Ever since completing that other wonderful Lakeland Diff multi-pitch ‘Corvus’ (in 2019) I’d had the desire to attempt its Dow counterpart ‘Giant’s Crawl’. Finally this summer the necessary planetary alignments occurred and despite heatwave conditions Ben (Maxwell) and I were actually parked-up and ready to press ‘go’ from a shimmering Walna Scar.
The walk-in that July Friday was, in a word, brutal… the heat sapping our energy and trying its hardest to destroy our resolve. After what seemed like a sweltering eternity we crossed the outflow of Goat’s Water, and following a short break, attacked the final boulder/scree slope below the stretcher box to reach the inviting shaded sanctuary of Great Gully… phew!
A husband and wife team were just starting up our route, so we were able to rest a while and consider the prospect of what lay ahead. We’d seen others on it during our approach, some progressing extremely slowly, however this pair raced up and were quickly out of sight… so it was soon my turn to begin tackling the first (38m) pitch. This is essentially a broad slab, streaked with quartz… fine when dry, but reputably desperate when wet! After some easy(ish) ledges a crack was then followed up the left-hand side, more tricky than it appeared (albeit the protection was all there). Eventually things relented and a good ledge was reached, with the opportunity to belay over to the right.
Immediately I recognised where I was anchored (from a guide-book picture) so snapped a similar image of Ben, down amidst the towering walls. He led through and began the second (44m) section, the steep ramp narrowing and disappearing behind a vertical shield of rock… ‘on the edge of all things’ (Sparks & Brown). The rope crept out slowly, with some disquietingly long pauses… but eventually I received the signal to move. Don’t ever let anyone tell you a mere ‘Diff’ can’t have its moments… whilst climbing adjacent to that fearful edge I lost count of the times I checked my knot before eventually reaching the safety of the belay, nerves just about intact. ‘Bloody good lead mate’ I said… and meant it!
Having reached the top of the ramp we needed to refuel and work out the way ahead. Our eyrie offered an aerial view over Goat’s Water, cool and blue beneath the blazing afternoon sun. Thankfully the crag faced east, so we were mercifully shaded, but still very warm!
How different the third (25m) pitch felt, now we were off the ramp. I led away left along pleasant ledges, a steady rising traverse, until below the ‘awkward crack’ we had spied on the skyline, from the belay. Formed by a detached block, it needed a few attempts (finally sans rucksack) before I eventually managed to pull over the top… quite hard moves tbh! Ben followed and joined me on a beautifully situated ledge, high above Great Gully.
I’d already had a peek around the corner and proclaimed the final (20m) pitch appeared to be easy! ‘You can lead it if you like’ was the response… he’d more than earned his stripes on that worrying upper ramp pitch. I’d barely started before I discovered how wrong first impressions can be! Everything felt awkward and one or two nervous glances behind confirmed that any error was not an option. After several pauses to figure out protection things finally began to ease, and another 15 or 20m of scrambling got me up to a large grassy ledge and solid belay. Ben came up and carried on past, scrambling (without placing any gear) up to the level top of B Buttress, which is almost completely detached from the mountains main ridge. When I finally joined him up on that sunny belvedere I felt both joy and relief (and some sadness) that the climbing was over.
However, somewhat beaten-up by the heat and low on fluids, more than anything we both felt the urgent need to descend. This meant forgoing the actual rocky summit of Dow Crag for an escape south over Buck Pike and Brown Pike (with the lovely Blind Tarn nestled below), to the Walna Scar track, and eventually the car. There we gulped down mouthfuls of Ben’s (by now) hot Ribena before finally hitting the road and some welcome air-con!
I think it was during the journey that evening from Coniston to Clive’s (at Threlkeld, for the weekend PMC scrambling meet) when Ben confessed that on first sight of the route he’d thought the ramp looked ‘piss easy!’ Perhaps we’ll both be more wary of first impressions in future!
Tony Clarke (August 2026)
