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Broad Stand

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General fitness, health and nutrition
Published
6 October 2005
Last activity
8 October 2005
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spakka
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  1. Hello uk.rec.walking

    Having seen many accounts which describe the ascent as easy, except for a
    single (unspecified) climbing move, I finally found the following
    immensely useful page:

    <http://www.wasdalemrt.org.uk/training~how%20to%20ascend%20broad%20stand%20-%20jun%2005.htm>

    I'm sure it wasn't the intention of Wasdale MRT to encourage peole to
    attempt this, but having had a look, I think I'll give it a go.

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    I can see how it would be scary to attempt to come down using the 'to get
    down just reverse the photos' technique. I'm also a bit concerned by this
    guy's story:

    <http://www.wasdale-mountain-rescue.org.uk/broadstand%20rescue%20story%2024%20April%2000.htm>

    So did he choose the wrong route or is the next slab also difficult? I
    guess I could just wait for Wasdale MRT to post pictures of the next bit.

    Cheers

  2. spakka bashed at the keyboard and came up with:

    Quoted message said:

    Hello uk.rec.walking

    Having seen many accounts which describe the ascent as easy, except for a
    single (unspecified) climbing move, I finally found the following
    immensely useful page:

    Quoted message said:

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    Have a look here

    http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/3515/v/1/sp/624869518302250251234
    --
    Mike.

    We are bored. Resistance is Futile....

  3. I've been up and down Broad Stand several times. I've been over in the
    middle of fell races, and Bob Graham attempts, so have been equipped as a
    runner, and have been over equipped as a walker. I've descended it after
    climbing on the face of Scafell, but have never used any climbing equipment
    .. This is not to say you shouldn't! I've known BG attempts to have a safety
    rope set out in the corner, but don't remember the Lakes 4 x 3000' having
    anything.

    When going up I've allways done a variant of the two routes shown on Wasdale
    MRT's photos. If you put your foot on the block where he has his left foot,
    and you are tall enough, you can reach over ythe top of the block, and there
    is a handhold. You then simply pull yourself over onto the upper platform.
    I've never gone up or down in the corner, but then I don't like laybacking.

    In my humble opinion, the block shown is not the hardest part of the climb.
    Once you are above this, the path tends to take you towards the gully on the
    left. Here there are some rather polished slabs, and if it is anything like
    wet, you will need a change of underpants on this bit. I did hear that the
    majority of accidents on BS were from this higher part, rather than the
    photographed bit. You can miss this out, by veering to the right, but you
    then have to work your way over what can be very rough terrain.

    It is not used as much nowadays due to the rockfall in Lord's Rake, which
    has cut off the "round trip" potential, other than relying on the big drop
    on the Fox Tarn route. It really depends on your own mountaineering "savvy".
    Many people use it without problems, but you only come off it once!!!!!!!!!

    "spakka" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Hello uk.rec.walking

    Having seen many accounts which describe the ascent as easy, except for a
    single (unspecified) climbing move, I finally found the following
    immensely useful page:

    <http://www.wasdalemrt.org.uk/training~how%20to%20ascend%20broad%20stand%20-%20jun%2005.htm>

    I'm sure it wasn't the intention of Wasdale MRT to encourage peole to
    attempt this, but having had a look, I think I'll give it a go.

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    I can see how it would be scary to attempt to come down using the 'to get
    down just reverse the photos' technique. I'm also a bit concerned by this
    guy's story:

    <http://www.wasdale-mountain-rescue.org.uk/broadstand%20rescue%20story%2024%20April%2000.htm>

    So did he choose the wrong route or is the next slab also difficult? I
    guess I could just wait for Wasdale MRT to post pictures of the next bit.

    Cheers

  4. "spakka" <[email hidden]> wrote

    Quoted message said:

    Having seen many accounts which describe the ascent as easy, except for a
    single (unspecified) climbing move, I finally found the following
    immensely useful page:


    <http://www.wasdalemrt.org.uk/training~how%20to%20ascend%20broad%20stand%20-
    %20jun%2005.htm>

    Quoted message said:


    I'm sure it wasn't the intention of Wasdale MRT to encourage peole to
    attempt this, but having had a look, I think I'll give it a go.

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    There's a couple of sloping ledges to get up with quite a bit of exposure
    before the actual tricky bit described. The rest of the ascent after that
    is easy with no exposure and easy to find a way up. (As I remember it from
    several years back).


  5. Quoted message said:

    There's a couple of sloping ledges to get up with quite a bit of exposure
    before the actual tricky bit described. The rest of the ascent after that
    is easy with no exposure and easy to find a way up. (As I remember it
    from
    several years back).

    Those ledges are usually no great problem on the way up, the exposure really
    only comes to mind when descending, when all you can see below your feet is
    the valley of upper Eskdale, some distance away.

  6. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
    Hash: SHA1

    Gordon Burns said:
    Quoted message said:

    There's a couple of sloping ledges to get up with quite a bit of exposure
    before the actual tricky bit described. The rest of the ascent after that
    is easy with no exposure and easy to find a way up. (As I remember it
    from
    several years back).

    Those ledges are usually no great problem on the way up, the exposure really
    only comes to mind when descending, when all you can see below your feet is
    the valley of upper Eskdale, some distance away.


    I'll second that... we descended this on our "expedition" weekend on the
    Mountain Leader course. For a confident scrambler (who has managed to
    find the top of the descent) the descent itself shouldn't be too hard
    and going up should be much easier.

    The block has a very large (but sloping) ledge beneath it so you can
    just swing over and down. It's a fair humph to get back up it though.

    We practised lowering people using ropes which was just as well because
    a couple of folk in our party needed it.

    If you're confident though, finding the top should be the crux. There's
    an in situ rope that goes just past the block which you can use to lower
    yourself but you really shouldn't need (or rely on) it.

    Have fun

    - --
    Mark Anderson/Scottish Climbing Archive
    Email: maa [AT] scotclimb.org.uk
    WWW: www.scotclimb.org.uk

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

    iD8DBQFDRXWH869MTHdx+gMRAs1aAJ4ghMhT9wRRuqef1xrTVesVHMKldACfVhsT
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    =98aK
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  7. On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17:20:42 +0000, spakka wrote:

    <snip>

    Thanks for the replies, which I am studying, trying to relate them to
    photos. I guess I'll give it a go some time this month if I get a dry
    day.

    Can't be much scarier than Lord's Rake which I went up about a
    fortnight ago, picking up a few scars. It doesn't take much to get those
    boulders rolling. Also, the solid handholds at the sides have a
    disturbing tendency to snap off.

  8. The message <[email hidden]>
    from spakka <[email hidden]> contains these words:

    Quoted message said:

    I'm sure it wasn't the intention of Wasdale MRT to encourage peole to
    attempt this, but having had a look, I think I'll give it a go.

    Quoted message said:

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    Quoted message said:

    I can see how it would be scary to attempt to come down using the 'to get
    down just reverse the photos' technique. I'm also a bit concerned by this
    guy's story:

    My father (not a climber) and I had a look at the bottom of Broad Stand
    when I was about 15. We passed through Fat Mans Agony and round the
    corner (admittedly it was dry) and onto the sloping shelf without any
    problems but the vertical corner above was too much and we retreated.

    Many years later I came down Broad Stand in the company of a group of
    climbers who rigged a sling for aid principally to get me down the
    vertical corner which is at least one move taller than full reach. The
    sloping slab below seemed steeper than I remembered it and very exposed.
    There were no problems above the corner and ISTR the way was obvious.

    Broad Stand is supposedly graded Diff but I have never encountered a
    move that hard on a diff. The route is really little more than one hard
    move plus horrendous exposure. An old book I have claims it is only Mod
    and perhaps it was before the passage of countless nailed boots wore the
    vital hand and footholds away.

    --
    Roger Chapman so far this year 53 summits
    New - 27 (Marilyns 13, Nuttalls 5, Outlying Fells 10)
    Repeats - 26 (Marilyns 10, Nuttalls 17, Wainwrights 12, Outlying Fells 0)

  9. In message <[email hidden]>

    Mike Thompson said:

    spakka bashed at the keyboard and came up with:

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    Have a look here

    http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/3515/v/1/sp/62486951
    8302250251234

    "can be very tricky in the wet or in an opium-induced trance"? Was
    that speaking from experience?

    Broad Stand is one of those places I've always wimped out of, and
    which always looks really easy until I'm standing in front of it, when
    I decide I've got better things to do.

    --
    Simon Challands

  10. In message <[email hidden]>

    spakka said:

    On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17:20:42 +0000, spakka wrote:

    <snip>

    Thanks for the replies, which I am studying, trying to relate them to
    photos. I guess I'll give it a go some time this month if I get a dry
    day.

    Can't be much scarier than Lord's Rake which I went up about a
    fortnight ago, picking up a few scars. It doesn't take much to get those
    boulders rolling. Also, the solid handholds at the sides have a
    disturbing tendency to snap off.

    How did Lord's Rake look for the whole lot coming down? From what I've
    read the last couple of years I've got the depressing impression that
    I'll never get to try the West Wall Traverse.

    --
    Simon Challands

  11. Simon Challands said:

    In message <[email hidden]>

    Mike Thompson said:

    spakka bashed at the keyboard and came up with:

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    My questions are:
    -how technical is the rest of the ascent?
    -how exposed?
    -how easy to find the route?

    Have a look here

    http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/3515/v/1/sp/62486951
    8302250251234

    "can be very tricky in the wet or in an opium-induced trance"? Was
    that speaking from experience?

    Broad Stand is one of those places I've always wimped out of, and
    which always looks really easy until I'm standing in front of it, when
    I decide I've got better things to do.

    ISTR thate Coleridge was out of his head on something when he first wrote
    about his inital descents of it.

    Of course I could have that totally wrong....

  12. Quoted message said:


    How did Lord's Rake look for the whole lot coming down? From what I've
    read the last couple of years I've got the depressing impression that
    I'll never get to try the West Wall Traverse.

    Depends what you mean by "the whole lot". I cannot see that the big boulder
    will present much of a problem. From my limited technical viewpoint, if the
    boulder moves it is more likely to fall away from the Rake than into it. If
    if does fall into it, it is so big that it will probably wedge itself high
    up, rather than crashing down. Of course it could always fracture into
    smaller (relatively speaking) pieces that would easily bounce down the
    slope. Who knows what collateral damage this would cause.
    Of more immediate concern would appear to be the side of the West Wall. This
    is certainly going to come down, and when it does I don't want to be
    anywhere near Hollow Stones. The very fractured nature of the rock means
    that it will probably explode into many pieces, and the debris will cover
    quite a large area. However, I was up there two weeks ago and lived to tell
    the tale, and there didn't seem to be any immediate danger of collapse. I
    suspect it will come down in the middle of a hard winter when frost will
    spilt the rocks. Alternatively, it could come down tomorrow!

  13. "spakka" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17:20:42 +0000, spakka wrote:

    <snip>

    Thanks for the replies, which I am studying, trying to relate them to
    photos. I guess I'll give it a go some time this month if I get a dry
    day.

    Can't be much scarier than Lord's Rake which I went up about a
    fortnight ago, picking up a few scars. It doesn't take much to get those
    boulders rolling. Also, the solid handholds at the sides have a
    disturbing tendency to snap off.

    www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088 on a dry day.

    --
    Theo
    www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

  14. On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 17:12:14 +0200, theo wrote...

    Quoted message said:


    www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088 on a dry day.

    Link didn't work. http://www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088.html

    --
    Tim Jackson
    [email hidden]
    (Change '.invalid' to '.com' to reply direct)
    Absurd patents: visit http://www.patent.freeserve.co.uk


  15. Quoted message said:


    Link didn't work. http://www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088.html

    Didn't work for me either.

  16. On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 21:00:24 GMT, spakka <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:


    Can't be much scarier than Lord's Rake

    Want to bet? ;-)

    S.

    --
    Oppose ID cards and the database state - sign the pledge at
    http://www.pledgebank.com/refuse

  17. "Tim Jackson" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 17:12:14 +0200, theo wrote...

    Quoted message said:


    www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088 on a dry day.

    Link didn't work. http://www.theosphotos.fotopic.net/p16730088.html

    Sorry, my mistake. Your correction is correct. Thanks. If people still have
    trouble locating the pic : go to my fotopic account ->Lakedistrict June
    2005 -> 2nd picture.

    --
    Theo
    www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

  18. "Simon Caldwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 21:00:24 GMT, spakka <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:


    Can't be much scarier than Lord's Rake

    Want to bet? ;-)

    S.

    --
    Oppose ID cards and the database state - sign the pledge at
    http://www.pledgebank.com/refuse

    Not much to choose at the moment I think. In Lord's Rake 'rock hits head'
    and on Broad Stand 'head hits rock'.

    Mike Mason

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