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
=Screes (The).=--A long range flanking Wastwater on the south-west. They
are often called the 'Wastdale' Screes, but it appears from Hutchinson
that they were in his time known as the 'Eskdale' Screes, and--like most
hills at that period--were said to be a mile high. Apparently in those
days they thought less of the climbs on it than of the sheep-runs, which
latter are in Eskdale. The rock is of very loose construction and comes
away at a touch, or without one, sometimes many tons at a time; but it
improves towards the foot of the lake, and the great bastion opposite
Wastdale Hall is full of magnificent climbing. The writer, at the
suggestion of Mr. G. Musgrave, tried the great gully both alone and in
good company, namely, that of two of the party which ultimately
succeeded. Dr. Collie contributed a vivid account of the first ascent to
the _Scottish Mountaineering Journal_, a publication which should be
better known to climbers. The party found no difficulty till they were
in the left-hand branch above the point where the gully divides, and the
first pitch gave them some trouble, as the stream, being frozen, formed
a cascade of ice, and they were forced on to the buttress which divides
the two gullies. Hastings was sent on to prospect, whilst I had to back
him up as far as possible. With considerable trouble he managed to
traverse back to the left into the main gully, using infinitesimal knobs
of rock for hand and foot hold. We then followed him, and found
ourselves in a narrow cleft cut far into the side of the hill.
Perpendicular walls rose on either side for several hundred feet; above
us stretched cascade after cascade of solid ice, always at a very steep
angle, and sometimes perpendicular. Up these we cut our way with our
axes, sometimes being helped by making the steps close to the walls on
either side, and using any small inequalities on the rock-face to steady
us in our steps. At last we came to the final pitch. Far up above at the
top, the stream coming over an overhanging ledge on the right had frozen
into masses of insecure icicles, some being 20 ft. to 30 ft. long.
Obviously we could not climb up these. However, at the left-hand corner
at the top of the pitch a rock was wedged, which overhung, leaving
underneath a cave of considerable size. We managed to get as far up as
the cave, in which we placed Robinson, where he hitched himself to a
jammed boulder at the back. I was placed in a somewhat insecure
position; my right foot occupied a capacious hole cut in the bottom of
the icicles, whilst my left was far away on the other side of the gully
on a small, but obliging, shelf in the rock-face. In this interesting
attitude, like the Colossus of Rhodes, I spanned the gulf, and was
anchored both to the boulder and to Robinson as well. Then Hastings,
with considerable agility, climbed on to my shoulders. From that exalted
position he could reach the edge of the overhanging stone underneath
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