UKC

Hey I was wondering if doing y Garn east ridge as a first grade 2 without ropes is a good decision I’ve done Tryfan north ridge and Tryfan Bastow buttress (I think ) crib lem bristly ridge and also I have a good head for heights I like exposure the more exposure the better but I don’t want it to be technical I was worried about that castell but how technical is it oh and also for the people saying mans a troll I’m not I’m just trying to find the answers I need

Buy a guide book.

Here we go again....

I think these might be yours, you dropped them on the way in:

,..,?.,.?...,,.,.

But in answer to your question; I’d expect it to be more technical than a grade 1, but less technical than a grade 3. If I had to pick a numerical value to indicate just how technical it is, I think I’d choose a 2. 

If you did Bastow buttress variant the first part of that route is definitely grade three easing to grade 2 higher up.

If you've got concerns about whether or not you'll be alright on the terrain you should get a rope and some gear and learn how to use them. Maybe do a course as plas y brenin?

No-one on here has climbed with you or seen you move on steep ground so no-one can tell you if it's a good decision or not. If you're feeling uncertain you need to go out with someone more experienced, which might mean paying someone to take you up something harder. If you do pay someone make sure they're qualified (ie not brave Dave).

Just do it, but don't fall off.

Honestly mate join a club, go out with experienced friends or whatever. Guidebooks are your best bet for information. Remember none of us learnt this sort of thing through internet forums. You just need to get on with it.

Finding your own way is the biggest part of the adventure!

Hi,
A few links that could be of interest, mate ...
Thanks,
R

https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/search/Tryfan: should lead you to an article with Chris Lloyd (about various ways up & down Tryfan - I can’t remember, but perhaps only grade 1 routes), who is quoted about half way down this page:

https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2020/07/10/police-and-rescuers-urge-snowd...

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/premier_posts/bmc_club_training_courses_g... links to here:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/clubs-training-courses: scroll down for North Wales courses (BMC site will have details of how to find a club)

https://www.mountain-training.org/find-a-leader

https://www.northernedgebooks.co.uk/scrambles/

The problem is they don't know whether they did it - see their thread entitled something like "What route did I do....". From the description many people feel it was just a North Ridge variation.

There is a short sketchy step lower down that we bypassed by going left around it, definite rope territory (but so short it's not really worth racking up). Apart from that it's all fairly straightforward. Taking a scrambling rack is always advised if you're not sure though. And follow this word for word https://www.ukscrambles.com/wales-scrambles/y-garn/

I didn't read that post. You'd have to be very lost to end up on Bastow buttress by accident if you were trying to climb the north ridge!

Which is another issue with getting onto harder scrambles. Grade 2/3 scrambles are often the easiest line winding up through more difficult and dangerous terrain, so if you go off-route you can find yourself in serious situations. Having a rope and a small rack and the skills to use them can get you out of sticky situations if you do go off route, so in my opinion AEITB should definitely be thinking about getting some instruction in that regard. In addition, though, experience reading guidebooks and spending time on rock means you're less likely to get lost and find yourself in that sort of situation in the first place. A good instructor should be trying to teach route-finding ability as well as technical skills.

Hi AEITB

As Billhook said in the first reply to your post, buying a guidebook is the best place to start when planning a route.  If you look it up in Dan Bailey's English and Scottish ridges book I think you'll find that he answers clearly the questions you're asking.  I'm not going to post here what he says because I think guidebook writers deserve the royalties for their work, but that's where your answer is. Also one of the photos here on UKC suggests an answer to whether or not you might need a rope!

HTH

Simon

Oh really, you never mentioned it..

Is the Aonach Eagach the best, just wondering, any advice, tips would be really appreciated.

I've done it in the rain with no ropes and thought it was fine, easy to follow and straightforward scramble, but I am:

1) shockingly cavalier with my own life and the life of others.

2) an experienced climber/mountaineer 

3) some random guy posting crap on the internet. 

So make of that what you will.

* Dan Bailey's English and WELSH ridges book!!

It's about as difficult as Great Glass Elevator.

I’ve solo’d it in winter and it’s pretty straight forward until the last section (exposed traverse then a short chimney). This was covered in snow so I roped up and topped out in to a whiteout. 
 

Take a rope in case you need it for this bit. If you don’t fancy it you can abseil off left or right to safer ground - it’s escapable the whole way up.

Hope this helps.