Pillar Rock

The mighty Pillar Rock

Height: 780m (2,559ft)

Prominence: 15m (49ft)

Region: Lake District - Western Fells

Classifications: Nuttall, Birkett

Summit feature: Pile of stones

Times climbed: 1

Related trip reports:

Pillar Rock & the Mosedale Horseshoe - 19/04/2019

The summit of Pillar Rock - setting up our abseil

Pillar Rock is a large rocky outcrop surrounded by cliffs on the northern side of Pillar, well below the summit. When seen from Ennerdale it looks like a tall and thin column, hence its name. In the early 19th century it became widely known as one of the wonders of the Lake District, chiefly due to its featuring in William Wordsworth's poem The Brothers.

The first recorded ascent of Pillar Rock was made in 1826 by John Atkinson of Croftfoot, Ennerdale. His route, known as the Old West Route, is still classed as a rock climb, albeit one graded Moderate, the second lowest grade on the British system. It is the earliest recorded rock climb in the Lake District. The easiest route to the top of Pillar Rock is now considered to be the Slab and Notch route, classed as a grade 3 scramble.

By 1913, George Mallory seconded by Alan Goodfellow, climbed Pillar Rock by what is now known as "Mallory's Route" – currently graded Hard Very Severe 5a - similar in difficulty to The Second Step on Mount Everest.

Pillar Rock has a topographic prominence of more than 15 metres, and thus qualifies for the list of "Nuttalls" compiled by John and Anne Nuttall in their book The Mountains of England and Wales. It is the only summit on the list that cannot be reached without recourse to rock climbing.

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