More Scrambles in the Lake District [ISBN: 1 85284 042 0]

There is a very interesting area which is not really rock climbing yet involves the use of the hands on rock and is certainly far removed from normal walking, this is scrambling Scrambling as a sport is not new. The ascent of easy rocks where hands may be used is naturally satisfying and has been enjoyed by mountaineers since the sport began. The majority of Alpine peaks involve some scrambling in their ascent by their normal routes. The early rock climbers created routes which involved rope scrambling, without the numerous aids to safety which climbers use today. Many of the Lake District scrambles have been known since Victorian times, and many have been used at odd times by generations of climbers.

In recent years high-standard rock climbing has become so specialized that it is a sport far removed from the rock climbing of even twenty or thirty years ago. Low-standard routes are no longer relevant in a climber's guidebook full of Extremes, but it is difficult to know just where to draw the line to know where scrambling becomes rock climbing. I consider scrambling to be an ascent of rock where the hands are necessary for progress, ascending rock that is not usually difficult or steep enough to warrant the term 'rock climbing'. Many of the routes are in exciting places, often well removed from the beaten path. You can go into a popular area and, by combining several scrambles, hardly touch a path and rarely see other people at close quarters. This is a way of getting back to a wilder Lakeland; to enjoy the freedom of rough mountain country.

A good long scramble with interesting route finding, uncluttered with the paraphernalia of modern rock climbing, gives a very satisfying way.