UKH

I'm hatching a plan to spend a couple of days around Pillar, does anyone know how easy it is to access Raven crag High Style from Ennerdale? The guide suggested going in from Buttermere so I wasnt sure if this was a sensible option.

In reply to ebdon: Do you mean Eagle Crag and Grey Crag, High Stile? If so, yes it’s possible to access them from Pillar, Ennerdale, but longish walk ins. Striking directly up the hillside not using paths from Ennerdale is not recommended. Probably easiest is up to Red Pike and along to High Stile then descend to the crags. Or you could go via Scarth Gap. Eagle Crag needs a longish dry spell before visiting, Grey Crag dries very quickly.

In reply to shantaram:

I think he means the Raven Crag that's on the back (Ennerdale) side of High Stile/Red Pike. I've never been, but it's meant to be pretty good. There's a classic E1 and a classic E3 I think.

In reply to shantaram:

No I mean  Raven Crag (Highstile)

Sorry spelt it wrong. I would definitely wait for a considerably drier spell for eagle crag, I found pretty intimidating even in nice weather on my last visit! I cant imagine what a horror show it would be in the wet

In reply to Jon Stewart:

That's the one, it gets a good write up in the wired guide, and I'm always on the lookout for single pitch quality classics as my belayer/wife, allthough almost perfect in every way, refuses to second anything above VS. 

I see from the map theres a path running north to the summit of red pike, I was assuming I can just to traverse in on the appropriate contour. Having to my shame never been down Ennedale though I just want to check it it wasnt a hillside of death full of head high bracken and angry badgers etc... 

In reply to ebdon:

I've climbed Emperor but finished it up the obvious jamming crack on the left. Very good and worth doing. We walked up sour milk ghyll up to the summit then down to the crag. You could walk up from the ennerdale side but it looks rough going. 

In reply to ebdon:is 

I walked up from Buttermere , mainly because the combined driving and walking time is less that way for me.

The Buttermere and St Bees guide has the Ennerdale approach as slightly quicker but only if a bike is used up the valley. It has it as an hour longer without!

The wired guide ignores the Ennerdale option.

Good routes.

In reply to Rick Graham:

Thanks that's what I wanted to know, I quite enjoy a cycle into a crag, makes the day more of an adventure. Allthough I have almost lost my bike before after hiding it a little too well.

In reply to ebdon:

The frcc guide is  quite specific about not walking directly up from the valley floor.

It recommends using the path a kilometre east  of gillerthwaite  and contour at the 610m level to the crags .

In reply to ebdon:

There's a path marked on the 1:25k map that runs up from just east of high gillerthwaite to Red Pike. At about the 400m contour look for a path going off to the right (not marked on map) which heads for White Pike. Contour round from there.

Edit, to be clear. Contour from White Pike, not along the 400m line

In reply to ebdon:

If you're in the lower grades,Butterfly Crack (S) was really good, and I really enjoyed Outside Edge (VD) too ("airy, delicate, hardly any runners" according to my diary)

In reply to Iain Thow:

Thanks all, thats really useful to know, my grade range is a bit odd going from diff to about E3, due to climbing in a mixed ability pair, so low grade good routes are always welcome!

All I need now is some dry weather.

In reply to ebdon:

I've not done it but it looks a grinding slog from Ennerdale.

You could have a good day in the lower grades on the South-East Face of High Man, Pillar Rock. My wife and I once spent a sunny day there and climbed nearly every route from Far West Jordan round to Slab and Notch, that's 9 routes from Mod to VS (missing out one E1).

In reply to Iain Thow:

Those are the two routes we did when we visited a few years ago and both were excellent though perhaps a bit undergraded. We approached from Ennerdale, via the path just after the youth hostel then presumably a rising traverse of some sort - I can't remember it, so it can't have been too bad!

In reply to ebdon:

Sorry to jump on but how quickly does this crag dry? 

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

We did them after 3 routes on Grey Crag so our approach was from the top. I thought Butterfly Crack was worth HS ("steep, strenuous and interesting" my diary says), and Outside Edge prob OK at VD but worth mentioning the lack of gear - I found 3 runners in the whole route.  Both really enjoyable though - I can still remember them 30+ years on, which must say something about them. My guidebook tells me I also soloed Elvina's Slab and Chrysalis Arete but I can't remember anything about them. Nice place to spend an afternoon.