UKC

Hoping to head to the lakes on Tuesday for a few days. If anyone has been recently or goes in the next few days would like to know if scafell east buttress is dry and central buttress too. Also if any locals have a hunch on conditions would appreciate hearing them. Thanks, I know we should just walk up and find out and we probably will!

In reply to jamesturnbull:

i tend only to go up there in heatwave conditions, 5 hot dry days on the trot. I think it'll be grim.

sorry you're not getting any better informed advice but at least I've bumped the thread

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Rained Langdale this am

In reply to jamesturnbull:

http://www.lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk/

In reply to mockerkin:

Sorry to thread hijack (at least it is a bump); Mockerkin doesn't accept emails.

Are you by some unlikely link someone I climbed with from Pardshaw last year? Castle rock, Gazebo, Kliene Rinn, South slabs?, Via Media were the routes.
If so I'm in the area again and I'm very keen to get out if the weather allows!

In reply to jamesturnbull:

And in response James, I doubt it will be dry with some of the less than optimal weather we've been having up here, the season seems to be changing, darker nights, leaves going etc! Pick some low level windy crag and you'll have a whale of a time, wallowbarrow and stonestar are my faves in the south.

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Thanks everyone, what about other crags like gimmer, dove crag and raven crag? Reecastle too, keen for the lakes but never end up going cos of wet crags!!

In reply to jamesturnbull:

climbed on Pavey this evening plenty to go at though some seepage, I would have thought that if it doesn't rain before Tuesday you would be able to get something done alterantively Gimmer dries quickly and Raven Langdale is good 10 mins after it stops

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Reecastle will be prime and I hope to be there either Tuesday or Wednesday evening myself.

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Gimmer is usually a good bet: faces the sun, sticks out of the mountain, and isn't high up. Consequently the mountain crag that's most often in good nick, with tremendous routes in the low Es. Dove Crag is the opposite, I believe: high up, north facing, never dry.

Reecastle (and Raven Langdale?) is one of the few places you'll find hard routes clean and chalked: great, convenient, sporty crag.

In reply to jamesturnbull:

There was some rain on Friday, and some light rain this evening in North Lakes. However it looks set to be warm and dry this coming week so towards the end of this week Scafell could be in OK nick. My rule of thumb is that if I'm warm in shorts and t-shirts at valley level then it should be OK temps for climbing on Scafell, or maybe I'm just a bit soft. Looks like you've picked a good week for climbing though. Gimmer, Raven Crag, Reecastle should all be in nick this week.

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Thanks everyone, well psyched!!

In reply to jamesturnbull:

some rain last night!

In reply to Jon Stewart:


All fair comment.

However. Dove faces East and gets the sun until about noon.

Despite the rain on Saturday and last week, Dove NB was dry ( Sunday ) with chalked routes, the rest of the crag was a bit damp.

On Sunday Reecastle crag was dry with a few puddles still in the rock step below Rack Direct ( from the rain ). The crag is usually dry all summer.

"Dove Crag is the opposite, I believe:" Dove Crag, never been ? never lived ! Get there Jon.

In reply to Rick Graham:


Will do, one day. To be honest I go hot and cold on filthy Lakes grimefests. When I lived about an hour away last summer, and we had a good heatwave I was doing amazing routes on every day off, stuff I'd wanted to do for years. This summer I didn't have the same experience: good forecasts that turned out to be claggy, crags which seemed never to have been climbed on and were completely devoid of gear (I'm referring to Hardknott here), super-classic routes that were still waterfalls after a week of dry weather (Prana)...

But you're right, when conditions are good I shall make the trek up to Dove crag and tick some of the classic routes.

In reply to Jon Stewart:


Eh? I've only done Powerglide and Copenhagen but they were fine; adequate gear rather than over-endowed with protection but hardly dangerous. Weren't you moaning about Bloodhound last year too, sounds like you need to practise placing gear a bit more!

As for Prana, the bottom pitch is nearly always wet (but it's only 4b) and the lower wall of the main pitch is often a bit seepy but it doesn't affect the climbing much (if at all). The overlap and crux section at the top dry quickly.

In reply to Pagan:


I didn't get far enough up either route to find out how little gear there was. It was all rather grubby and lichenous and I'd just been super-sandbagged on the warm up route (this is all after walking out from a claggy Upper Eskdale).

As for Bloodhound, unless you place siderunners, it's a solo up to the gear, then a massive run-out about it.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

That's hilarious, you haven't even done the routes and yet you see fit to give an opinion? Maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself until you know better, the way you carry on it'd be easy for someone to read your posts and mistake you for someone who knows what they're talking about! The routes aren't going to see much traffic if people are put off by the likes of you spouting off.

As for Bloodhound; it's a solo to the gear which appears at regular intervals to the top...sounds like you do need some practise placing gear!

In reply to Pagan:

haha. I did try, if a little half-heartedly to climb both routes. So i placed some gear that was shite and went up to where it started getting hard (lakes 5c) and couldn't see any decent gear to protect the next bit, nor any respite. Same on both routes.

as for bloodhound, all the photos I've seen betray the bold nature of the route. I think you're talking bollox.

In reply to jamesturnbull:

Cheers every one, we had a great time and climbed loads of amazing routes, pagan your right about prana. Bottom pitch a waterfall and start of the second was too but didn't matter and the rest bone dry. So amazing and worth it. Did grand alliance too which again looked dirty but fine once on it. Awesome routes.