The split blocks descent from Raven crag butress has lost a big block and an oak tree, doesn't look very climbable at moment. The block dropped between Revelation and Bilberry butress, revelation looks climbable, think Bilberry might have debris, scree below has some very big perched blocks.
> There's an abseil descent into the gully now isn't there, so you don't have to do the scramble?
There was a sling and maillon on a poor thread above and right of the finish of Muscle Crack the other year. This was taken off because it was considered too hollow.
Hopefully something more useable and secure has been found.
Hi Rick. Someone from the BMC Lakes area sorted an abseil point out sometime in the last few weeks, not sure of the exact details but I think it enables an abseil down the gully which the old descent path contours into. Hopefully someone with better info than my third hand knowledge will pipe up with more details. I've no idea how good this new descent option is myself.
The local BMC began looking into alternative descent routes after a(nother) fatality earlier this year. Someone in the know sent me the following:
"The top of the abseil is above the gully which ends at the right hand end of the red line in the rock fall picture. There is a large pinnacle of rock at the top of this gully which is the anchor point. At the moment this is a rope anchor but should be replaced at some point with a steel cable."
I was hoping to do Savernake when I visit in September as it was the first ever climb I did 46 years ago. Is it affected by this fall - it looks to me that its line is to the right of the damage but possibly threatened by loose rock above?
Hard to tell, looking at my guidebook it looks like Savernake lands you onto the area where the tree and block once were. It looks like you come in from the left, so it may be possible to skirt the danger zone, but I wouldn't bank on it.
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