{"id":121,"date":"2019-03-09T15:41:40","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T15:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/?page_id=121"},"modified":"2021-07-14T16:01:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T16:01:59","slug":"great-gable-kirk-fell-and-pillar-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/sota-summits-on-the-air\/english-summits\/great-gable-kirk-fell-and-pillar-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the end of the winter bonus season rapidly approaching we decided to fit in one more high scoring session\u00a0this time\u00a0to the Lake District.\u00a0 The plan for the Saturday was the three peaks of Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar.\u00a0 A fairly ambitious target which I failed to complete all in one go in 2018, so a personal challenge to overcome this year.<\/p>\n

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We were the first car to arrive in the car park at Wasdale head, as we were kitting up another car arrived and parked beside us, shortly followed by a third.\u00a0 The driver of the third car wound down his window and asked us where Scafell Pike was.\u00a0 After putting him right and pointing him back to the NT car park the occupants of the second car admitted that they were also planning Scafell Pike.\u00a0 They were soon packed back into their car and heading off the same way.\u00a0 One has to wonder sometimes.<\/p>\n

The last time<\/a>\u00a0I attempted this route I went around clockwise, I was defeated by the weather that time and had to descend via the Blacksail path, only completing the activation of Pillar that day.\u00a0 As the weather was forecast similar again with winds gusting up to 60mph we decided to try from the other direction this time as we were more likely to complete the first two summits that way rather than just the single but more difficult Pillar.<\/p>\n

G\/LD-005, Great Gable \u2013 899m, 8 Points<\/h2>\n
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Looking back into Wasdale and over Wast Water from somewhere below White Napes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Approaching the summit plateau of Great Gable<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Wasdale Head we took the easy path East alongside Lingmell Beck before turning North East to pass up beside White Napes and up onto\u00a0 the col marked Beck Head on the map.\u00a0 From here the path South East up to the summit of Great Gable is patchy at best.\u00a0 Generally it is just a case of picking the best route over the rocks until reaching the summit plateau.\u00a0 Conditions on the top were severe so we did our best to find shelter in amongst the few rocks marking the summit where we set up our stations.<\/p>\n

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The shack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were quite a few operators around so to save time and batteries we all three worked the first four to qualify and then I continued to work the pile up whilst the others packed away their radios and did their best to keep warm.\u00a0 I worked ten stations including a summit to summit with G4YTD Tim and an M6 from Northern Ireland MI6LNP Norman.\u00a0 Although I know it\u2019s not really that far away it always seems a bit exotic to work someone on another island on VHF.<\/p>\n

G\/LD-005 Log<\/h2>\n

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Dropping off the summit plateau with Beckhead tarn below us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The return back down to the col was soon accomplished thanks to a clearing of the clouds which makes navigation so much easier.\u00a0 There was quite a bit of fresh snow cover on the ground from overnight but as it hadn\u2019t yet had time to consolidate it made the decent easier in some ways by filling many of the cracks and gaps between the rocks.<\/p>\n

Once back down at Beck Head we stopped briefly for some lunch before heading over past the tarn and beginning the Eastern ascent of Kirk Fell.<\/p>\n

G\/LD-014, Kirk Fell \u2013 802m, 8 Points<\/h2>\n
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Looking back towards Great Gable from Kirk Fell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The path from Beck Head up to Kirk Fell was barely discernible under the snow cover, but fortunately the weather remained clear for the ascent so we enjoyed some fabulous views back over the Gables.<\/p>\n

The top of Kirk Fell is fairly flat and when approaching from the East has a false summit at 787m.\u00a0 Although this is within the activation zone it is only a couple of hundred metres beyond to reach the true summit and the trig point so persevere.\u00a0 We soon set up our stations in the small summit shelter and set about the pileup.\u00a0 As previously we all worked the first four contacts but this time Richard completed the operation so I only logged six contacts, including another summit to summit, this time with Allan GW4VPX\/P down in Mid Wales.\u00a0 It was a real challenge as he was barely audible but after much perseverance I finally completed the contact.\u00a0 Thank you Allan<\/p>\n

G\/LD-014 Log<\/h2>\n

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Walking off the summit of Kirk Fell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With time and daylight still in hand and some reserve still in the energy banks we decided we would descend into Blacksail Pass and go for our third activation of the day on Pillar.\u00a0 This was an unknown route as I had never done it previously, what a pearl it turned out to be.\u00a0 The route off Kirk Fell is easy to spot as the old boundary fence posts are still there to mark it, although the fence itself has long ago rusted away.\u00a0 Once you reach the edge of the plateau there is a steep rocky scramble down over Kirkfell Crags and into Blacksail pass.\u00a0 A great opportunity to get some hands on the rocks.\u00a0 I am not sure if this is officially rated but I personally would class this as a short grade one winter scramble so wouldn\u2019t recommend it unless you are comfortable with winter scrambling and have the correct gear.<\/p>\n

G\/LD-006, Pillar \u2013 892m, 8 Points<\/h2>\n
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Approaching Pillar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Spindrift blowing off the summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Blacksail it is an entertaining route up onto Pillar.\u00a0 Hard work after a long day but with a nice mix of steep rock and flatter grass sections, albeit a bit drawn out.<\/p>\n

By the time we reached the top we were certainly ready for a break.<\/p>\n

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M6XPE and M1CJE enjoying the comforts of the summit shelter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit shelter was full of snow when we arrived so we set to digging it out and soon had a cosy(ish) home from home in which to set up our stations.<\/p>\n

Same procedure once again, all working the first four then it was M6XPE\u2019s turn to work the pile up but by now he was struggling a bit with his radio and not a lot of battery remaining so I took over and worked the pile up for him making another thirteen contacts, including another two MI stations.\u00a0 Magic stuff.<\/p>\n

G\/LD-006 Log<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By the time we were ready to leave the summit the weather had closed in almost to the point of a white out.\u00a0 It is unusual to see it quite that bad here in the Lakes, it was more like a Scottish winter day than the good old friendly Lake District\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

We descended down the ridge line into Wind Gap which was an exciting experience.\u00a0 As we reached the col we dropped below the cloud\u00a0 to reveal the full majesty of the Mosedale valley.<\/p>\n

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Looking down Mosedale from below Wind Gap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Descending the scree slope below Wind Gap we spotted a couple of walkers below us who had followed the path down to the bottom and were now trapped in the junction between Mosedale Beck and Gatherstone Beck.\u00a0 This provided great entertainment as we watched them trying to find a way out of the trap.\u00a0 In the end they took the plunge and got their feet wet.\u00a0 Learning from their experience we instead contoured around the valley crossing Gatherstone Beck higher up the valley side.\u00a0 Even so it was still not easy to cross, there had been a lot of rain in the preceding week.\u00a0 We finally reached the car back at Wasdale head just as the sun was setting, a great end to a great and successful day out SOTAing.<\/p>\n

Journey Details<\/h2>\n

Date \u2013 9th March 2019<\/p>\n

Postcode \u2013 CA20 1EX<\/p>\n

Parking \u2013 NY 186 085<\/p>\n

Radio \u2013 Kenwood TH-D74 + 50W PA on 2m<\/p>\n

Antenna \u2013 MFJ Longranger<\/p>\n

Band \u2013 144 FM<\/p>\n

Contacts \u2013 10 + 6 + 13<\/p>\n

SOTA points \u2013 8 (+3) +8 (+3) +8 (+3) = 33<\/p>\n

Group \u2013 Myself, Peter and Richard<\/p>\n

Walking Route Summary<\/h2>\n

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Route Profile<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the end of the winter bonus season rapidly approaching we decided to fit in one more high scoring session\u00a0this time\u00a0to the Lake District.\u00a0 The plan for the Saturday was the three peaks of Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar.\u00a0 A fairly ambitious target which I failed to complete all in one go in 2018, … Continue reading Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":23,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-english-summits","category-lake-district-summits","category-summits-on-the-air"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":871,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121\/revisions\/871"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}