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
=Rake's Progress.=--This is a natural gallery on the face of the
Mickledoor crags of _Scafell_. It has been best described by Mr.
Williamson, who says: '_Mickledoor_ may be reached by scrambling up the
steeply sloping screes which form its Wastdale slope; but the easier and
more romantic approach is by the grassy ledge, which will be seen
projecting from the face of the Scafell precipice. This ledge or shelf
is in but few places less than four feet wide. In places it is composed
of shattered heaps of rock, which seem barely to keep their equilibrium;
but though there is a precipice of considerable height on the left hand,
the passage along the ledge is free from risk so long as the rock wall
on the right is closely hugged. By one who watched from below the
passage along the ledge of some of the early pioneers of lake climbing
it was christened the _Rake's Progress_, and the name appears apt when
it is remembered that the ledge leads from the lower limb of the _Lord's
Rake_ to the _Mickledoor Ridge_.' The first published description of the
_Rake's Progress_ is contained in a letter by the late Mr. Maitland to
one of the local papers in October 1881. He there states that he had
recently traversed it for the fifth time, but had not previously to that
occasion visited Deep Gill. Several grand climbs start from the
_Progress_, including _North Climb_, _Collier's Climb_, _Moss Gill_,
_Steep Gill_, and the _Scafell Pillar_.
=Raven Crag.=--This name is generally the sign of a hard, if not of a
good, climb. One of the finest stands on the west side of Thirlmere,
near the foot, or what used to be the foot of it before Manchester took
it in hand; a second is on the _Pillar Fell_ just east of the rock; a
third and fourth on _Brandreth_ and _Gable_, and indeed there is one on
almost every fell.
=Red Pike=, in Cumberland, overlooking Buttermere, is a syenite hill,
and commands a glorious view, especially strong in lakes, but there is
next to no climbing to be had on it. The best way up it is to follow the
course of Ruddy Beck from the southernmost corner of Crummock Water, but
the rocky amphitheatre in which Bleaberry Tarn lies is better seen if
the somewhat rougher route by Sourmilkgill and its east bank be
followed.
=Red Pike=, also in Cumberland, is a Wastdale fell, and lies between
_Yewbarrow_ and the _Steeple_. The north side of it has abundance of
small climbs, which, with the exception of _Yewbarrow_, are, perhaps,
more easily reached than any others from the inn at Wastdale Head; but
they are little visited, because everyone wants to fly at the highest
game and do the climbs which are most talked about. This fell is
sometimes called _Chair_, from the fact of there being a curious stone
seat on it near the ridge, and not far from _Door Head_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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