As I reach the summit of Knowe Crags the path leads close to the edge of Gategill and suddenly I’m blown away by the enormity of the gill. I have had this feeling several times now (especially on the last trip at the top of The Nab) where the scale suddenly hits you and I feel humbled, insignificant by mother nature.
But there is no shelter now. Visibility is down to about 50 yards. I hear voices way before I can see anyone and thats saying something in this wind. 2 men are coming down off high street. We exchange pleasantries about the wind and rain and check in with each other on my map as it wasn’t a well marked path I took and I don't want to end up the wrong side of high Street
At the far end of the ridge I meet up with the man in blue. There's a bit of a queue to get down the far rocks of Striding Edge. A group of East Europeans are a bit stuck and the man in blue is helping them find some foot-holes. He's from Glasgow and has been up Helvellyn about 10 times. We chat about the rocks here. "These rocks are the ones that kill people up here" he says. I follow his lead and climb down backwards. I wouldn't like to be up here in the wind and the rain.
