Scafell Pike - G/LD-001 SOTA (2022)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Thursday 11th August, 2022.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Scafell Pike, Lake District, England.
Summit ID: SOTA reference G/LD-001 (10 points).
Summit Height: 978m elevation, 912m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 54.45426, -3.21168. Maidenhead Grid IO84jk.
Distance: 16.6km travelled with 950m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 7h 30m (including operating).
Weather: 39°C, full sun.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 12 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Scafell Pike stands proudly at 978 metres as England’s highest mountain, located in the spectacular Lake District National Park. Part of the rugged Southern Fells, this imposing peak offers exceptional panoramic views across the Lake District and, on clearer days, as far as Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. While the mountain can be approached from several directions, the shortest and steepest route typically begins at Wasdale Head.

Having previously ascended Scafell Pike from Wasdale in 2019, I wanted to experience a different approach to the summit. For this activation, I chose the scenic Corridor Route from Seathwaite in Borrowdale, a longer but more gradual and picturesque ascent.

Our journey began from the small hamlet of Seathwaite, following a well-defined footpath alongside Styhead Gill. This initial section provided lovely views of the Taylorgill Force waterfall cascading down the hillside. The path steadily gained elevation as we continued towards Styhead Tarn, a tranquil mountain lake nestled beneath the impressive crags.

From Styhead Tarn, we briefly headed east before turning south towards Spout Head, crossing a ford at Skew Gill. The path, clearly marked as the ‘Corridor Route’ on Ordnance Survey maps, traverses the western flanks of the Great End massif. This spectacular route offers dramatic views across to Great Gable while providing a more gradual approach to England’s highest summit.

The weather conditions were exceptionally tough. This hike coincided with what would become the hottest day of the year in the UK thus far. My Garmin Tempe sensor recorded surface temperatures up to a scorching 49C on my backpack, while the ambient air temperature hovered around 30C. We each consumed approximately three litres of water during the hike, highlighting the importance of adequate hydration in such hot hill walking conditions.

The terrain became progressively rockier as we made steady progress crossing several streams and heading towards Broad Crag. Near the summit area, we approached Lingmell Col before following the well-trodden path to Scafell Pike’s distinctive summit cairns.

Upon reaching the summit, I set up my portable radio station for the SOTA activation. Operating on 2 metres FM with my Yaesu FTM100D, I successfully completed twelve contacts in just under ten minutes, including stations as far away as Scotland.

For the descent, we retraced our steps back along the Corridor Route rather than taking an alternative path. The return journey offered a welcome opportunity to cool off in a couple of small rock pools along Styhead Gill. These cold mountain waters provided blissful relief from the oppressive heat of the day.

Despite the challenging weather conditions, this alternative route to Scafell Pike proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable mountain experience. The Corridor Route offers a more varied and interesting approach than the more direct Wasdale path, with spectacular scenery throughout. While the extreme heat made this particular outing more demanding, under normal conditions this would be a moderate walk suitable for reasonably fit hikers with a little mountain experience.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Scafell Pike on Thursday 11th August, 2022.

Walking Route for Scafell Pike

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Scafell Pike. The G/LD-001 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.

You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Station Log

I logged the following 12 amateur radio contacts operating as M1HAX/P from G/LD-001 Scafell Pike on Thursday 11th August, 2022 (all times shown are UTC):

In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Scafell Pike:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for G/LD-001 Scafell Pike.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Scafell Pike.
• Google Maps Page for Scafell Pike.
• Wikipedia entry for Scafell Pike.

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