Outside your comfort zone, just not over the (Sharp) Edge

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I've spent the last week up in the mountains in the Lake District on the next stage of my challenge to climb all 214 Wainwright fells in 2023. Now, not all had gone to plan with my friend Alex slipping and us ending up in Carlisle A&E. But after being checked over by a doctor, a day's rest and a recovery walk we set out on our biggest adventure of the week to climb Sharp Edge on Blencathra.

Blencathra and Sharp Edge

Standing at the north end of the Lake District and quite distinct from the other major fell groups in the national park, Blencathra, sometimes referred to as Saddleback for its slightly curved top, sits alongside the A66 en route from Penrith to Keswick.

There are multiple ways up to the top of the mountain, so many indeed that Alfred Wainwright dedicated more pages to describing these routes than for any other mountain in his pictorial guides.

However, on the east side of the fell, directly above Scales Tarn, ascending the mountain from River Glendermackin, sits Sharp Edge, approx 183m of a level 1 scramble that even on a dry summer's day brings both fear and excitement in equal measure to even the most experienced of hikers.

And on Tuesday of this week two such hikers were myself and my friend Alex, ready to tackle the ascension between Tarn Crag and Foule Crag as part of our walk taking in the summit of Blencathra and four further mountain tops that day (Mungrisedale Common, Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell and Souther Fell completing the walk).

One step at a time, life in your hands

Thankfully the weather was very favourable on the Tuesday morning, indeed, with Saturday's experience still very fresh in our minds, there would have been no chance of us attempting the climb should we had anything but sunshine. And so after the expected photographic and physical preparations we set out on our ascent.

First up was the most craggy section of the Edge, with lots of hand holds and foot wells for placement but straight away a sense of just how much relied upon choosing locations that would provide grip and stability.

Next up came arguably the most fear inducing part, across the shiny and well polished stages of rock before the drop to under the shoot. Less distance but less grip and so our time taken here was longer than the previous distance to ensure we reached the end where we had to be sure of our footing to reach across to the final section.

Finally, whilst the shoot appears most challenging, and would not be something we would have wanted to attempt in the dry, let alone wet, actually the tightness of the rock cavity provides considerable prominence of foot and hand positions and an ability to lock into position should there be a slip.

Reflecting on our moments of adrenaline

In total the climb of 183m took us a total of 45 minutes which, when you consider than Usain Bolt has run 200m in 19.19s, appears a rather drawn out process. But the shear exhilaration and sense of achievement from completing such a scramble and sitting above Scales Tarn drinking a cup of coffee and snacking on homemade chocolate cake was all the more enjoyable when overlooking the route we had just conquered.

And whilst the views from Blencathra's summit, the bagging of another four Wainwrights and the favourable weather for the remainder of the walk were all wonderful memories to take home, the time on Sharp Edge and overcoming the fear encompassed in those 45 minutes will stay with me for a very long time.

What have you done recently that's pushed you outside your comfort zone but without going over the edge?

Best wishes

Peter

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I've spent the last week up in the mountains in the Lake District on the next stage of my challenge to climb all 214 Wainwright fells in 2023. Now, not all had gone to plan with my friend Alex slipping and us ending up in Carlisle A&E. But after being checked over by a doctor, a day's rest and a recovery walk we set out on our biggest adventure of the week to climb Sharp Edge on Blencathra.

Blencathra and Sharp Edge

Standing at the north end of the Lake District and quite distinct from the other major fell groups in the national park, Blencathra, sometimes referred to as Saddleback for its slightly curved top, sits alongside the A66 en route from Penrith to Keswick.

There are multiple ways up to the top of the mountain, so many indeed that Alfred Wainwright dedicated more pages to describing these routes than for any other mountain in his pictorial guides.

However, on the east side of the fell, directly above Scales Tarn, ascending the mountain from River Glendermackin, sits Sharp Edge, approx 183m of a level 1 scramble that even on a dry summer's day brings both fear and excitement in equal measure to even the most experienced of hikers.

And on Tuesday of this week two such hikers were myself and my friend Alex, ready to tackle the ascension between Tarn Crag and Foule Crag as part of our walk taking in the summit of Blencathra and four further mountain tops that day (Mungrisedale Common, Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell and Souther Fell completing the walk).

One step at a time, life in your hands

Thankfully the weather was very favourable on the Tuesday morning, indeed, with Saturday's experience still very fresh in our minds, there would have been no chance of us attempting the climb should we had anything but sunshine. And so after the expected photographic and physical preparations we set out on our ascent.

First up was the most craggy section of the Edge, with lots of hand holds and foot wells for placement but straight away a sense of just how much relied upon choosing locations that would provide grip and stability.

Next up came arguably the most fear inducing part, across the shiny and well polished stages of rock before the drop to under the shoot. Less distance but less grip and so our time taken here was longer than the previous distance to ensure we reached the end where we had to be sure of our footing to reach across to the final section.

Finally, whilst the shoot appears most challenging, and would not be something we would have wanted to attempt in the dry, let alone wet, actually the tightness of the rock cavity provides considerable prominence of foot and hand positions and an ability to lock into position should there be a slip.

Reflecting on our moments of adrenaline

In total the climb of 183m took us a total of 45 minutes which, when you consider than Usain Bolt has run 200m in 19.19s, appears a rather drawn out process. But the shear exhilaration and sense of achievement from completing such a scramble and sitting above Scales Tarn drinking a cup of coffee and snacking on homemade chocolate cake was all the more enjoyable when overlooking the route we had just conquered.

And whilst the views from Blencathra's summit, the bagging of another four Wainwrights and the favourable weather for the remainder of the walk were all wonderful memories to take home, the time on Sharp Edge and overcoming the fear encompassed in those 45 minutes will stay with me for a very long time.

What have you done recently that's pushed you outside your comfort zone but without going over the edge?

Best wishes

Peter