Climbing Forecast › Lake District — Buttermere › Grey Crag (Buttermere)

LAKE DISTRICT — BUTTERMERE · RHYOLITE · bird ban

Grey Crag (Buttermere) climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp12°C
Wind21 km/h
Gusts31 km/h
Humidity86.3%
Rain 48h0.1mm
Last rainNone recent

Assessment

3.5mm rain forecast
Humidity 85% — potential fog
Good friction temperature range for rhyolite
High humidity (86.3%) — rhyolite friction compromised, particularly for bouldering
Humidity 86.3% — potential fog/cloud, rock may be damp from condensation
Breezy — good for drying

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Wednesday 16 September
Poor
Temp12°C
Rain4mm
Wind20 km/h
Gusts31 km/h
Humidity85%
3.5mm rain forecastHumidity 85% — potential fog
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Wet rhyolite is slippery; seepage from grass above can linger
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
15:00 12° 0.1mm 21 — 86.3%
16:00 12° dry 20 — 83.2%
17:00 12° dry 18 — 84%
18:00 12° 0.2mm 22 — 85.5%
19:00 11° 0.3mm 25 — 89.2%
20:00 11° 0.2mm 24 — 92.9%
21:00 11° 0.2mm 24 — 92%
Thu Thursday 17 September
Poor
Temp12°C
Rain15mm
Wind30 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity82%
14.6mm rain forecastWindy — 30 km/h, gusts 0 km/h
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Wet rhyolite is slippery; seepage from grass above can linger
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 10° 0.3mm 22 — 96.7%
07:00 10° 0.2mm 25 — 97.8%
08:00 11° 0.1mm 26 — 93.2%
09:00 11° 0.1mm 27 — 90%
10:00 12° 0.5mm 29 — 81.4%
11:00 12° 0.4mm 31 — 84%
12:00 12° 0.5mm 31 — 79.7%
13:00 12° 0.2mm 31 — 83%
14:00 12° 0.6mm 32 — 76.3%
15:00 12° 0.6mm 29 — 85.3%
16:00 11° 0.6mm 31 — 84.1%
17:00 11° 0.6mm 28 — 93.3%
18:00 11° 0.3mm 28 — 94%
19:00 10° 0.5mm 31 — 94.9%
20:00 10° 0.4mm 31 — 94.1%
21:00 9° 0.1mm 30 — 95.1%
Fri Friday 18 September
Poor
Temp12°C
Rain16mm
Wind32 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity93%
15.9mm rain forecastWindy — 32 km/h, gusts 0 km/hHumidity 93% — potential fog
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Wet rhyolite is slippery; seepage from grass above can linger
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 10° 0.2mm 26 — 97.4%
07:00 11° 0.2mm 23 — 95.9%
08:00 11° 0.2mm 23 — 96.1%
09:00 11° 0.3mm 26 — 92.9%
10:00 12° 0.6mm 27 — 85.7%
11:00 12° 0.7mm 28 — 89%
12:00 11° 0.7mm 32 — 93.3%
13:00 12° 1mm 36 — 94.2%
14:00 11° 4mm 32 — 94%
15:00 11° 3mm 32 — 95.1%
16:00 12° 0.8mm 37 — 97.1%
17:00 13° 0.3mm 32 — 99.4%
18:00 14° 0.4mm 32 — 99.6%
19:00 14° 0.3mm 30 — 99.6%
20:00 14° 0.4mm 28 — 99.8%
21:00 14° 0.5mm 28 — 99.8%
Sat Saturday 19 September
Poor
Temp14°C
Rain4mm
Wind27 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity83%
4.3mm rain forecastWindy — 27 km/h, gusts 0 km/h
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Wet rhyolite is slippery; seepage from grass above can linger
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0.3mm 26 — 99.4%
12:00 14° 0.7mm 27 — 82.6%
18:00 11° dry 26 — 90.6%
Sun Sunday 20 September
Poor
Temp12°C
Rain0.9mm
Wind28 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity77%
0.9mm rain forecastWindy — 28 km/h, gusts 0 km/h
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Wet rhyolite is slippery; seepage from grass above can linger
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 9° 0.3mm 26 — 92.2%
12:00 12° 0.2mm 28 — 77.2%
18:00 10° dry 23 — 75.2%
Mon Monday 21 September
Good
Temp12°C
Raindry
Wind12 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity77%
Should be dry
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 8° dry 8 — 90.8%
12:00 12° dry 12 — 77.1%
18:00 12° dry 5 — 87%
Tue Tuesday 22 September
Poor
Temp16°C
Rain0.3mm
Wind10 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity93%
0.3mm rain forecastHumidity 93% — potential fog
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
  • Damp mountain air — upper pitches may stay greasy
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0.1mm 7 — 98%
12:00 16° dry 10 — 92.5%
18:00 14° dry 6 — 99.1%
Wed Wednesday 23 September
Good
Temp16°C
Raindry
Wind14 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity80%
Should be dry
  • Good temperature for mountain rhyolite
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 12° dry 8 — 98.8%
12:00 16° dry 14 — 79.5%
18:00 13° dry 7 — 92.7%
Bird ban (03-01 to 06-30)
Variable restriction in Buttermere combes — check BMC RAD in April/May.

About Grey Crag (Buttermere)

Grey Crag sits high in Birkness Combe (Burtness Comb on OS maps) on the flanks of High Stile, offering a wonderful concentration of easier multi-pitch routes on rough Borrowdale volcanic rock. The suite of Harding-era classics on Chockstone and Mitre Buttress — Suaviter, Fortiter, Mitre Buttress Direct — form the traditional Buttermere apprenticeship and remain popular decades on. The north-east aspect and combe setting mean the crag is slower to dry than valley cliffs and requires a settled dry spell after rain, though open exposure to the wind helps. Grade coverage is concentrated in the Diff to VS range with a small handful of harder lines. Approach is a strenuous 1h 30m walk from Gatesgarth Farm up into the combe, sharing the path with visitors heading for Eagle Crag.

Region
Lake District — Buttermere
Rock type
Rhyolite
Aspect
north-east-facing
Altitude
480m
Exposure
high
Seepage
medium

Other crags in this region

Buckstone HowEagle Crag (Buttermere)Honister Crag