Great Gable

About Great Gable

Great Gable has an elevation of 899 m (2,949 ft), with a prominence of 425 m (1,394 ft). It is classed as a Marilyn, a Hewitt, a Wainwright and a Nuttall. Its parent peak is Scafell Pike and it lies in the Western Fells area of the Lake District with a footing at the end of both Ennerdale and Wasdale. It is pyramid-shaped in appearance when viewed from Wasdale, but is more of a dome when seen from most other directions.

The summit is marked by a rocky outcrop with a cairn standing on it. There is also a plaque on the rock to those members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who died in WWI. The Club bought 3,000 acres of land, which included Great Gable, and donated it to the National Trust in their memory. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells for walkers and because of its very central position within Lake District, it offers fantastic views of all the main fell groups, with Wast Water and Windermere being visible from its summit as well.

Climbing Great Gable

There are many different routes to the summit. One of the more popular is from Honister Pass which ascends directly to the top, bypassing Green Gable along the way. From the summit, it is possible to descend via Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knott, thereby ‘bagging’ four Wainwright fells in the same outing.

The mountain is also a very popular destination for rock climbers because of the cliffs on its flanks to the north (Gable Crag) and to the south (Westmorland Crags, the Napes and Kern Knotts). The Napes in particular are very important to the history of rock climbing in the district. Scramblers are also drawn to the south face, where Great and Little Hell Gate scree gullies provide views of Sphinx Rock, the Cat Rock and the Napes.