Blencathra via Sharp Edge..

As can be seen from the picture - taken from the top of Sharp Edge, it was a lovely day in the Lakes today.

To celebrate this; Claire and I elected to go up Blencathra!! The original plan had been to do the Fairfield Horseshoe; however a late start to the day coupled with my total lack of energy and everything else meant a change of plan.

The fact we got parked outside what used to be the White Horse at Scales was encouraging; there were

clearly folk on the hill but it was not heaving. We climbed slowly, I suspect slower than Claire would have liked! up Mousethwaite Combe and traversed the hillside following the well worn path to Scales Tarn. There were lots of people at the tarn, however quite a few were going left up the steep path to the summit of Blencathra rather than doing the edge. Sharp Edge is supposed to be harder than Striding Edge, although given how loose the latter has become in summer I am now not so sure. We stuck mainly to the crest but ducked down before the final descent to the col. Claire bounced easily up the slab and onto the plateau of Blencathra, where a country slice was consumed.
I found the last few feet of ascent, once off the edge itself, a real struggle - the heat not helping as it was pretty hot. We therefore elected to descend over Scales Fell and back to the car - a lovely descent in a lovely early afternoon.

https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/BlencathraViaSharpEdge02#

for all the pictures.