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Bowfell Buttress

Bowfell Buttress: Private Guiding

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£200.00
Product code: 1071

Availability: In stock

  • Book a group of 2 for £110.00 per person

Quick Overview:

The Langdale Valley lagged behind in climbing history, with just a handful of routes having been established before the turn of the century. This route on Bowfell Buttress was responsible for unlocking an amazing venue for both summer and winter ascents. This is another extremely popular classic, and to have this route to yourself would be a real rarity!
Starting from the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel nestled deep in the Langdale Valley we make our way westwards up the fellside ascending 'The Band'. Towards the top of this spur we will meet the climbers traverse which leads us along the base of the huge crags, and finally to Bowfell Buttress where our route starts.
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Details

Grade: VD ***
  A classic but difficult for it's VD grade
Length: 106m
Walk in Distance: 3km / 5 miles
Walk in Time: 2/3 hours
Walk out Distance: 3km / 5 miles
Adjacent Summits: Bowfell (902m)
First Ascent: 24th May 1902 by T Shaw, G H Craig, G R West, C Hargreaves and L J Oppenheimer
Start Time: 10am or as arranged
Maximum Group Size: 2
Minimum Group Size: 1


"A summit deserving of detailed exploration and rewarding visitors with very beautiful views. Rank Bowfell amongst the best half-dozen."
A Wainwright

The Langdale Valley lagged behind in climbing history, with just a handful of routes having been established before the turn of the century. This route on Bowfell Buttress was responsible for unlocking an amazing venue for both summer and winter ascents. This is another extremely popular classic, and to have this route to yourself would be a real rarity!

Starting from the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel nestled deep in the Langdale Valley we make our way westwards up the fellside ascending 'The Band'. Towards the top of this spur we will meet the climbers traverse which leads us along the base of the huge crags, and finally to Bowfell Buttress where our route starts.


  1. 14m. Climb the ridge to a good belay.
  2. 9m. Climb the short smooth chimney on the right and easy ground to a terrace.
  3. 12m. Climb the steep wall above moving diagonally leftwards to a sentry box in a chimney.
  4. 18m. Follow the chimney for about 12 metres and continue up easy ledges to a large terrace sloping down to the right; follow this for about 7 metres and belay at the foot of a highly polished crack.
  5. The crack is very steep, slippery and awkward, and would probably be a higher grade if it were not for tradition and the comforting, ample grass terrace below. Once standing on the rock ledges above, slabby rock leads back left to a pinnacle belay.
  6. 18m. Move left and ascend a groove leading to a chimney. Go up to a slab and continue up the wall above until a short traverse left across the corner leads to a platform and large belay.
  7. 18m. Step back to the right and follow a groove and its left-hand branch to finish.
Biden, 1999

After topping out of the route we will make our way onto the fellside, and the couple of hundred metres to the fantastic summit of Bowfell. After taking in the views, and arguably the best in Lakeland, we will descend southwards to the Three Tarns, where we will regain The Band which will lead us back to our start point.

Each participant will be required to bring suitable equipment for the walking in and walk out of this climb. Harnesses and helmets can be provided by The Lake District Walker if required. please see Equipment Required for further guidance.

 

Where to meet: The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Langdale
View Larger Map
Postcode: LA22 9JY
Grid Reference: NY 286 061

Directions

From Ambleside: Leave on the A593, signposted to Langdale and Coniston, follow this road until the junction with Ellers Brow, turn right onto Ellers Brow, signposted to Chapel Stile and Langdale. 

Follow this road through the village of Chapel Stile and continue past the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel to the right, continue along this lane to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, on the right, there is a National Trust pay and display car park outside the Hotel for walkers.

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  • Middlefell Buttress

    A good day today in the Langdale Valley, climbing Middlefell Buttress then scrambling the ridge above and descending back to the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.

    From the Old Dungeon Ghyll we climbed the slope behind the hotel toward Raven Crag, taking the left and buttress, Middlefell Buttress.

    A few light showers passed over before we started climbing the route. The smooth holds were getting a little slippery as the drizzle fell, but with a bit of care it wasn't too bad.

    After three pitches we reached the top of the climb, but chose to continue upwards, climbing up to the right to find a continuation  the route above the gully and scrambling up the shoulder to the path above.

    We descended quickly to the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.

  • Rock Climbing in Langdale

    A great afternoon rock climbing today.

    We climbed several routes on Sticklebarn Crag before rounding the day off with some abseiling.

    A great afternoon in wonderful weather!

  • Langdale Rock Climbing

    A good Rock Climbing Session this morning on Sticklebarn Crag in the Langdale Valley although a little damp. We had a good session climbing up the right hand side of the flake although a little slippery!

  • Langdale Rock Climbing

    A good morning in the sun today rock climbing in the Langdale Valley. We climbed behind the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel to Sticklebarn Crag.

    We had good fun climbing several routes on the crag before descending back to the hotel for lunch.

  • Rock Climbing - Wodens Face

    A good short session climbing on Wodens Face in the Borrowdale Valley.

    We climbed a few good short routes on the right hand face of the crag including Wodens Cheek.

  • Rock Climbing on Castle Rock

    A great morning in the sun Rock Climbing on Castle Rock above St Johns in the Vale.

    We climbed several routes on the south face of Castle Rock, from Moderate to VDiff grades.

    A great morning, we even had a fly past below us by a RAF Hercules aircraft!

  • Rock Climbing on Wodens Face

    A good morning session Rock Climbing on Wodens Face today, although the weather had been a little damp the rain stopped by the time we met up at the Bowderstone car park. The rock face was a little damp so  we kept to the easy routes on the left hand side of the crag and spent an enjoyable morning on the crag.

  • Rock Climbing

    A good mornings rock climbing on Sticklebarn Crag above the Langdale Valley today.

    We took in three good routes in wonderful warm sunshine before lunch.

  • Langdale Activity Day

    An awesome day down in Langdale today running one of our action packed Activity Days.

    The morning saw us walk up to Stickle Barn Crag for a few hours of Rock Climbing. After getting the harnesses and helmets on, and setting up the top rope we started on the far left of the crag. The group was mixed between a couple who did not climb, and a couple who climb indoors but were yet to venture outside. Everyone tackled the first climb very well, and all anxiety was soon climbed away.

    After a slight adjustment of the rigging we then climbed another slightly harder route. After more very impressive climbing we all went to the top of the crag for a spot of abseiling. This was a new experience for almost everyone, but everyone did really well!

    Just as we were packing up it started to rain, which was a good thing as it would put a bit more water in the Ghyll!

    At 2pm we got kitted up into our Ghyll Scrambling gear and headed for Stickle Ghyll, after a quick briefing we got into the Ghyll. The scramble consisted of boulder hopping, traversing walls and climbing up waterfalls. Everyone had an amazing time throughout the session as the pictures show!

  • Rock Climbing

    A good morning today rock climbing on Sticklebarn Crag in the Langdale Valley.

    Although the weather was a little damp we had good fun on several routes on the left hand side of Sticklebarn Crag.

  • Langdale Activity Day

    A magnificent day today running a Langdale Activity Day.

    After meeting outside the Stickle Barn Pun in Langdale, we got our rock climbing kit together and made our way up to the Stickle Barn Crag. After sorting out the top ropes the Emily, Sam and Andrew were taught how to 'tie-in' and belay before cracking on with some climbing. Everyone climbed very well, even when they did a route that was much harder than the first, and in the wet! The showers were short and separated by some glorious sunshine, British summer working its magic! After a couple of climbs the group enjoyed an abseil down the face of the crag.

    After a spot of lunch back down in the car park we got our Ghyll scrambling kit on and headed for Stickle Ghyll. Due to the recent rainfall the ghyll was high which meant it was going to be great fun! Once again the group did really well and had loads of fun climbing the waterfalls, jumping in the pools and boulder hopping!

  • Langdale Activity Day

    The weather was a bit mixed today, well it was a typical British Summers Day with Showers one second followed by scorching sun the next!

    This morning we headed up onto Stickle Barn for a spot of climbing and we managed to get 3 routes in and an Abseil amongst the short showers.

    After lunch we kitted up and got into Stickle Ghyll for a really fun Ghyll Scrambling Session. Everyone, especially the kids, did really well tackling all the hard bits we could do on a day when the water was really powerful!

     

  • Ghyll Scrambling & Rock Climbing

    A full days activity in the Langdale Valley with a mornings Rock Climbing session followed by and afternoon Ghyll Scrambling in Stickle Gill.
  • Rock Climbing & Ghyll Scrambling

    A day above the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in the Langdale Valley, a mornings Rock Climbing Session followed by an afternoon Ghyll Scrambling in Stickle Gill.

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