Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third EditionJones, Owen Glynne
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Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third Edition
Jones, Owen Glynne
Lake District (England) -- Description and travel; Mountaineering; Rock climbing -- England -- Lake District
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
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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