The climb
- Grade
- E1 5b
- Length
- 171m
- Pitches
- 6
- Ascent time
- 3 – 6 hours, team dependent
- Start point
- Seathwaite or Langdale
- Descent
- Walk down Mickledore, 1 hour
Due to the length and complicated nature of the line, a guide book is essential.
Reaching higher into the fells is rewarded, not just for the peace and splendour you would expect, but also with the very finest rock: nowhere in Lakeland will you find rock of superior quality on which to climb than on Scafell. The Central Buttress route weaves its way up the centre of the main face of this complicated crag and can justifiably claim to be one of the most famous rock climbs in the country. Though some of the original character of the climb was lost with tragic consequences when the chock stone fell out of the great flake in 1994, a slight variation allows it to be climbed with only a small increase in difficulty. This is a long climb, much more difficult and involved than the others I’ve described here, however if you enjoyed the others, once you have gained more skill and experience, Central Buttress is a big day out that you will always remember. High and exposed it is best done in the summer and, due to the length and complicated nature of the line, a guide book is essential. Consider bringing a small amount of food and water on the climb to enjoy on one of the great belay ledges. Numerous variations of this climb can be done by linking pitches from other routes. Ascending pitch 3 of the Nazgul makes for a less wandering, slightly harder and more sustained ascent.
The route
Scafell, with the approach and descent marked.
Keswick Tourism Association’s original route sheet. The figures above were transcribed from it.
Three more routes picked by Leo Houlding are on the climbing page. Before you head for a crag, read safety on the fells — the approach walk is on the same ground as everything else here, in the same weather.
The grade, length and times above were transcribed from Keswick Tourism Association’s original route sheet, which published them as an image. If anything here differs from a current guidebook, trust the guidebook.