UKC

Hi. I was thinking of doing some long mountain routes in the Ogwen valley. What do pople think of:

Grooved Arete (Or something else on Tryfan East Face) and then walking up to Direct Route on Glyder Fach.

I think that would make a good day out, but I haven't got loads of experience in the area. Any suggestions for anything else to add in, or other route combinations that are good? I'm more looking for lots of easy/moderate climbing with good mileage on rock that links up a bit than anything else.

Thanks in advance.

In reply to Matt250:

There's the Classic Rock link up at Idwal Slab. Is it Hope, then Lazarus, then the arete? I think you can quite easily carry on to something beyond as well.

In reply to jwa:

That sounds good. I'm assuming you mean Cneifion Arete, I've wanted to do that for a while. Any idea what you can go into from that?

Anyone got rack recommendations for link ups like that in order to minimise weight?

In reply to Matt250:

For hope you can get by with mostly medium nuts. Nuts and slings will do nicely for Cneifion arete. The walk in isn't huge so you may as well take your bog standard rack.

In reply to Matt250:

Did Hope-Lazarus-Groove Above the other week. We had a full rack, but could have got by (comfortably, still able to protect everything) with one set of nuts and one of torque nuts. And a sling. You could lose stuff from that if you really wanted...

In reply to jwa:
Good fun route is to Finish at top of continuation wall at top slabs then scramble /walk to 'The Central Arête' which is a long fun V Diff finishing near top of If you wanted to bag summit.

In reply to Matt250:

With regard to rack - take a standard mix. Placements in the Ogwen are plentiful and generally gear shaped. Tryfan East face is probably an adventure in its own right. I would spend a day hoping up and back down again rather than linking other crags since the down climb is quite reasonable and quick so you can get lots of milage in if you are quick.

Another classic chain is Idwal Slabs (take your pick), then Lazarus (as already mentioned), onto Continuation Wall (again take your pick), lunch, then head over to Grey Slabs. The adventurous will naturally do Grey Arete but this might be a bit steep at HVS. There are however equally adventurous easuer climbs in this region but adventure is definitely the watch word so be prepared.

Have fun - a great day out to be had up there.

Some more info here:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=435

In reply to ByEek:

Grey Arete does look really good. Was thinking more of linking easier routes and going lighter but that does look tempting.

Is it worth taking cams if you're trying to go a bit lighter? I've done a bit on Tryfan before and took them but don't remember using any. I was thinking a good range of nuts, slings and some hexes might be better.

In reply to Matt250:

Amphitheatre Buttress would seem an obvious candidate

In reply to Matt250:

Ever since I got my cams I stopped taking hexes as well. The bottom line is that it depends on how brave a climber you are. I should point out that the second pitch of Grey Arete is a bit sparse. For me, going light is about skimping on the survival gear, spare clothes and all that jazz and instead just take your climbing stuff and a sarnie or two. In Ogwen, you are never much more than an hour from the car should the worse happen.

Have fun.

In reply to Matt250:

If you're going for the East face, I'd recommend Crackerjack (HS 4c*) if you wanted something harder/less busy than GA. Definitely use Bubbly Wall (HS 4b) as final pitch too. Well protected but exposed move out on to face.

Direct Route is great - there's a VS alternative pitch (Gibsons's Chimney) that's stiff but definitely worth it. The last pitch can be tricky your jamming isn't up to scratch (confirmed by the logbook on here...).

I know you've said Ogwen Valley - but, given your criteria of long and easy, there's this too: http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=29152