Myself and Dom had both been wanting to scramble Tryfan and Bristly ridge since we set eyes on it back in June when Snakehips took us on an excellent walk up Glyder Fach. So when the opportunity arose to do it with Ljmeerkat75 aka Luke it was just too good to miss. The walk was posted as a forum meet and Alewife aka Deb, route2rock aka Nathan and my son Reece all came along. Luke, Nathan and Deb had all done it before but it was mine, Doms and Reeces’s first time.
The weather for the day was dry but cloudy, temps of 5 degrees C but feels like -1 and some 50 to 20 mph gusts. We met at the milestone car park which was packed along with all the other car parks on the road. It seemed everyone else had heard about our forum meet and had decided they too wanted to do Tryfan so the place was packed
We set off at 9.30am on the steep pull up Tryfan and comments were made at having no walk in to get the lungs adjusted and the first 100 metres or so were chest heaving work as we worked our way up the path.
The start of the path up
The path got steeper and steeper and we were having regular stops so Dom could get his breath
I really like steep ascents because you get height quickly and start getting good views.
Looking down the magnificent Ogwen valley
Debs getting hands on as the path got steeper and steeper
We reached the first proper scramble section and queues were already forming so we took our place and waited to get up the first section, at this point there was two choices, take the path or wait to get up the rock. After a short wait we were on it
Deb saying to Nathan right lad you put your hands on my bum and give me a good shove up
Reece behind me, i told him to keep his hands of my bum
At the top the routes opened up so you could take whichever one you liked or what was within your capability. Most of the crowds followed the paths but Luke took us on the rock and up some tight hard climbs which got the adrenalin flowing here and there. I was happy to be doing these routes
after all i was here for the scramble not the walk up the path and it was great fun getting up and having some exposure to add a bit more adrenalin.
Luke and the rocky route straight up behind him
Me and Reece, you can see everyone taking the path to the left
We reached the cannon and there was a group of people already having pictures taken and so we joined the queue again. A lady who made it to the top was very happy to have done so and started to descend back down but started to head off the side of the cannon instead of going back down its back. Everyone shouted out stop, her partner was trying to make his way underneath her which was about a 3 metre drop to the rocky floor below, we all started rushing over but she was oblivious to the danger
Luckily for her she had stopped and was not slipping on the steep edge and managed to nudge herself back up on the top of the cannon, we all agreed another 6 inches down and gravity would have taken over resulting in a serious injury.
We all took turns on the Cannon
Rhino on the Cannon
Dom pulling a little pose
Nathan posing a bit more
Reece Posing
Luke showing off
We all took that long posing that Deb decided it was time to move on as a considerable group had built up behind us. We headed off again and were soon back on rock and some really good scrambling up steep gullies avoiding most of the crowds, I was finding it very challenging and rewarding to scramble up such touch sections. Nathan was excellent and very patient helping Deb up these difficult parts which she thanked him for afterwards
These were very hard and exposed parts of the scramble and great care was needed to ensure your hand and foot holds were placed solidly. It didn't help Deb that we all started telling crag fast stories
so we shut up
Looking down one such section
Dom enjoying every minute of it
Off the beaten track
Looking back down what we had just scrambled up with Deb and Nathan following on behind. Very considerate of them to provide a soft landing if one of us was to slip
Nathan guiding Deb on one of the many sections you had to climb back down to then climb back up and one where care was needed to avoid falling, the consequences of such very obvious.
And back up again
We knew were not far from the summit because we could here the cheers as people were obviously jumping Adam and Eve, it sounded like a pantomime and we all joked about what the sound would be like if someone failed to jump it, Booooooooo
Our first glimpse of the summit
The summit was heaving and a large crowd was gathered round Adam and Eve, i didn’t want to hang around and so dropped my rucksack gave the camera to Reece and said follow me and joined the crowd. I asked people at the back are you waiting to jump and every reply was no and so i made it through the people very quickly to the front of the crowd. It was as if people were summing the courage to do the jump and were happy to let anyone ahead of them. I was now stood at the front and my only concern was how do i get up the bloody things, there was a couple of young girls holding the flag of Scotland between Adam and Eve and i looked around and everyone who had let me through was now staring at me as if to say go on then big fella
I wasnt about to change my mind and so when the young girl got down i was up on top like a rat up a drain pipe with all those people watching me.
Earlier in the walk we had marked a 1.2 metre gap on the floor and jumped it a few times and it was very easy even to the point of being able to jump it two footed. Now stood on Adam looking across to Eve that 1.2 metres looks bigger
much bigger and Eve is also lower and the surface of Eve is slightly slanted to one side, the side with the big drop. I looked around to find Reece and everyone was watching me still, i said get that camera ready and off i went. Landing and not falling off Eve i was buzzing but I didn't get a cheer
it was a group of students doing all the cheering and I was probably too cool for their group
I jumped down off Eve onto the rock below and then Reece went followed by Luke and Dom declined although i think if we had pushed him a bit he would have done it but you have to make these decisions yourself so we didn’t push Dom
Boom The freedom gained
A bit slow on the camera
Luke mid air
Luke jumping back
Now he was showing off
Bristly Ridge from Tryfan
We descended down from Tryfan stopping for lunch on the way down after which Deb decided to take the path down to the cafe where she would wait for us or walk back to the cars while we pushed on and did Bristly Ridge. We got down to the joining off paths and said farewell to Deb. Unlike the ascent of Tryfan Bristly Ridge was quite having only a handful of people on it that we could see. Its reputation obviously precedes it and starting the ascent up i was beginning to see why with such a steep rock face and distinct lack of paths.
Looking up at the foot of Bristly Ridge
We were soon out of path and into the gullies, not sure which one this was but the climb up was now a more serious and harder affair. Although the exposure at this point was minimal it was a long way down to the bottom of the gullies and this was in the forefront of my mind. Both Luke and Nathan are experienced scramblers with Nathan being a climber as well so they made the climb ups look easy but both offered support pointing out good hand and foot holds along the way as well as tips which I found very useful especially on descents
The Start of one of the gullies
Looks easy, just a simple climb up those rocks at the bottom but you have to climb up on the side of the rock at the bottom to get up onto those rocks. Once on the rocks its just as hard to get up and over them but it made for a great climb up getting the adrenalin pumping and sapping the strength and energy out of you with every stretch and pull up. Perhaps that was just me, i am not built for climbing so having to pull my weight up over and over does start sapping the energy. Having just eaten a short while back i was a little surprised i felt low on energy but was committed to the scramble so got focused on the job in hand.
Another tough section with one of the dangers of scrambling/climbing can be seen in the picture below of loose rock. The huge piece of rock to the right of Dom was completely loose, Nathan asked a couple behind us to stand clear and threw it down to the bottom
Another scramble section
A look back at Tryfan
Jake, Reece and Dom tackling one of the harder sections up
Two major differences i thought between Bristly Ridge and Tryfan was the scrambling was harder on the ridge and there were more sections that you had to climb over on reaching the top and then climb down with greater exposure. About ¾ way up Dom said to me he was running on Adrenalin and i was glad i wasn’t the only one out of energy and calling on reserves to complete the scramble
We carried on scrambling right the way to the top where it was such an elation and feeling of achievement to have done such a difficult route. I had commented a few times that Luke was taking us on the hardest bits he could find but i loved every minute of it and so did everyone else.
Nathan on the cantilever
After sitting or flopping on the summit of Glyder Fach in my case we moved on and decided to descend down the Gribin. Luke asked if we wanted to scramble down the top and i answered quickly before anyone else and said ill go down the path. We all decided to take the path and even that proved to be a scramble down in places.
Dom scrambling down the Gribin
Looking back up the Gribin
Tryfan
Bristly Ridge
The actual route walked
Arriving back at the cars Deb was still in the cafe so Dom and Nathan were going to pick her up, due to the time and 3 hour drive home me and Reece decided to head on home dropping Luke off on the way. The forum post on the meet by Luke said there was a guarantee of day to remember. That guarantee was fully honoured
Tryfan and Bristly Ridge are to date for me the most enjoyable and thrilling day out combined into one hell of a fun and extremely challenging adrenalin rush of a scramble and climb. The company helped make the day and we had some good laughs along the way and it was a pleasure to meet new friends and spend a day out on the mountains like this. Luke and Nathan both shared their experience with us amateurs and were very helpful and supportive throughout giving advice and tips and making the day safe without sacrificing the fun and risk.
Cant wait to do it again
Please feel free to post some pictures from the day.
