UKC

What mountain should I climb next ive done bristly ridge tryfan crib lem cirb Goch I’m thinking about y Garn east ridge or something is that ok ?

Congratulations

Not knowing anything at all about you or what you want makes it hard to give any kind of answer. Are you 12, 25 or 78? Fit & healthy? Ace navigator? Winter climber? Rock climber? You get the gist...

Welcome to UKC!

I like scrambling and my navigation is pretty average and my fitness is pretty bad when walking uphill but fine when scrambling like I mentioned above I’ve done grade 1 scrambles like bristly ridge I’ve done 4 scrambles I found them all fine and I’m fine with exposure do u think I’m ready for grade 2s

Y Garn east ridge isn't the first grade 2 I would do, there is a fairly blank bit near the top. My first grade 2 were Milestone Gully and Nor Nor Groove on Tryfan and I thought that was about right. Llechog West Rib would be another good one.

Ok thank you isn’t milestone gully a 1+ and little and north gully a grade 1 I could be wrong though 

because the trouble is most of the grade 2s in wales are 2+ and y Garn is one of the only normal grade 2s so I may reconsider it’s only the technical leval what bothers me I’ll be soloin what ever I do I’m fine with exposure 

See my edited reply!

Milestone Gully is definitely a step up, you'll see what I mean!

I done bristly ridge before is it harder or easier than bristly because I seen some videos on it before I thought it looked a bit boring compared to other routes on tryfan it I’m being honest like what is north butress variant or notch Arete like I know there grade 2 but can’t find any info on it 

Milestone Gully is more sustained than the gully up onto Bristly Ridge. North Buttress Variant has  you wandering around on paths most of the way as I recall.

What grade is llechog rib

Oh so is north buttress more of a walk than a scramble ?

Llechog West Rib is 2 if you start from the bottom I think.

Ok thank you I’ll have a look into it

Thanks for the info. Are you scrambling solo or with partners? The way to find out if you're ready for grade 2 is try one and if you're not happy, back off. I can still come across situations that beat me on routes given grades I can usually climb. In part it's because different situations, or moves, or conditions can be graded the same but need different skills or nerve of strength. With time and experience you get a feel for what to expect and what you can cope with. Grades are widely variable too!

I’m solo and with a partner and how bad is the top of y Garn 

I had a look couldn’t find any info but did find a grade 1 plus route east terrace something what leads up to Clogwyn y person Arete what’s that like ?

Yes. Another good grade 2 is Idwal Staircase and Continuation. Craig yr Ysfa Amphitheatre gets a bit desperate on the easier bit higher up!

Yes idwal staircase is one I want to do what’s it like compared to bristly ridge in difficulty 

But Tbf I don’t see the point in Craig yr ysfa it’s like a 3 hour walk for 30 mins of scrambling 

Not sure. Clogwyn y Person is a definite step up from grade 2 though.

Not that difficult lower down, but interesting, the bulbous rock on the second half is a different matter though. If you can't make it up then follow a track left and that takes you onto Direct Approach to Seniors Ridge which is easier.

Milestone gully on tryfan and main gully on glyder fach are both top end of grade 1 and both excellent. If you can do these without problems then have a go at a grade 2. 

Just avoid byrants gully that's super hard for grade 2 

Aw I liked the look of Bryant’s gully 

Ye I might try that can you do idwal staircase onto Cniefion Arete ?

North West Buttress in Idwal is good.  Just to the right of the Staircase to start.

Bastow Buttress on Tryfan east face is also good - a bit harder in that it's more daunting.

Notch arete is another step up again and is more G3 in my view.  Cneifion is about the same grade but longer and can be busy

These all need to be dry if you're steeping up from G1 so best saved for later in Spring

I've gone through the same learning process as yourself, solo scrambling from the very beginning.

My first G2 was North Buttress on Tryfan, it's a fantastic route and much overlooked so you'll have it to yourself. The Gary Smith book is the best for route description. The crux is absolutely that, it's tricky, wear something with a sticky sole to help you out! Bastow Buttress was next, the start is superb and there's a narrow section at mid-height that's fun.

N.B. it's worth doing Milestone Buttress and then walking round to the Heather Terrace, warms you up and it does feel more serious than G1+

Notch Arete via Y Gully is a good option after those. Best saved for a sunny afternoon! East Ridge of Y Garn is nice too, the crux is mental only and in a great position. There's a chimney that you can climb at the very beginning, harder than I remembered when I repeated it a month or so back.

P.S. I've found all of the 2s on the Idwal Slabs very friendly, but that might stem from having scrambled G3s before doing them. Have fun.

Of the grade 2's i've done in Wales, The Staircase and Byrant's Gully are both great routes but pretty high in the grade - especially when wet, which is most of the time.

East Ridge of Y Garn is a great route, and a good call. I climbed this for the first time in the summer by myself, with a loaded Bergen, in moderate wind. Provided it's dry and you've got a good head for heights (and the ridge isn't being whipped by a bad crosswind), i'd say this would be a good choice.

Bastow Buttress is another good call, despite it's grade 2+. IMO it warrants a straight grade 2. That said it is pretty steep and sustained though escape is never far.

I'd second the aforementioned Y Gully-Notched Arete combo. The Arete, in isolation, would be the ideal route as an intro to the grade. The trouble is getting to it. A grade 1+ approach is possible, though not at all obvious and probably best avoided until you've got some more route under your belt. That leaves V Buttress/ V Arete/ Y Gully as intros, the latter being the only one i've done. Y Gully was technically harder than the Arete, but still closer to grade 2 than 3 from what i recall. The two together make a great outing.

Milestone Gully would be a safe and easier option, though a bit on the short side. 

The Braich Ty Du Face of Pen Y Ole Wen is, perhaps, worth a mention.

Cheers!

Thank you for or that info I’m verry confused now though because I’ve got people telling me 2 different stories 1 person said That north butress is a walk so i don’t know what to do 

Thank you for that so what do u think i should  I was fine with crib Goch and bristly ridge I found bristly ridge a bit to easy compared to what other people say and I didn’t even know I was coming down the tower gap because people made it out to be harder than it was and I thought crib Goch was a bit of a exposed ridge walk rather than a scramble don’t get me wrong it’s amazing but not hard I want a challenge but I have no ropes so I’ll have to solo I want one what’s not to technical but exposed 

Ye braitch ddu face looks mad like is there any hand holds on the pinnacle that’s the thing what puts me off

The Pinnacle Ridge bit at the start is very short and would be easy to avoid entirely. If Pinnacle Ridge is taken, then there are only two pinnacles anyway, the first can be skipped (v.diff trad' grade I think).

The majority of the route (~350/500 metres of ascent) is moving up heather-buried buttresses and slabs, via any line you like. (Careful pulling/standing on vegetation, the face will feel pretty steep). There's a sense of adventurous exploration, finding a route up a vast, rarely climbed, face. Not as technically interesting, smoothly flowing up on good rock, as most Ogwen lines. Depends what you're after.

Then at the top is Porcupine Ridge, which is high grade 2+. This can be avoided easily however; it forms part of a final zone of steeper, cleaner rock near the summit, this band can be breached by many different lines).

I've not been up North Buttress btw, but it's on the to-do list and looks like a good first grade 2 shout.

Likewise, Idwal Buttress (to the right of The Staircase). Not been up it, but it looks a good shout.

I'm rubbish with knife edge exposure and scrambles in general and found Y Garn East Ridge a really pleasant day out. It was my partners first scramble and we both solo'd it without much drama (we skipped the lower wall, not great rock, a terrible fall zone and very little gear even if we did want to get the rope out for about 3-4 metres of climbing). The upper section has maybe 5 metres of traverse and 5 metres of slab with a massive drop and zero room for error so take a rope/partner or calculate the risk carefully. The UKS description is VERY helpful so follow it https://www.ukscrambles.com/wales-scrambles/y-garn/

I made a little movie of our ascent if you fancy scoping it out  youtube.com/watch?v=HNTxJSpja4U&

Haha, I took the direct ascent not recommended then too soon up the final bit, now I know!

Unaware that 90 per cent of Ashton's description relates to the last 10 per cent of the route, I misinterpreted his 'triangular buttress' for something further down and the true triangular buttress as his 'final rise'. So instead of going left of the true triangular buttress I followed a well-worn path right of it then up what turned out to be the exposed drop below the crux at the true final rise (ie: just beyond the ridge). Didn’t feel like backtracking at that point - moves up the 'final rise' were more difficult than I was expecting.

Thank you gives me more hope and you know what I’ve arledy seen that vid about 20 times before you even showed it to me cuz it’s one of the only vids I can find on it and it’s good quality so thank you 

Y Garn is a pretty good choice for a grade 2 solo but hard to recommend it without knowing you personally (fitness/climbing skill/mountain knowledge etc).

At some point in your scrambling 'career' you are going to run out of routes you are happy soloing and need to learn some basic ropework.  I'd say you should do this sooner rather than later (join a club or hire a guide), you won't regret it - having a rope will open up tons of new routes to you.

North Buttress is only a walk if you choose not to climb anything! There's plenty of scrambling interest from start to finish, just stick to the rock and climb out of the amphitheatre onto the North Summit vs. taking the Eastern Traverse Path or North Gully.

You could climb Milestone Gully, head round to Bastow* (and climb it), descend Little & North Gullies and then ascend North Buttress. If you're still feeling good, descend Western Gully** and head round to the Idwal Slabs; Idwal Staircase is my favourite on the Slabs. Descending Senior's Gully or ascending Senior's Ridge/Y Gribin to continue.

*Bastow Buttress has an escape path its entire length and spits you out near the Canon Stone.

**You could even scramble Y Gully and Notch Arete having descended to the path at the bottom of Western Gully. But as you're starting out... best not blow all of Tryfan's best G2s in one day