Along for the trip was Rich M, John, Phil, Davie and Rich S.
We toyed with the idea of Pavey Ark with a scramble up Jack’s Rake or Sca Fell via Lord’s Rake but the weather wasn’t going to be on our side. We decided to trot up Scafell Pike as Mad Dog hadn’t been to the summit since he was sixteen and we chose the Corridor Route as Dicko had been this way on the Three Peak Challenge but had not seen anything as we completed the route in the dark.
The weather was pants, we had water proofs on from the outset and lunch was under Davie’s shelter at Sty Head Tarn. Surveying the route to Scafell we could see the snow line and periodic glimpses of blue sky so got out of out protective cover and got stuck in to the job in hand.
Davie had started the day suffering with an ear infection and by the time we reached the break in the Corridor Route that follows the scree to the summit he was looking worse for wear and was struggling. We pushed on for another 15 minutes but infection, antibiotics, painkillers, altitude and exertion don’t mix well. After a brief discussion Davie elected to descend and the rest of us pushed on.
We reached the summit and after a couple of photo’s started down to get out of the cold wind.
As we turned it seemed the whole of Cumbria had decided to brave the weather and head for Scafell Pike. After fighting our way through the masses, including some bloke that had brought a dog the size of a guinea pig, we stopped out of the wind for a break before heading down.
The weather was much better as we escaped the cloud and we had great views on our descent. We arrived back at the car with daylight fading after another great day in the Lakes.
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