Careful on ridges

Ascent to Scafell Pike

Every adventurer hiking in the mountains will walk along a ridge at some point. I love adventures. I love mountains. But I’m not a friend of heights. Ironically. That is why walking on ridges always makes me feel sick. I know you’re not supposed to look down, and I don’t. But just that image in my head that it’s going down a few hundred meters next me turns my stomach over.

I haven’t walked many ridges but I remember the day when we climbed Scafell Pike and had to pass one of these stomach-turning spots on the ‘Corridor Route’. We came from Windy Gap and half way to Scafell Pike we had to  scramble down from a rock formation to get onto a narrow path right on a brink. The advice for people with a fear of height ‘Don’t look down’ wouldn’t have been a good one here. I HAD TO WATCH WHERE I STEP!! Unfortunately, the brink was right in my field of vision. The fact that there was quite a traffic jam and lots of people waiting to pass this spot in both directions didn’t make it easier. It sounds quite dangerous but it wasn’t that bad. We just need to be careful and preferably not stumble. Otherwise we would have fallen … for a while.
But that belongs to hiking in the mountains and adventures: Facing your fear and have a bit of ‘butterflies in your tummy’ makes it even more exciting.

I’d love to some ridge walks, just because these places look so awesome. I’m thinking of Slieve League in North-West Ireland, Helvellyn in Lake District or the ridge walk in Glencoe, Scotland.

Do you know any other ridges worth seeing? How do you feel about heights?

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