Slightly hypothetical question:

From Styhead Tarn, whats the preferred way back north towards Seatoller? Obviously the following suggestions are dependent on available time and energy levels. Are the longer options worth it?

1. Styhead Gill to Seathwaite
2. Esk Hause, Glaramara, Thornthwaite Fell
3. Angle Tarn, Angletarn Gill, Langstrathdale
4. Angle Tarn, Rosset Pike, Black Crags, Stake Pass, Langstrathdale
5. Angle Tarn, Rosset Gill, Stake Pass, Langstrathdale

Are any of them impossible?

Option 1 – a peach of a descent (once past the 100m rockybitwithnopath)

1 very good
2 awful jumbly unrideable mess across Allen crags to glaramara. Good descent down main track to mountain view from glaramara.
3 angletarn Gill is very steep, wouldn’t have though rideable but not done, tedious from the end of langstrath till almost back to stonethwaite
4 and 5, stake pass is a great way up from langstrath, but a poor descent as sanitised hairpins too tight to get round without trials hopping. Would be a crap way to lose well earned height. I recently went this way in reverse, stake pass, angle Tarn, Esk hause, styhead, seathwaite. Was great.

Another option is styhead to sprinkling Tarn and down grains gill , harder technically, some folks love it.

5. The top bit of Rosset Gill would be an impossible descent but it’s an obvious route and you won’t get lost, but then you’d never be able to ride up Stake Pass from the other side…

I’d be interested to know what the path alongside Angletarn Gill is like.

Thanks for that.
I’ve ridden Styhead gill before and it was indeed brilliant, just wondering if the grass is greener. Rosset Gill holds appeal, but wondering how to integrate it into a loop (coming from the north)

styhead to sprinkling Tarn and down grains gill

Missed that one, will bear it in mind.

Carry up Aaron Slack, take moses trod over Brandreth to old drum house, down to Honister and take the old track to Seatoller.

But I’d take Grains Gill given the option.

Now I’ve worked out Flickr, here is a pic of Stakes pass from langstrath. Really easy height gain for the lakes, but piss poor as a descent! Smooth surface, endless too tight hairpins.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/SV3ecq]IMG_0957[/url] by Tom Blakely, on Flickr