Country diary: Lake District: The thrill of the mountains

Lake District: Braving Jack's Rake is not without its risks, but the rewards for scramblers on a fine day are immenseThere can be few mountain features that quicken the pulse of the climber-at-heart more than the gloriously slanting rakes breaching Lakeland's mountain walls and crags. Rake's Progress ? the shelf under beetling Scafell Crag, which gives on to the Central Buttress ? was ever well named, the bright green refuge of the Oval being the next stop up the cliff face (as it nestles below the bete noire of the Great Flake).But Scafell, of course, also has Lord's Rake, away to the top of England's most dangerous mountain. A deep diagonal gully slants up from below the crag, filled with scree and boulders, and care is needed not to trigger lethal debris. Let no one belittle the risks inherent in rakes. Two recent deaths on different occasions from Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark are sadly cases in point; just two more names to add to a list that has accumulated through the years. Internet comment since then has suggested that scramblers should attach themselves to a via ferrata-style cable, which would run the height of Jack's Rake in its spectacular sweep up and across the crag from bottom right to top left like a bandolier. Thankfully, the response from mountaineers suggests they would not welcome such an exercise.Sheepbone Rake, the steep gangway that breaches the 1,000ft buttress of High Crag from the recesses of Birkness Combe, and possibly named after Herdwicks that have fallen here, is typical of why such measures should be forsaken. The thrill the fell walker gets from tackling what even Alfred Wainwright describes as a "sensational" route is something that has to be experienced to be believed. Likewise, in the eastern fells, Fisher's Wife Rake is the chink in the defences of Clough Head above the Vale of St John's, which offers scramblers a way between a rock and a hard place on to the ridge above that can eventually bring them on to Helvellyn's summit as, on a fine day, Valhalla springs into view.Lake DistrictRural affairsUnited KingdomWalking holidaysMountainsTony Greenbankguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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