Volume I Part 7 (1/2)
This, which can only be scaled _a la_ chimney-sweep, is exceedingly difficult, as is also the gymnastic feat of escaping to _terra firma_ from the narrow shelf on which the shoulder-and-hip work lands you.'
This is very clear and in the main correct, but there is another and easier exit much lower down called 'the Corner,' and there is a third exit only a few feet from the mouth of the chimney. All these are on the right hand, for the opposite bank is not only much higher and much smoother, but would lead to nothing if it were surmounted. It is not really necessary to enter the chimney at all, for the edge presented where the bank cuts the wall bounding the screes is quite a.s.sailable, and just right of it there is a point which may even be called easy; but two terrible accidents which have occurred at this spot prove the necessity of care.
Until the extraordinarily dry season of 1893 the moss-grown block at the very head of the chimney had never been climbed. It was accomplished on the 12th of September by Mr. W.H. Fowler. By standing on the shoulders of a tall man he was able to reach a slight hold and to establish himself on a rough rectangular block forming the floor of a recess big enough to hold one man. The block above it was holdless, and overhanging and loose stones were a great nuisance.
=Micklefell.=--The highest mountain in Yorks.h.i.+re, but except on that account it possesses no special attraction. The best starting-point is the High Force Inn in Teesdale, 5 miles from Middleton. By making the round of the mountain from High Force to Appleby some very fine rock-scenery may be enjoyed.
=Millstone grit.=--A material which is very abundant in Yorks.h.i.+re and Derbys.h.i.+re. It is fairly firm, but seldom affords a climb of any sustained interest. Few kinds of rock weather into such eccentric forms, and of this propensity _Brimham Rocks_ are a good example. It forms most of the 'Edges' in Derbys.h.i.+re, and generally speaking a precipice at the top of a hill is of this material, while those at the foot are of limestone.
=Moses' Sledgate= is a curious track, which has evidently been engineered with considerable care, running from near Seatoller in Borrowdale at the back of _Brandreth_, round the head of Ennerdale below _Green_ and _Great Gable_, and then over Beck Head and down Gavel Neese into Wastdale. The question is, who made it and for what purpose was it used? A few years ago, the writer, while climbing with two friends among the crags on the Ennerdale side of _Great Gable_, stumbled quite by chance on something which seemed to throw a side-light on the question.
This was a ruined hut thickly overgrown with moss, and showing no trace of any wood having been employed in its construction. The spot had evidently been chosen primarily with a view to concealment, and the result of enquiries kindly made since then by one of my friends has been to elicit proof of certain traditions still lingering among the older inhabitants of these dales concerning a noted distiller of illicit spirits, who flourished and defied the law among these wild retreats. At the same time it is not easy to believe that a smuggler would have undertaken the construction of such a path as this. In the South of England, it is true that the smugglers were considerable roadmakers; but that was at a time when smuggling was a great and well-organised inst.i.tution, and it seems much more probable in this case that Moses made use of an old path constructed for some purpose which had at that time been abandoned.
The terms 'Moses' Path' and 'Moses' Trod' are also used to describe this track. It is not noticed in the guide-books, but something is said about it by Mrs. Lynn Linton.
=Moss Gill=, on Scafell, is the next gully on the east or _Mickledoor_ side of _Steep Gill_. The name _Sweep Gill_ ('from the probable profession of the future first climber of its extraordinary vertical chimneys') was suggested for it by Mr. Gilson shortly after its discovery, but that name has been entirely superseded. The first mention of it in the Wastdale Head book is a note by the present writer in June 1889, recommending it to any one in search of a new and difficult climb. His party on that occasion was repulsed after reaching the great blocks, which have only been pa.s.sed since by the aid of the artificial step subsequently cut in the rock. It was tried again a fortnight later by a party under Mr. R.C. Gilson, which got very nearly, but not quite as far. Two days later the same party explored the gill from above and descended in it for a considerable distance. It was not, however, till three and a half years later, at Christmas, 1892, that the climb was accomplished by Dr. J.N. Collie, G. Hastings, and J.W. Robinson, and their account of it is:
[Ill.u.s.tration: MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL A, _Moss Gill_ (Collie's exit); B, _Moss Gill_ (Collier's exit): C, Top of _Steep Gill_. Just below the point to which A and B converge is the artificial step.]
'The chief points in this climb are, First--to begin on the rock wall to the right of the foot of the gill and not in the very foot of the chimney itself, then enter the gill just below the first great pitch, which may be turned by climbing the wall on the right hand on to a gra.s.s ledge of considerable size, called the ”_Tennis Court_”; enter the gill from here again, and pa.s.s into the cavern under the great boulder.'
'We found,' says Dr. Collie, 'that below the great slab which formed the roof, another smaller one was jammed in the gully, which, stretching across from side to side, formed the top of a great doorway. Under this we pa.s.sed and clambered up on to the top of it. Over our heads the great rock roof stretched some distance over the gill. Our only chance was to traverse straight out along the side of the gill, till one was no longer overshadowed by the roof above, and then, if possible, climb up the face of rock and traverse back again above the obstacle into the gill once more. This was easier to plan than to carry out; absolutely no hand-hold, and only one little projecting ledge jutting out about a quarter of an inch and about two inches long to stand on, and six or eight feet of the rock wall to be traversed. I was asked to try it.
Accordingly, with great deliberation, I stretched out my foot and placed the edge of my toe on the ledge. Just as I was going to put my weight on to it, off slipped my toe, and if Hastings had not quickly jerked me back, I should instantly have been dangling on the end of the rope. But we were determined not to be beaten. Hastings' ice-axe was next brought into requisition, and what followed I have no doubt will be severely criticised by more orthodox mountaineers than ourselves. As it was my suggestion I must take the blame. _Peccavi! I hacked a step in the rock_--and it was very hard work. But I should not advise any one to try and do the same thing with an ordinary axe. Hastings' axe is an extraordinary one, and was none the worse for the experiment. I then stepped across the _mauvais pas_, clambered up the rock till I had reached a spot where a capital hitch could be got over a jutting piece of rock, and the rest of the party followed. We then climbed out of the gill on the left, up some interesting slabs of rock. A few days later the gill was again ascended by a party led by Mr. J. Collier. They did not follow our track to the left after the overhanging rock had been pa.s.sed, but climbed straight up, using a crack which looks impossible from down below, thus adding an extra piece of splendid climbing to the expedition.'
Only four days after Dr. Collie, a party of five climbers, led by Dr. J.
Collier, made the second ascent of Moss Gill. The description given by their precursors was of great a.s.sistance, and except that the gill was entered much lower, the same line was followed up to the traverse from the great boulder. Here, instead of climbing out to the sky line on the left side, the ascent of the gill itself was completed by climbing the vertical moss-grown wall on the right. This part was entirely new, and Dr. Collier's note of his variation, or we may say correction, for his climb is the more direct of the two, is that the ascent of the wall was made by using the cleft of the gill for about 15 ft., when a resting place was reached. Above this point they climbed about 15 ft., and then traversed out on the face of the wall for about 8 ft. by some ledges which afforded just sufficient hold. They then ascended vertically about 6 or 8 ft., re-entering the cleft above a small platform of jammed stones ('Sentry Box'). This gave a starting-point for the completion of the ascent, which was made by climbing out on to the face of the wall to enable the jammed stones at the top of the pitch to be turned. These last stones did not appear to be secure and were avoided. From this point the gill continues upward at an easy slope, with one pitch of about 15 ft. to the back of the small summit on the left of _Deep Gill_.
Two days later the ascent was repeated by Dr. Collier in company with Professor H.B. Dixon and the late Professor A.M. Marshall, the latter of whom inserted in the Climbers' book a remarkably bold and effective outline sketch of the gill, with explanatory notes. Speaking of the climb, he said that Mr. Collier led throughout, and that the success of the climb was due entirely to him. The climb is a very fine one, and, except for the leader, is entirely free from danger. At the very awkward return from Tennis Court Ledge into the gully, the leader can by a short traverse fix himself directly above the rest of the party. During the traverse from the 'window' the leader can fix the rope over the 'belaying-pin.' In the great chimney the _Sentry Box_ is a place of absolute safety. The climb is difficult, but no part of the chimney is harder than the short rock face leading up to Tennis Court Ledge, and the most awkward traverse (if covered with snow) is the one from Tennis Court Ledge back into the gully. For a party of three 80 ft. of rope would be enough; 100 ft. perhaps better. On January 9, 1893, Mr. O.G.
Jones attacked this formidable climb entirely by himself, following Mr.
Collier's route up to the foot of the Great Chimney, and then Mr.
Hastings' exit to the left. Heavy snow had fallen since the previous ascents and the climb appeared to be exceedingly difficult. Almost every hold had to be cleared of snow; essential precautions rendered the climb of five hours' duration, and it was not completed till after dark (5.45 p.m.). While clearing snow from the more remote portions of the _Collie traverse_ from the _window_, in search of the third step, the difficulty of balancing proved too great, and he fell into the gully below. A rope had been secured round the _window_ and thus prevented his pa.s.sing beyond the snow patch on which he fell. The _window_ 'sill,' already loose, was on the verge of falling, and was therefore pushed over into the gully. Returning two days later, he found that the two lowest chimneys in the gill could be taken straight up, and that the simplest way of reaching Tennis Court Ledge is by 'backing up' the chimney till the level of the recess in the right-hand face is reached. 'The recess is near enough to be taken with a stride. It would seem that the Tennis Court Ledge and traverse back into the gully may be entirely dispensed with by continuing up the chimney, the small jammed stones being firm enough to render the necessary a.s.sistance. While making these suggestions concerning small details in the climb, it may be mentioned that at the _Collie traverse_, which the writer's experience leads him to think is the most dangerous piece in the gill, an axe may be of much help to a party. A man fixed on the _window sill_ may press the point of the axe into a conveniently placed notch in the slab facing him, so that the lower end of the handle shall supply a firm hand-hold for any one stretching round the third step.
_Heights calculated by Mr. Jones._
Foot of Gill on Rake's Progress 2,625 ft.
Snow Patch below Tennis Court Ledge 2,805 ”
Tennis Court Ledge 2,840 ”
Foot of jammed stone pitch 2,870 ”
Window in jammed stones 2,895 ”
Snow patch above 2,920 ”
Top of left-hand exit 3,140 ”
Top of Moss Gill proper 3,170 ”
It must, however, be borne in mind that these measurements, though useful for the purposes of comparison, cannot be absolutely correct, seeing that Scafell itself is only 3,162 ft. high. On February 11 Messrs. Slingsby, Woolley, and R. Williams found the gully very difficult owing to ice, and recorded an emphatic protest against any one following their example by attempting it, 'except when the rocks are dry and quite free from ice.'
On the last day of March Messrs. Brunskill and Gibbs followed, with a slight improvement, Dr. Collier's route, and made the subjoined observations, taken apparently with greater care than those by Mr.