On arriving at Buttermere on a glorious but windy April evening Terry Coulson and myself were greeted by  Paul Beamson, Mike Gardner, Graeme Tutin and Alfie the dog.
After pitching we then had a brew before heading to the Buttermere Hotel for a good old chin wag with Paul and Mike to discuss the route for the next days backpack. After downing three or four pints we headed back to our tents for a dry but windy evening.
The next morning looked promising with a cold but sunny morning. Our route for that day ahead was to skirt around Grummock Water, up  past Scale Force then head west passing Floutern Tarn and onto Great Borne, Starling Dodd and Red Pike and then  to follow the ridge along to Scarth gap and drop down into Ennerdale for our evenings pitch.
After trying to climb Great Borne in gale force winds where Paul Beamson and I were blown over, Paul, Terry and myself decided to cut the ridge short due to the conditions and head down Clews Gill, skirting the Ennerdale Forest and dropping down to the mountain rescue hut on High Gillerthwaite leaving Mike Gardner and Graeme Tutin to continue along the windy ridge and to meet up with us  later that evening for our overnight pitch at the head of Ennerdale..
So off the three of us headed, myself Terry and Paul along the beautiful Ennerdale Forest until the forest finally gave way to heavily  felled sections of the valley that resembled  battlefields of the first world war with just the odd tree stump and heavily churned up plantations. Quickly passing this and the Ennerdale Youth Hostel we headed for the tongue and the shadows of Great Gable and Pillar. Here the wind was at its strongest so we had to find some shelter behind some hillocks with just enough space for our three tents . Not long after pitching Mike and Graeme turned up and spent some time looking for a sheltered spot as us three had probably got some of the better pitches, so we thought but as the night drew on the wind got stronger it also started to change direction  giving us a very sleepless night, even on some occasions pressing the inner of my tent to my face.
Early Sunday morning we arose to find the wind had dropped which gave way to a sunny morning. For Paul, Terry and myself the plan was just to climb Scarth Gap and drop back down into Buttermere and finish but for Mike and Graeme they were heading up onto Great Gable and beyond and to the end of another fine backpack.
Report by Paul Butcher.
All pictures by Paul Butcher