UKC

Hey ladies and Gents. 

Matt here from Switzerland. 

Me and the girlfriend are coming over to the lakes end of July and beginning of August for some climbing. I am just curious if anyone has some decent tips on the best multipitch routes to do in the lakes? 

Were pretty experienced climbers, often "Alpine" underway and no strangers to climbing clean here in Switzerland.

Were not looking to set records though and just want to have a good time enjoying the lakes and some great routes. We climb here in Switzerland anything up to 6b clean, sport a little higher.

Would really appreciate any feed back. 

Thanks a bunch. 

Take it easy

Matt and Martina 

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

Great Gable; Scafell; Dow Crag; Pillar; Gimmer; Esk Buttress are some of the major venues you may want to consider. All offer outstanding climbing in tremendous settings.

Pillar and Scafell need more time to dry and are the coldest, so only bother with these if there's a heatwave.

Dow has a reputation for being chilly, but on a calm day in summer should be fine. It's very slippery when damp.

Gable has some great mountaineering routes, some are okay on damp days. Worth checking out Napes Needle too if you head that way.

Esk and Gimmer dry fastest and Gimmer is quickest to reach from the valley floor.

A copy of https://www.frcc.co.uk/publications/lake-district-rock/ will be handy.

There's loads on our blog about Lakes climbing, one just done today about Gimmer crag: https://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/best-rock-climbing-in-the-lake-district... - photos a bit fuzzy on this one, not sure why.

Hope you have a great trip

In reply to Mark Eddy:

Wow Thanks Mark. I'll check the blogs out also for sure. 

Much appreciated 👍🏼

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

No worries. Just remembered this one - worth a look for info: https://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/5-best-mountain-crags-in-the-lake-distr...

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

It can rain in the Lake District even (especially?) in the summer. Depending on where you are in the Lakes it's worth bearing in mind that some of the places outside the national park get far less rainfall. Places like the Eden Valley ( eg  Armathwaite ) and South Lakes limestone (eg Trowbarrow). Even some multi-pitch! Have fun and bring midge nets - not as bad as Scotland but they can be an issue on still, damp days in the valleys.

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

https://shop.thebmc.co.uk/product/lake-district-rock-wired-guide/

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

Plus one for Gimmer, take your pick of routes at the VS/HVS grade to get a feel.

Black crag Borrowdale is similarly friendly at those grades and E1.

Esk Buttress is a little more ambitious, higher up and a lot more walking.

Scafell of course if the weather permits.

In reply to Lankyman:

Nice thanks for the alternatives. Being from England I am fully aware of the British weather (experience)and the lakes has its own climate pretty much (heard about it) will def be packing the midg nets and spray. Thankfully no in Switzerland we don't generally have to deal with that side of it.  

In reply to pasbury:

Perfect thanks. Were definitely more inclined to go further/deeper into climbs In the hope of getting away from the crowds. Early starts and long approaches or biwacks we actually love to do. Will also be looking into these options also.  I think the biggest obstacle for us will be picking and choosing the spots according to the weather. 

Thanks guys. 

In reply to Mark Eddy:

👌🏼👍🏼

In reply to Mark Eddy:

Any advice on cam sizes? Here we always carry a double rack from 0.1 to 3 and obviously the nuts and tricams. 

I read some places require a little bigger ornis that mainly on selected routes! 

Thanks again guys for your help 👌🏼

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

Possibly the longest walks are to Esk Buttress (Dow Crag) and Pillar. I've camped/bivvied by both of them. Esk is the friendliest since it's a little lower in elevation than Pillar and also gets more sun and so drys more readily. Both are great places to be but I think the scramble/down climb off Pillar Slab and Notch Climb (M) spooked me more than the routes!

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

What sort of cams are you using? BD Camalots, WC Freinds, DMM Dragons?

Dragons are probably the most popular in the UK. It would be normal to carry a double rack up to their size 4 (Gold) which has a range of 38 - 64mm and maybe one of a bigger size if you had reason to think you might need it.

You would normally only carry anything bigger if you knew it was crucial for protection on a specific route. Bigger cams are more useful on gritstone than mountain rock, and the walk ins are shorter!

In reply to Lankyman:

Yes - horribly shiny. The guy I was with refused the scramble and set up an abseil.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I think it was more the exposure and the thought of a slip that had my sphincter twitching

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

Gimmer String (E1 5b)Equus (E2 5c)

Laugh Not (HVS 5b)Forget me Not (E1 5b)Paladin (E3 6a)

Central Buttress (E1 5b) with the Nazgul finish

Ichabod (E2 5c)

Central Pillar (E2 5b)

The Philistine (E1 5b)

Nimrod (E1 5c)

Samba Pa Ti (E2 5b)

Reecastle Crag

A few ideas to start you off Do get a copy of the selected guide by FRCC or Rockfax: £30 well spent. Bonnes vacances!

In reply to pec:

Using BD Camalots, maybe we grab a size 4 also then (always going to be useful at some point)  obviously not wanting to bring the kitchen sink with us on the hikes in. Sounds like that should be sufficient. Size wise seems pretty similar like here in Switzerland. 

In reply to C Witter:

Awesome thanks for the list. Yeah we have ordered the Rockfax, we did El Chorro Spain this winter with there book also. Great topos. 

Thanks a bunch . 

In reply to pec:

I think I see about 4 BD cams for every dragon. Double rack is absolutely outrageous! Single rack only between whatever the smallest size is and the equivalent of a BD 2 (3 if you know need it), with MAYBE a double .75. 

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

As above I think you'll place a lot more nuts than you're used to in Switzerland - double nuts probably more useful than double cams.

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

I would always carry a double set of wires and probably some of the smaller DMM offsets too. One set of cams to big blue with maybe some doubles in the smaller sizes should do. On something like Whit's End Direct (E1 5b) you'll definitely want 2 sets of nuts

If it's dry for 4 days before your trip then Pillar and Scafell are worth a look. The west face of high man on Pillar dries faster than that.

The rockfax has a number of grading errors in it; Bracket and Slab Climb (VS 4b) is severe not VS

'B' Route (VS 5a) also severe not VS etc.

In reply to LakesWinter: Brilliant thanks for the info guys. We will def start off super easy and get a feel for how the routes are graded etc and what  we're needing/setting. I'll def bring doable nuts in regards to your recommendations. 

Yeah we're mostly using cams here in Switzerland and very few use nuts (we like too) and we have a personal preference of tricams which are a little "oldskool" here but love using them. 

On the other hand Switzerland is pretty luxurious in terms of protection (or not depending on how you judge it) the mountains here are extremely well bolted, even "clean" routes will often have set Anchors for belay.

We've climbed alot in Chamonix clean but every so often with the off widths we will use the bolt to save carrying the bigger cams.

Once again thanks guys, really is appreciated 👍🏼

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

If you post on here a couple of days before your trip then I'm sure plenty of people will be happy to advise you about what may be looking dry at the time.

In reply to pec:

A double rack is pretty unusual in my experience away from sea cliffs. Anything out of the ordinary is usually mentioned in the guidebook, eg a size 5 camalot is useful if you want to do the flake pitch Central buttress (Original) (E3 5c).

In reply to Lankyman:

I think someone should point out that when climbers refer to Dow Crag they are NOT talking about Esk Buttress.

In reply to Lankyman:

Having been to Pillar I wouldn't revisit it if it were a roadside crag, and certainly not if I were traveling from Switzerland. But to each their own!

In reply to pec:

Disagree with this. For the Lakes I generally carry single set of dragons up to blue and some micro cams. Lots of nuts though, particularly duplicates in the mid range. And plenty of alpine draws/slings.

Just got back from Pembroke where a double set of cams was really useful but I wouldn't take the same rack in the Lakes/ N Wales mountain trad.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Must have made an unlucky route choice. I've only done three routes there but done enough to known that it is one of the best mountain crags in the UK.

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

Some interesting comments about gear. I'm from the Lakes and I never used to carry anything above a #2.5 Friend unless I knew it was required (very unusual to need a big cam).

Standard rack would be doubles of wires, with possibly 3 sets of size 4/5/6. Lots of long extenders. Double ropes. Nowadays very small and narrow cams are useful, but a double set of cams is definitely not required. Small brass nuts are often required even on E1 and E2s.

In my view the Lakes is the hardest place in the UK for protecting routes well. 

Definitely use the 'Latest Ascents' function on the UKC logbooks to see whether a crag has had much recent traffic.

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

I don't think it's normal to carry double cams in the Lakes unless you know they are needed...

I'm Lakes-based and on climbs to around E1/E2 I tend to carry:

• Single set of cams from smallest standard Dragon/CamalotC4 to around yellow/blue size, unless I have info to suggest that a micro or big cam is crucial
• Single set of nuts
• Single set of offsets (most often the WC superlight offsets, which also serve as doubles for my standard nuts when placed "sideways")
• Possibly a set of Peanuts if deemed appropriate
• Plus usual QDs/slings/etc

Have a good trip!

In reply to mgodfreyuk:

At the easier end of the grade range, I'd really recommend Tophet Wall (HS 4b) and Eliminate 'A' (VS 4c).