Grosse Gabelhorn

My good friend Geoff Bland, who has climbed this magnificent mountain every year since 1956 and recently wandered up alone to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday, calls it Grosse Gabelhorn. I think he picked up on the quip from his old chum Des Oliver, from the Keswick Mountaineering Club, who in turn has climbed a peak by this name in the Swiss Alps. I love the flamboyant inflection.

Geoff’s not alone of course, there can be few fellow fellwanderers who don’t share a comparable affection, the title suggestive of a certain alpine majesty, which is not that far from the mark. From so many angles Grosse Gabelhorn commands attention and is compelling, My own personal favourite aspect of the massive southern face all rock-ribbed and scree-ridden disclosed to such perfection from the summit of Lingmell. As a fellwalking objective its summit and the exquisite vantage of Westmorland Cairn are quite breathtaking places to stand. From here one may marvel at the sublime beauty of mountain Lakeland, peering over the deep wild gulf of Lingmell Beck towards the mighty Scafells. Certainly Great Gable comes out of the premier league of Lakeland fells, up there with the likes of Blencathra and Scafell. 

For all the ferocity of its southern and northern faces the fell’s neat square plan contrives to give four leading edges upon which ascending paths coalesce, precisely splitting the cardinal points. While Gavel Neeze (gable nose) stems all the way down to the irregular enclosures of Wasdale Head, three of these ridges have comparatively high connections with neighbouring fells. Sty Head to the east, Beck Head to the west and Windy Gap to the north. It is the highest of these Windy Gap, linked to Green Gable and the simple ridge to Honister Pass, that so many fellwalkers bless the best. The walk from Honister Pass saving feet (legs) and metres by equal measure.

Each year on Remembrance Sunday members of the Lakeland Fell & Rock Climbing Club have made a tradition of conducting a special service originally as a mark of respect for fellow members who have given their lives for their country. Of more recent years they have thrown the occasion open to all. Years ago the club purchased several of the more famous fells including Gable and gifted them to The National Trust. This year, in unusually glorious weather, I attended with Geoff and several close friends, there must have been four hundred in the congregation including a guy who had travelled down from Orkney, his uncle, a keen climber who pioneered routes on Gable Crag in the early 1900s, being recorded on the plaque consecrated in 1924 - when you get to the bronze plaque look for the name Worthington.

The Honister Pass, which links the deeply entrenched valleys of Borrowdale and Buttermere, features on the summer circuit of Stagecoach’s ‘Honister Rambler’ bus service. Seeing he little green buses chugging up the steep last rise to the top from Gatesgarthdale is like watching Postman Pat’s little van. If you’ve not tried it then make a point next Spring. It is a lovely journey and very useful for carfree days on the fells from a Keswick base. The experience enjoyed all the more should you obtain one of the special From A to B to SEE leaflets I prepared in celebration of this ‘splendiferous’ scenery.

In February the Honister Mine Company will have been in dynamic operation for a full decade. Having stood derelict for a number of years previously, its stunning success is wholly the result of the energy and commitment of local lad Mark Weir. Like the Herdwicks themselves Mark is hefted to these fells and dales. Mark believes the future of the Cumbrian fells in particular lies in the past. He has a positive vision in the importance of traditional skills, using the innate hard working instincts of local people to breath new life into the local economy. What makes a place special is the character of the people who are moulded by the environment and the Lakeland fell’s climate moulds characters right enough! Sound business sense and a genuine welcome for visitors are part and parcel of Mark’s outlook. This is the only slate mine in England, efficiently extracting and cutting a brilliantly toned stone from high on Fleetwith Pike. Known as the Kimberley Mine thus nicknamed as it was considered Borrowdale’s diamond mine! Thirty local people get genuine employment here, the ice of winter seldom hampering the steady extraction and workshop activity. Pay the shop a visit when you can and be inspired.

The adjacent Honister Youth Hostel has a fine situation for an elevated start to expeditions on the high fells, particularly with the short days of winter. Indeed, walkers are quite right to take advantage of the elevated start afforded by driving up to the top of the Pass, this generous step up leaving less than two thousand feet of steady walking to the top, with only the final four hundred feet in any way stiff, and only the most modest of rocky ground encountered. Mind you if the prevailing weather when you come is anywhere near the normal winter fare then you’ll be very intent at this point.

Let’s get cracking

The actual first priority is getting to the top of the Drum House incline. Known as the Lancaster Aerial it was a poor piece of equipment, the slate coming down painfully slow, the black jack oil spilling onto the clog gearing making it quite inefficient, inevitably it has all been cleared away. Nowadays the stone is carried down in half-an-hour quite elegantly.

Inviting steps guide you up from the western end of the car park off the quarry track. The pitching is excellent so a steady comfortable pace should be achieved, starting steep the gradient soon eases. Drawing near to the brow, a cairn invites you to branch left. The regular path now makes a far steadier ascent across the western slopes of Grey Knotts. As a fence hoves into view one may continue on the traversing line or better bear up left to cross a light stile in a fence. It would be most remiss not to mention that the path from Honister was attributed a nickname, Moses Trod. Tradition held that a man called Moses Rigg, a Honister quarryman, distilled whisky, conveying the illicit liquor down to Wasdale Head in loads of slate. Whether this was in pony panniers or a sledge is not known. His ‘still’ must have ranked as the highest building in England for it was located quite incredibly at the top of Gable Crag!

This is an excerpt from Mark's original article.  To see the full article, you will need to download the PDF using the link below

Download complete PDF (69KB)

© Mark Richards 2005 

---

Bookmark with:

What's this?