UKC

Hi,

Plan on doing this at the weekend and have spent sometime searching the net only to get completely confused as to which gully is which and more importantly which one I should climb??

Thanks for any help

In reply to phja:

As per the new North wales scrambling guide (worth getting if you don't already have it). Climb sinister gully which is closest to the wall which runs along side the path up to the base of the buttress. Apparently it's less loose, but having never tried the other gully, but have seen what other parties have knocked down, I would have to agree.

In reply to phja:

you have the main (obvious) gully when you look at the start. To the left and slightly up from the start of the obvious gully, there's a small stone wall/barrier that marks the start of sinister gully. It's very obvious when you're in the right place because there's a rock projection/overhang above you. This is the best, and safest, start to bristly ridge.

In reply to phja:

Great thanks!

In reply to phja:

Don't be led astray by the fact that Dexter means left and Sinister means right! It's from Heraldry, but you must remember that it's from the viewpoint of the person holding a shield ie looking OUT from the mountain. Thus from a scrambler's viewpoint ie looking IN Dexter will be on your right and Sinister on your left!

Dexter Gully has become very loose and unstable at the top and is best avoided

In reply to Trangia:

Interesting theory, except that in latin Dexter means Right and Sinister means Left.
(Someone who can use both hands equally is considered 'AmbiDEXTrous' i.e. 2 right hands'; someone who uses their sword with the wrong hand i.e. Left, is considered 'Sinister')

In reply to Trangia:

Wrong way round! Forget heraldry, Italian for left is sinistra, right is destra. Latin is the same, give or take an x or an s.


Edit: beaten to it

In reply to Steve John B:

Good to see some proper thought as to what sinister means (left). Just a few years ago and it was all sinister=scary and such crap, so not everything gets dumber!

In reply to phja:
I went to do Bristly with my 14yr old lad after many years since last time I did it. found Dexter a bit hairy with it being loose - didn't help my boy jumping on a pile of choss at the top of the gully! Sinister for us next time. nice scramble the rest thou just as I remembered it

In reply to phja:

I've usually done Dexter in the past but when I was out a couple weeks ago we did Sinister. I did have a look up Dexter but I was with my missus and it looked a bit loose so I didn't fancy scaring her and gave it a miss!

In reply to phja:

I went up Dexter today with some clients. Was pretty happy with how solid it was.

In reply to jezb1:

That's good news then. It was in a highly dangerous state IMO back in Feb.

Martin

In reply to Martin Hore:

Schoolboy error, sorry, we went up Sinister..! I even told my clients about why it's named sinister.

In reply to phja:

I was up Dexter a while ago and it was quite scary. Sinister for me in future!

In reply to phja:

This old chesnut! Fortunately everyone seems to be giving the right advice, which is unusual as I've seen it described wrongly in books and online many times.

Just to reiterate what others have said here is my guide to finding the gullies.

Looking at Bristly from the decent of Tryfan's South Ridge (or from Bwlch Tryfan, but the view is less good there) you can see an obviously squarish dark gully a good few metres wide, well to the right of the wall. If you look closely ytou can also see a vague terrace cutting across Bristly quite low down (i.e. well before it becomes a ridge, perhaps 10m up). If you are looking at the gully I described it is the only one with an obvious continuation below this terrace, right down to the grass/scree. This obvious gully is Dexter. Many, many people go up this way as it is obvious and it looks 'sinister'. However judging from my own experience and that of others posting here, it has become dangerously unstable in the upper part (it was already dangerous enough because parties above frequently dislodge debris).

To find Sinister, visually follow the bottom of Dexter up to the terrace and then squint hard and you can see a small drystone wall just up and to the left (not the main wall which crosses the bwlch). Sinister starts just beyond (i.e. left of) this wall.

I've made a little illustration which I really hope is right or I'm going to feel like an idiot...

https://flic.kr/p/ugvxXp

In reply to Oujmik:

Spot on.

Regarding the upper bit of Dexter - the gully bed is indeed littered with a lot of rubble, especially since the exit arch collapsed a couple of months back. However, there is a clean and fairly obvious route up the left wall, some 2-3m or so above the gully bed. This appears to be well used and provides some straight forward, enjoyable scrambling before a short shuffle along a ledge deposits you right at the gully's exit. Have used this option the last few times I've been up, inc. last Sunday. Providing there's no one above you raining debris down onto your head while you're in the lower part of the gully, it's possible to get all the way up without any worries of loose rock.

Anyone know how/why there's a small wall at the base of Sinister Gully? Often wondered...

In reply to Wulfrunian:

I think Steve Ashton built the wall to help people find sinister gully

In reply to phja:

For the purpose of historical accuracy, I should point out that (sadly) any connection between the naming of Sinister Gully and the heraldic definition of 'sinister' as relating to some emblem 'of, on, or towards the left-hand side' is purely coincidental.