on a survey -made on a rope from above, we do not recommend it. - -After a lapse of nearly twenty years, and repeated onslaughts by many -parties, PIERS’ GHYLL was ascended throughout for the second -time in September 1910. Mr. H. R. Pope, admirably backed up by Mr. -R. B. Sanderson, succeeded in leading a large party up the various -wet and friable pitches that go to make the climb. From a vivid -description, written by Mr. Sanderson in the current number of the Fell -and Rock Club _Journal_, we gather that, in spite of the constantly -falling rocks in the Ghyll, the narrow pitch below the Bridge Rock is -practically unaltered, and is still the greatest difficulty. It is -necessary to stand immediately below the waterfall in order to work up -a shallow, almost holdless groove. This is very steep; the rocks are, -of course, wet and slippery; added to these is the uncertain nature -and paucity of the holds--altogether a combination of difficulty, -disagreeableness, and danger that most parties will care to court but -very seldom. - -During the same holiday Messrs. Pope and Madan climbed from Tennis -Court Ledge to the Fives Court on Pisgah Buttress by traversing from -the right-hand end of the Ledge for a short distance. Thence they -climbed directly up a steep rock-face for 15 feet or so to the Fives -Court, a somewhat easier but much more exposed route than that up the -crack utilised in the first ascent. - -Other variations of a minor character have been made on many of the -older climbs; indeed so thoroughly has the face been scoured, that it -would be a very rash man who would nowadays come down to the Wastwater -Hotel and say that he had made a new route up Scawfell. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -_THE BUTTERMERE CLIMBS, AND THOSE IN OUTLYING DISTRICTS_ - - -For strong and experienced parties of climbers, with a penchant -for boating, fishing, and long mountain tramps on the ‘off days,’ -Buttermere is well-nigh ideal. Moreover, the _blasé_ ‘Wastdale Header’ -will find amongst the fine corrie-like combes of High Crag and High -Stile, and above the great hollow of Warnscale, climbs of an entirely -different nature from most of the nail-scratched, polished courses -of his former haunts. Many of the Buttermere climbs are still to -all intents and purposes virgin ascents. The rock of which they are -formed does not take nail-marks so readily, and the blatant, scratched -foothold, which positively shouts at one ‘here am I!’ is as yet an -alien in these parts. The texture of the gullies is very different; it -is always necessary to be on the alert for unsteady chock-stones; every -hold needs testing; in fine, care and experience are essential to safe -ascents. - -Mr. L. J. Oppenheimer, in his book ‘The Heart of Lakeland,’ has made -out a strong case for the claims of Buttermere as a centre for the more -historic climbs, and justly says that ‘after Wastdale Head--though no -doubt a long way after--it is one of the best centres in Lakeland.’ The -Buttermere Hotel is in every way a most excellent house, and to those -whose leaning is towards a simple life the farmhouses in the valley -are second to none. So much granted, it is perhaps as well to review -the work that has been done here, chiefly, it may be stated, by Mr. -Oppenheimer and his friends and brethren of the Rücksack Club. - -THE GULLIES OF WARNSCALE.--When standing in the huge, green -hollow at the edge of Buttermere, one has on the north the great -face of Fleetwith, with a long prominent gully almost in the -centre--Fleetwith Gully. A point of the compass further round is a -bulging outcrop of rock, a prominent feature in all the photographs of -the Head of Buttermere. This is Green Crag, and up its left-hand side -runs Green Crag Gully, reminiscent of the late J. W. Robinson, who, -with Mr. W. A. Wilson, made its first ascent in 1899. To the right of -this, and on the Crag itself, is an unmistakable black rift, which is -now known as Toreador Gully. Further round still, and facing Fleetwith, -is the well-known Haystacks Mountain. Well to the left of the striking -cones which have given the mountain its name is a steep rock-face -seamed by three vertical rifts, one of which forks into two branches -about a third of the way up the Crags--the Y Gully. The middle rift is -Warn Gill, an ‘exceptionally severe course,’ whilst the one to the -right is Stack Ghyll, probably the best and most useful climb in the -valley. - -FLEETWITH GULLY is somewhat disappointing on close acquaintance. -There are at least six pitches, but only two have any claim to -individuality. These are generally moist, and are scarcely ever -climbed, because they can easily be avoided on either side. Vegetation, -water, and loose stones are the impressive features of the gully. - -GREEN CRAG GULLY suffers from a drawback common to some others -of the Buttermere climbs--in all but the driest weather a very -considerable stream of water tumbles down it. As a climb it is somewhat -disappointing, but the first pitch, a fine vertical rise of about 70 -feet, is quite entertaining. Above this the going lacks character -and is comparatively easy, although care is needed on account of the -quickly disintegrating rock. Of a very different character is its -companion climb, TOREADOR GULLY. After some exploration work, -during which a dangerous huge block was dislodged, a party of Fell and -Rock Club Members, led by Mr. H. B. Lyon, subsequently made its ascent -in August 1908. - -After a somewhat difficult start, the gully eases off and seductively -leads the climber upward to an 80-foot wet chimney, which is the crux -of the climb. The walls are set at a convenient distance apart for -‘backing up,’ and for a while all goes well. However, just when the -leader, who has worked upwards with his feet on the right wall and -back on the left, is beginning to feel fatigued and in need of a rest, -the difficulties increase, and it becomes necessary to transfer the -body across and face the opposite wall. Of anchorage there is none, -but the second man can back up to below the leader, and, firmly braced -across the chimney, can at least support him by the encouragement -of his proximity; whether he could hold his companion in the event -of a slip is somewhat doubtful. By most careful balancing, and an -exceedingly anxious time for the second man, the leader can effect a -lodgment facing the left wall, whence, with great difficulty, he can -work over the crest of the pitch. - -Above this are two obstacles of a comparatively mild nature. There is -no record of a second ascent, although we understand that this climb is -quite justifiable for a really strong party. - -The three remaining gullies above Warnscale Bottom are those on the -Haystacks, to which we have already made reference. Of these, the -left-hand or Y Gully can be summarily dismissed as containing too -much loose and dangerous rock. The next cleft to the right, WARN -GILL, suffers somewhat from the same fault, and, moreover, is -generally wet. It was reserved by Messrs. Oppenheimer, Scott, and Shaw -as a _bonne bouche_ for Mr. F. Botterill to lead up, and, as the former -naïvely remarks, ‘it proved rather more than difficult enough.’ After -climbing six excellent pitches, one of which, a long chimney raked -by a waterfall, proved to be abnormally severe, they were forced to -abandon their project when about 40 feet below the top of the gully. -A way of escape was found about 60 feet lower down on the right-hand -side. This lay up a steep rock and heather buttress leading to a -small chimney which took them to the top of the crags. The climbing -throughout is of great difficulty, quite apart from the instability -of some of the holds, and there is no doubt that this was a failure -far surpassing in achievement many a climb which has been brought to a -successful issue. It is perhaps well to note in passing that the name -is a corruption of Warnscale Gill, and was not given with any idea of -deterring subsequent parties. - -STACK GHYLL, the next rift to the right, is a very different -proposition. From below it looks most alluring. Peeping over the top -of the ‘capstone’ of the first pitch is such a succession of chimneys -as is bound to arouse the keenest feelings of pleasurable anticipation -in a climber’s breast. One can well sympathise with the tantalising -way in which this comparatively short, first pitch repelled all the -earlier efforts to overcome it. All kinds of theories were evolved, but -all were proved fallacious by the smooth, overhanging chock-stone. It -seemed to be quite impregnable until, after repeated efforts, a small -hole was found on the right of the stone. This ultimately proved to be -the key to the pitch, and, as was but a just reward for many previous -disappointments, Messrs. Oppenheimer and Craig succeeded in passing -an ice-axe through the hole, and, by using the shaft as a handhold, -emerged successful. A short time previous to this the pitch had been -turned on the right, up some grassy ledges, and the gully entered -fairly high up, whence it was followed to the top. - -The going immediately above the first pitch is fairly easy, and leads -by way of a narrow chimney, liberally supplied with chock-stones, to -a small scree patch. Immediately beyond is a pretty 40-foot chimney, -amenable to back and knee methods, which gives out on broken rocks. -Above this an outcrop of rock bars the way, and after passing this on -the left, one is soon confronted by the last obstacle. - -The gully is here spanned by an unbroken wall of rock except in the -right-hand corner, where is a fine cave, overhung by a huge block. -This is too high to reach, but off a sturdy shoulder a handhold can -be grasped on the right. A trying drag up, chiefly on the arms, then -enables the leader to effect a lodgment above the pitch, in readiness -for the others, who will derive much strenuous exercise unless they -pocket their pride and accept a tug from the rope--an excellent gully -and, if climbed during dry weather, but little inferior to the best in -Lakeland. - -THE BIRKNESS COMBE CLIMBS.--The wild upland hollow dividing -High Stile from High Crag contains one of the many Eagle Crags of -Lakeland. This is the finest rock around Buttermere, and recalls very -strongly in shape, height, and general contour the famous Cyrn Lâs -buttress of Snowdonia. The rock of this Eagle Crag is of a much better -type, however, from the climber’s point of view, and the fine climb, -BIRKNESS CHIMNEY, made in August 1903 by Mr. L. J. Oppenheimer -and Dr. Norman Sheldon, is much superior to anything on Cyrn Lâs. - -A good climb also is that up the prominent black rift which faces High -Crag. This is known as BIRKNESS GULLY, and it affords about a -couple of hundred feet of climbing, the upper part of which is fairly -difficult. The initial stages are quite simple, and the interest is not -fairly aroused until, high up, a huge cave, roofed in by huge boulders, -is reached. About 15 feet below the dominating boulder is a huge, -wedged rock which bridges the gully; the climb on to this behind sundry -smaller jammed stones is very pretty. It is well for the second man -to pass the leader when on a level with the main bridge and traverse -outwards on to it. He can then climb up to a higher cave immediately -below the great capstone and belay the rope. The leader then comes out -to the bridge and scales the vertical right wall immediately above it. -The holds are small but sufficient, and the proceeding is rendered -safe by the rope held by the second man. Above this nothing remains -save a descent to the foot of the Gully, with a view to an assault -upon BIRKNESS CHIMNEY. This is a climb of great severity, and, -but for the possibility of threading the rope to belay the leader at -the worst part, might be dismissed as unjustifiable. As things are, -however, a strong--one should perhaps say a _very_ strong--party will -find great sport and a reasonable immunity from risk. The Chimney -proper branches from the Gully described, at a point just below the -serious climbing in the latter. It is entered by way of a steep, grassy -corner, dominated by a chimney, generally moist, of about 20 feet in -height. - -The next pitch, a chimney, is rather more so than that passed, both as -regards height and moisture. It can be obviated by the rocks on either -hand, however. Above it is a steep wall of rock surmounted by a crack. -The wall can be climbed direct or by way of a chimney on the left, -either of which routes is interesting, but not as stiff as the crack -above. Beyond this is the difficult pitch. High up, a huge mass of rock -protruding from the right wall breaks the continuity of the chimney -and forms a cave. Away outwards, at about the level of the cave, is a -shallow groove with no bottom; the difficulty is to get into this. And -a very serious difficulty it is. Fortunately a small stone is tightly -jammed inside the cave, and the leader’s rope can be passed behind -it. He then traverses outward, aided somewhat by his second, and -after a long stretch upward, in a most awkward position, a handhold is -reached. Then occurs a most strenuous arm pull, with the feet dangling -helplessly, or vainly seeking support on the smooth rock-wall. Elbows, -arms, and shoulders are simultaneously requisitioned ere a hold for the -feet can be found in the groove. Once this is gained, however, the work -is easier until the top chock-stone is reached. This demands another -effort, and the pitch is vanquished. - -Dr. Sheldon, who led the first ascent, was much impressed by its -difficulty, and likened it to the top pitch of Walker’s Gully, which he -had climbed a short time previously. There remain two more obstacles -before the steep wall at the top is reached, neither of which call for -special comment. Near the angle of Eagle Crag there is a long straight -Gully which so far has not been climbed in its entirety. It repelled a -party of exceptional strength some years ago, after an assault upon it -lasting for seven hours. - -BLEABERRY COMBE, carved out of the breast of High Stile, -contains the small tarn whence issues Sour Milk Ghyll, beloved of the -Buttermere day excursionist. - -As he stands at the door of Buttermere Hotel and gazes upward at -the crags above the water slide, a fine rift is open to his view. -This, which by the way can also be seen from near Keswick, was the -first climb made on the Bleaberry Combe Crags. It is the BLACK -CHIMNEY, and was first climbed by the late O. G. Jones and J. W. -Robinson (what a lot we Lakeland climbers owe to those two!) in the -early days of their acquaintance. - -In spite of its promising appearance it contains but two pitches, both -of which are fairly simple. Further along the crag to the right, and -hidden from sight of the hotel, is the CENTRAL GULLY. This lacks -continuity throughout the greater part of its length, but possesses -two pitches of considerable difficulty. Further round still is a long -narrow chimney. At present it is known as Bleaberry Chimney, but we -would suggest OPPENHEIMER’S CHIMNEY as a more appropriate -name, for Mr. Oppenheimer was in the large party that first climbed -it in 1908, and the fraternity will welcome this permanent means of -identifying him with the fine work he has done in its vicinity. To -quote his own words, ‘the chimney is the longest and most enjoyable -climb on these crags.’ - -Two long, easy gullies on the north-west side of Grassmoor, suitable -for beginners, and another on Dale Head facing Honister, complete the -tale of the Buttermere climbs, which, as the famous courses around -Wastdale become more familiar, are sure to attract more attention in -the future, and deservedly so, than they have done in the past. - -It cannot at present be said that the outlying climbs of the Lake -District receive much attention, thus few of them are kept in -a good state of repair. Perhaps the Borrowdale courses are most -visited, notably Sergeant Crag Chimney and Mouse Ghyll. Considerable -alterations have taken place in the former course since Mr. Jones’ -days. The difficult central pitch, or, rather, the upper part of it, -has partially collapsed. Though the ascent is much simplified, the -place needs respectful treatment. At least one leader has fallen here -quite recently. There is one Borrowdale climb which seems practically -deserted. This is BLACK CRAG GULLY. This fine, narrow rift -splits the face of the cliff at the easterly head of Troutdale, and -looks very striking when seen across the Borrowdale Valley from Mouse -Ghyll. Unfortunately there is a loose section almost half-way up which -would prevent the ascent from being recommended except to advanced -experts. The two pitches below this danger zone are quite good. The -ensuing pitch, about 30 feet high, is singularly smooth, and few -sound holds are available. The fall of a well-known leader not very -long ago tested the strength of an alpine rope here. Luckily it was -belayed around a tree, and, though in the hands of a beginner, it held -securely, despite a fall of over 20 feet. Even trees on a climb may -be sometimes useful. Above this dangerous portion the climb is most -enjoyable, and unique for the lake views it affords. - -In the early days parties of keen campers and scramblers frequented -the beautiful dales around the head of ULLSWATER. But nowadays, -after everything has been explored thoroughly, it cannot be said that -there is much in the vicinity to attract cragsmen. On Helvellyn, St. -Sunday’s Crag, and Fairfield there is plenty of indefinite scrambling -to be found, but this is never continuously good, rather the reverse. -Despite its huge bulk Helvellyn possesses few rocks that favour the -climber. Dolly Waggon Pike, at the head of Grisedale, is the best of -all. It contains two gullies which may be reached from Patterdale in -about an hour and a half, or from the top of Dunmail Raise on the -Grasmere side in less than an hour’s time. In these days of motor -mountaineering this fact is worth remembering. The best-known course, -DOLLY WAGGON PIKE GULLY, lies rather towards the westerly end of -the crag, and rises, narrow and steep, just to the right of a series -of big scree gullies which unite and send a conspicuous talus of scree -down the mountain side. Some short introductory scrambling leads to -the real climbing, where an almost vertical crack rises on the left in -the true bed of the gully. A shallow scoop on the right gives the best -route for about 15 feet, when it may be advisable to traverse back to -the left into the crack above the steepest part. This is now followed -by a patch of scree above a series of slabs, and short boulder pitches -lead to the final chimney, which rises slightly on the left. About 300 -feet east of this somewhat easy course there is a much more imposing -opening in the crags. This was noticed many years ago by the pioneers, -notably by the late Tom Westmorland, whose name all climbers remember -with respect in connection with the early days on the Pillar Rock, and -the building of the Westmorland cairn or Great Gable. The great rift -in Dolly Waggon Pike, though often attempted, was not climbed in its -entirety direct until so recently as 1910. Strange to tell, it fell to -the lot of the pioneer’s son, Mr. Horace Westmorland, to lead the first -party. His companion was Mr. John Mounsey. Their friends have named the -place the PENRITH GULLY. - -There are four difficult pitches in the gully, three of them being of -the cave and jammed-boulder variety. Unfortunately a grassy terrace -divides the lower pitches from the upper portion, making it easy to -leave the gully above the second pitch. This somewhat spoils the -continuity of the climb. The first pitch is not difficult, and may be -passed directly over the chock-stone after first backing up on the -left. The second obstacle is more trying. The best plan is to ‘back -up’ as far as the recess under the capstone, and with the second man -in this secure resting-place the leader may negotiate the awkward exit -over the boulder on its right-hand side. The third or ‘Great Pitch’ -starts from above the intervening ledge. Eighty feet higher a huge -boulder has become jammed across the gorge, with a smaller mass below -it. There is no cave below these, and as the place is very steep, -somewhat smooth, and always rather wet, it ranks as much the most -difficult part of the climb. A shallow scoop just to the right of the -bed of the gully enables the lower chock-stone to be reached. Some -anchorage is available here, and the rope may be threaded to secure -the further advance of the leader. The final exposed section is best -climbed to the left of the crack, which is formed between the big -boulder and the left wall. The final pitch is vegetation-covered, and -possesses a fine bridge-rock, but the whole of the gully is loose, and -the finish somewhat unpleasant. - -DOVE CRAGS, PATTERDALE.--This cliff looks tempting when seen -from below the Kirkstone Pass and near the Brotherswater Hotel, -which provides the best starting-point. Climbers have more than once -essayed the ascent. ‘An impossible face’ and ‘an inaccessible gully’ -seemed to be the only result until October 1910, when Messrs. H. -Westmorland, J. Mounsey, and W. A. North discovered a complicated route -up the rock-face. This was about 100 feet to the right of the really -‘inaccessible gully.’ The overhanging sections were avoided by some -skilful traversing, and the situations often proved sensational. In the -local newspapers it was stated that a doctor was present at the foot of -the crags. - -Small cairns mark the route, which, once correctly started upon, can -hardly be missed, for there is scarcely another available. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -_RECENT CLIMBS AROUND LANGDALE AND DOE CRAG_ - - -PAVEY ARK.--Despite the exploitation of Gimmer Crag and other -smaller local attractions, this fine mass still ranks as first -favourite with most climbers who stray Langdalewards. Yet, though -it becomes more and more scarred and scratched with the marks of -‘hob-nailers,’ one curious feature must impress those who visit the -crags after several years’ absence. This is the curious encroachment of -vegetation. Beautiful as are some of the plants and grasses which cling -to the face, the cragsman revels most in seeing and climbing the stern, -bare crags. The rarest botanical specimen, if it cumber a handhold, -is treated with scant respect. Fortunately the more popular routes -are practically free from dangerous vegetation, but recent adventures -on some that are less frequented would suggest that a warning note be -struck. - -THE CRESCENT CLIMB, which begins around the corner a few yards -to the right of the Great Gully, is much spoilt by the exuberance of -plant life. The first 200 feet lie altogether up a grassy slope or -opening. There are steep, shelving rocks on the right, but these are -not approached until an overhanging portion supervenes. Then the main -feature of the Crescent begins. This is a traverse below the impending -portion. The place is exposed, but the hand and footholds are ample, -whilst the anchorage is all that could be desired. After crossing the -rocks for about 60 feet, the heathery slopes can be gained that lead -up to Jack’s Rake at rather more than half of its length. The deep, -narrow rift of GWYNNE’S CHIMNEY will now be noticed right ahead, -and this gives a splendid finish to the course. In fact, were it not -for this attraction the Crescent would scarcely be worth the attention -of climbers. The Chimney has walls of exceedingly rough rock, and -an oblong-shaped mass of rock may roughly be said to divide it into -two portions. The exit is made on the right, and an easy ridge leads -upwards. There is plenty of indefinite scrambling until the highest -point of Pavey Ark is reached. - -THE BUTTRESS BETWEEN THE GREAT AND LITTLE GULLIES at first -sight suggests first-class climbing. Closer acquaintance, however, -reveals the presence of so much vegetation and such an indefinite -rock structure that the place is disappointing. The ascent had been -made many years ago, but no record would appear to have been made -until early in 1910, when the late J. Anton Stoop and Mr. Douglas -Yeomans discovered a route, which has the merit of individuality. -They started from the foot of the buttress about 50 yards to the left -of the Great Gully, and adhered as closely as possible to the main -ridge, gradually slanting up to the left towards the head of a small -side gully which springs out of the Little Gully. The last 80 feet -consisted of a vertical face, with a very conspicuous overhanging stone -at the corner. The face was climbed by a chimney which had been seen -from below, just to the left of the corner. The chimney consisted of -two parts, with a chock-stone at the top. Above this the climb can be -varied considerably; the upper rocks of Pavey Ark are famous for their -wonderful gripping and ripping qualities, and they are here at their -best. - -A good deal of indefinite scrambling has been undertaken on the walls -of the deep opening at the easterly end of the cliff--marked C on Mr. -Jones’ line drawing facing p. 203. Two routes on the left-hand wall are -worth passing mention. GIBSON’S CHIMNEY is a well-marked cliff -in the upper part of the opening. Large cairns mark the start and the -finish. There are two definite pitches, which in all afford about 50 -feet of straightforward backing up practice. - -BENISON’S CHIMNEY, which rises between Gibson’s Chimney and Rake -End Chimney, is built on a different mould. It consists of a series of -ill-defined scoops somewhat resembling the Shamrock Chimneys on the -Pillar. The place is nearly 200 feet high. It reeks with danger and -rank vegetation; moreover, loose holds occur at crucial points. The -most difficult section occurs about 150 feet above the start. A steep -bit of rock about 15 feet high has to be ascended. There is practically -only one satisfactory hold on this stretch; the ulterior support is -grass; and the base of operations is a quivering, turf ledge, which -threatens to come away momentarily. Thus no help can be afforded the -leader, whose troubles are further accentuated by a lack of anchorage. -The writer trusts that few climbers will be attracted by Benison’s -Chimney. - -GIMMER CRAG has of late years received much attention from rock -enthusiasts. The shapely buttress is a conspicuous feature of the -Langdale Pikes, especially when seen from the direction of Blea Tarn. -The full height of the crag, which is singularly firmly weathered, is -nearly 400 feet. It thrusts itself aggressively forth from the grassy -spur which joins Pike O’ Stickle with Harrison Stickle. Yet, until the -late Andrew Thomson, of genial memory, described its opportunities so -recently as 1901, climbers scarcely seemed to realise the existence of -Gimmer Crag. There are now three distinct climbs of exceptional merit -and two important variations, whilst on either side of the main crag -plenty of indefinite scrambling and short gully problems can be enjoyed. - -THE GIMMER CHIMNEY.--This obvious cleft starts at the foot -of the Crag to the right of, and lower down than the nose of, the -buttress. The first serious difficulty occurs about 40 feet up, where -the direct ascent of the chimney becomes impossible, and a traverse is -made to the right. After an awkward upward movement has been made it -is possible to force a way back into the chimney by swinging on a good -handhold. The second obstacle is of the strid variety, followed by a -shallow groove, with the best holds on the right wall. This gives out -below a well-defined chimney, which is difficult to enter, being, as -its engineering discoverer aptly described it, ‘bell-mouthed.’ Above -this a traverse to the right is made, whence a chimney with holds on -the right wall enables some grassy higher ledges to be reached. The -final chimney is wide at the beginning, but narrows near the top, where -a rib of rock protrudes and leaves a narrow but safe passage on the -right. - -The two face routes A and B, with their variations, start -from a terrace, which extends for some considerable distance across -the face. This is about 90 feet above the commencement of the Chimney -Climb, and may best be reached by way of a small, slanting gully filled -with bilberry bushes, now known as the Bilberry Shute. It may be most -convenient first to mention the most direct ascent up the nose of the -buttress; this is known as Oliverson’s variation of the A Route. This -starts just to the left of the ‘Nose,’ and after about 40 feet of steep -practice on comparatively small holds, a ‘three-step’ traverse is made -to the right on the crest of the ‘Nose,’ whence the way lies directly -upwards to the ‘belay.’ To follow the original A and B Route from the -terrace a course to the right of the ‘Nose’ is followed up a rough slab -crowned with broken rocks, beyond which a sloping rock ledge is gained. -This may be recognized by its having a shallow ‘crevasse’ separating it -from the main crag. At the further and lower end of this ledge from the -point at which it is reached a leaf of rock, abutting against the base -of a depression in the wall above, marks the start of a short pitch, -which brings the climber to the ledge where the routes divide. This has -been called Thomson’s Ledge. - -A ROUTE.--From Thomson’s Ledge a traverse to the left is made in -order to continue the A Route; a recess is soon entered, out of which -the way lies almost directly upwards for quite 40 feet to the ‘belay,’ -where Oliverson’s Variation joins the old route about 80 feet above the -terrace. A traverse to the left is then made to the foot of the shallow -Lichen Chimney, the ascent of which is the stiffest part of the course, -and almost 60 feet of rope is used by the leader before the second man -can be brought forward from the ‘belay.’ The last pitch consists of a -narrow chimney, with the best holds on the right wall, which finishes -abruptly at the top of the crag. - -B ROUTE.--Starting from Thomson’s Ledge a traverse is made to -the right in an upward direction until a corner is turned and the foot -of Amen Corner, a 15-foot pitch of extreme severity, is reached. This -is a slanting crack on a rock wall that overhangs, as also does the -other wall, which forms the corner. The best method of surmounting -this is to grip the upper edge of the crack and walk up the other edge -with the body nearly horizontal at first, and the hands and feet close -together. - -From the top of this pitch a ledge, known as the Gangway, which slopes -outwards and upwards, is followed for about 30 feet to a small grass -platform, and the Green Gully rises straight overhead. This is awkward -to enter directly, and it may be better to ascend some 15 feet on the -right, whence a stride can be taken into the bed of the gully. For -quite 70 feet the ascent is not difficult, and at that height the -leader reaches the anchorage of the Crow’s Nest. This is a small hollow -in the right wall, and it is attained by making a short traverse, where -the hands do most of the work. Very little assistance can be given to -those following, as the rope tends to pull the climber from his holds, -but anchorage can be found by threading the rope behind the handholds -which were used on the traverse. - -The gully can be climbed to the summit, but being grassy and loose in -places, it is preferable to finish up the sound arête directly above -the Crow’s Nest. - -A variation which finishes up with this section can be made by way of -an upward traverse to the right from the top of the 40-foot corner on -the A Route, and this would join the Green Gully about 15 feet below -the Crow’s Nest. It might also be mentioned that both above and below -Amen Corner traverses can be effected to the right to join the Gimmer -Chimney. - -The deep, wide gully to the left of the main crag possesses one cave -pitch, which may be passed on the right of the chock-stone, but this -may be avoided altogether by keeping to the right throughout. The other -gullies on the west side of Gimmer Crag afford good scrambling, but -here again the difficulties are too easily obviated. - -Climbers staying at Langdale could spend an enjoyable day by walking -over to Grasmere and thence visiting the crags in Easedale or Deer -Bield’s Crag in Far Easedale. After the climb is over it makes a -delightful finish to the day to return to Langdale over the fells by -Codale and Stickle Tarns. - -THE TARN CRAG above Easedale Tarn is a prominent feature in -a favourite landscape. Quite recently Mr. J. Stables unearthed, -literally, a route thereon which gives about 200 feet of quite good, -sound climbing. The beginning lies in a line below the left of the -highest point, and cairns now mark the way. The passage from the first -chock-stone pitch to the recess, with the ensuing face traverse, will -be found the most difficult section of the ascent. - -DEER BIELD’S CRAG in Far Easedale is quite an hour’s walk away -from Grasmere. Its height is nearly 300 feet; and a buttress runs up -the centre, with impossible-looking chimneys on either side. That on -the left is still unclimbed, but the one on the right yielded to the -attack of Messrs. Stables and Turner in 1908. They found at least -half-a-dozen difficult pitches, the fourth proving to be the stiffest -of all. The rock on Deer Bield’s Crag is firm and reliable, but -singularly free from good ledges for hands and feet. Upward progress is -made by using the numerous cracks which are a curious feature of the -structure. - -For an off-day there is no more pleasant spot in Langdale than the -vicinity of the Oak How Needle, which is perched on the side of -Lingmoor, below the upper crags. Its situation is almost opposite -a point on the coach road about half a mile beyond Chapel Stile -when going towards Dungeon Ghyll. The outstanding mass makes a good -photograph. The ascent of the short side is easy, but a crack on the -front of the rock may be considered decidedly difficult. - -The outline of BOWFELL as seen from near the head of Windermere -is one of the most massive and picturesque in Lakeland. The Langdale -Pikes are perhaps more arresting at first sight, but a longer study -of the mass to their left conveys a sense of grandeur and stability -lacking in the more famous ‘twin peaks of Langdale.’ - -THE LINKS OF BOWFELL are well worth a visit from climbers -passing from Dungeon Ghyll to Wastdale, for they offer a pleasant -contrast to the exposed buttresses of Gimmer Crag. Unlike most of our -rock-faces, they have a southerly aspect, overlooking Eskdale and Three -Tarns. The gullies, starting at the eastern end of the crags, are -numbered from one to eleven, but only Nos. 4, 5, and 6 contain good -climbing. The others are a suitable practice ground for novices. - -It is well to start operations in No. 4, which has two pitches of -interest, and then descend by way of No. 3 to the foot of No. 5. The -large pitch at its foot is quite entertaining, and upon the occasion -of its first ascent, on a day of pouring rain, offered a stubborn -resistance before capitulating on the right. Above it, easy going takes -one quickly to the top of the crags, and thence around to the foot of -No. 6. - -This also possesses a good pitch of the chock-stone variety near its -foot. The way up it lies straight to beneath the ‘capstone,’ which bars -direct progress. It is then feasible to work out under the stone on the -right until an upward move can be made to the top of the pitch. On the -occasion of the first ascent, in September 1897, by Messrs. C. R. B. -Storry, G. H. McKilburn, and the writers, the upper part of the pitch -was topped by loose stones; even nowadays it is well for the following -climbers to take cover under the capstone, both for their own safety -and to belay the leader as he scales the pitch. - -THE BOWFELL BUTTRESS is a more serious proposition, and as -a climb the route found up it, in December 1900, by Messrs. Shaw, -Oppenheimer, Craig, Hargreaves, and West, compares in point of -difficulty and length with the North Climb on the Pillar, if the latter -ceased immediately above the Nose. - -The Buttress faces N.N.E., overlooking Mickleden, and is best reached -from Langdale by following ‘the Band’--the long, grassy spur running -down towards Stool End Farm--about two-thirds of the way to the top of -Bowfell. From here it is best to contour around to the right and thence -along, bearing obliquely upward, to the foot of the Crags. - -The work starts at the lowest point of the Buttress, and, to quote Mr. -Oppenheimer’s lucid account, ‘after 30 feet of broken rocks, the foot -of a long chimney is passed, and a 10-foot chimney to the right of it, -with an awkward pitch, taken. This leads, in another 10 feet, to a -small terrace running down to a gully on the right. The next 50 feet -is an upward traverse to the left, into the long chimney, soon after -entering which a good sentry-box affords a stopping-place. - -‘After 40 feet straight up the long chimney the latter ends on a grass -terrace, which slopes down to the right and broadens considerably; -following this, for 20 feet, a rather difficult vertical crack is -reached. From the shelf at the top of the crack 50 feet up, bare rough -rocks lead to a grassy corner. Here there is a very convenient large -block, to which the second man should belay himself as the leader -advances to the left along a very exposed upward traverse, with little -handhold, into a small rock corner. - -‘The best plan here is to climb to the right, away from the corner, and -then to the left over the top of it, on to a grassy patch sloping away -to the left, beside a fine belaying pin. To the right of this a chimney -starts: 40 feet up there is a small pitch; then another 40 feet on -sloping slabs to the right with a wall to the left, leads to the top of -the Low Man, where a cairn has been placed. - -‘Twenty feet more of easy scrambling leads to the top of the buttress, -which is separated from the mass of Bowfell by a narrow neck, from -which scree gullies descend on either side.’ - -A few short scrambles can be found amongst the crags above Angle -Tarn on Hanging Knott, but the terrace-like formation of the rocks -hereabouts is of greater interest to the geologist than to the climber. -Flat Crags, and the wild recesses of Hell Ghyll and Crinkle Ghyll, have -been visited by the fraternity, but their reports of these localities -are quite unfavourable, except as regards their scenery. - -DOE CRAG.--At the time of the writing of Jones’ chapter on this -fine cliff, most of the routes up the best rock faces in the district -were exhausted, and short variations had become the order of the day. - -Doe Crag was the one great climbing ground which had many new, -unexplored courses upon it, and the almost certain knowledge Jones -had of their existence is evident to all who read his chapter in the -present book. These delightful descriptions of the gullies are in every -way accurate at the present time, except that the Intermediate Gully -is now ascended direct over every pitch; it is only necessary in this -Appendix to carry the tale through another epoch--the Buttress epoch. - -This started in March 1903, when Mr. F. Philipson and the writers -made the ascent of the two most prominent buttresses. Since that time -the various remaining buttresses and their subsidiary ridges have -been ascended in such detail and thoroughness as characterize the -nail-scratched rocks of Scawfell and the Pillar. These courses are now -described, irrespective of merit or difficulty, as they occur from -left to right as one stands facing the crags at a point slightly above -Goat’s Water. The nomenclature is that adopted by Mr. G. F. Woodhouse -in his excellent monograph, and by those who later made virgin ascents -on this magnificent crag. It but remains to be said that, whereas the -gullies are almost exclusively for expert and ultra-expert parties, the -buttresses offer climbs which in many cases may be safely undertaken by -parties of moderate strength. - -[Illustration: DOE CRAG, SEEN FROM ACROSS GOAT’S WATER - - A A Buttress. - B B Buttress. - C C Buttress. - D D Buttress. - E E Buttress. - _f_ Easy Gully. - _g_ Great Gully. - _h_ Central Chimney. - _j_ Intermediate Gully. - _k_ Easter Gully. - _l_ North Gully. - _m_ A Buttress Climb. _Original Route._ - _n_ A Buttress Variations. - _o_ B Buttress. _Broadrick’s Route._ - _p_ The Lion’s Crawl. - _q_ Easy Terrace. - _r_ B Buttress. _Original Route._ - _s_ B Buttress. _Woodhouse’s Routes._ - _t_ C Buttress Climb. - _t_^1 C Buttress Climb Variation. - _t_^2 Branch exit from Intermediate Gully. - _v_ D Buttress Climb. - _w_ Blizzard Chimney. - _x_ Easter Gully. _Jones’ Route and continuation up E Buttress._ - _y_ Easter Gully. Broadrick’s Crack. - _z_ E Buttress Climbs. - 3 The Real Chimney. - 4 Woodhouse’s Crack.] - -A BUTTRESS is the magnificent bastion which separates the Easy -Scree Gully from the Great Gully. Unlike the other buttresses, which -afford good climbing only for about 200 feet above their bases, the -best sport is to be obtained in its higher reaches. The climbing starts -at about the centre of the buttress, where is a cairn, but a vast -overhanging precipice forces the climber away diagonally to the left -along a narrow, grass ledge, which dwindles until, at a considerable -height above the screes, an awkward corner is rounded. This can be -reached by two distinct variations starting lower down and to the left -of the route described, both of which are very stiff. Above this a thin -crack is ascended for about 30 feet until a large ledge is attained. -Here a choice of routes is available. A cave pitch straight ahead can -be ascended on the right wall and, after ascending some broken rocks, a -traverse to the right discloses an interesting chimney, above which the -serious climbing ceases. An easy gully leads to this cave pitch direct -from the Easy or Little Gully. - -For very strong parties a fine variation is to traverse diagonally -upward to the right from the large ledge, treading the upper edge of -the huge overhanging crag already referred to, until a fine chimney -is entered. This is difficult, but the anchorage is good. A few feet -above it an exposed traverse is made away to the right until the foot -of a most sensational crack is reached. This can be climbed, or the -traverse continued somewhat further until upward progress can be made -by a zigzag course almost overhanging the upper confines of the Great -Gully. To Messrs. Ormiston-Chant, Craig Gordon, and Parker most of the -fine variations on this buttress have fallen. - -B BUTTRESS offers several good climbs, the most recently -discovered of which--the Giant’s Crawl--starts at the foot of the -Great Gully and, after striking straight upwards for about 100 feet of -exceptional severity, follows a well-defined slab diagonally to the -right for about 250 feet. It then doubles back to the left and thence -to the top of the crags. - -Some years ago Messrs. R. W. and H. C. Broadrick made a very fine climb -up the crest of the retaining wall of the Great Gully. This started -from the same point as the Giant’s Crawl, but instead of continuing -across the face to the right they struck upward over some poised and -shattered blocks and came upon the well-defined crest referred to; -thence, by continuously steep and sensational rocks, which, however, -afford good holding, they forced a way to the crest of the crags--one -of the best and longest routes up the Buttresses. - -A few feet below the foot, and to the right of the Great Gully, a wide -broken terrace or rake gives easy access to the heart of the crags, and -all the other good climbs on B, C, and D Buttresses to be described, -finish on this terrace. - -Some considerable distance below the start of the terrace, and at -about the lowest extremity of B Buttress, a thin crack starts up to -the right. This marks the start of the route by which the Buttress was -first climbed. The crack gives out upon a grass ledge about 30 feet -above the screes. Beyond this a somewhat awkward stretch of climbing -brings one below some overhanging rocks, which entail a flank movement -to the left until a conspicuous recess is reached. The continuation -above this is most exhilarating, a steep exposed face of rock which -takes the climber into an ideal situation, and which claims his entire -attention in the continuation of its enjoyment. Two chimneys on either -hand have both been climbed, but the ascent of the rock-face should not -be missed. It finishes on the Easy Terrace. Above this the Buttress -evidences a lack of continuous climbing, and the time will be better -spent by descending the terrace and thence round to the foot of the -Central Chimney. - -After ascending the easy rocks at its foot for about a hundred feet, a -detached pinnacle is a prominent object on the left. Messrs. Woodhouse -found that by passing behind this a fine chimney could be entered and -ascended to a grassy ledge at its top. A pleasing variation is to be -had by passing below the pinnacle, whence a steep slab recommends -itself to the gymnast, and, after a strenuous pull on the arms, lands -him at the foot of the chimney mentioned above. From the grassy ledge -above it the route can be varied in many ways, but the best sport lies -across to the left for a few feet, where a chimney of real difficulty -forms the lowest of a series of pitches of great merit. - -C BUTTRESS separates the Central Chimney from the Intermediate -Gully, and throughout its entire length is set at a very high angle. It -offers little temptation to stray from the line of least resistance, -and the climbing is better defined than on most of the Buttress routes. -For a hundred feet or so the holds are large and plentiful, but the -climbing is interesting withal, until further progress in the same line -is barred by impending rocks. - -After traversing slightly to the right some steep slabs provide -excellent sport until a good belaying pin is reached. Again discretion -suggests a flank movement, this time slightly downwards to the left, -and thence, after rounding a corner, upward progress is made to a grass -ledge. - -The scenery hereabouts is magnificent, and a few minutes can be well -spent in viewing the formidable difficulties of the Central Chimney, -the greater part of which is now visible. It appears anything but -inviting, and most people will be content with merely looking. Our -Buttress also has become difficult, and the next move up some steep -slabs, which terminate on a wide grassy ledge awkward of access, is -one necessitating considerable care and skill on the part of the leader. - -A little beyond this, on the right, is a steep chimney leading -downward to the Intermediate Gully, at a point immediately below the -difficult pitch. This branch chimney was first ascended by the brothers -Woodhouse, and is stiff. - -The continuation of our climb now begins to lose interest, and before -long we find ourselves at the foot of the final pitch of the Central -Chimney, whence the going is comparatively easy. - -D BUTTRESS, separating the Intermediate and Easter Gullies, is, -in the writers’ opinion, the most entertaining and prettiest problem of -all. In its lower reaches it is quite easy and apt to disappoint until, -at the same height as the difficult pitch of the Intermediate Gully, it -rises almost vertically for above a hundred feet. - -The way lies up a vertical arête, which recalls most strongly some -of the Coolin Ridges. The holds are sound and rough, but none too -large--just sufficient to leave a fair margin of safety in a very -exposed position. This delightful stretch gives out at an excellent -belay, beyond which the interest continues unabated for 50 feet or so, -until it ceases on a wide grass platform. Shortly beyond this the Easy -Terrace is again reached. - -Before dealing with the easy climbs of the E Buttress, mention must -be made of three fine chimneys, two of which have been climbed since -Jones wrote his description of the Easter Gully. On page 235, after -he had ascended the first pitch of the Gully and attained the ‘great -hollow’ above it, he refers to ‘splendid branch gullies up to the -ridges on either side.’ - -Two of these branch gullies were climbed many years ago, that on the -left-hand wall, now called the South Chimney, by Mr. H. C. Broadrick, -and its counterpart on the North Wall by the brothers Woodhouse. - -This latter is known as the Black Chimney. It is deeply cut, and looks -most forbidding. A closer acquaintance dispels most of its terrors, for -the holds are excellent, and the fearsome upper capstone can be rounded -on the right-hand side with comparative ease. It is, however, well -worth a visit, and the continuation up the E Buttress is not lacking in -interest. - -Lower down than the South Chimney--a pretty problem in ‘backing up’--a -rectangular opening in the crags, almost immediately above the first -pitch of the Easter Gully, claimed the attention of Messrs. Woodhouse, -Westmorland, and the writers in April 1910. A heavy blizzard of snow -and hail, which fell at the time they made its first ascent, suggested -the name BLIZZARD CHIMNEY, and this was adopted. It has always -seemed rather a pity that the majority of the names on Doe Crag are so -prosy; the latter-day climbers have lacked the happy knack of giving -distinctive names to their exploits. - -[Illustration: - - G. P. Abraham & Sons, Photos. Keswick - -THE BROADRICK’S AND HOPKINSON’S CRACKS DOE CRAG] - -The most awkward part of the Blizzard Chimney is at its foot; to effect -an entry is not easy, but once attained and an exposed bulge climbed by -the crack on the left, the rectangular opening is reached, and the way -lies up the left-hand wall of this. After about 90 feet of moderately -difficult climbing the chimney gives out on the D Buttress. - -E BUTTRESS presents a variety of fairly easy climbs. None of -these possess sufficient individuality or difficulty to demand a -detailed description; the routes of greatest interest are shown on the -outline drawing facing p. 370. These climbs supply a real want on Doe -Crag, and render the climbing upon it, from ‘easy’ to ‘exceptionally -severe,’ graded to an ideal degree. - -Beyond the North Gully there is no climbing of sustained interest, -but the REAL CHIMNEY, a curious cleft enclosed on all sides, -possesses unique features. It is about 150 feet above the foot of the -crags, some distance to the right of the North Gully. - -The NORTH GULLY itself was first climbed in 1901 by the Messrs. -Barton, and again by the writers two years later. Since then it has -been visited several times. After climbing to the under side of the -chaos of jammed boulders which form the great pitch, a narrow ledge -will be noticed running outward along the left wall. The feat of -traversing along this with practically no support for the hands, and -a fearsome drop below, led to the inclusion of the Gully amongst the -‘exceptionally severe’ courses, and rightly so. Just when the ledge -dwindles to nothing, a good hold can be reached with the left hand, and -then a severe struggle upwards discloses good holding above. Thence -the going is easier, and the top of the boulders can soon be attained. -Away at the opposite end of the crags, a hundred feet to the left of -Slingsby’s Pinnacle in the Great Gully, and at about the same level -is a fine crack which the brothers Woodhouse first climbed in 1905. -The lowest 35 feet are of about the same standard of difficulty as the -Doctor’s Chimney on Gable Crag; indeed the crack as a whole is about -as long and of as great merit as its more popular counterpart on Great -Gable, and is very well worth a visit. - -It but remains to be said that the first pitch of the Great Gully can -be climbed direct up the left-hand side of the boulder without the aid -of a threaded rope--a most strenuous effort--and that the two pitches -of the Intermediate Gully (which Mr. Jones obviated in the manner -described in his chapter) are amongst the very finest in the whole of -the Lake District. - -Other climbs in the Coniston district have been discovered recently by -enthusiastic members of the Fell and Rock-Climbing Club. - -SYLVAN CHIMNEY is one of the best of these. It lies to the left -of Church Beck, and is the most conspicuous cleft in the splintered -mass of rock between Boulder Valley and Lever’s Water, being situated -300 or 400 yards below the tarn. - -(Boulder Valley is the fine upland hollow running from the foot of the -falls below Low Water in the direction of Lever’s Water.) The Chimney -affords about 120 feet of fairly difficult climbing. - -A few yards to the left of Sylvan Chimney is GOULDON GULLY, -which gives a rather longer but somewhat easier climb. A slab of -about 70 feet provides excellent practice in neat footwork. Above it -a 100-foot chimney proves interesting, but unfortunately is somewhat -earthy in its interior. - -COLONEL CRAG, the boss of rock at the foot of Paddy End, at -about the same height as Sylvan Chimney, has also been thoroughly -explored and climbed, but is scarcely worth a visit; indeed it is to be -feared that the proximity of Doe Crag would lead to the utter desertion -of vastly more entertaining places than these latest additions to the -Coniston climbs. - - - - -INDEX. - - - A - - A Gully, Pike’s Crag, 3-5 - - ” Wastwater Screes, 193 - - Aaron Slack, 114, 129 - - Abbey Ridge, Great Gable, 332-333 - - Abraham, Messrs., quoted, 247, 248, 288, 289, 290 - - Addyman, Mr. E. T. W., 333 - - ‘All the Year Round’ quoted, 38, 41, 286 - - ‘Alpine Journal,’ 12, 149, 164 - - Ampezzo Dolomites, 29 - - Angle Tarn, 33, 213 - - Ark, Pavey, 208-218, 358-361 - - Arrowhead Branch Gully, 149 - - ” Gully, 146, 158 - - ” Ridge, 147, 162-167 - - - B - - B Chimney, Pike’s Crag, 7-10 - - B Gully, Wastwater Screes. - _See_ Great Gully - - ‘Backing-up,’ 124 - - Baddeley’s Guide Book, 33 - - Badminton ‘Mountaineering,’ 105, 112 - - Barton, Messrs., 321 - - Bear Rock, 147, 165 - - Beckhead, 114, 115, 121, 139 - - Beckhead Tarn, 115 - - Belaying Pin, Moss Ghyll, 50 - - Birkness Combe Climbs, 349-352 - - Black Chimney, Bleaberry Combe, 353 - - Black Crag Gully, Borrowdale, 354 - - Black Crags, 213 - - Black Sail Pass, 109, 254, 258 - - Blea Crags, 291, 292 - - Bleaberry Combe Climbs, 352-353 - - Blencathra, 93 - - Blue, Tom, 117. - _See_ Tom Blue - - Boot, 37 - - Borrowdale, 93, 98, 114, 237, 239, 242 - - Botteril, Mr. F., 322, 332, 342, 347 - - Botteril’s Cracks, Scawfell, 341-342 - - Bottle-shaped Pinnacle, 119, 123, 138 - - ” ” Ridge, 131, 335 - - Bowfell, 89, 211, 213 - - ” Buttress, 368-369 - - ” The Links, 367-368 - - Brandreth, 114, 117, 119, 136 - - Broad Stand, 27, 32-37 - - ” ” Descent, 40 - - Brown Tongue, 12, 28, 36, 91 - - Brunskill, Mr. W. B., 347 - - Buckbarrow, 196, 287 - - Burnmoor, 27 - - Burnthwaite, 252 - - Buttermere, 271, 281, 282, 287 - - Buttermere Climbs, 344-353 - - - C - - C Gully, Pike’s Crag, 5-7 - - ” Wastwater Screes, 192, 193, 200-207 - - Cairn, Hopkinson’s, 76, 80, 81 - - ” Westmorland, 117, 151 - - Central Chimney, Bleaberry Combe, 353 - - ” ” Doe Crag, 226-232 - - Central Gully, Gable Crag, 118, 130, 138-145, 336-337 - - ” ” Great End, 90, 91-104 - - ” ” Wastwater Screes. - _See_ C Gully - - Central Jordan, 260, 318 - - Christmas climbing, 15, 19, 104, 120, 130, 197, 163 - - ‘Climbing in England,’ 211, 218 - - Cockley Beck, 213 - - Collie Step, 45 - - Collier’s Climb, 8, 24, 31, 32, 55-65 - - ” Chimney, 51-52 - - Collinson, Mr. W. L., 339 - - Colonel Crag, 379 - - Combe Ghyll, 237-242 - - Coniston, 213, 218, 219, 226 - - Corner, the Scawfell Chimney, 41 - - Court, the Tennis, 43, 44 - - Crack, Kern Knotts, 163, 182-187, 213, 238 - - Crack Grépon, 187 - - Craig, Mr. G. H., 349 - - ” Mr. Alan, 372 - - Croda da Lago, 78 - - Curtain and Crête Climb, Pillar Rock, 326-327 - - Curtain, the Great End, 111 - - ” Pillar Rock, 267, 268, 269, 326 - - Cust’s Gully, 39, 90, 111-113 - - - D - - D Gully, Pike’s Crag, 11 - - Decoy Pinnacle, 27 - - Deep Ghyll (Hell’s Gate), 146 - - Deep Ghyll, 2, 12-28, 32, 43, 58, 69, 70, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, - 86, 87, 88, 341 - - Deep Ghyll Cairn, 42 - - Deer Bield’s Crag, Easedale, 366 - - Derwent, 238 - - Derwentwater, 93 - - ‘Divide,’ the, 106 - - Doctor’s Chimney, 136-140 - - Doe Crag, 219-236, 369-378 - - ” A Buttress, 371-372 - - ” B ” 372-374 - - ” C ” 374-375 - - ” E ” 375-376 - - ” Blizzard Chimney, 376-377 - - ” Central Chimney, 220, 223, 226-232 - - ” Easter Gully, 221, 222, 235, 236 - - ” Great Gully, 219, 220, 223-226 - - ” Intermediate Gully, 232-234, 378 - - ” North Gully, 377 - - Dolomites, 29, 56, 78, 185, 214 - - Dress Circle, the, 174 - - Drigg, 170 - - Dungeon Ghyll, 208, 209, 211, 214 - - - E - - Eagle Crag, 253 - - Eagle’s Nest, 160, 161 - - ” Gully, 146, 147 - - ” Ridge, 135, 147, 150, 155, 156-162, 163, 174, 314, 315 - - Easedale, 209 - - East Jordan, 260 - - ” Gully, 267 - - Easter Gully, Doe Crags, 221, 222, 235, 236 - - ‘Eight-foot Drop,’ 268 - - End, Great. - _See_ Great End - - Engineer’s Chimney, Gable Crag, 311-313 - - Engleberg Valley, 107 - - Ennerdale, 114, 254, 271 - - ” Face of Gable, 114, 115, 117-119 - - ” Pillar, 70. - _See_ Pillar Rock - - Esk Hause, 89, 93, 100, 110, 168, 213 - - Eskdale, 31, 34, 36, 42, 213 - - - F - - Facework, difficulty of, 16 - - Fairfield, 215 - - Far West Jordan Climb, 327 - - Fell and Rock-Climbing Club, 337, 378 - - Fives’ Court, Pisgah Buttress, 54, 343 - - Fleetwith, 345 - - ” Gully, 345, 346 - - Freshfield’s Italian Alps, 29 - - Fünffingerspitze, 185 - - ” Chimney, 230 - - Furness Railway, 287 - - - G - - Gable Crag, 141, 334-337 - - ” ” Central Gully, 118, 130, 138-145, 311 - - ” ” Oblique Chimney, 8, 118, 119-132, 136, 138, 141, 150, - 183 - - ” ” Sheep Walk, 118, 131-133, 312 - - ” ” Traverse, 121 - - Gable End, 91 - - ” Needle, 147, 150, 153, 156, 160, 165, 168-174 - - Gap, Wind, 114, 119, 128 - - ” Windy (Wind Yatt), 254, 258 - - Gash Rock, 288 - - Gatesgarth, 271 - - Gatherstone Beck, 258, 259 - - Gavel Neese, 115, 121, 127, 138 - - Gibson, Mr. H. B., 327, 331 - - Gimmer Crag, 208, 361-365 - - ” ” A Route, 363 - - ” ” B Route, 363-364 - - ” ” Amen Corner, 363 - - ” ” Chimney, 361 - - Gimson, Messrs., 334 - - Glaramara, 237 - - Goatswater, 219, 220, 229 - - Gouldon Gully, 379 - - Grainy Ghyll, 92 - - Grasmoor, 353 - - Great Chimney, Deep Ghyll, 19, 24-26 - - ” ” Pillar Rock, 260, 267, 268, 325 - - Great End, 39, 89-91, 93, 99, 211, 237 - - ” ” Brother’s Crack, 338 - - ” ” Central Gully, 91, 92-103 - - ” ” South East Gully, 90, 104-111 - - Great Gable, 92, 114-117, 127, 135, 168, 176, 180, 237. - _See_ Gable Crag - - Great Gully, Doe Crag, 223-226 - - ” ” Pavey Ark, 213-218 - - ” ” Wastwater Screes, 194-199 - - Great Napes, 116, 146, 147, 163, 167, 168 - - ” Waterfall, 257 - - Green Cove, 259 - - ” Crag Gully, 345, 346 - - ” Gable, 114, 119, 128 - - ” Ledge, Pillar Rock, 323 - - Grépon Crack, 187 - - Grey Knotts, 114 - - Guideless climbing, 135 - - Gwynne quoted, 208, 210 - - Gwynne’s Chimney, Pavey Ark, 358 - - - H - - Hand Traverse, 281, 282-284 - - Harrison Stickle, 208, 209, 214, 215 - - Haskett Smith, ‘Climbing in England,’ 211, 218 - - Hause. - _See_ Esk Hause - - Haystacks, 345, 347 - - Hazard, Mr. J., 332 - - ‘Heart of Lakeland,’ 344 - - Hell Gate, 117 - - Helvellyn, 215 - - High Level Route, Great Gable, 119 - - ” ” ” Pillar, 259 - - High Man, Pillar Rock, 259, 260, 268, 269, 270, 281 - - High Man from the Nose, Pillar Rock, 324-326 - - High Stile, 286, 287 - - Hollow Stones, 2, 12, 22, 41, 48 - - Honister Pass, 114 - - Hopkinson’s Cairn, 76, 81 - - Horse and Man Rock, 2, 11 - - - I - - Ice-axes, 112; - applications of, 171, 184 - - Ill Fell, 207 - - Iron Crags, 304-311 - - ‘Italian Alps,’ Freshfield’s, 29 - - Italy, Northern, 184 - - - J - - Jack’s Rake, 209, 210, 217, 218 - - Jammed-stone Pinnacle, 140, 141 - - Jenkinson’s Guide Book, 33 - - Jordan Gully, 259 - - ” Pillar Rock, 70, 257, 258, 260, 281 - - ” Scawfell Pinnacle, 19, 26, 69, 70, 72, 76 - - Journal, ‘Alpine,’ 12, 149, 164 - - ” ‘Scottish Mountaineering,’ 193 - - - K - - Kern Knotts, 104, 117, 175-189, 213 - - ” ” Chimney, 175-182, 186 - - ” ” Crack, 163, 182-187, 213, 238 - - ” ” West Chimney, 187-189 - - Keswick Brothers’ Climb, 31, 66-68 - - Kirkfell, 114, 117, 136, 139 - - Knotts, Grey, 114 - - Knotts, Thunacar, 214 - - - L - - Langdale, 33, 215 - - Langdale Combe, 213 - - ” Pikes, 208, 213 - - Langstrath, 239, 288 - - Laycock, Mr. J., 334 - - Le Coin, 323, 324 - - ‘Ledge,’ the, Pillar Rock, 268 - - ” Tennis Court, 43 - - Left Pisgah, 260, 266 - - Ling Chimney, 314, 315 - - Lingmell, 2, 91, 173, 285 - - ‘Little Dru of the Lake District,’ 69 - - ” Gully, Pavey Ark, 210-213 - - ” Hell Gate, 146 - - Liza Stream, 114, 254, 281 - - Lliwedd, 226 - - Looking Stead, 254, 258, 259 - - Lord’s Rake, 13, 16, 22, 27, 29, 34, 36, 69, 73, 74, 79, 83, 84 - - Low Man, Pillar Rock, 70, 257, 258, 260, 261, 269, 270, 272, 276, - 278, 281 - - Low Man, Scawfell Pinnacle, 14, 16, 70, 73, 74, 77, 82, 83, 85, 88, - 265 - - Low Man Cairn, Scawfell Pinnacle, 83 - - ” ” ” Pillar Rock, 270 - - Lower Kern Knotts, 175, 176 - - Lyon, Mr. H. B., 338, 346 - - - M - - Manchester Town Hall, 191 - - ‘Mantleshelf,’ the, 277, 282 - - Marshall, Prof. Milnes, 13 - - Matterhorn, 135 - - Mauritius, Pieter Botte, 69 - - Mickledore, 1, 12, 13, 29, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 65 - - ” Chimney, 32. - _See_ Scawfell Chimney - - ” Screes, 36 - - Mönch, 208 - - Mosedale, 92, 254, 258 - - ” Rocks, 337-338 - - Moses’ Sledgate, 115, 121, 128 - - Moss Ghyll, 15, 30, 32, 43-53, 76, 92, 239, 341 - - Mouse Ghyll, 291, 292, 354 - - - N - - Napes, Great, 116, 136, 146-147, 150, 172 - - ” White, 115, 127, 128, 133 - - Needle, Gable, 147, 150, 153, 156, 160, 165, 168-174 - - ” Gully, 146, 150-152, 154, 159, 162, 174 - - ” Ridge, 147, 153-156, 334 - - Neese, Gavel, 115, 121, 127, 138 - - Nether Beck, 190 - - New North West Climb, Pillar Rock, 318, 322-324 - - New West Climb, Pillar Rock, 317, 318-320 - - North Climb (Pillar Rock), 271-282 - - ” ” (Penrith), 31, 37, 38, 55 - - ‘Nose,’ the, Pillar Rock, 257, 259, 271, 275 - - ” ” Scawfell Pinnacle, 74 - - ‘Notch,’ the, 268 - - - O - - Oak How Needle, 336 - - Oblique Chimney, 8, 118, 119-132, 136, 138, 141, 150, 182, 183 - - Old Man, Coniston, 213, 219, 229 - - ” Wall, Pillar Rock, 269, 326 - - Oppenheimer, Mr. L. J., 321, 322, 344, 345, 349, 350 - - Oppenheimer’s Chimney, 353 - - ‘Outside Edge,’ Gable Needle, 173 - - - P - - ‘Pall Mall Budget’ quoted, 170 - - Parson’s Gully, 42 - - Pavey Ark, 208-218, 358-361 - - ” ” Benison’s Chimney, 360 - - ” ” Gibson’s Chimney, 360 - - ” ” Gullies, 208, 218 - - ” ” Great Gully, 213-218 - - ” ” Little Gully, 210-213 - - Pedestrians, Notes for, 27 - - Pelmo Traverse, 29 - - Pendlebury Traverse, 268 - - Penrith Climb. _See_ North Climb - - Petty’s Rift, 31 - - Photography and Climbing, 163 - - Pier’s Ghyll, 91, 239, 285-286, 342-343 - - Pieter Botte, 69 - - Pike of Stickle, 208, 213 - - Pike’s Crag, 1-11 - - Pikes of Scawfell, 2, 33, 50, 99 - - Pillar Fell, 91, 254, 255, 258, 267 - - ” Rock, 254-284, 317-331 - - Pinnacle, Bottle-shaped, 119, 123, 138 - - ” Jammed-stone, 140, 141 - - ” Scawfell, 19, 27, 69-88, 265 - - Pisgah Buttress, 53-55, 342 - - ” Left, 260, 266 - - ” Pillar Rock, 70, 257, 260, 328 - - ” Right, 260, 266 - - ” Scawfell, 19, 26, 32, 70, 71 - - ‘Playground of Europe,’ Leslie Stephen’s, 76 - - Pope, Mr. H. R., 333, 342 - - Pressure on Loose Stones, 26 - - Professor’s Chimney, 19, 25, 26, 27, 69, 70, 71, 76 - - Progress, Rake’s, 13, 29-32, 37, 38, 43, 46, 57, 58, 60, 63, 66 - - Pulpit Rock, 2, 11, 31, 33, 35 - - - R - - Rake End Chimney, 218 - - ” Ennerdale Face, 121 - - ” Jack’s, 209, 210, 217, 218 - - ” Lord’s, 13, 16, 22, 27, 29, 34, 36, 69, 73, 74, 79, 84 - - Rake’s Progress, 13, 29-32, 37, 38, 43, 46, 57, 58, 60, 63, 66 - - Raven Crag, Chimney, 253 - - ” ” Glaramara, 237, 242 - - ” ” ” Gully, 242-253 - - ” ” Great Gable, 117, 175, 180 - - Reade, Mr. H. V., 336 - - Robinson, Mr. J. W., quoted, 119, 120 - - Robinson’s Chimney (Deep Ghyll), 14, 16, 17 - - ” Gully, Great End, 90 - - Rope, How _not_ to use it, 154, 155 - - ” Length of, 83, 239 - - ” Special application of, 225, 228, 278 - - Rossett Ghyll, 33 - - Rosthwaite, 238, 288 - - ” Fell, 237 - - Rothhorn, Zinal, 73 - - Rücksack Club, 345 - - - S - - Sack, Carrying the, 101, 102 - - Sanderson, Mr. R. B., 342 - - Sanger-Davies’ Book, 78, 230 - - Savage Gully, 258, 261, 272, 273, 275, 276, 277, 320-322 - - Scarpetti, 214 - - Scarth Gap, 117, 271, 281 - - Scawfell, 13, 27, 29, 30, 35, 69, 70, 237, 339-347 - - ” Cairn, 37, 42 - - ” Chimney, 32, 34, 39-42 - - ” Crags, 1, 13 - - ” Pikes, 33, 208. _See_ Pikes of Scawfell - - ” Pinnacle, 19, 27, 69-88, 275 - - ” ” by Deep Ghyll, 76-84, 195 - - ” ” by Steep Ghyll, 11, 14 - - ” ” from Upper Deep Ghyll, 339-340 - - ‘Scottish Mountaineering Journal,’ 193 - - Screes, Central Gully, 193, 200-207 - - ” Great Gully, 194-199, 248 - - ” Wastwater, 58, 190-207 - - Seathwaite Fell, 237 - - Seatoller, 238, 271 - - Seatree, Mr. George, quoted, 38 - - ‘Sentry-box,’ the, 52, 53 - - Sergeant Crag Gully, 288-290, 354 - - Shamrock, 255, 257, 259, 281, 329-330 - - ” Buttress, 330 - - ” Chimney, 256, 264-265, 330, 331 - - ” Gully, 25, 256, 261-264 - - ‘Sheep Walk,’ the, 118, 131, 133, 312 - - Shoulthwaite, 304 - - Skew Ghyll, 89, 92 - - Skiddaw, 93, 296 - - Slab and Notch Route, 260, 267-268 - - Slack, Aaron, 114, 129 - - Sledgate, Moses’, 115, 121, 128 - - Slingsby’s Chimney, Scawfell, 73, 75, 83 - - ” Crack, Pillar Rock, 270 - - Sloan, Dr. J. S., 335 - - Smuggler’s Chimney, 335 - - ” Retreat, 118, 335 - - Snow, Heavy, 23 - - South-east Gully, Great End, 90, 104-111 - - ‘Split Block,’ 277 - - Spout Head, 92 - - Sprinkling Tarn, 89, 93, 98, 100, 237, 252 - - Stack Ghyll, 348-349 - - Stake Pass, 214, 220 - - Stand, Broad, 27, 32-37, 40 - - Steep Ghyll, 13, 20, 30, 43, 48, 53, 57, 69, 71, 73, 74, 85, 86, 243 - - Step, Collie’s, 45 - - Stickle, Pike of, 208, 213 - - ” Tarn, 211, 215 - - Stirrup Crag, 118 - - ” Rope, 279, 280 - - ‘Stomach Traverse,’ 272, 274, 276 - - Stones, Hollow, 2, 12, 22, 41, 48 - - Stony Gully, 119, 141, 324, 325 - - Strands, 190 - - ‘Strid,’ the, 277 - - Styhead Pass, 89, 91, 115, 117, 168, 181, 213, 237 - - ” Tarn, 93, 128 - - Sugarloaf, 208 - - Switzerland, 111 - - Sylvan Chimney, 379 - - - T - - Tarn Crag, Easedale, 365 - - Taylor, Dr. J. H., 322 - - Tennis Court Ledge, 43, 44, 47, 49, 53, 55, 61, 244 - - Thompson, Mr. P. A., 320, 321 - - Thornythwaite Fell, 237 - - ‘Thumbs Down,’ 180 - - Thunacar Knott, 214 - - Tin Box on Pinnacle, 72 - - Tom Blue, 117, 176, 179 - - Tongue, Brown, 12, 28, 36, 91 - - Toreador Gully, 346 - - Traverse, Gable Crag, 121 - - ” Hand, 281, 282, 284 - - ” Pelmo, 29 - - ” Pendlebury, 268, 269 - - ‘True Up,’ 104 - - - U - - Ullswater, 345 - - Upper Eskdale, 42 - - ” Kern Knotts, 175, 176, 181 - - - W - - Walker’s Gully, 254, 255, 256, 258, 267, 269, 295-304, 328-330 - - Warn Gill, 345, 347-348 - - Warnscale Gullies, 345-349 - - Wastdale Church, 48 - - ” Climbing-book, 1, 77, 119, 135, 136, 140, 156, 170, 247 - - ” Head, 115, 116, 117, 191 - - Wastwater, 1, 27, 36, 170, 287 - - ” Screes, 58, 190-207 - - Waterfall, Great, 258 - - West Chimney, Kern Knotts, 187-189 - - ” Climb, Pillar Rock, 269-271, 281 - - ” Jordan Crack, 327 - - ” Jordan Gully, 315 - - ” Wall Climb, 313-314 - - Westmorland Brothers, 152 - - ” Cairn, 117, 151 - - ” Crag, 117, 138, 151, 152 - - ” Mr. Horace, 356 - - Wetherlam, 219 - - White Napes, 115, 127, 128, 133 - - Williamson, Mr. C. N., quoted, 37, 41, 69, 70, 286 - - Willink’s Illustrations, 270 - - Wind Gap, 114, 119, 128 - - ” Yatt (Windy Gap), 254, 258 - - Windermere, 215 - - ‘Window,’ the (Moss Ghyll), 45, 49 - - Woodhouse, Messrs., 338, 370, 373, 375, 376 - - - Y - - Yatt, Wind, 254, 258 - - Yewbarrow, 118, 190, 254 - - - Z - - Zinal Rothhorn, 73 - - - - -WASTWATER HOTEL, - -WASDALE HEAD, CUMBERLAND. - -This HOTEL is charmingly situated at the head of Wastwater Lake, and is -the chief centre of Cumberland Climbing--the Pillar Rock, Great Gable, -Great End, Scafell and the Pikes, all being within an easy walk. - -The arrangements of the Hotel have been made specially to suit the -requirements of Climbers and Tourists. - -A First-Class DAUPHINE GUIDE and CLIMBER has been engaged, who will -conduct Climbers on the various Climbs in the District at a Moderate -Charge. - -SMOKE AND BILLIARD ROOMS. - -Conveyances can be sent to Seascale Stations to meet Visitors, if so -desired. - - J. RITSON WHITING, Proprietor. - - TERMS ON APPLICATION. LETTERS _via_ CARNFORTH. - -_Agent for Beale’s (Buckingham’s) Celebrated Three-Strand Alpine -Rope--60, 80, 100 feet lengths always in Stock; also for Simond’s -Ice-Axes._ - - -ALSO AT-- - -Rowhead Temperance Hotel, - -WASDALE HEAD. - -(Three Minutes’ Walk from the WASTWATER HOTEL.) - -Beautifully situated at the foot of Kirkfell. - -RE-FURNISHED THROUGHOUT. - -CLIMBING PARTIES SPECIALLY CATERED FOR. - - Three Sitting-rooms. Eight Large Bedrooms. - - TERMS ON APPLICATION. - - J. RITSON WHITING, Proprietor. - - - - -SUN HOTEL, - -CONISTON. - -(Quarters of the Fell and Rock-Climbing Club.) - -TARIFF. - - S. D. S. D. - - Breakfast 1 6 2 0 - - Luncheon 1 9 3 6 - - Dinner 2 0 3 6 - - Teas 0 6 2 0 - - Bedrooms (Single) 2 0 3 0 - - Bedrooms (Double) 3 6 4 6 - - HOT AND COLD BATHS. - - PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SITTING-ROOMS. - - SEPARATE DRAWING-ROOM FOR LADIES. - -T. SATTERTHWAITE, Proprietor. - - -LODORE HOTEL, Borrowdale, - -KESWICK. - -[Illustration] - -This HOTEL is close to the Lake and surrounded by Beautiful -Scenery--Quiet, and a Good Centre for Walking and Climbing. - -Electric Launches on the Lake. Garage. Telephone No. 2 G.P.O. - - J. S. HARKER, Proprietor. - - - - -JAEGER - -PURE WOOL - -Complete Outfits in Pure Wool for Climbers. - - +----------------------+ - | _Alpine Outfits | - | a Specialty._ | - +----------------------+ - | Shirts, | - | | - | Spencers, | - | | - | Sweaters, | - | | - | Alpine Mitts, | - | | - | Puttees, | - | | - | Camel-hair | - | | - | Sleeping Bags, | - | | - | etc. | - | | - +----------------------+ - |Illustrated Price List| - |Post Free. | - +----------------------+ - -JAEGER PURE WOOL WEAR is never oppressive, while always protecting from -chill. Expert Athletes, of both sexes, know from experience that it is -the most suitable covering, and the wide World knows the JAEGER Name -and Trade Mark as guarantees of Pure Wool, High Quality and Good Value. - - LONDON--126 Regent Street, W. - 456 Strand, Charing Cross, W.C. - 30 Sloane Street, S.W. - 102 Kensington High Street, W. - 115 Victoria Street, S.W. (close to A. & N. Stores). - 85 and 86 Cheapside, E.C. - MANCHESTER--18 King Street, and 10 Princes Street. - LIVERPOOL--58 Church Street, and 4 Castle Street. - -_Address in other towns sent on application._ - - - - -H. HARDEN, - -PRACTICAL ALPINE BOOTMAKER. - -_Boots made from an old one as pattern and nailed complete with best -small and large Alpine Nails, Swiss Pattern._ - -[Illustration] - -Our Boots are already well known and used by most Expert Mountaineers. - -Boots Ready in Stock, Nailed and Complete, for Immediate Delivery. - -PRICES ON APPLICATION. - -ST. JOHN STREET, KESWICK, CUMBERLAND. - - - - -BURBERRY - -WEATHERPROOF CLIMBING KIT - -[Illustration] - -CLIMBERS REALISE the vital importance of clothing that meets the -exigencies of this strenuous pastime, and agree that BURBERRY -successfully solves the problem of the most healthful, comfortable, and -serviceable equipment. - -BURBERRY MATERIALS are especially woven and scientifically -weather-proofed by Burberry processes for the set purposes of:-- - - Affording natural warmth by diverting cold winds. - - Preventing penetration by rain, sleet or snow. - - Maintaining normal temperature under the most divergent conditions. - - Combining ability to withstand the rough wear and tear of climbing - with remarkable light weight. - -BROCHURE “Y” clearly sets forth how all these are accomplished. A copy -will be sent on request with patterns of cloths made especially for -climbers. - -BURBERRYS The Haymarket, S.W., LONDON; 10 Boulevard Malesherbes, PARIS; -Basingstoke; and Agents in Provincial Towns. - - - - -ARTHUR BEALE, - -Late JOHN BUCKINGHAM, - -194 SHAFTESBURY AVENUE, LONDON, W.C. - -IS THE ONLY MAKER OF THE CELEBRATED - -ALPINE CLUB ROPE, - -WHICH IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY EMPLOYED - -By the =Leading Mountaineers= of the time. It is made of the Best -Manilla Hemp, and the new Rope now being made, which from tests taken -(Admiralty proof) is of a much greater breaking strain than formerly, -is marked by three red worsted threads, one in the centre of each -strand to distinguish it from others on the market, and not one thread -only in the centre of the Rope as heretofore (see the Report of the -Special Committee on Ropes, &c., in Vol. I., No. 7, of the _Alpine -Journal_). Each length is tied with Red Tape bearing my Name. - -_BEWARE OF FRAUDULENT IMITATIONS._ - -ARTHUR BEALE (late JOHN BUCKINGHAM), - -194 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.C. - -ICE AXES by English and Foreign Makers kept in Stock. - - RÜCKSACKS, BELTS, SLINGS, &c. PRICE LISTS ON APPLICATION. - -_Diploma awarded for Alpine Rope at the Bergen Sports Exhibition 1910._ - - -JAMES S. CARTER - -_The Alpine Bootmaker_, - -16 South Molton Street (First Floor), - -LONDON, W. - -[Illustration: 45/-] - -Specialist in Boots for =Climbing & Touring= For over 50 years Maker to -the - - ENGLISH, - CONTINENTAL, - CANADIAN and CAPE - ALPINE and - CLIMBING CLUBS. - -_Illustrated Price List on application._ - - - - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -_Es’ablished nearly a Century._ - -HILL & SON, - -4 Haymarket, London, S.W. - -(_Opposite His Majesty’s Theatre._) - -London Manufacturers of Sporting, Table, Toilet and Pocket Cutlery, -Alpine Ice Axes and Accessories, Skates and Fine Steel Work. - -=H. & S.= have a very Interesting Stock of Mechanical Contrivances and -Useful Inventions for Everyday Wants. - -Utilities of all Sorts for Travellers and the Household. - - Specialities for the Garden. Jewellery, Silverware and - Electroplate. - -ALL LISTS FREE. - -_Alpine Ice Axes--Various Patterns for Ladies and Gentlemen._ - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - Rücksacks. Several Patterns, With and Without Outside Pockets. Of - Foreign Manufacture, from 12s. 6d. - - London Make, 17s., 18s. 6d. and 22s. - - Alpine Expedition Stick, as Illustration, with Steel Head and - Point, and Leather Head Case, 23s. 6d. - - Ash, Hazel, and Oak Mountaineering Sticks, with Steel Points, 9s. - 6d., 10s., 11s. - -[Illustration] - -BOOT FURNITURE.--No. 6, Mummery Spikes, 1s. 3d. per dozen. Nos. 1, 2, -5, 6d. per dozen. Swiss Side and Centre Nails, 1s. 6d. per 100. Larger -Side Nails, 4s. 6d. per 100. _Postages extra._ - - -_LANGDALE._ - -Dungeon Ghyll New Hotel - -(Quarters of the Fell and Rock-Climbing Club). - - _The Hill Climbers’ Paradise._ _In the Heart of Lakeland._ - -_The Place for a Restful Holiday._ - -PERFECT BATHROOMS AND SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS. - -NEWLY FURNISHED THROUGHOUT. - - _Postal Address_--AMBLESIDE. _Telegraphic Address_--ELTERWATER. - -J. COWPERTHWAITE - -(_Of the Prince of Wales and Rothay Hotels, Grasmere_), PROPRIETOR. - - J. FOTHERGILL, Manager. - - - - -MOUNTAIN AND CLIMBING PHOTOGRAPHS. - -Our Unique and Well-known Series now include the following Districts -and their Surrounding Peaks: Zermatt, Chamonix, Grindelwald, Arolla, -=Pontresina=, Oetzthal and Stubaithal; also the =Dauphiny Alps, the -Dolomites and the Grand Combin=. - -The British Series include the English Lake District, North Wales, -Scotland, and Skye. - -In Platinotype, 8-1/4 by 6-1/4 ins., at 1s. 6d. each; Set of 50, £3, -10s. Other Sizes also, up to 40 by 30 ins., in Carbon and Platinotype. - - -We Specialise in High-Class - -LANTERN SLIDES - -of any Subject in the above Series. - -Price, =2s.= each; Set of =50=, =£4, 10s.= - - -_Lists and Full Particulars from_ - -Messrs. G. P. ABRAHAM & SONS, - -Victoria Buildings, - -KESWICK. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] Not in Jones’ List. - -[2] In the Wastdale Climbers’ Book. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Obvious printer errors corrected silently. - -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROCK-CLIMBING IN THE ENGLISH LAKE -DISTRICT*** - - -******* This file should be named 56043-0.txt or 56043-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/6/0/4/56043 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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