Pike O' Stickle from Blea Pass by Matthew James
Pike O' Stickle, Great Langdale, CumbriaAnother of my favourite mountains. The conical shaped peak of Pike O' Stickle in Great Langdale, Cumbria. The most memorable aproach is from the Mickleden Valley, directly up the very steep and hazardous run of scree that leads from near to the valley bottom all the way to the summit ridge. It is a strenous climb. It is a challenging route. Only for the more experienced of walkers. On the way up the scree, a prehistoric axe factory is passed on the left hand side. A number of explorations in the scree nearby had unearthed several flint axe pieces over the years. More memorable is the descent of the scree run ... tentatively first after the initial moves from the ridge to the top of the scree ... but after a few hundred feet of slip sliding real momentum can be gained as the rocks and boulders begin to slide. With experience it is becomes faily easy to 'ski' the scree ... care is needed however to avoid falling forwards and tumbling ... also to avoid boulders falling onto limbs. I misjudged it once .... and broke the second finger of my right hand!
