SCRAMBLES IN SNOWDONIA
by Steve Ashton, updated by Carl McKeating and Rachel Crolla
JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,
OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL
About the Author
Steve Ashton began climbing in 1969 in the Lancashire quarries, wearing hiking boots and ‘protected’ by a tow rope retrieved from a council tip. Within two years, he was grappling with grade VI routes in the Dolomites and narrowly surviving stormbound bivouacs.
While living in Snowdonia, he wrote regularly for the outdoor press and later produced numerous guidebooks and instructional manuals on climbing and hill walking. The first of these – Scrambles in Snowdonia – helped revive this neglected facet of mountaineering and introduced the now ubiquitous grading system.
After retiring from mountain writing, he spent several years as an actor and playwright before turning to fiction.
Other Cicerone guides by Steve
Ridges of Snowdonia
About the Updaters
Carl McKeating and Rachel Crolla live at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Having grown up scrambling on local gritstone they first ventured to the Welsh mountains as teenagers, where they sampled the delights of Tryfan and the Glyders, along with witnessing a dramatic helicopter rescue from Crib Goch. They have since hiked, scrambled and climbed all over Europe, exploring the major mountain ranges. In 2007, Rachel became the first woman to climb to the highest point of every country in Europe. The couple’s resulting guidebook, Europe’s High Points, was published by Cicerone in 2009. In 2010, Carl and Rachel completed a long-standing ambition to climb all the routes in Ken Wilson’s Classic Rock. This was followed by a three-month climbing tour of America and Carl has since worked on a Yorkshire gritstone guide. In 2013, Walking in the Auvergne – the couple’s guide to the hills of the Massif Central in France – was published by Cicerone. When they are not roaming the steeper parts of Snowdonia, Carl is working on his doctorate about Mont Blanc and Rachel teaches.
Other Cicerone guides by Carl and Rachel
Europe’s High Points
Walking in the Auvergne
© Steve Ashton, Carl McKeating and Rachel Crolla 2017
Third edition 2017
ISBN: 978 1 85284 890 3
Second edition 1992
First edition 1980
Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs are by the updaters unless otherwise stated.
Warning! Scrambling can be dangerous
Scrambling can be a dangerous activity carrying a risk of personal injury or death. It should be undertaken only by those with a full understanding of the risks involved and with the training and experience to evaluate them. Scramblers should be appropriately equipped for the routes undertaken. Whilst every care and effort has been taken in the preparation of this book, the user should be aware that conditions are highly variable and can change quickly. Holds may become loose or fall off, rockfall can affect the character of a route, and in winter, snow and avalanche conditions must be carefully considered. These can materially affect the seriousness of a scramble, tour or expedition.
Therefore, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law, neither Cicerone nor the author and updaters accept liability for damage of any nature including damage to property, personal injury or death arising directly or indirectly from the information in this book.
Acknowledgements
The updaters would like to thank the inspirational group of people who accompanied us on scrambles, let us photograph them or helped out in other ways. Special thanks go to Stephanie Crolla, who supported us on numerous trips to Wales with the children and without whom this update would have been considerably more difficult. Also thanks to: Casey McKeating and James Wilby; Mark Barrett, Sam and Luke; Katie Cole; Charlotte Wilson and Ali Fontbin; Sarah, Mike, Becca and Amy Watton; Neil Butterton; Spencer Cullis and Chris Corcoran; Ali Lee; Dan ‘rabbit’ Williams and Darren Beever; Marc Yeoman; Jo Rochester and Sophie Nunn; Ben Wood, Lee Wales and Rachel Varney from RAF Valley Mountain Rescue; Luke Jackson, Dave Noble, Ged Heaton and Dominic McKenzie; Monika Kucerova and the late Keith Archman; Robert Bromley (as Adam) and Laura Long (as Eve); Helena and Christian Bird; Huw Gilbert; Ed Sutton and Theia the dog; Chris Aynsworth and Tim Harrop; the Dinsell family; Ella Williams; Steve Smith and Phil Timms; Heather and Rosa Crolla. Finally, a massive thank you to Anna Fleming for literally being a lifesaver with her Heimlich manoeuvre on Glyder Fach!
Updates to this guide
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/890/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL, United Kingdom.
Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.
Front cover: Traversing the second pinnacle of Braich Ty Du Face (Route 2)
CONTENTS
Using this guide (including explanation of grades)