Riding the Wainwrights

How does this sound?

That does indeed look peachy 🙂
Would like to try Hobcarton End descent as I did Sleet Howe last weekend. ( And did GP main descent last year) The question is which way to lose all that height from Whinlatter without doing the road?

@thegeneralist

How about the red route, Loam Ranger, Hugh Jass, Monty’s and After Hours on Trail Forks to finish? That would keep you off road almost the entire way back to Braithwaite.

Oh and I expect pictures on this thread!

Cheers

Sanny

@thegeneralist

How was Sleet Howe last weekend? Any pics?

Help me decide tomorrow .

Option 1 Fairfield loop clockwise after a lap of Loughrigg

Op2 Skiddaw Ullock and back of Skiddaw via Lonscale fell

Op3 The Bash

Op4 Up over Grisedale Sail Rigg Beck .. may start with a lap of Whinlatter

Op5, up to whiteless pike, descend, along lake, return up and over grizedale pike (the proper way straight down the rocky ridge towards whinlatter, not the boring grassy slope way everyone takes).

But probably if it’s still icy just do the bash.

@continuity – yes! Now you’re talking. I always get so excited when someone suggests riding GP, only to realise they just mean climbing it and descending Hobcarton

@continuity
Coledale beck up and down Whiteless inc Rannerdale and back over via Gasgale gill ?

@justinbieber

Herein I fully admit the top of GP is the demarcation line for my ability. Maybe if I’d ever been up there when it was bone dry – I’d have had more luck, but it usually involves a few short portages around the bigger scrambles. That said once past the v hardest bits it’s still excellent riding.

@Continuity – it took me a while to piece it all together and I eventually cleaned it in one run a few years back. Not sure I’d manage it now – there’s one step near the top that’s now quite heavily eroded.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDr6ONWHEwl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The full run is indeed great, and it puts you onto the track going off road all the way to Braithwaite

@stevedoc

Op 2 or 3 perhaps as its looks a bit grey and overcast tomorrow. The bash with the new bridleway might be nice? You could nip up and down Castle Crag for a nod to Wainwright. I do love the loose slate switchbacks…..

Fairfield clockwise? Sacrilege!!!!!!!!! Anti-clockwise for the win.

Not pushed up Gasgale in a while. I cannot comment how eroded it has become of late.

@Justinbieber

Grizedale Pike for me means going down the track and not Hobcarton which is nice but far easier.

Cheers

Sanny

@ Sanny When ive done Fairfield before ive gone up from Grasmere via the tarn and Up and then come down towards Alcock tarn , Am I missing a trick ?

Ive also found this while being busy at work this afternoon https://www.komoot.com/smarttour/e975700461/derwentwater-to-thirlmere-loop-the-lake-district Not a true Bash but a slight divert off before Castle crag up Tounge Gill to High spy , over Maiden moor and drop just under Cat bells. Still get Wandleth in too 🙂

Ignore my last I have just found this https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lake-district-bridleway-watendlath-to-thirlmere-any-good/

I was up on top of Skiddaw little man today (flying not riding) and it was clear of all snow and ice, so the high fells generally should be fine. I like Braithwaite- force crag- coledale hause- whiteless/rannerdale- gasgale gill- grisedale pike loop.

Fairfield clockwise? Sacrilege!!!!!!!!! Anti-clockwise for the win.

This. I confirmed this to be the case at the end of last year 😉

@stevedoc

I usually do the full horseshoe anti-clockwise. Alternatively, you can go up Alcock then get onto the ridge and go all the way to the summit. Return by riding the full length of the ridge. The Rydal descent is steep and fun.

So after a lap of Loughrigg and a little play coming down and Empty terrace (never has LR terrace been empty before ever in the history of the Lakes ) I headed up Fairfield from Tounge gill and down from FF over Heron and down to Allcock where the rocks were super ready to had you broadsiding today. Its a great run down from the top . fast and flowy in places and then a bit of tech. top ride . I cant see down riding down TG would be better unless you guys descend via High and Low pike ?

TG?

I love the path above Nab Scar. I think it’s brilliant, and also bloody hard for a punter like me. I don’t reckon descending H&LP would be anything like as good.

Tounge gill 🙂

For me, Nab Scar is the better descent. I have done Alcock too but Nab Scar is just steeper and more fun in my book. I love the switchbacks.

I think the beauty of Tongue Gill is that you get to ride the scree from the top of Fairfield, which is ace.

We did Grasmere – grisedale tarn – glenridding – keppel cove – Helvellyn – dollywagon – fairfield – alcock tarn yesterday.

Mega day! reminded myself how damn good Grisedale beck is as a descent. Also, how much I hate Keppel Cove as a climb 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

Big day! How long did that take?

After the previous posts I’d been looking at starting in Grasmere and doing Grisedale beck then back to do Nab Scar but couldn’t figure which would be the best way back up? Just back up Grisedale perhaps?

Started at 9, got back to the cars about 4ish. We stopped for coffee in glenridding though so weren’t rushing.

From glenridding you could climb St Sunday crag – there’s a bit of descent to be had from the top before you start the carry to the top of Fairfield.

I may have passed you setting off up Tounge gill around 9ish wondered if you had gone that way.

Ahh, was that you in the green jacket?

Yep Glad I took it with me was a tad breezy on top .

Cheers for the route suggestion Sanny. I started as suggested, up Outerside

( Beef and Stilton dontcha know)
Then up Causey Pike
Then back along the ridge to Scar Crags

That should have been quitenice riding but the wind was huge. Absolutely impossible to cycle against, except downhill. I got over towards Sail

and since GP had only been cloud free for 5 minutes in 3 hours, I decided on plan B which was dropping down this path on the left to Rigg Beck.

The plan was to do Rigg Beck Then back along Ard Crags, which is the lovely cloud free ridge in the picture above.
Gotta admit, I didn’t feel the love for Rigg Beck

But TBH I realised at this point that it was the wrong route, for me, that day. I’d did the Bash and Glenderaterra Beck the day before, which was awesome, but I just wasn’t feeling the love for storm force winds, bog and riding alone. I stopped at the cafe in Butt’dale ( thank god it was open) then slogged up Newlands pass and then broke left up Knott Rigg.
The wind here was insane, but at least it was behind me. Did the ridge along Ard Crags in the gathering dark

( Causey Pike in the background)
And then the plummet down to the east end of Rigg Beck. It had a few nice sections, in a rubble filled ditch sort of way, but I pushed the short 50% gradient bit.
So yes, not a classic day by any means but I’m actually quite pleased that I managed consecutive 1500hm days without expiring.

Tell me about Causey Pike. I get the impression it’s a bit of a classic. I presume if you go down the East ridge?
The blue section here exceeds my notional 40% max gradient by a fair bit. Is it insanely hard?

Causey- little scramble down off the summit then good steep tech, rideable if you’re lucky with route choice and skilled (I have never linked it in a one-er). From the flat area (sleet hause) on the ridge I take the main path, just a high speed hoot, the path you have marked over Rowling end is not at all rideable for me- several sections of hands on rock when ascending that way.

Edit: save it for a dry spell. The ride west to east along scar crags to Causey is also lovely ridge riding, easy access from Stonycroft.

easy access from Stonycroft.

Ah yes, of course. That lovely wide track presumably goes all the way up to Sail ( and indeed becomes that hairpin monstrosity in my picture above). Follow it all the way to the col, then turn left along Scar Crags and down Causey Ridge.

Cool

@thegeneralist

I have only ever carried the path up north of Rowling End so have no idea what the descent of Rowling End is like. @justinbieber Any advice?

Great pics but what a difference a week makes. I was deep in snow on the ride when I did it just over a week before you did it.

Oh and the hairpin monstrosity is a rather lovely climbing challenge. The left hand corner sections definitely feel less steep than the right hand ones though.

You were right to bail on Grizedale Pike. The winds there can be particularly fierce even when the rest of a ride can be relatively calm. Best left for a clear and crisp day in my book.

So is that 5 Wainwright tops you managed to do then? Good effort.

Cheers

Sanny

@thegeneralist – climbing the Causey Pike ridge that direction sounds tough. I’ve only ever done it heading east and then descending the path north of Rowling End same as @TomB. Which also means I can’t comment on Rowling End itself, sorry @sanny – I’m such a let down today.

Also, it looks like you descended Sail Beck rather than Rigg Beck. In your pic with the lovely cloud free ridge, the Rigg Beck everyone talks about goes to the left. Sail Beck isn’t quite as good (it’s a nice climb though), so it’s understandable that you didn’t feel the love for it.

Causey is ace though, and it’s just the right side of rideable for me

Sail beck- nice ‘old school’ mountain biking as a way to get through to Buttermere but not techs or interesting really. Rigg beck, heading the other way from where you joined it, is a hoot.

Ah yes, my bad. I did indeed get confused by people seemingly to refer to the whole stretch as Rigg Beck when the burn itself only goes down one side. The eastern descent did indeed seem betterer when I went up and down it two weeks ago.

Was thoroughly glad to have studded tyres on that day

So another entry in the Wainwrights thread. Yesterday was another excellent day out. Parked at the top of Newlands Pass and carried directly up onto Robinson. The Moss was, as expected, mossy but not despairingly so. The steep final section onto Robinson looked like it would be a fun descent to connect up with High Snockrigg. Robinson down to the saddle then up onto Hindscarth was easy fun. The summit of Dale Head  gave amazing views. We looked at the old mine zig zag track down into the valley. I definitely fancy a crack at it although you would lose all your height very quickly. The descent down to that point was lovely – steep and fun.

I recall the descent to Dale Head Tarn being steep and not much fun but we all really enjoyed it. The stone pitching was not greasy and we only had to divert off at one point to avoid a group walking up. IO can see why people might not like it but it all went in a steep, on the brakes kind of way. High Spy is an easy carry up and the ride over the ridge to Maiden Moor and Cat Bells is a real delight. We headed down the old mine tracks to Newlands Church then pedalled up the road to the car. I wasn’t ready to call it a day so left Tristan and Pete and did the carry up onto Knott Rigg. It went relatively quickly and the ride across the ridge is a real pleasure as the sun sets. The descent off Ard Crag was interesting on my own in the dark but it went save for one short steep section where I thought it wise to leave for daylight so I could see where I was riding. I really enjoyed it. It feels like steep chute riding through high heather. Overall, a really great day out. Puts me in the mood for riding the Hindscarth Ridge again too.

Cheers

Sanny

ps @justinbieber

I heard that you were over Red Pike way yesterday. Any pics?

I was indeed. Headed up Red Pike, across to High Stile and down to Scarth Gap. We then climbed Haystacks, before dropping via Warnscale Bottom. Lovely techy janky awkwardness all day long. Only took a couple of pics, but they’re not for public consumption yet 😉

If you’re quick however, you can see a short vid of me descending a steep section towards Scarth Gap on my insta stories: https://www.instagram.com/stories/jamesvincent/3036745306630731658/

One question for you though, why the hell would you park at the top of Newlands? That means you’ve got a disgusting road climb to finish the day with. Surely you’d have been better starting in the bottom of the valley and get warmed up with a gentle spin up the road!

@justinbieber

Did you carry up past Bleaberry Tarn?

Tristan was driving and it meant we could get high quickly. It is an easy spin up even at the end of the day. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to do Knott Rigg and Ard Crags to finish the peaks for the day before riding back to Bassenthwaite. I have Silva lights on test and they were bob on for the last bit of the day.

Yeah, carried past Bleaberry Tarn.

Still think you’re a wrongun for starting at the top of Newlands 😀

Sooooooo another weekend of riding. Yesterday was a big one with all kinds of weather – sleet, wind (lots of wind), no really, LOTS, cloud, beautiful sunshine – everything really. Headed up onto the Catseye Cam shoulder and did and out and back to Birkhouse Moor. It was smashing. Just a great traverse. Managed to ride all the way up to the Catseye Cam / Swirral Edge saddle then carried up for a few minutes to the summit of Catseye Cam. I suspect that would make for a good descent back to Glenridding. Swirral Edge was fine apart from one walker who described it as a bit deathy with a bike! We just took it steady with careful foot and hand placement. Helvellyn to Dollywagon Pike was fun as usual. We headed up onto Fairfield and that would make for a storming descent. The route down to Cofa Pike was despair. Just don’t bother unless carrying up it onto Fairfield.

St Sunday’s Crag was as good as I remembered it. The bottom section is steep and stone pitched but I really enjoyed it. A big day out and worth the effort. Next time I would cut out Fairfield altogether. Still, you have to try it to find out eh?

Today was mint. Started with a short and steep carry up onto Rannerdale Knotts to ride the ridge. It was lovely and a smashing gradual descent for only a bit of effort to get up. Time was limited so we carried up Whiteless Pike and Wandope as opposed to carrying up the Grassmoor Ridge. Whiteless is an awesome descent but is a good way of getting up as there is some respite on the ascent to take a breather and relax. From Wandope, we did a short carry onto Grassmoor and rode the trail that skirts the edge of Gasgale. It is a beautifully flowy descent down to Coledale Hause and was even better this time round without the snow! Definitely a peak that is worth the effort to reach. I would combine it as a loop with a Whiteless Pike descent for sure.

To finish, we headed for Whiteside. Let me just say that the ridge is tremendous. There are two very short sections we didn’t ride but it is a stone cold classic. However, the descent off the end is a real disappointment. There are sections of brilliance but two steep sections that are a carry down. I love my tech but it was a real let down. However, all is not lost as I reckon that heading off down to Lorton Dodd would make for a terrific way to enjoy the ridge and descend without the ignominy of having to carry down in places.

@justinbieber

Fair play if you can ride down the steep sections of Whiteside.  That is hard core!

Cheers

Sanny

For a really good day out, I reckon ride up to Coledale Hause from Newlands then from the saddle head south up the path to the eastern flank of Grassmoor. The carry up on the well defined track is over very quickly and the ride along the edge of Grassmoor is easy going with great views.  The descent down along the initially faint path on the edge of the corrie is a banger – fast and flowy fun.

I would then opt to carry up to do the entire Whiteside Ridge but head off down Dodd to Lorton.

From there, I would return by carrying up the steep side of Rannerdale Knotts and riding the ridge which is an absolute delight. Into Buttermere then ride back via Rigg Beck.

It would mean a lot less carrying than we did but yesterday was really all about exploring.

Cheers

Sanny

Hi Sanny.

Headed up onto the Catseye Cam shoulder and did and out and back to Birkhouse Moor

Sounds brilliant. Will add that to the list.
<edit. Just realised the path you mean. We saw it from Sticks and I said to dave that it looked like a brilliant ascent up those bends….

We did St Sunday Crag on Friday.

We went up via Grisedale and it does indeed look amazing as a descent. Dying to go back.
GT:

Is it better to go down the red path keeping to the ridge ( seemed to peter out in the bog) or drop down the black path to the left? Which then rejoins for the stone pitching section)

Alas we didn’t rate SSC that much as the rocky steep bits were a tad hard for us. Shame really, must get better technique.
After cafe we headed up Sticks East

The ascent up Sticks to the plateau is brilliant. Loads ofvrideable bits interspersed with quick height gain HaB.

and did Seldom Seen. Which is just stupendous. Much easier than SSC, so more suited to bimblers like us. Soooo much fun

Thursday I was planning some rancid sufferfest at Whinlatter. Luckily commonsense prevailed after 9 mini loops and I headed up GP. It was deeply windy, getting dark, and quite a sprinkling of snow and ice. I scoped out the classic descent line as I went up and am keen to have another crack at it in the spring at the beginning of a day. When I did it last time I was running on empty after doing Whiteless etc.
Anyway I went down Hobcarton End in the dark, which was OK.
Keen to get back and try the proper GP descent….