With the solstice weekend, came the promise of good weather for Snowdonia. So plans were made for a very similar trip to the one I’d undertaken on my own. Then the weather turned at the last minute to low/thick cloud cover so we delayed our start, and began our ascent of Tryfan at 10:30am on 20th June.

This time the climb was made in changing visibility and occasional rain, that made it more like my first time on the mountain. As we were both happy on the terrain, we eschewed the path at almost every opportunity we had to scramble. My alarm hadn’t gone off, so I’d set off late and had to have breakfast in the layby. The brioche I hastily consumed down at the foot of the mountain made me feel quite queasy going up, but the fun scrambling soon helped me feel fine.

It was the first time I’d completed the North ridge properly, as on previous days I’d always ended up on the East face coming up one of the gullys. This time we stuck to main ridge, following the crowds and had great fun despite some very wet and polished holds.

All too soon we’d made it to the summit, where we grabbed a quick drink/snack and laughed at the ironic cheers from those sat up on top, when a tiny amount of sun broke through the clouds.

Looking back to Tryfan from the start of Sinister Gully.

After a descent off the Southern ridge of Tryfan, we were soon ascending again beside a stone wall and then off to the side to the start of the scramble up Glyder Fach via Bristly Ridge.

The Route – “Bristly Ridge” ascent of Glyder Fach

You can either approach the start of the scramble which begins in Sinister Gully (cool name, no?) by following the trail up to the side of the wall and then going across 10 metres to the right (as we did) or up an obvious scree slope directly to find the gap, neither are tricky so it comes down to your preference.

The gully is between 1/2 metres wide in most places and has a fair amount of loose rock on the floor, so care is needed as you traverse inside the gully, that you don’t cover those behind you in rocks.

The climbing isn’t too tricky but it requires you to be confident. As we entered the gully, we spotted a group using a rope (likely a course I guess) which we thought was odd but given conditions it was sensible for people not used to the terrain. Most sections benefit greatly from being on one side of the wall you’re climbing, so have a quick think before rushing headlong at the next problem… which admittedly I sometimes do!

This time it being wet certainly made the gully more of a challenge and it showed, with several people slipping quite badly around me. The route was really busy with quite a queue forming, but quite why people insist on being so close to the person infront is beyond me, there were several points when I was worried a few people were going to end up falling into each other and down the gully. Maybe I’m different but I talk to people around me on routes, especially when it’s busy, as it seems courteous to me to warn those around you of problems or for example if you cross loose rock above them.

Helping point out holds to the next person coming up the gully.

Upon reaching the top, I was a bit shocked to see splatters of blood on the rocks and then the owner of the blood, a chap who’d slipped on the route and had cut above his eye quite nastily, a further reminder how serious it can be.

The gully is the most technical part of the route though, so once you’ve exited it there’s just a couple more decent pitches and exposure left to challenge you, the rest is really just a lot of fun. It’s a case of sticking as close to the top of the ridge as possible and enjoying yourself. Often a small path is available that sidesteps a problem, but there’s nothing as tricky as before in the gully so stick at it. And on the occasions when you look over a spike to a big drop, needles to say that’s not the way, so check to the side a bit for a decent and easy climb down.

Ascending Bristly Ridge to the summit of Glyder Fach

The route sadly has to end but it does so gracefully, coming up on top of Glyder Fach and fading as a line of rocks that point toward to the rocky summit and the Cantilever (see photo on Wikipedia article on Glyder Fach to see what this). We carried on to sit near the top for another drink, before scrambling over Castell Y Gwynt and then down the Cribin Ridge (listed as a Grade 1 scramble, we took a line off the main ridge which was okay for descent but not much fun) to enjoy views back from where we’d been over over Tryfan and Glyder Fach to our right, and the Carneddau infront.

Tryfan’s West face from the Cribin Ridge.

At the moment, Bristly Ridge when combined with Tryfan’s North Ridge is my favourite route in the UK. Doing it in wet conditions amongst a crowd showed me another side to the route, one that’s more challenging and also worrying, with too many people caught out of their comfort zone. But enough of the serious talk, the gully is great fun and the ridge airy enough at times to make you double check your footing. And the setting whether it was clear as before, or this time with clouds breaking around, is simply stunning. This is not a route to be rushed, get up early and enjoy it!

More information

Always carry my cicerone guide to “Scrambling in Snowdonia” by Steve Ashton which I’d recommend you’d take for any route in the area. I also posted links to details of scrambling on Tryfan/Glyder Fach on my previous day on the route.

Note: The first, third and fourth photos used in this article were taken by my scrambling partner for the day (Adele). So big thank you to her for letting me use the action shots!

Knowing that a nice day in Snowdonia = crowds, I decided to make things more interesting by getting to the mountain before or as close to sunrise on the mountain (sunrise being at just after 4am at this time of year…). So a plan was hastily formed to wake up just after 1am and go for the North Ridge of Tryfan (grade 1 scramble) and then up Bristly Ridge to Glyder Fach (grade 1/2 scramble), before legions of walkers ascended the peaks.

Kit

Unlike previous weekends when I’d weighted a pack down, I decided to go much lighter this time. So a couple of litres of water, some food, sunglasses and waterproof if the good weather turned rainy/windy. Having worn my new Sportiva Nepal Evos the weekend before up Pen y Fan on soft ground, I decided to wear them again to see how they coped on rock. Whilst not suited to scrambling, they ended up performing well; fit continues to get better and impress me more.

Route

Stringing together the North Ridge of Tryfan and Bristly Ridge up Glyder Fach is one of the more famous continued scrambles in Snowdonia, so documenting it is pointless. The Cicerone guide to scrambling in North Wales does a great job of covering the route and then there’s lots of websites covering each (listed at the end).

Arriving at 4:40am I quickly got changed and took a couple of photos to prove I’d made it to start so early. When I arrived there was only one other car in the layby, my plan had worked and I’d have the mountain almost to myself.

The ascent itself isn’t too demanding and route finding a breeze for the most part, you soon gain height and there’s plenty of options to make it more tricky (i.e. fun) if you want to.

As I started to make may way up onto what is a very broad North Ridge, the sun started to creep up over the Glyders, striking the shattered rock around me (and a group of goats who were up early too) to make the setting really breathtaking.

After finding a band of quartz and then moving up and slightly to the right I was at “The Cannon”. To my surprise I found the owner of the other car in the layby, wild camping just below the outcrop, which made me jump a bit as I’d got quite used to having the whole mountain to myself.

Reaching the summit just before 7am I hauled myself up the first summit pillar, had a bit of breakfast, took some photos and then with it being quite cold exposed to the wind, down-climbed (making a mess of it and hurting my ribs doing so, too early, doh!) and sat in a more sheltered area briefly.

Coming down on the South Ridge toward Glyder Fach I was joined unexpectedly by someone I’d chatted with on Twitter for the scramble up Bristly Ridge. Enjoying it so much I didn’t take photos, so I guess I’ll need to go back and do it again…

The two scrambles strung together make for an absolutely stunning time in the Glyders and with the routes so quiet in the early morning the feeling of adventure you often lose to the crowds was retained. I’d probably suggest that Bristly Ridge is my favourite route I’ve yet to scramble in North Wales. I can’t wait to go back and do it again (and document it properly given I like it so much)!

Links to route information

• Fellwalker in East Anglia article on Tryfan North Ridge
• Fellwalker in East Anglia article on Bristly Ridge
• UK Scrambles article on Tryfan North Ridge
• UK Scrambles article on Bristly Ridge