Route:

 In good weather, navigation should not be a challenge

on this route. Good and obvious paths abound and you

are unlikely to be the only team taking on this

challenge. However, be prepared for sudden weather

changes, as can happen in the mountains, and make 

sure you are appropriately prepared for a full day out in the mountains.

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  From the Stickle Barn carpark, head out past the toilets, through the small gate around to the back of the pub. An obvious path leads uphill, alongside Stickle Ghyll. The path is paved with stone blocks all the way to the top. Take care if wet as they can be slippery. Follow the path up, over the footbridge and then continue uphill. There are only two junctions to be aware of; one where a path comes in from behind you (and leads around to Whitegill Climbing area) and a second that branches off right, a little after a small plantation is passed. Just keep the Ghyll on your left and you will be on the main path to Stickle Tarn. You are getting close to the top when the path starts to enter a narrower section of the Ghyll and you get close to the water. The easiest route crosses the Ghyll on some large stepping stones and then continues with the Ghyll on your right hand side.

  The top suddenly appears and the gradient falls away so that you can see across Stickle Tarn to your objective on the face of Pavey Ark. There is an obvious line running diagonally from bottom right to top left of the cliff in front of you. This is Jack's Rake. 

  The easiest way around to the bottom turns right, over the dam for the tarn and follows the path around the tarn. After crossing a small stream at the Eastern-most point of the tarn, a smaller path leads over to the left, sticking with the tarn edge. Follow this around the tarn before climbing up steeper grassy and stoney ground to reach the cliff of Pavey Ark. Easy Gully leads up to the right (not easy!) and a small platform marks the start of Jack's Rake.

  *We put on harnesses and roped up here, putting an adult front and rear, with the little chaps about 5 metres apart in the middle. As we used the alpine technique of taking coils we put the front adult (Mummy) about 10m in front of Little Chap#1, 5m to Little Chap#2 and then only 5m to Daddy, also carrying rope coils, so that he could help either of the Little Chaps without too much slack in the system. 

  **As a grade 1 scramble this is not difficult climbing. The rope can seem like overkill (and most people look at you weirdly) but it gives the Little Chaps the freedom and confidence to climb solo and also Mummy and Daddy the confidence to let them get on with it and explore the rock themselves. It also builds rope management skills that will be useful on future adventures together. As such, I'd recommend using a rope with Little Ones.

  Begin climbing the Rake now. There are two approaches to climbing Jack's Rake. Firstly, stay in the groove - the climbing is not always nice (it can be a bit of a wriggle at times) but it feels safe and protected. Secondly, use the groove where necessary but try to move to the exposed left edge where the rock is nice, the climbing easier and the experience more fun. Now you see why we brought the rope! 

  A small tree marks about one quarter of the route done, a longer wide ledge that gets narrower as you cross it marks about halfway and a large platform in front of a large expanse of rock marks about three quarters of the route complete. At this large platform, climb the corner before traversing over the rock to reach a small groove that leads up to the top of the scramble and a dry stone wall. We continued to the summit up to the right here before taking off ropes etc and having lunch.

  To continue the day, head West from the summit, dropping from the summit rocks onto grassy terrain. The path can be indistinct at times but it basically heads West to meet a much larger path from Harrison Stickle towards High Raise. Head South on this path towards Harrison Stickle and scramble to your second summit of the day.

  From this summit, it is time to descend. Head West initially and the path descends a steep slope towards a stream. Don't cross the stream, instead circle to the South around Harrison Stickle, high above Dungeon Ghyll (not as easy a scramble as our Sourmilk Ghyll scramble!) and follow the path downhill. It can be a bit loose above Dungeon Ghyll but, as you descend, you move onto grassy slopes that head down towards Pike Howe (optional small summit for snack time?). The path turns right before this small summit and continues down and around it. You are nearly down when you reach a wall and follow it a short way to a stile. Over this and then left through a gate in a corner. Follow the path down this field to the Stickle Tarn path that you set off on this morning and retrace your footsteps a short distance to the carpark.

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Verdict:

What a day! The Little Chaps absolutely loved this adventure. It was helped by unseasonably hot and clear September weather (we took way too many thick layers but always best to be safe than sorry in the mountains) but mostly it was the feeling of absolute adventure - going somewhere that it feels like you shouldn't be - and working as one team on the scramble. This is a great way to introduce children to mountaineering, building confidence in one's abilities and inspiring bigger adventures in the future.

Definitely one for the memory bank...

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