Striding Edge,
Prepare to experience one of the Lake District’s classic scrambling routes.
Lake District
Striding Edge should be on every hillwalker’s bucket list. And even if you’ve done it lots before, scrambling this rocky spine on a superb day with great visibility and dry rock is a massive treat.
This knife-edge ridge is an easy Grade 1 scramble that should only be tackled in low winds and dry-ish conditions. High wind and wet rock make it very dangerous indeed, so please ascend Helvellyn via one of its safer, alternative routes from the north, west or south if you’re set on bagging this 949m mountain on a poor-weather day.
The ridge-top scrambling can all be avoided via a path to the north (but why would you want to walk when you can scramble over the rocks at the crest?). However, when you come to the final steep ascent to Helvellyn’s plateau top, there is an unavoidable rocky section that requires a good head for heights, a short climb downwards which also requires foot placements, and then a final loose-ish scree zigzag path to the summit plateau.
The descent via Swirral Edge is easier but still very steep with loose rock and lots of scrambling opportunities. Confident scramblers will love it.