Crib y Ddysgl (Garnedd Ugain)
Route 60 Crib y Ddysgl 1** S
Route 61 Cwm Glas Mawr Approach 1+* or 3S*
Route 62 Clogwyn y Person Arête (including Parson’s Nose options) 3*** or 3S***
Route 63 Cwm Glas Ridge 1-*
Route 64 Llechog Buttress 2**
Route 65 Llechog Ridge 2-*
Route 66 Eastern Terrace of Clogwyn Du’r Arddu 1+**
Route 67 Western Terrace of Clogwyn Du’r Arddu 3*
Snowdon
Route 68 Tregalan Couloir 2*
Route 69 Y Gribin and the East Ridge 1**
Lliwedd
Route 70 Traverse of Lliwedd 1** S
Route 71 West Peak via Bilberry Terrace 3S***
Route 72 Nantlle Ridge 1-***
Craig Cwm Silyn
Route 73 Craig Fawr Rib (aka LMH) 3**
Mynydd Mawr
Route 74 Sentries’ Ridge and Continuation 3-***
Route 75 Bear Buttress 3S*
The Moelwyns
Route 76 Moel Siabod Ridge Circuit (including Daear Ddu Ridge) 1-***
The Rhinogs
Route 77 South Face of Rhinog Fawr 2-*
Route 78 South Ridge Variant, Rhinog Fach (aka Hywel Ridge) 3-**
Cadair Idris
Route 79 Cyfrwy Arête (including Table Direct option) 3*** or 3S***
Conwy
Route 80 Penmaenbach Arête 1+**
Appendix A Summary of routes in grade order
Appendix B Longer combination ideas
Superb positions on Glyder Fach’s East Gully Ridge with Tryfan beyond (Route 34)
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
A summer’s evening on Tryfan’s South Ridge (Route 29)
What criteria should be used to define a scramble? General agreement could be reached on the lower limit – that we must also expect to use our hands on the rock – but fixing the upper limit is always going to be controversial. My own interpretation, reflected in the cut-off point for this guide, is that the technical interest of the climbing (which in any case ought not to exceed Moderate or short passages of Difficult standard in the rock climbing classification) must be superseded by the wider interests of scenery, position and atmosphere. In other words, seeking out difficulty for its own sake, without regard to line or position on the mountain, is not scrambling but rock climbing.
Since its first publication in 1980, Scrambles in Snowdonia has served thousands of existing scrambling enthusiasts, and no doubt helped to convert many more from the ranks of hill walkers and rock climbers. This is not an entirely comforting thought. Unroped scrambling, however exhilarating it may be, is potentially the most dangerous form of mountaineering. There have been times when – alone, unroped and in trouble halfway up some remote and uncharted face – I have vowed never to go into the mountains again. I break the vow regularly, but grow ever more cautious. There is no way of entirely eliminating the risk, only of reducing it. No mountain is worth a life, yet without mountains perhaps no worthwhile life remains to be lived.
Steve Ashton, 1992
UPDATERS’ NOTE
It has been a privilege to work on this inspirational book, and one that we have not taken lightly. In preparation for this extensively updated third edition, we have climbed and checked all the original routes, some of them many times. Grades have been reappraised and descriptions revised as necessary. After much thought, five of the routes from the previous edition have been relocated to the book’s supporting webpage on the Cicerone website, www.cicerone.co.uk/890/updates. In contrast, 16 additional routes have been included in the book. All are in keeping with the original premise of the book and allow scramblers to venture onto the best lines in a wider area of the national park, as well as to explore a greater number of excellent lines on the northern mountains.
We share Steve’s sobering sentiment regarding the use of this guide. Although grade 3 scrambles are now more commonly climbed with a rope, we have tried to clarify where there is a higher element of risk by introducing the 3S grade – the ‘S’ being severe, serious or, when tackling their hardest parts, an expletive of your choice! Taking into account scramblers’ feedback about the last edition, we have tried to provide extra information about finding and following the routes that are less frequented. Ultimately though, the difference between a superb mountain day and an unmitigated disaster is the experience and common sense of the party. The freedom of scrambling is life-affirming, yet it must be taken seriously.
Carl McKeating and Rachel Crolla, 2017
A fine crest on the Cyfrwy Arête with Llyn y Gadair beyond (Route 79)
INTRODUCTION
Area covered by the guide
Nearly all the described routes lie within the northern half of the Snowdonia National Park, where the most rugged mountains are found. Good scrambling in the southern half is scarce, the rock here being typically loose or vegetated, but a handful of good routes have been included.
Northern Snowdonia naturally divides into four regions. From north to south these are: the Carneddau, the Glyders, the Snowdon group and Eifionydd. The best scrambles will be found in the Glyders, with the large majority concentrated on Tryfan, Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr. The Snowdon group also boasts many excellent routes, whereas the Carneddau and the Eifionydd regions provide only a handful. In this book, each region is introduced by a general description of the terrain and an indication of the scrambling potential. The best routes