Scafell Pike from Broad crag

Scafell Pike is an aspiration of mountain climbers by virtue of its height and ruggedness, but it has less distinctive character than many others; it is really one of a number of summits on a massif. The other peaks, such as Great End, Broad Crag and Scafell are equally, if not more, rugged. In some ways they offer the better views, but the draw of the Pike, is its height. To avoid it and only climb the others seems contrary. That this is the case says a great deal about the mentality of those who climb mountains, myself included. This view down Eskdale shows its bulk, never elegant, but always impressive. The dialogue between such high peaks and clouds is an intimate one. During their brief, volatile existence clouds are often in contact with these ancients, dragging over them or rebuffed by them.
The idea that these are the eroded remains of other mountains can be a dizzying one, the mass of rocks on the shattered peak of broad crag the debris of and even more astonishing structure, the bulk of Scafell the root of some awe inspiring, vanished fang of rock.