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  • Lake District Five Passes Route
  • thegeneralist
    Free Member

    I’ve been wanting to do the Four Passes route for ages but never got round to it. Might be getting my Enduro bike back from the fixers soon and seems like a good way to break it [in] again.

    But the drive round to Borrowdale/ Wasdale seems like a bit of an effort. We’re staying in Langdale for October half term and I was thinking of trying to do the route from there.

    I’ve tried to work out how to tag it all together in a logical way involving Rosset Gill, thé standard four passes and then Stake pass, but then that would be six passes and would necessitate another descent to Borrowdale from Great End, which I can’t find and would be too far/ much.

    A quick search suggests Rosset Gill is damn hard and steppy down, but makes a reasonable ascent (carrying). Stake Gill descent to Mickleden seems to get a good rep, so the plan is:

    Chapel Style
    up Rosset Gill
    Angle Tarn
    styhead Tarn
    Borrowdale
    honister
    Buttdale etc round the standard 4 passes including the ascent from Wasdale back to Sty Head.

    But at that point head back past Sprinkling Tarn to Angle Tarn. Then take the unofficial bridleway north east to the top of Stake Pass. Then descend Stake Gill back into Langdale and thence back to Chapel Style.

    I think the standard 4 passes is around 1600m so this must be around 2200m or so.

    Anyone done this route, or the Rossett/Stake bits? Am I right in saying up Rossett & down Stake?

    And for a bonus point, is there a logical six passes to be had? Is there another bridleway descent from the central hub to Borrowdale that I am missing?
    ( This is a purely academic question BTW, I don’t have six in me at present)

    And lastly, anyone at a loose end last week in October?

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    I did something similar recently. Old Dungeon Ghyll, up Rossett, Angle Tarn, Esk Hause, Sty Head, Stockly Bridge, then up Langstrath and over Stake Pass. Bloody ace day out. Took about 6 hours, although we weren’t rushing or pushing particularly hard.

    I think by the time you drop into Borrowdale, the last thing on your mind is going to be going over Honister. I’d turn right and go up Langstrath without hesitation. You’re correct in your assumption of up Rossett and down Stake though.

    Also, the track from Angle Tarn to the top of Stake is shockingly bad. Just boggy, horrible and slow going. Would be torture at the end of a big day.

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    Not sure about a potential 6 passes. I’m always dreaming of the pub by the time I get to the end of the standard 4 passes, and not thinking about climbing another hill. By that point I’m just hanging on and not really enjoying the descents

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    parkedtiger
    Free Member

    I’m just hanging on and not really enjoying the descents

    Isn’t that also your normal riding style when you’re not tired 😁

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    Why I oughta 💪🏻

    neilc
    Free Member

    If you really really want 6 passes you could start by heading over greenup edge into borrowdale, do the 4 passes and come back over sticks pass. I suspect you would run out of daylight though. I’ve “ridden” greenup edge a few times, its only really worthwhile for the truly masochistic. Just that and stake pass would make for a longish day out. Wouldn’t recommend this.

    If it’s feasible, you could potentially drop a car off the day before in Eskdale valley and ride back over Hardknott and Wrynose (no mean feat and many people wouldn’t want to ride the next day after doing that). Ride your proposed route as far as Wasdale then head south to Eskdale via Burnmoor tarn.

    Personally I’d just drive to Borrowdale/Wasdale if you’re set on doing that route, it’s way less effort than any of the other options.

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    For a 15 mile ride it takes a long time.

    I’d stick with the 4 passes this time of year with an early start. And think about taking a light, a mechanical or two might be costly.

    lowey
    Full Member

    Thats a massive day out from Chapel Stile in reduced daylight hours. As JB says forget the path from Angle to the top of Stake, at this time of year it will be utter purgatory. I’d suggest JB’s route, Rossett, Esk Hause, Styhead, Stockley Bridge, Langstrath and back over Stake. Or take Grains Ghyll from Esk Hause instead of Styhead.

    The 4 passes is a beast of a day in its own right.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    As JB says forget the path from Angle to the top of Stake, at this time of year it will be utter purgatory.

    the track from Angle Tarn to the top of Stake is shockingly bad. Just boggy, horrible and slow going. Would be torture at the end of a big day.

    Oh pisch.

    So tell me about descending Rosset Gill then. Is it just short sections of HaB or long soul destroying sections of pushing down [ at the end of a big day]

    take Grains Ghyll from Esk Hause instead of Styhead

    I’ve only ever walked up it with the kids, and it didn’t look that rideable coming down. Is it?

    Taking this through with you has made me re-realise that 4P is a different kind of route from what I’ve been doing this year. I’m asking if Grains is as unrideable as it looks, but TBH Styhead Gill looked unrideable in huge chunks when I last looked. It’s not just like tacking an extra lap of the red onto Llandegla trip. ( Not that I ever thought it was)

    What is tech rideable at the start of the day would become a walk or a dangerous sketchiness at the end of the day

    Hmmm

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    Rossett is probably the hardest bridleway in the Lakes. Big, chunky steps and barely rideable sections. Very full on, not to be taken lightly. Definitely not one to do at the end of a long day – you’ll just lose a whole bunch of height and it’ll ruin the day.

    Being honest, if you consider parts of Styhead Gill unrideable then I’d totally avoid Rossett, as all of Styhead (except for the boulder field near the bridge) goes and it’s an ace descent. Most of Grains goes as well. Think there’s just one really tricky section that requires walking down.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Right. Excellent info. Will have a think.

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    We did the Borrodale-Stakes-Rossett Gyll-Styhead-Borrowdale loop 10 days ago. It is a pretty big route for this time of year. We had terrible weather with 10m max visibility from the top of Rossett Gyll till the bridge below Sty Tarn. It took us 4.5 hours and we were flying on the downs and had no mechanicals. The push up Rossett Gyll is a killer and all the way up we were commenting on how shite it would be as a descent. The rideable bits would be no fun while the rest is either pushing down, or borderline with big risk of injury in a fall. Not something to try unless at the top of you game and fresh as a daisy.

    It was our first outing in the Lakes and it taught me one thing. You do not go anywhere quickly up there. Down here in Wales we might do a 15 miler and have 12 miles of good fast going and 3 miles of slow tech. Up there is it the other way round!

    lowey
    Full Member

    If you consider styhead tricky, you’ll love Warnscale into Buttemere.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    you could start by heading over greenup edge

    You, bad, bad, person. 🙂

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    😂

    justinbieber
    Full Member

    If you consider styhead tricky, you’ll love Warnscale into Buttemere

    Good point. Hadn’t even thought of that 😬

    mos
    Full Member

    I did the 4 passes about 3 weeks ago on what was probably one of the last proper short sleeve days of the year. 3h45 riding/pushing/carrying time but actually out for 7 hrs with stops & lunch etc. Add in slightly less than optimal conditions & some extra climbs, that’s a long day.

    scuttler
    Full Member

    It’s late October in very tough terrain – unless you already know it (I get the impression you don’t) focus on something else a little bit more escapable, i.e. a route that you can alter on the fly based on the weather / bike / fitness. The 4-6 passes isn’t that route.

    Staying in Langdale there are the low level routes around Claife, the mixture of stuff above Hawkshead / Grizedale the higher stuff around Walna Scar and the hike-a-bike stuff over Old Man and Wetherlam all of which can be shortened or extended depending on how you’re going. Plenty to go at.

    tomaso
    Free Member

    On the times I’ve done it and everything has gone well it has been a big long day out. Add bad weather, a face plant, mechanical like knocking the adjuster off your Marzocchis and oil falls out and its a long way home.

    Rosset, Sty Head and Stakes is still a big day out and a great ride for when the days are shorter.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Sigh. No passes until April at least for us filthy Mancs.

    NorthCountryBoy
    Free Member

    I’ve taken the bike down Rosset ghill
    As a decent it was disappointing and big chunks of off and on then some chunky stone pitching at the bottom.
    I wouldn’t rush back. There’s loads of great riding in the Langdale area that could keep a day or two filled with good riding without having to head west to the 4 passes area.

    gkeeffe
    Full Member

    No to down Rossetts…. to be honest no to UP Rossetts.. but you have to get up somehow!

    As everyone says Watch the daylight availability at this time of the year…

    stevedoc
    Free Member

    Rossett up once was enough for me .. Rossett down is a big no no for me also , im daft but not that daft.
    Styhead and stakes pass in March before the grounding and I wont be returning back, i wouldnt like to add it on to the 4 pass as well

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Ok. Rossett bad. Understood.

    Would appear that Boris has suggested 27 December would be a good day for this so long as I don’t meet more than two other households that week.

    Dawn will be at 07:50 on that day, and dusk at 16:37.

    Supposing I get up a bit early I could be riding by 10:30 which gives me a full hour per pass and 37 minutes for lunch. WCPGW?

    TomB
    Full Member

    Take extra batteries for your lights! An hour per pass isn’t really enough leeway- I’d start riding at 0830 instead….

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Hi Tom. Yes indeed. I think my post was a mixture of optimistic hoping and just downright trolling.

    Funnily enough I’m just in the process of trying to order a four cell support battery for my Equinox and some adapter leads so that my 2 Hope batteries will work with my Moon light. That combination should give me a good five or six hours light.
    Which should be enough, but of course for this route the problem will be that huge chunks of it are too technical to be done at night.

    Hmmmm

    I’m so bored of this **** lockdown and this shitty piss wet weather.

    stevedoc
    Free Member

    This is a goer as soon as the days get a bit longer and a lot more flow and less shouldering https://pedalnorth.com/coniston-wasdale/

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    Hey Steve, that does indeed look good. I was plotting a route similar to that one in summer but going over Wrynose & HN, which seemed a bit daft.
    Your suggestion up langdale and past Styhead sounds good.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Supposing I get up a bit early I could be riding by 10:30 which gives me a full hour per pass and 37 minutes for lunch. WCPGW?

    Check the mountain temps before you hoick all the way up here. Wouldn’t take much ice above 1500ft to make it an ‘interesting’ day.

    stevedoc
    Free Member

    As above i wouldnt be leaving later than 8:30am to be riding, less people around meaning more fun (ok less people to help when you stack it big time but thats half of the fun ) You have to leave something in reserve for that *what if* moment , a sliced tire and the possibility of a 9 mile hike a sad face walk would be worse if the day was drawing to a dark end … Just thought id cheer you up 🙂

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