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
=Sharp Edge=, on Saddleback, runs along the north side of Scales Tarn.
Mr. Prior's 'Guide' observes: 'The ascent (or descent) by this Edge is
considered something of an exploit, but without sufficient reason. To a
giddy head, indeed, it is unquestionably several degrees worse than
Striding Edge, which it somewhat resembles; possibly, to a head so
constituted, just without the limits of safety, as Striding Edge is
decidedly well within them. The main difficulty lies in the descent of
the cliff above the "Edge," and in the two or three rocky knolls by
which this cliff connects itself with the latter, and from which there
is an unpleasant drop on each side.... Excepting _head_, however, no
other quality of a cragsman is required for Sharp Edge; the footing is
ample, and the hands would be less called into requisition than even on
Striding Edge.'
This is a very just estimate, but it need hardly be said that not only
Sharp Edge but also those on the Threlkeld side undergo marvellous
changes in winter, and then give splendid chances of real mountaineering
practice.
=Shuttenoer= is mentioned by more than one of the old authorities as one
of the rocks at Lowdore between which the water falls. My belief is that
the intelligent travellers of that date, not having mastered the
'Cummerlan' mak o' toak,' mistook for the name of the rock what was
merely intended for a casual description of it, namely, 'Shuttan'
ower'--'shooting over,' 'projecting.'
=Sike=: a rill in marshy ground.
=Silver Howe= (1,345 ft.), near Grasmere, is only notable as being the
scene of the annual fell race, or 'Guides' race,' as it is sometimes
called, though there are few guides, and of them very few would have any
chance of success in this race. The course is uphill to a flag and down
again. The time is generally about ten minutes to go up and something
less than five minutes to come down. It is a pretty race to watch, but
the scientific interest for mountaineers would be increased if the
course were free from all obstacles and of accurately measured height
and length.
=Skew Gill.=--A curious deep channel in the Wastdale side of Great End,
giving a convenient approach to the foot of the gullies on the other
side. To go by Grainy Gill and this one, and so up Cust's Gully, has for
many years been the regulation expedition for the first day of a winter
sojourn at Wastdale Head.
=Skiddaw= (Cumberland, sh. 56) is 3,058 ft. high, 'with two heads like
unto _Parnassus_,' as old Camden observed, and Wordsworth and others
have repeated it after him. On this characteristic, which is not very
strongly marked, many derivations of the name have been based. In older
writings, however, the word much more commonly ends in _-ow_, a
termination which in countless instances represents the well-known word
'how.' Whatever its name may signify, Skiddaw is not a mountaineer's
mountain, and no amount of snow and ice can make it so. As a local bard
has truly sung:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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