Blencathra Sidewall Destruction
A favorite for hill walkers. Also has some winter climbing and skiing. Sharp edge is a classic scramble.
Park on the A66 in a layby near Scales. There is a footpath which leads onto the open fells. Follow the path, or not, to the top.
"Sidewall Destruction" is a great line down a grade I/II winter climb. Avoid skiing into people that are climbing it. They are likely to be novices and probably won't like you skiing over their rope. The top is steep and thin in places. It is hard to inspect from the top due to the way the slope curves. Have a good look on the way up and pick a line. If you get it right you will have some of the best skiing in the lakes. Gernerally there is no snow at all here. Probably only worth the walk if there has been a recent dump. You might want a rope, crampons and an axe. Generally wide enough to be able to side-slip most of it if you do get find it a bit steep. Would be horrible if the snow was hard. The line got its name (although we assume it has been skiied before) as Joe broke the sidewall of this skis by skiing over rocks while going down this line. 10R in "lakes adventure ski" grades https://sites.google.com/site/skitourlakes/lakeland-ski-grade falling on the upper section of the route is not going to end well. Some images and video of the line can be seen in https://vimeo.com/127600056
An excellent related video by Joe Fennel and Rob Hardy https://vimeo.com/127600056
More information on Lake District ski touring here https://sites.google.com/site/skitourlakes/home/helvellyn/red-tarn-face
