Mosedale

We could see the sun coating Grasmoor and Mellbreak in warmth, and felt rather jealous as we turned into the frozen wilderness of the Mosedale valley. Since we were continually walking in the shade of Gale Fell and Great Borne, it turned out to be a very cold morning for us. In fact, that was a actually good thin,g since this area was extremely boggy, and the ice made our route just about passable. Initially, we walked on the north side of Black Beck, following the bridleway green line on the OS map, and then started a traverse of the bog to slightly higher ground, at the foot of Gale Fell. The path across the bog looked well worn by previous walkers, but I found it a little precarious even in these icy conditions. Every footfall was taken with anticipation that your leg might disappear into the quagmire. I was quite relieved when we reached the path that runs along the foot of Gale Fell. When I walk in this area again I would definitely use the path that sticks to the south side of Black Beck, from Scale Force. Boggy excitement over, we continued up the valley, the path transferring back towards the base of Hen Comb on to easier ground. For ten magical minutes we enjoyed bathing in the warmth of the sun, before we were back in the shade again at Floutern Tarn. Well, I could at last knock Floutern Tarn off my bucket list. It had iced over and looked rather austere in the shadow of Floutern Crag. I pointed out our path up the steep Steel Brow, and noticed that the Cabin Boy looked nervous. She'd been spooked by yesterday's epic on Yewbarrow (see Yewbarrow Cabin Boy's Nemesis). It was clearly going to be some time before she got over that experience. When we were on Gavel Fell earlier in the week (see Blake Hen Comb Roam), I'd checked the Steel Brow route out and it had looked fine to me.

Great Borne

And indeed it was fine. A little steep in places, but I found it easier than the path further over to the east (near Herdus).  As the steepness flowed away, the sun met us on the other side with a dazzling display. We stood for a while to admire the fells to the north: Gavel Fell, Blake Fell and Hen Comb. It was easy to navigate to the top of Great Borne, since it was simply a matter of following the wire fence that had already led us up Steel Brow. The actual top is on a bit of plateau a little away from the fence, but doesn't take much finding, especially on a day like today. It really had turned out to be a perfect day with sun, blue skies and ice. We could see the hills on the other side of the Ennerdale valley including yesterday's Wainwright misses: Pillar and Steeple. I think I'll do Steeple from the Ennerdale side, on the Cabin Boy's next attempt. Given a dry day, with no wind, I'm sure the Cabin Boy will breeze up it. We made our way back to the wire fence and then started following it towards our next Wainwright, Starling Dodd.

Starling Dodd

We said cheerio to our wire fence and took a more direct route, on a well defined path, towards Starling Dodd. The hill looks a rounded lump on the OS map and is a rounded lump in reality. The lump isn't that steep though and it wasn't long before we neared its summit. With its shape and its icy top it reminded me of a large Tunnock Snowball (a personal favourite), although that might have been my lunchtime hunger playing with my imagination. The summit is graced by a bonfire of ironmongery. Steeple was almost opposite us now, on the other side of the valley, and I pointed out to the Cabin Boy that the route from this side was well within her capabilities. Having seen it from this angle, I think I detected that she was a little less miserable about the prospect. After summiting our last Wainwright of the day, we dropped down the other side and had a very cold lunch break near Little Dodd.

Scale Force

I did think about going over Red Pike back to Buttermere, but thought that the descent down The Saddle might be interesting on an icy day like today. The stone steps, later on, wouldn't be much fun either. In the end I decided to head down the valley to the north and follow Scale Beck to Scale Force. As I waited for Captain Mo and the Cabin Boy to put their rucksacks on after lunch, I could see a snow cloud moving in over Grasmoor. It drifted over Crummock Water and seemed to halt with the east side of Mellbreak in a white cloud, and the west side enjoying blue skies and sun. I had intended to precede our route down the valley, by first going along Lingcomb Edge, since this has a great view down to the Buttermere valley. The ominous snow cloud convinced me to take a more direct down into the Scale Beck valley, using a track that runs parallel to Lingcomb Edge. In the end, we only got a few flakes of snow, although the temperature did feel like it had been turned down a few notches.

'We're not going down to Scale Force are we?' the Cabin Boy wanted to know. I was expecting this. 'I thought you said we'd be going over Red Pike!' the Cabin Boy grumbled. I explained to her my rational thought process of the Scale Force path being less difficult than the Red Pike descent. The Cabin Boy's dilemma was a 'bad step' that she'd struggled to climb over, the last time we'd done the route (see Utterley Buttermerely). When we eventually reached the 'bad step' the approach track had some thick patchy ice, and I wasn't really comfortable with the Cabin Boy going over it. In the end, Captain Mo went over the 'bad step' and I led the Cabin Boy on a roundabout route which involved crossing and re-crossing the beck. The only danger from the alternative route was getting a wet foot, which compared favourably with the 'bad step', where a fall would probably have ended with a broken limb, if not worse. The Cabin Boy appeared cheery after this obstacle was behind us and we continued down the path to Scale Force. I walked up the narrow gill to get a photo. There wasn't that much water coming down, but it was certainly impressive. At 52 metres, it has the highest drop in the Lake District.

The light was drawing in as we made way back along the path to Buttermere. Another Cormorant had joined the one we'd saw on the tree branch on Scale Island, this morning. There was no sign of the amorous Ram in the field at Buttermere. No doubt he was having a rest before tonight's activities. It was too early for serving dinners in the Buttermere hotels, and the lounges looked deserted, although still cosy. The Cabin Boy left so much bird food on the fence posts in the National Trust carpark that I feared that the eagerly awaiting Robin would be unable to get airborne again, if he ate it all.

After yesterday's trauma on the Yewbarrow walk (see Yewbarrow Cabin Boy's Dilemma), today had been almost perfect. The Cabin Boy hadn't been happy with Scale Force's 'bad step', but I always think it is better to get back on to your bike as soon as possible, after you have fallen off.