Grasmoor via Lad Hows - Life on the Edge

The main attraction of this route is the beautiful, sweeping ridge that leads from Lad Howes straight onto the summit of Grasmoor. Of this route, WalkLakes' own account says:

"Initially a narrow path brushes through heather, but with height comes rock. Encountering the zigzag path through loose scree just go with it. It doesn't last too long."

Well, I think that's a very off-hand way of introducing 1400 feet of steep, rough climbing. Let me tell you that once you're on the wrong side of 75 and nursing a bad back, those 1400 feet go on quite long enough! Yet they're worth it.

Yesterday, parked at the bottom of Cinderdale Beck at 9 am on the Buttermere road, there was surely no better place to be in this world. The weather was perfect for hill-walking. The view across Crummock Water was extraordinary. Two MellBreaks were visible - one the real version and the second a reflection in a crystal mirror.

I'd climbed this route before, but the memory was dim. As far I could recall there had been an early struggle through a jungle of bracken and then the aformentioned fabulous curving ridge. Wonderfully, the ridge only appears as a complete surprise once you breast the summit of Lad Howes. One minute you're plodding through bracken, with Grasmoor towering over to your left - apparently going nowhere. The next everything becomes clear and simple once again - just a lot harder!

As usual, an early start meant that I had the route pretty much to myself. The bracken jungle was easily overcome, and within 30 minutes I was on top of Lad Howes and contemplating the real climbing.

I have to admit that yesterday I found the ridge hard going (and even harder, subsequently, on descent). The problem was that the loose scree seemed unusually skittery. Perhaps because of the dry weather, you had to be especially careful where scree lay on smooth rock. In such situations, you might just as well be walking on marbles. But the view made up for all deficiencies. The V- shaped valleys on either side of the ridge - Cinderdale to the left and Rannerdale to the right were so clearly defined that they might have been cut with scalpels. And all the time, the summit was clearly in sight, drawing me up. I fancy that this would be the very place to try out your new crampons after a good fall of crisp snow.

Still, I got there in the end and was entranced by the sudden metamorphosis of arid scree and rock into smooth green turf. This was a summit that would not have been out of place on a bowling green. The contrast was extraordinary. Wainwright believed that the "gras" in "Grasmoor" is derived from "grise", meaning boar. But after today's velvet experience, I'm inclined more to a simple mis-spelling of "grass".

The WalkLakes route advises walkers to continue to Crag Hill and a descent via Whiteless Pike and Rannerdale Knotts - which is very sensible but, unfortunately, not the sort of caper I'm up to any more.

So, for me, it was back down to Lad Howes - and a very uncomfortable journey it was - but there you go - what goes up must come down, and I'm pleased to report that it came down in one piece.

Phew - that was a day to savour!