Scrambling in Snowdonia: Routes & Kit Guide
Scrambling in Snowdonia: Routes & Kit Guide
Welcome to our Scrambling in Snowdonia Routes & Kit Guide
I know what it’s like when you are passionate about something. You want to read all about it, watch whatever videos you can find, magazine articles, top tips, look at images of routes you can do. If you are itching to get out and need something to keep you sane then this feature is for you. I will add to it over time as I get the good camera out on more routes so hopefully you will enjoy dipping in and out of it. I hope you enjoy and to see you out on the ridges and gullies of Snowdonia.
Rob Johnson
PS (Thats Huw and I on the right, on holiday in the Alps – mountaineering)
Scrambling is a uniquely British term
To the uninitiated it conjures up impressions of motorbikes whilst to Europeans it is simply mountaineering and hence the terms scrambling & mountaineering are interchangeable (and nothing to do with motorbikes or muddy fields!) Here in the UK it is some of the most fun you can have in the mountains – the ability to leave the well trodden path, to enjoy the narrow ridges and steeper faces and enjoy a sense of freedom that is hard to beat.
The Gribin Ridge, Glyder Fawr
This is a brilliant grade 1 scramble for introducing people to this type of ground because it offers escape routes. You can stick to the crest and get the whole grade 1 experience or drop off the side for a respite. It also offers some great coaching ground on the approach so that we can look at movement skills and give some coaching. We will often combine it with Seniors Ridge in descent and both routes work well whether they are wet or dry
Scrambling Routes in Snowdonia
We have a massive selection of scrambling routes to choose from in Snowdonia. It is one of the main reasons that I chose to live here. The routes are graded from 1 to 3 in terms of difficulty. On our intro to scrambling course we take people out on grade 1 scrambles whilst our advanced course takes them onto grade 2 and 3 with the security of ropes, helmets and harnesses. This means we are out on these routes most weeks from April to November. Here are a few of our favourite grade one routes, it is by no means a definitive list and I will add to it.
North Ridge of Tryfan
This is an all time classic and arguably the best Grade 1 scramble in the UK. It gives near continuous scrambling from the road to the summit and is good in the wet as well as the dry. It is the benchmark against which all other grade one scrambles are measured and should be on any scrambling tick list. There is generally a choice of lines so good route finding will allow you to make it as easy or as difficult as you wish. The easiest route down is to follow the South Ridge – there have been lots of accidents in the last few years where people have tried to straight line down to the road on the East or West Faces – don’t do that!
On our guided adventures (such as the Classic Scrambles Week) we will often combine it with Bristly Ridge which is a little bit harder again.
Ever wondered what the record is from the summit of Tryfan to the road?
LLECH DDU SPUR (CRIB LEM)
Grade 1 – Beautifully remote on the Northern cliffs of Carnedd Dafydd.
The Llech Ddu Spur feels pretty remote by North Wales standards and its pretty unusual to see another soul all day. I’m not sure why I don’t go there more often as its a wonderful route in a fantastic position and a very pleasant walk in. The ridge gets better and better as you get higher with most of the steep sections escapable to one side or the other if it all gets a bit much.
Bristly Ridge, Glyder Fach
Grade 1+ Slightly harder than the North Ridge of Tryfan and more enjoyable in the dry than in the wet.
Bristly Ridge is a natural continuation having ascended Tryfan via the North Ridge and then descended via the South Ridge. It is a touch harder in the grade and starts with the ominously named Sinister Gully. Fear not though, the name simply refers to the Latin for “left” whilst the gully to its right is Dexter Gully. Bristly Ridge can be bagged in its own right if walking up from the Ogwen Valley. Either way it gives some great exposed scrambling, some meaty gulley action and some really nice pinnacles to weave around nearer the top.
The Weather
Most of the grade 1 ridges in Snowdonia are good fun in the wet or the dry. The main weather influence that we are concerned with is the wind. If wind speeds are greater than about 30mph on the summits then we plan our day around avoiding being exposed to a cross wind on a narrow ridge as we don’t want to get blown off it. When its windy we tend to head for the gullies and have several routes to choose from on Tryfan, in Cwm Idwal and above the Llanberis Pass.
I tend to use the summit forecasts from the Met Office and the Mountain Weather Information Service. Windy is also a very useful App for wind speeds.
Crib Goch – Snowdonia’s most famous Grade 1 scramble
Crib Goch is one of the mountains in Snowdonia that sits over 3000 feet high and is a summit in its own right. It is perhaps most famous for its knife edge stretch of ridge that you see in the photograph above. It is probably my favourite route of its grade anywhere in the world. It is rare we visit it on our Intro to Scrambling courses but we often get the chance on our five day courses. We need the right weather for it or it quickly becomes an epic!
I am a member of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team and was Chairman of the team for three years. This is one of our hotspots so I know it well in all weathers and can speak from experience that it is best done in the daylight, when the sun is shining and when the wind is light. If we are guiding it we make sure its a positive experience. These days the parking at Pen Y Pass is always difficult and so we tend to ascend via the North Ridge and then descend via the Cwm Glas Spur
Movement Skills
When we are on grade 1 scrambles, the ability to move well over the ground is what keeps us safe. We don’t generally use ropes, harnesses etc on the lower grade scrambles and so efficient movement is the key to our safety. These fundamental skills apply right the way through the grades into rick climbing terrain and beyond onto ice and snow. Here are some top tips that I give in the BMC scrambling series of videos.
How to Route Find when scrambling
If you are out on grade 1 scrambles, a big part of your day will be finding the correct route. In this video I go through some top tips on finding the right way for you.
Moving up the Grades
Once you are happy on grade 1 ground and have got some mileage under your belt you may want to move up the grade onto the twos and threes. We drop the ratios down at this stage with one instructor to two clients and we use ropes, helmets, harnesses and a small amount of climbing kit to manage the increased consequences of a clip. (I talk more about the kit we use later in this article in another of the BMC videos).
Idwal Buttress (Grade 2)
Here is Huw leading up one of my favourite grade 2 routes in Snowdonia. It has a short walk in, lovely rock, is in a beautiful setting and gets harder as you get higher.
We often combine the lower section of Idwal Buttress (aka North West Face Route) with the upper section of the Idwal Staircase to progress onto slightly harder ground. (The latter route gets a 2+ in the more recent guidebooks)
Cneifion Arete (3)
A wonderful Alpine style ridge that gives some of the best scrambling of its grade in Snowdonia – if only it was longer!
The Cneifion Arete is a wonderful grade 3 scramble that sits high above Llyn Idwal and is a natural continuation from the routes that make their way up the Idwal Slabs. The crux of the route is found in the first two pitches and after that it becomes a joyous scramble up big holds with wonderful exposure. Simply ace!
The Clogwyn Y Person Arete (3)
Another fantastic ridge scramble that is longer than the Cneifion Arete, has a longer approach and finishes on Crib Goch/Crib Y Ddysgl.
The Clogwyn Y Person Arete is a brilliant ridge scramble that starts in the beautiful Cwm Glas and leads up to Crib Goch and Crib Y Ddysgl. It has a couple of cruxes and for those not used to traditional “thrutching” the last move of the harder scrambling can often be the most fun! It goes as well in the wet as it does in the dry but I am always mindful of the windspeed as whichever way you exit you will be on a narrow grade 1 ridge, exposed to the wind.
Can I Solo that?
This is a question that I see posed on social media on a reasonably regular basis. The short answer is yes of course you can as long as you don’t fall off. Good climbers will regularly solo grade 3 scrambles as an enjoyable way of moving fluidly on steep terrain in the mountains. I often enjoy a quick blast up something like the Cneifion Arete on my own after work or in a spare couple of hours.
The thing that is worrying about the social media posts is that if you have to ask then the answer is probably “no, you don’t want to solo that”. When first moving onto the steeper scrambles it makes sense to stack the odds in your favour and manage the consequences of a slip by using some climbing gear and some rope techniques.
Dolmen Ridge (3)
The Main Cliff of Glyder Fach offers a wealth of options for the mountaineer. The walk in to the base of the cliff will make sure that you are sufficiently warm by the time the scrambling starts and then Dolmen Ridge is my favourite pick of the routes. It can be started by at least three variations but all options lead you into Dolmen Buttress which is climbed by a wonderful open book corner onto the crest of the ridge. The scramble has a bit of everything including a magnificent setting looking down the Nant Francon Valley and right across Anglesey.
Efficiency
When we are scrambling we often have to balance out and out safety with speed, in this video I explain more about the concept and look at how we might go about that. A simple explanation of this is to compare soloing (which is what we all do on grade 1 scrambles) with pitched climbing. The fastest route from the bottom of the crag to the top will be done soloing. When this is well within our grade this is entirely appropriate and is an efficient way to travel. As the grade increases and the likelihood and consequences of a slip increase we will want to increase safety. We will do this by using equipment and at the expense of speed. Your level of competence and experience will determine the grade at which you want to start using equipment.
Remember, there are no rules. This is mountaineering. You choose the techniques that you are happy with to give you the element of protection that you require. The video below looks at the roper systems we use to allow us to slide up and down the scale of Speed Vs Safety.
The film Free Solo is a great watch and a really nice example of speed vs safety and the personal decisions that we make as climbers. We are responsible for our own safety and our own actions and we deal with the consequences. That is part of the appeal of what we do and a wonderful escape from the nanny state of the vast majority of every day life. Of course with that freedom comes responsibility and Free Solo explores the preparation that goes into soloing which is true at any level to a greater or lesser degree.
Guidebooks
An important part of your kit should be a guidebook. Scrambling routes are really difficult to pick out from a map alone and a guidebook will give you a whole description of the route, tell you where to park, what the grade is, if the route “goes” in the wet and any peculiarities to look out for. The two shown above are my favourite for Snowdonia. The Gary Smith book has the best routes in it whilst the Steve Ashton book (nick named the Steve Ashton suicide guide to Snowdonia when it was first published) is a more complete reference of all of the scrambles.
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