1. Topography

2. Geology

3. Summit

4. Ascents

5. Other walking routes

6. Rock climbing

7. References

8. External links

Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named

for its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are many different routes to the summit. Great Gable is linked by the high pass of Windy Gap to its smaller sister hill, Green Gable, and by the lower pass of Beck Head to its western neighbour, Kirk Fell.

Topography

The Western Fells occupy a triangular sector of the Lake District, bordered by the River Cocker to the north east and Wasdale to the south east. Westwards, the hills diminish toward the coastal plain of Cumbria. At the central hub of the high country are Great Gable and its satellites, while two principal ridges fan out on either flank of Ennerdale, the western fells forming a horseshoe around this valley.^[1]

Great Gable and its lesser companion Green Gable stand at the head of Ennerdale, with the walkers' pass of Sty Head to their backs. This connects Borrowdale to Wasdale, giving Gable a footing in both valleys. The Borrowdale connection is quite tenuous, but Great Gable is prominent in almost any view up the lake.^[1]

The upper section of Great Gable has a roughly square plan, about half a mile on each side, with the faces running in line with the four points of the compass. The fells connecting and subsidiary ridges occupy the corners of the square.

The northern face is formed by Gable Crag, prominent in views from Haystacks and the surrounding fells. This is the longest continuous wall of crag on the fell and reaches up almost to the summit. Scree slopes fall away below to the headwaters of the River Liza, which flows down Ennerdale. There are few crags on the eastern slopes, although these fall steeply to Styhead Tarn, a feeder of the Borrowdale system. About {{convert|30|feet|m}} deep, this tarn occupies a scooped hollow, dammed by boulders fallen from the slopes above. It is reputed to contain trout and is a popular location for wild camping.^[2] The southern flank of Great Gable falls {{convert|2300|ft|m}} direct to Lingmell Beck, one of the main feeders of Wastwater. Right below the summit are the Westmorland Crags, and then a second tier breaks out lower down. These are Kern Knotts, Raven Crag and Great Napes, all footed by great tongues of scree. Finally on the west rough slopes fall below the rocks of White Napes to the narrow valley of Gable Beck, a tributary of Lingmell Beck.

From the north-western corner of the pyramid the connecting ridge to Kirk Fell runs out across the col of Beck Head ({{convert|2050|ft|m}}). There is a small tarn in the depression, and sometimes a second after heavy rain. Both are blind, having no apparent inlet or outflow.^[2] Gable Beck runs south from Beck Head, while an unnamed tributary of the Liza flows northward. The main spine of the Western Fells continues along the north east ridge to Green Gable, dropping to Windy Gap ({{convert|2460|ft|m}}) as it rounds the end of Gable Crag. This ridge is rough and rocky, further worn by the boots of countless walkers. Stone Cove lies on the Ennerdale side while the rough gully of Aaron Slack runs down toward Styhead Tarn. The south-eastern ridge provides the connection to the Southern Fells, across the pass of Sty Head. This is a major crossroads for walkers and climbers, the summit being at around {{convert|1560|ft|m}}. On the opposite slope is Great End in the Scafells. Kern Knotts lies on this south-east ridge, as does the small pool of Dry Tarn. The south-western ridge gives to high level connection, dropping down Gavel Neese in the angle between Lingmell Beck and Gable Beck.

Geology

Lying on the edge of the Scafell Syncline, the various strata dip to the east. The summit area is formed from a dacite lava flow (Scafell Dacite), directly underlain by the Lingmell Formation. This tuff, lapilli tuff and breccia outcrops a little to the west of the summit. Around Beck Head is evidence of the Crinkle Member, welded rhyolitic tuff and lapilli-tuff with some breccia. A dyke of andesite and hybridised andesite porphyry is responsible for Kern Knotts.^[3]

Summit

The summit of Great Gable is strewn with boulders and the highest point marked by a rock outcrop set with a cairn. There is a plaque set on the summit rock commemorating those members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who died in World War I; an annual memorial service is held here on Remembrance Sunday.^[1] The club bought 3,000 acres of land including Great Gable and donated it to the National Trust in memory of these members, and the plaque was dedicated on Whit Sunday 1924 by Geoffrey Winthrop Young in front of 500 people.^[4] The bronze memorial, weighing 70 kg, was removed on 10 July 2013 by 13 soldiers and carried down the hill via a stretcher. A replacement, with spelling errors corrected, was installed by Royal Engineers in October 2013.^[5]

Due to its central position within the Lake District and great prominence the summit offers panoramic views. All of the main fell groups are laid out, though Wast Water and Windermere are the only lakes visible. A hundred yards to the south west of the summit, overlooking the Napes, is the Westmorland Cairn. This cairn was erected in 1876 by two brothers named Westmorland to mark what they considered to be the finest view in the Lake District.{{fact|date=October 2018}} From here ground falls away into the upper Wasdale valley. Further cairns mark the top of Gable Crag. The summit has become a popular site for the scattering of ashes following cremation.^[6]

Ascents

Routes to climb to the summit start from all of the main dales that radiate out from central Lakeland. A popular route is to climb Sour Milk Gill from Seathwaite in Borrowdale, first ascending Green Gable before traversing Windy Gap.^[1][7]

Other walking routes

Rock climbing

Great Gable has cliffs to the north (Gable Crag) and south (Westmorland Crags, the Napes, and Kern Knotts). The Napes are important in the history of English rock climbing: Walter Parry Haskett Smith's ascent of the detached pinnacle of Napes Needle in June 1886 (now graded Hard Severe) is thought by many{{who|date=October 2018}} to mark the origins in England of rock climbing as a sport in its own right, as opposed to a necessary evil undergone by mountaineers on their way to the summit.{{fact|date=October 2018}}

References

External links

• W. P. Haskett Smith's account of the first ascent of Napes Needle from the FRCC Journal, No. 8, 1914.
• Computer generated summit panoramas North South index
• Great Gable photos, information and walks
• Unveiling The War Memorial Tablet, June 8th, 1924 (photo)

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