In reply to Steve Jones:
Perhaps there’s hope for a revival of tracksters, airtex vests & short split shorts yet...
The above aside, I’m not sure there is much that affords great grip along that traverse on the Langdale race. I’ve known a few folk take the higher line but always assumed it’d take a fair bit longer, without the hindsight of a recce.
As you allude to from your own experience Steve, low profile shoes can give your feet a bit of a battering. I tend to mix up my training between road of all gradients, track, flat grass & undulating/hilly off-road, with fell shoes saved for the latter. I’m not saying that this is the route to staying injury free but I do think that it’s beneficial to vary terrain & shoes
Agree with Nick B - if you want good grip on wet rock, your more likely to get it from a few shoe that a trail shoe. I’ve always thought fell shoes to be a lot more versatile than trail shoes, in that they do the job in good & bad conditions and give you more options hat sticking to dry hard-packed paths.