Lake District Walks
Base Brown
Date: 27th May 2006
Distance: 3.0 miles
Ascent: 1774 feet
Time: 1 hours 50 minutes
With: Lisa and Dave
Start Grid Ref: NY235122
Walk Summary:
Base Brown was the only summit visited on this aborted attempt to climb Great Gable.
Route Summary: Seathwaite - Sour Milk Gill - Hanging Stone - Base Brown - Gillercomb - Sour Milk Gill - Seathwaite.
Pictures:
1. Base Brown from Seathwaite
2. The River Derwent and Seathwaite Fell
3. The lower falls on Sour Milk Gill
4. The middle falls on Sour Milk Gill
5. The massive boulder mentioned by Wainwright
6. Looking across to Grey Knotts
7. Looking up to the Hanging Stone
8. Lisa and Dave climbing the upper slopes of Base Brown
9. This picture says it all about the weather on Base Brown
10. Looking across Gillercomb to Raven Crag on Grey Knotts
Walk Detail: This was supposed to be our grand day out to Great Gable but the weather had other ideas and we sensibly decided to turn back before we’d even begin to climb Green Gable. However the walk was not a complete disappointment.
The climb up Sour Milk Gill, although steep, contained good vantage points for the excellent waterfalls while also offering a decent little scramble. The route up through the seemingly impassable crags via the massive fallen boulder and the Hanging Stone was likewise interesting with great retrospective views.
However, the cloud got gradually lower and despite taking shelter below the summit of Base Brown, in the vain hope that things would improve, it only got worse and this was my second major fell in two days covered in cloud. By this time the wind and rain was driving right into us so we turned down into Gillercomb instead of continuing the climb up Green Gable.
It proved to be the correct decision as my enjoyment of the environs of Gillercomb, including the impressive Raven Crag on Grey Knotts, was cut short by the cloud descending even further. The steep descent down Sour Milk Gill was a lot less pleasant than the earlier climb and we had to be particularly careful as the rocks were now very slick and slippery from the rain and it was rather a relief to get back to Seathwaite.
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