The night was clear and windy but not as cold as I'd expected. I delayed my start so that I wasn't starting in the dark. The morning sun hit the top part of Great Gable as I was packing my stuff away. I headed SE across frozen ground towards the saddle at the south side of Great End. Although the sun was up and the sky blue I wouldn't see it until I reached the saddle. I was glad to see there wasn't much snow about as it would make for easier walking. The sun didn't have any warmth in it but the views were very nice as I had horizon to horizon blue sky.

Lambfoot Dub & Great Gable at sunrise.

I headed down the path towards Esk Hause and saw a lone walker in the distance coming up the trail. He turned off towards Esk Pike, which is also the direction I am heading. I was concerned that snow and ice could make it difficult over the pike in full pack. The going wasn't too bad but the climb was in shadow and a bit chilly. I had to do a few detours descending to Ore Gap but it was very pleasant in the sun.

A group of three young men were walking up from Angle Tarn and looking at the size of their packs they were camping out as well. They continued over the pass and descended towards the river Esk. I crossed the gap and headed straight up to Bow Fell summit. The boulders were rather icy in places so I stopped below the summit to put some studded plates on my boots. They aren't crampons but grip on ice and rock and suit mixed ground very well.

Sunset from Crinkle Crags

I wish I'd put them on sooner as it made the descent to Three Tarns fairly straightforward. I continued straight on and up on to Crinkle Crags. I took my time through the mass of boulders which prevents the formation of a decent path over a large part of the route. Approaching the steep drop bit and short pitch, the bad Step, I found the detour to avoid the vertical rock. It's easy to negotiate with no pack but the last time I came this way in full pack I had to lower the pack on a line first.

This time I took the detour which is a bit longer but much easier. A large group of young men were coming the other way and as they were carrying only day packs they went up the Bad Step route. I was now on the last of the Crinkles and was still enjoying cold sunshine, blue sky and views. As I started to descend I came across a small frozen pool with accessible water underneath. Nearby was a nice grassy flat spot with a good view across to Scafell, Mickledore and Scafell Pike. This was a good pitch but I hope the wind doesn't get up too much.

Pitch by Crinkle Crags,
Scafell & Scafell Pike in the background.