Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - EnglandHaskett Smith, W. P. (Walter Parry)
History
Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England
Haskett Smith, W. P. (Walter Parry)
Mountaineering -- England; Mountains -- England -- Guidebooks
Summarising the various methods of ascending the rock, we may say that
the west side first yielded in 1826; the east side probably about 1860;
the south side in 1882, and the north side in 1891. The _Easy Way_ (as
it is generally called) on the east side was discovered in 1863 by a
party of Cambridge men led by Mr. Conybeare, and Mr. A.J. Butler, the
late editor of the _Alpine Journal_. Mr. Leslie Stephen had visited the
rock earlier in that year without finding a way up it, but in 1865 he
was more successful, and wrote an account of it in Ritson's book; the
account, as usual, was first defaced and afterwards stolen. The
_Northeast_, or _Old Wall_, _way_ was discovered by Matthew Barnes, the
Keswick guide, while with Mr. Graves, of Manchester. The central and
western climbs from _Jordan_ were done by the writer in 1882, as was the
eastern one in 1884, the last being scarcely justifiable under any
circumstances, and especially without a rope. The direct climb of the
_Great Chimney_ (starting on the south wall of it) was done about the
same time, and curiously enough--for it is safe and comparatively
easy--does not appear to have been done since. The long climb on the
north face was accomplished by Messrs. Hastings, Slingsby, and the
writer in 1891. It has been described in an illustrated article in
_Black and White_ (June 4, 1892), and by Mr. Gwynne in the _Pall Mall
Budget_. It should not be touched except by experienced climbers.
=Pinnacle Bield=, on the east side of _Glaramara_, is a rocky part of
the mountain and a famous stronghold for foxes. On the way up from
_Langstrath_ there is a very steep bit for about 500 ft.
=Pisgah.=--A name given in 1882 to the outlying rock on the south side
of the Pillar Rock, from which it is severed by an all but impassable
chasm, not seen until it bars the way. The term has in subsequent years
been applied almost generically.
=Pitch=: any sudden drop in the course of a rock gully, usually caused
by some large stone choking the channel and penning back the loose
stones behind it. Such a stone is then said to be 'jammed,' 'wedged,' or
'pitched,' and is sometimes called a 'chockstone' (q.v.).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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