The Lakeland Five Passes Ultra is 32miles and includes 10,000 feet of vertical elevation with no rest as it ascends peak after peak & pass after pass.
A brand new route in 2018, it has a cut-off of 14hours which requires an average pace of under 2.5mph but this is no easy task so you should have a high level of fitness and ideally would have completed an ultra or mountain event previously.
Starting in the beautiful Lakeland village of Grasmere it climbs steadily before the short, sharp ascent to the summit of Loughrigg signals this events intentions. After passing through Ambleside & by Stock Ghyll Waterfalls the steep climb up Wansfell is followed by the fast descent down Nanny Lane into Troutbeck. Garburn Pass is the first of the five passes, then once through Kentmere the never ending slog up Gatescarth Pass is waiting. Reach the top and there's no respite as the exposed summit of Harter Fell is final destination and high point of the race. Descend to cross Nan Bield Pass before heading over the fell side to summit Thorneythwaite Beacon. A scree descent to Thresthwaite Mouth and the technical scramble up Stoney Cove Pike follow before the long descent to St Ravens Crag & the penultimate pass of five, Kirkstone Pass. One final tough ascent to the summit of Red Screes before taking Scandale Pass down, finally picking up the suitably titled Coffin Route past Rydal to the finish back at Grasmere.
This incredible route has it all, fast flowing runnable sections, tough ascents, dashing descents, scree slopes, technical scrambles and loads of stunning views from the many summits.
We will provide our usual volume and variety of food, both sweet & savoury, at check points with a cooked hot meal at the finish and bespoke medal for all finishers. A professional photographer will be in attendance and their pictures will be shared free of charge after the event.
As with all our events, this is a self navigated route and some navigation skills (or a recce in advance) are required. We will however be marking the route over the tops from the top of Gatescarth Pass to Kirkstone Pass to avoid difficulties in navigation if the visibility is poor.
Walkers start at 7:30am and runners an hour later at 8:30am, there will be cut-offs in place along the route & these will be strictly enforced to avoid participants being out in the dark.
As weather in the Lake District Fells can be unpredicable we always advise carrying clothing and equipment based on your experience and speed you travel in the mountains... if you don't know what this is, it will be slower than you anticipate and you will get hot as you ascend and cold on the top. We enforce a mandatory kit list for this event for participants safety and this is:
Spot checks will be carried out on random participants, if you fail these you will NOT be allowed to take part in the event. Please note that we may be request that you carry additional items subject to weather forecast. Examples may be additional fluid capacity or hat and gloves.
We are able to offer limited spaces for camping on Friday and Saturday night on Grasmere Sports Field. This will cost £10.00 per night for tent or £25.00 for campervan or caravan and can be booked along with your entry on SIEntries.