This time, we went up to Scafell Pike by way of Mickledore again, but with the intention of varying the walk from there. Once up to the shoulder of Broad Crag after passing over Scafell Pike, we took the time to do the short walk over to the top of Ill Crag and back. A crow flew down near us and watched us for a few minutes. This happens fairly often, and I always wonder what kind of food it is they are hoping to find.
B was interested in taking a proper look at the snowhole we passed the day before, so after descending from the same col, we both crawled in one at a time to have a look. The snow had by this time melted somewhat, so we were mindful of the possibility of the ceiling caving in and burying us under a ton of snow, and only had a brief look. It was quite a large snowhole, with space for about five or six people, with an air hole to one side in the ceiling where the snow had since thinned somewhat.
I wanted to have a look at the path following the lip of the deep Piers Gill, so we edged extremely cautiously across the very narrow, snow-covered strip around the rock between the top of the gully part of Piers Gill and the top of the Corridor Route to Sty Head. We started following the gill down, but after a while we reached a section where we did not feel confident about proceeding further, as we were not familiar with the route and could not be sure of the conditions underfoot in the snow. So we retrace our steps until we reached the top of the Corridor Route, and started following the footprints in the snow gradully down towards Sty Head. The going was quite straightforward, with one or two traverses above steep drops, and one easy scramble up a rock wall signposted by an upwards-pointing arrow painted on the rockface.
We turned off from the path before the col at Sty Head, finding a way down onto the arcing path down along Lingmell Beck which does not seem that well used, despite it being very pleasant, perhaps because it is a less direct way to and from Sty Head. We kept looking up towards Piers Gill to see if we might have been able to come down all the way without too much difficulty. (Reading about the path later, back at home, I think it might be sensible if we wait until it is clear of snow to attempt it for the first time, maybe going up it rather than coming down it, as there is what sounds like a slightly exposed bit of scrambling, and it seems there is a also bit of a gap that you have to go over at one point.)
Later, looking at my photos from the day up Great Gable, I was interested to see the line of the Corridor Route across the mountainside in the snow.
Map of walk route
View Scafell Pike, Ill Crag, and the Corridor Route – Apr 2013 in a larger map