The Glyderau scrambling all the way up

Monday 27th August 2007

This was yet another day spent scrambling in Snowdonia and this time it was the turn of the Glyders and Tryfan to host my gravity defying excursions. After parking on the A5 in one of the laybys near Tryfan, a short walk along the road took me to a gate in a wall and up a path beside the wall to the foot of the Milestone Buttress and the start of the north ridge of Tryfan. The start proved to be the most difficult part as the first route I tried to climb proved unclimbable (to me), but moving further east yielded an easier route of ascent.

Once the start had been made there followed a series of scrambles with occasional easier patches that took me all the way up to the top. The strong wind during the ascent had eased once I reached the top so the jump from Adam to Eve was a triviality. The first time I was up there I couldn't stand let alone jump from one rock to another! I still managed the leap, but without standing up at any moment, and with a lot of hesitation. Once my manhood had been proven I began my second scramble of the day down the south ridge of Tryfan. Technically this is easier than the north ridge but I tried my best to take the hardest line staying at the top of the ridge all the way, but I didn't succeed all that much!

Once at Bwlch Tryfan I began the third and hardest scramble of the day: Bristly Ridge. The hardest bit was definitely at the beginning as I tried to climb a gully up to the start of the ridge. It was really tricky and nerve-wracking, but eventually I made it and continued along the whole ridge with the difficulties coming thick and fast. During the ascent I hooked up with two other guys who were doing the climb as well and by the end there were three of us doing this difficult climb, which was really quite fun. Eventually the boulder field at the top of Glyder Fach was reached and we went our three separate ways. After a look at the cantilever I went across to the summit and stopped for lunch. My scrambling was now over having taken me from the A5 all the way up to the top of Glyder Fach and it would be easier going from here on in. Feeling that one more tiny scramble would be in order I climbed up to the top of Glyder Fach's Castell y Gwynt before descending to Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder. Bypassing the grassy top of Y Gribin I entered the desolate boulder strewn terrain of Glyder Fawr. In comparison to this, Glyder Fach has a majestic, elegant summit. The whole top of Glyder Fawr all the way down to Llyn y Cwn at the top of Devil's Kitchen is a huge slag heap that deserves no praise and no pleasure can be had from a traverse of its summit. I was relieved when I finally got down to the lake at the bottom and was off the excruciating scree that dominates the landscape.

With the weather beginning to close in and with a real reluctance to walk up to Y Garn I followed the heavily constructed staircase through the Devil's Kitchen. Despite the severity of the construction I really liked this path as it is astonishingly well engineered as it weaves around steep crags slowly descending into Cwm Idwal. This cove is an amazing place with stunning rock scenery in all directions and with great views across the lake to Pen yr Ole Wen. Coming out of the rake from Twll Du I joined the equally well-constructed path that circuits the cwm passing the Idwal Slabs all the way down to the road.

After a visit to the toilet I decided that it was too early to finish so I returned to Cwm Idwal and walked all around the cove anti-clockwise enjoying the scenery again and smiling ruefully at the clouds that had now descended over the tops. I was in the best place. Back to Idwal Cottage I walked along the road back to my car, happy that I had just enjoyed another good walk and was hopeful for one to come on this holiday.