UKC

Hi,

Sorry if this topic has come up before, I did do a search but nothing came up.

Can anybody suggest a few grade II-III scrambles /easy climbs (Mod-Diff) when it's wet or damp in the lakes?

Any idea if these are super slippy if the rock is damp/wet: Pinnacle Ridge (St Sunday Crag), Giants Crawl, Corvus, Intake ridge, Brown Cove crags, Easy Terrace - Dow Crag, Pike o'Stickle - South face/main face, Crescent Climb Pavey Ark.

Somebody did say all climbs are ok in the wet you just need to hold on tighter which did make me laugh but I know some rock is better that others.

I've got the Cicerone Scrambles in the Lakes (North and South) and Scrambles & Easy Climbs in the Lake District but it's not particularly easy to know if the rock is ok in the wet or is like a skates on ice.

Cheers

In reply to Scrambletastic:
I don't remember anything on Giant's Crawl that would cause you problems in the wet, although it's been a while since I last did it.

There's a corner on Corvus that I reckon would be fairly unpleasant in the wet, and you'd find it harder to do the traverse in good style - i.e. using your feet carefully rather than thugging it out (which a lot of people do anyway).

Can't comment on others.

In reply to Scrambletastic: I have read that Giant's Crawl is not one for when it is wet or slpery and having done it twice in the last couple of years I can imagine why.

In reply to Scrambletastic:

I think the general answer is, it depends. Unhelpful I know, but true.

For example, I've done Corvus in the rain and Pinnacle Ridge on St Sunday Crag in snow and ice and found neither of them too troubling. Your view may, quite reasonably, differ. I wouldn't choose to do Giant's Crawl in the rain; it's polished, so will be slippy, and I thought the belays not too good on the slab, though this was of academic interest at the time as I climbed it in alpine style on a rope of three so we weren't setting anything up.

Way back in the pre-internet age we used to talk about getting to know a guidebook; knowing what you could trust, which phrases were hiding something and what was meant by different terms used by different guidebook writers; 'exposed','interesting', 'gymnastic' and 'puzzling' were all words that implied a lot more than they said. You may find that as you try things out, you progress up a similar learning curve with the books you have.

Good luck.

T.

In reply to Scrambletastic:


Giant's Crawl fits the bill there (it's slabby).

In reply to Scrambletastic:

Pinnacle ridge is fine in the wet.
Corvus has a tricky 1st pitch when wet, but fine after that.
Intake ridge fine in wet.
Brown cove crags - slippery when wet.
Dow crag - slippery when wet.
Crescent climb, Pavey - even better value when wet, really good.

In reply to Clinger:

Great thanks for the note back, looks like we'll be steering clear of Giants Crawl unless we want more excitement than is advisable!

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Thanks, I too can remember a world without the Web, I bet we'll soon be a minority. I'm pretty cautious so will test before climbing. Thanks again.

In reply to A Mountain Journey:

Phew, at least there's a few left!

In reply to A Mountain Journey:


I can second this. For best (amusement) value make sure your mate belays in the gully just before a torrential downpour.

In reply to Scrambletastic:
Crescent climb, gears quite spaced,
Gwynne chimney is 'fun' and well protected
Middlefell butress, good gear, clean, not too slippy in wet
S face Harrison stickle very good not too slippy not sure about gear

In reply to John Kelly:

Nice one thanks, especially Stickle as I fancy that one. I always see it when driving in from work.

In reply to A Mountain Journey:
Crescent Climb is a terrible recommendation in my view (unless its for very competant climbers): bold and on poor rock including dubious belays until out on the crescent. You can bypass the very delicate when wet pitch one of Corvus. The others are OK but really why do people want to polish classics further by climbing them in the rain.... better to do some minor routes instead that need a clean or stick to scrambles.

In reply to Scrambletastic:

Stickle is rough rock but compact... needs a confident approach when wet.

In reply to Scrambletastic:

I read that all scrambles are ok in the rain but you can expect them to feel a grade harder. I did Pinnacle Ridge in the rain / just after it had rained last year, it was fine, it was probably harder walking on the wet grass to get up to it. I would be very surprised if there was a scramble that was much much harder in the wet than in the dry.

FYI Scrambles are graded with numbers, not roman numerals, they are for winter climbs. I had a friend that made this mistake, tried to go up a grade I route up at Ben Nevis in summer thinking it was a grade 1. He ended up calling Mountain Rescue...

In reply to Offwidth:

The OP's question was regarding friction when wet, not how much gear could be stuffed in it. The rock is of reasonable quality on the 1st pitch and excellent quality on the 2nd. Belays take a little thought to arrange, but don't have to be dubious.
Can't imagine anything other than the regular path on Pike O'Stickle is polished, and is anything on there really regarded as a classic?
Similarly for Brown cove, this is far from a classic summer venue. The one visit I had there for a summer scramble made my mind up never to bother again when wet. Super slippery. Due to slimy rock, not polish.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Yes, apologies to the op. Got my ridges mixed up with this one. Have done it in the wet a few times and wasn't pleasant. I seem to remember the routes on Glaciated Slab being okay though.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:


The first slab before the "crawl"? I remember setting up a good nut belay at the top. I might have used offsets though, they often help.

Nevertheless, as you say, very smooth rock and not really for the wet!

In reply to A Mountain Journey:

I was involved with a rescue after a horrible accident when the rock failed on a belay. You are probably too good to have noticed the issues. Climbing routes when wet needs gear you can trust in case of a slip so it is simply not a good route for anyone likely to be stretched.

In reply to climbwhenready:

Yes you can get good belays on Giant's Crawl, but the route is diagonal without a great deal of gear in general. I distinctly remember in places my mate would have swung over the edge had he come off on second.

In reply to Scrambletastic:

Blimey, thanks all, lots to think about, I'll review my guide books based on your comments.

In my earlier days, not that I've been scrambling/climbing/mountaineering that longer, I experienced slippy polished rock on the slab at the top of Sharpe Edge, so I know how slippy some places can really be when wet - not an experience I intend to repeat!