The elegant, steep profile of Whiteless Pike as seen from Rannerdale Knotts

Whiteless Pike

Height660m (2,165ft)

Prominence36m (118ft)

RegionNorth Western Fells

Climbed3 Times

Standing immediately east of the quiet shores of Crummock Water, Whiteless Pike is celebrated for displaying a remarkably pure, classical mountain geometry. When approached along the valley road near Rannerdale Farm, the fell presents a strikingly clean, symmetric pyramid silhouette that isolates it beautifully from the grander plateaus behind it. From the sprawling high tableland of neighbouring Wandope, the narrow, airy ridge line of Whiteless Edge steps gracefully down southwest to the dip at Saddle Gate, before a short, steep pull carries walkers up onto the crest of the Pike itself.

"The popular concept of a true mountain shape is a pyramid, with steep uniform sides on all flanks and a sharp peak. For a short distance along the road near Rannerdale Farm, it seems that Whiteless Pike has all the qualifying attributes. Seen from Rannerdale, surely it is the Weisshorn of Buttermere." — Wainwright 1957, Book Two

The true summit is a small, sharply peaked vantage point overlain with fine loose stones and crowned by a compact, neatly positioned stone cairn. Because the mountain’s uniform flanks plunge away so abruptly on all sides, the immediate terrain provides a brilliant sense of depth and scale to the view. This dramatic foreground drops away to reveal a spectacular, far-reaching mountain landscape, highlighted by an exceptional grandstand prospect across to the dark, massive forms of the Scafell range marching across the southern horizon.

The compact, stony high point marking the summit of Whiteless Pike

Trip Reports

Grasmoor Wild Camp02/04/2016

Whiteless Pike, Grasmoor, Hopegill Head & Whiteside27/09/2015

Return to Lake District – North Western Fells