A brilliant day today. Debs and I had two other people join us for a guided walk of the langdale pikes & Stickle tarn. Their first ever mountain, so this required all the soft skills needed to look after them during a day of mixed sun and showers / poor vis.
The walk up to the tarn was useful to set a good easy pace, and to also assess the individuals ability to cope with some light scrambling skills.
They did brilliantly and really enjoyed the climb to the top of Pavey Ark, being given extra support & learning for route selection and use of hand holds / where not to step etc.
Giving one of the pair a set of walking poles really helped in addressing some confidence issues. At the top, a slow bimble and wander through the stones & bogs proved good fun in order to follow some of the cairns.
Coming down from Loft crag we picked up the main descent path and discussed the other options / ways of coming down that we could see across the valley. Some of the steeper descent sections were handled with close support and careful direction for the couple. The end of the walk finished at the pub with soo much learnt on all sides.
Area :
Central Fells
The Vale of Keswick, provides separation from the Northern Fells whilst to the west runs the long valley of Borrowdale. The parallel eastern boundary is created by Thirlmere and the St Johns in the Vale. Grasmere to Windermere forms the remainder of the eastern boundary. In the west, Stake Pass descends into Great Langdale.
