Home » Rab Scafell Sky Race 2025 » The Course
COURSE START - 08:00 (New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Great Langdale)
MID-WAY CUT OFF - 12.30 (CP 5 - Seathwaite Farm)
COURSE CLOSES – 18.00 (New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Great Langdale)
SHORT ROUTE IN FORCE – 14.30 (Styhead Pass 'First Aid' Point)
If you do not reach Styhead Pass by the above cut off time above, you will be short routed back to the finish via an easier and more direct route
Provisional race route supplied for illustrative purposes only. Route amendments and updates may be made at the Race Director’s sole discretion. © Harvey Maps.
From the race start at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Great Langdale, the first climb takes you on a lung bursting ascent of Harrison Stickle.
From the summit of Harrison Stickle you drop down directly to Stickle Tarn and ascend behind Pavey Ark via 'Easy Gully' to its summit and the Langdale Common.
Taking in High Raise, you follow a technical single track into the bottom of Stonethwaite before bending round into Seathwaite and the only fully supplied Food Station on the route (CP5).
From Seathwaite Farm you re-join the race route to start the ascent of the spectacular 'Sour Milk Gill' waterfalls and follow the track that winds up into the Gillercomb Valley, past Base Brown to the summit of Green Gable.
A short sharp drop brings you to Windy Gap, the col between Great and Green Gable. Here you have a scree descent before weaving your way around the waist of Great Gable on a very technical single-track. Don’t forget to look out for Napes Needle, first climbed in 1886 by William Hasket-Smith who did it solo and performed a handstand on the top just for fun!
After arriving at Sty Head Pass, you’ll begin one of the most classic and technical ascents of the Scafell Massif, the race goes via the 'Corridor Route' that leads directly to the summit of Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England.
From here, turn North East, making for the summit of Broad Crag and crossing the technical boulder fields on the way. On reaching the summit, you’ll set out towards the Great Langdale Valley, taking in Esk Pike and Ore Gap along the way.
After summitting Bow Fell, you’ll drop down a very technical scree/rock slab descent, via Great Slab Gully, then revel in one of the best stretches of single-track in the Lakes, the ‘Climbers Traverse’ that weaves under Cambridge and Flat Crags.
Make your descent into Great Langdale via the high ground of the Band to reach the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub and the final technical trail before the last technical descent to the finish!
The route is fully marked and flagged, and whilst no navigational experience is required to follow the route, we highly recommend it as part of the race rules and regulations.
A safety team will be present on the hill for the full duration of the race, and there are 8 marshalled control points at high-level locations along the course.
In cases of certain extreme conditions, we may have to enforce a reduced Bad Weather Route (shown in green on the map above), designed with the safety of competitors and the race team in mind.
The Bad Weather Route is at the Race Director’s sole discretion but has been designed to retain as much of the spirit of Scafell Sky Race™ as possible.
[Please Note: A deviation of the Bad Weather Route may be used in situations of inclement weather conditions to offer the best running again at the discretion of the Race Director]
