Helvellyn

Infobox Mountain
Name = Helvellyn
Google_Name = Helvellyn
Photo = Helvellyn(SimonLedingham)Dec2004.jpg
Caption = Helvellyn from the air in December. Red Tarn (centre) is flanked by Striding Edge (left) and Swirral Edge.
Elevation = convert|950|m|ft|0
Location = Cumbria, ENG
Range = Lake District, Eastern Fells
Prominence = convert|712|m|ft|0|abbr=on
Parent peak = Scafell Pike
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landrangers" 90
Google_

Grid_ref_UK = NY342151
Listing = Marilyn, Hewitt, Wainwright, Historic County Top
Translation = Yellow upland
Language = CumbricGB summits entry
Name=Helvellyn Lower Man
Gridref=NY337155
Height=convert|925|m|ft|0|abbr=on
Status=NuttallGB summits entry
Name=Striding Edge
Gridref=NY350149
Height=convert|863|m|ft|0|abbr=on
Status=NuttallHelvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At convert|950|m|ft|0 above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England.

Topography

The peak of Helvellyn is the highest on the north-south ridge situated between the Thirlmere valley to the west, and Patterdale to the east. This ridge continues north over Helvellyn Lower Man, White Side, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd and Clough Head, and south leads to Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike.

The eastern side of the fell is geographically the most dramatic. Two sharp arêtes lead off the summit, Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, either side of Red Tarn. The knife-edged Striding Edge provides one of the best-known scrambles in Lakeland, while the Swirral Edge ridge leads to the conical summit of Catstye Cam.

Nestling between the encircling arms of Helvellyn's two edges, is Red Tarn. This pool is named for the colour of the surrounding screes rather than its water, and contains brown trout and schelly, a fresh-water herring. The depth of Red Tarn is now about 80 feet (25m), although in the mid 1800s it was dammed with boulders to increase capacity. Blair, Don; "Exploring Lakeland Tarns"; Lakeland Manor Press (2003); ISBN 0-9543-9041-5 ] This was carried out to provide additional water to the Greenside lead mine in Glenridding, the water race still visible as it crosses the slope of Birkhouse Moor.

A second tarn once existed in Brown Cove between Swirral Edge and Lower Man, but this is now reduced to a couple of small pools widening the stream. Brown Cove Tarn was another creation of the Greenside mine, a stone faced dam being built in about 1860. The dam is still in place but water now leaks through the base, the extended tarn-bed a smooth patch of luxuriant turf. A water leat passing beneath the north face of Catstye Cam to Red Tarn Beck can still be traced although it is now in ruins. Adams, John: "Mines of the Lake District Fells", Dalesman (1995); ISBN 0-8520-6931-6] Water from Brown Cove and Red Tarn unites at the beyond Catstye Cam to form Glenridding Beck, flowing on through the village to Ullswater.

The western slopes are relatively shallow, and partially forested, with many gills leading down to the Thirlmere valley.

The summit of Helvellyn takes the form of a broad plateau about convert|500|m|0 long. The highest point is marked by a cairn and a cross-shaped dry stone shelter; to the north is an Ordnance Survey trig point, a little lower than the summit at convert|949|m|ft|0|abbr=on.

There is a subsidiary top, Helvellyn Lower Man, about a third of a mile to the north-west. Its summit is small compared to the plateau of Helvellyn and offers better views north-westwards, as the ground falls steeply away from it on this side.

Geologically, the summit area and Striding Edge are formed by the Deepdale formation of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. This consists of volcaniclastic sandstone with some intercalcated tuff, pebbley sandstone breccia and lapilli-tuff. Underlying this is the Helvellyn formation of dacitic lapilli-tuff.. [Woodhall, DG: Geology of the Keswick District- a brief explanation of the geological map. 1:50,000 Sheet 29: British Geological Survey (2000)]

triding Edge

Striding Edge is a classic scrambling route on Helvellyn, linking the summit ridge of Birkhouse Moor to Helvellyn's summit by what becomes a sharp arête.

Striding Edge begins at Hole-in-the-Wall and then stretches for over a mile to the Helvellyn summit plateau. The initial part of the ridge is relatively rounded and has a good path running along the right hand side. This all changes upon reaching High Spying How which at convert|863|m|ft|0|abbr=on is the highest point on the ridge. At this point a narrow path continues closely to the top of the ridge which becomes increasingly narrow. Scramblers however will move to the top of the ridge and walk at the very top of the arête.

The side path continues until near the end of the ridge where it switches over to the left hand side. Scramblers are forced to descend a short gully down the last tower on the ridge. At this point the ridge joins to the main Helvellyn massif. All that remains is a walk/scramble up loose rocky terrain to reach the summit plateau around two hundred metres from the summit. Typically a cornice will form here in the winter and can represent the most dangerous part of the hike.

Striding Edge is a notorious accident spot among hikers and scramblers. Conditions on the ridge in early 2008 were described as the worst in 30 years by fell top assessor Craig Palmer. Two walkers died after falling from the ridge in separate incidents in the following weeks. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7188227.stm Walkers warned after fells deaths - BBC news] ] Another walker died after falling from Striding Edge in May 2008. [ [http://beta.cumberland-news.co.uk/1.100772 Tributes to convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on fall walker Sid - Cumberland News] ]

Fell top assessors

The Lake District national park authority has two 'Fell top assessors' who ascend Helvellyn daily during the winter months of December to March. Their job is to check the weather conditions at the summit and write a report containing information such as temperature, windchill, windspeed, snowdepth, and any dangers such as unstable snow/avalanche hazard and icy footpaths. This report is put on the Weatherline, which is a Met Office mountain weather forecast and is available on the internet, by telephone and at local shops and tourist information centres [* [http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/weatherline Lake District weather forecast with daily weather report from Helvellyn December to March] ] . This information is important for people that go out winter hillwalking and climbing as it can help them plan their routes and to get an idea of the mountain conditions.

Camping on Helvellyn

Because of the picturesque scenery that Helvellyn offers, many people camp on Helvellyn throughout the year. Most campers will set up camp around the Red Tarn as this gives the best views of Striding Edge, Red Tarn and the summit of Helvellyn itself.

The weather should be taken into consideration when deciding to camp on Helvellyn. The weather can suddenly change, mist is also a problem at times.

History

Helvellyn is strongly associated with the poet William Wordsworth, who used to climb the mountain regularly. Benjamin Robert Haydon's painting "Wordsworth on Helvellyn" epitomises Romanticism in portraiture. Wordsworth wrote about the mountain several times. In particular he commemorated the death of Charles Gough, a tourist in the Lake District. Gough set out to cross Striding Edge to reach the peak of Helvellyn. He perished there with his dog, who stood at his side for three months before his corpse was found. A plaque commemorating this event can be found close to the peak.

The somewhat flat summit made the first British mountain-top landing of a plane possible, when John Leeming and Bert Hinkler successfully landed and took off again, in 1926.

The western slopes bear witness to historic mining activity. Helvellyn (or Wythburn) mine operated from 1839 until 1880, when the land was acquired for the Thirlmere reservoir scheme. Four levels can be found along the course of Mines Gill, from where lead was extracted. Despite the sizeable workings the venture was never a commercial success.

External links

* [http://www.stridingedge.net/Lake%20District%20Features/Striding%20Edge.htm Striding Edge information]
* [http://www.helvellyn.com Helvellyn Pictures and Walks]
* Helvellyn is at coordinates coord|54.527232|-3.016054|type:mountain_region:GB|display=inline,title
* Computer-generated virtual panoramas [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/CUM/Helvellyn-N.gifNorth] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/CUM/Helvellyn-S.gifSouth] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html Index]
* [http://www.english-lakes.com/helvellyn.html Illustrated Lake District Guide]
* [http://www.leaney.org/lake_district_fells.php?fell_id=helvellyn Helvellyn Photo Guide]
* [http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/weatherline Weatherline - Lake District weather forecast with daily weather report from summit of Helvellyn, December to March]

References