UKC

Planning on doing some wildcamping up near cym glas over the easter weekend and going up the clogwen y person arete. Its a grade 3 but has anybody done it before and does it require a rope and protection? Just so i dont have to take the extra weight with me if its not necessary..

In reply to mason_7:

It depends how good and confident you are.

I haven't done the face start, I started up the right hand gully.

There are three or four short exposed stiff moves, that require confidence and a clear head. I would go so far as to say they'd be V Diff on a Trad climb., but each is only one short move.

In reply to mason_7:

depends on your ability but I would say yes, a rope and a few slings/crabs and a small selection of wires would be a good idea as a fall would be disasterous from the lower sections.

In reply to mason_7:

It's the start which is hard. I've done it solo as a beginner without a rucksack but depends on confidence and conditions

In reply to mason_7:

Done it many times and never used a rope on it - treated it as a training climb - but did once come across a crag-fast bloke half way up it. Couldn't talk him up or down it, didn't have a rope, in the end he called out the rescue team who lowered him off. So no point asking others whether you will need a rope only you will know that.

In reply to OwenM:

whenever I do a scramble like CyP I always take a rope and slings - I treat it like part of a first aid kit. I don't want to use it but I know it's there if shit does hit the fan.

In reply to mason_7:

I wouldn't go near it in wet or icy conditions - well, you could with a rope, but really (with the Parson's Nose start) it's a perfect solo scramble in dry, preferably summer conditions.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

In reply to OwenM:

Thanks.

In reply to mason_7:

Thank you for all your opinions and suggestions guys. I probably will end up playing it safe! I am very confident as I frequently climb and boulder but like some of you have said its best to prepare for the worst situations!

In reply to mason_7:

The arête itself is no more than a Grade 3 scramble and not desperately exposed, at least not compared to some other Snowdonia Grade 3's. So it all depends how comfortable and confident you feel at that grade. Your best bet would be to take a rope because you could then include the direct start up the Parson's Nose (Diff/V Diff) which is definitely the highlight of the route.

In reply to mason_7:

The ridge itself should be fine moving together with a few slings and wires.

My recollection of the face start is that it is 50m of slabby diff/vdiff climbing on slightly wobbly flakes with no worthwhile gear. If you don't like the sound of that then take the gully.

In reply to Rylstone_Cowboy:

I remember it being extremely exposed at one point about half-way up, probably about 150 feet above the nose. But I may have got off route.

In reply to mason_7:

You need to be confident soloing VDiff. That's the bottom line.

The climbing's not hard, but you get high quite quickly, a fall would be potentially disastrous from most of the route (as observed) and you want lots in reserve, even in perfect conditions.

If you do the Diff grade start up the parson's nose itself (as opposed to the blocky gully up the right hand side) then the climbing's easy, BUT there's a very exposed downclimb into the notch at the top of the gully. You'd need to be very experienced / confident to do that without a rope and someone else holding the other end of said rope (it's not actually that hard, but that's not the point) .

So if you're on your own, and if you're confident soloing VDiff, start up the gully.

In reply to pnorth:


It's a grade 3 scramble if you take the gully start, and to do it then you probably ought to be confident soloing a grade 3 scramble.

I first did it before I'd done any climbing (its seriousness was one of the things that then spurred me to learning the ropes, so to speak). I've never soloed VDiff in the mountains, and don't think I ever will, a couple of Diffs proved quite traumatic enough!

In reply to pnorth:


Yes, I agree, that descent into the gully from the direct start is the most exposed and nervy move on the whole route.