Cam Crag Scramble

A couple of weeks ago now Clare and I had a day off to hot foot it over to the Lakes. Freshly enthused by her ML Clare fancied a decent graded scramble for some practice.

Approach

We decided on popping up Cam Crag (Grade II) on Glaramara. Our start was in Stonetheaite in Borrowdale from where headed SE initially out of the village before turning SW towards Blackmoss Pot. From here a steep grassy slope take you up to the crag. These valleys are very pretty and on a good day the route presides over a stunning view from it's Pearce above the river.

The climb

The route doesn't really pose much difficulty. There is far less 'climbing' than the ~300m length of the route would suggest. The rock is fine and grips well, but sadly quite broken by grassy rakes that detract a little. There are several points where the more meek could avoid harder moves, but generally the best scrambling was found on the crest or just off it. Our well-aged cicerone guidebook suggests there is something akin to a ridge to follow but there's little sign of this. Cam Crag is more a series of small buttresses that you can make as easy / tough as you like.

It was quiet on our mid-week trip and there was little / no loose rock so we opted for no helmets, but some may find one more reassuring. We didn't need to break out the confidence rope either but for it's grade there are a couple of moves with some exposure to consider.

Descent

There's a couple of options. Once at the top of the route one option is to continue along the crest of the hill and then head SW down to Glaramara. An easier and less well trodden alternative, that makes a nice round, is to contour right toward a small tarn. This is a lovely lunch spot and sitting on the hillside above provides great views over Borrowdale and over to the bigger hills around Scarfell. From here you can drop down to the valley and walk back along to Stonethwaite.

Verdict

A fun little route worth a look for the bold who want an easy day or an adventurous route for beginners that isn't massively committing while proving some exposure.

Video

Want to see more? Check out this quick video: