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1) Anyone know what angle Great Slab is on Bowfell? (Or the dinky little one to the right)
2) Anyone free this Friday 😁
1) If I draw a line from the bottom left to top right of your picture the slab is parallel to it, so the answer is 45 degrees.
2) No.
1) If I draw a line from the bottom left to top right of your picture the slab is parallel to it, so the answer is 45 degrees.
The horizon isn't quite level in the pic, so it's probably a couple of degrees more
Agree with #2 though
Langstrath
Angle Tarn
Ore Gap
Bowfell with a little diversion to look at the little slab
Esk Pike
Great End
Then an awesome descent via Sprinkling and Styhead Tarns back to Borrowdale.
The slab was just a distraction I spotted on Google Street View whilst looking at the paths
V-Diff?
1) 44.1 degrees
2) No
is that fahrenheit ?
.
<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">Scafell and Scafell Pike to the west looks amazing and Great Langdale to the east stretches round to Lake Windermere. One of the great natural features of the Lake District is located on Bowfell. it is known as The Great Slab and is a huge smooth piece of rock at a <b>40 degree angle</b> which is free from any boulders.</span></span>
The picture ratio isn't square and also doesn't the fact the image isn't side on affect the viewing angle (or is that the angle of viewing?)
1) I'm afraid there is only one solution. You need to get yourself up there with some old school angle finder doodah and report back with the average angle (minimum 10 data points) the steepest 'Danny Macaskill' line, and the easiest 'Mere Mortal' line.
2) No, sorry I'm going singlespeeding for the weekend with a load of like-minded mates of varying enthusiasm 🙂
Using Google Earth Pro, add a path down the slab then edit, "Show Elevation Profile. This will give you the slope for any given point on your path.
Looks like it would make a nice climb
The picture ratio isn’t square and also doesn’t the fact the image isn’t side on affect the viewing angle (or is that the angle of viewing?)
Agreed. I was going to take a picture of s tilted book from an oblique angle to try to show this, but even I have more betterer things to do with my life
located on Bowfell. it is known as The Great Slab and is a huge smooth piece of rock at a <b>40 degree angle</b> which is free from
Yep I saw something about 40 degrees but don't believe it. Etive slabs is 40 degrees and has loads of pretty hard rock climbs up it.
Or from a skiing perspective, 40 degrees is immensely steep. If it really is that steep then no way I'm going near it on a bike.
You need to get yourself up there
This.
Whilst we're on that location, anyone know what The Band is like to descend on an MTB (weekday)?
Did a search and found no info. I imagine it is a hugely popular with ramblers.
Trying to find an alternative route that doesn't involve the huge drive past Penrith, Keswick and Rossthwaite...
And lo, the weather finally sorted its shit out and off I went, having scared off Mark and Alison with dire warnings of epic hikebike and not much rideable.
Which was true, but eventually I got there only to find it all a bit mossy and a bit damp. I bottled the main slab and went to play on the little ones which were proper slippery.
https://flic.kr/p/2n9uXsd
...
I then wandered about on the main slab trying to work out if it would go or not. Started near the bottom and tried that but it was wet. In the end I think I ended up going up first, with some weird notion that at least if I lost grip I would be temporarily stationary, whereas if I lost grip going down.....
Getting on the bike was terrifying. Had to ensure I didn't roll backwards off the drop
https://flic.kr/p/2n9vktE
..
The other problem was that the bottom of the slab was dampest and the last 4m were just a slide acceleration into the boulder field at the bottom
I made 4 attempts to try to cycle up from the bottom, but failed. Only the edge 3m of slab was dry so even if you attacked it at an oblique angle there came a point where you either had to go on the wet section or turn into the slope and thus go straight up it. This terrifying moment when you're trying to keep the back wheel in traction but prevent the front wheel from rising up and doing a backloop.
I thought I had it, but it was just a tad too steep. It went OK from 1/3 height as that bit was a smidgen flatter.
Anyway, after that I nipped back over Bowfell and Esk Hause and did the full 800m descent past Styhead etc. That descent is a work of art. It's absolutely amazing.
Maybe my lowest gear is still too high 🤔. Perhaps I need a 26 up front instead of the 28. 26/51 ought to do the trick.....
Bloody marvellous day.
Chapeau!
So what IS the angle?
I climbed up beside it in winter once, seemed steep enough to me!
I love the phrase "I nipped back over Bowfell and Esk Hause", as if everybody does that on a Raleigh Shopper bike most days...