Am I ready for Crib Goch?
People come to Crib Goch with all sorts of experience behind them. Some have walked every path up Yr Wyddfa several times and have been putting this one off for years. Others are preparing for the Welsh 3000s and want to find out how they’ll get on with the scrambling. I’ve also had people who haven’t climbed Yr Wyddfa before but have enough experience elsewhere to be ready for a challenging day here. Knowing how many times you’ve stood on the summit only tells me so much.
What I’m interested in is how you get on when the path becomes rocky and you need to use your hands. Have you done any scrambling? How did you feel on a narrow ridge, or when you had to climb back down something steep? Tell me about a few mountain days you’ve actually done, especially anything you found difficult. That gives us much more to talk about than “I’m fairly fit”.
I like people to have a decent base of mountain walking, preferably with some Grade 1 scrambling behind them, or at least experience of moving over rock using their hands. Some ridge walking helps too. You don’t need to be completely relaxed about the prospect, but it helps to have an idea of how you respond to exposure before you arrive on a ridge where retreat becomes awkward.
Crib Goch is Grade 1 scrambling in summer conditions, which can sound reassuring if you’ve seen that it’s the lowest scrambling grade. There are still steep climbing moves and places where a fall would be very serious. Being fit enough to walk up the Pyg Track doesn’t tell us whether you’ll be comfortable moving through those sections. Equally, being nervous beforehand doesn’t automatically mean you shouldn’t be there.
I don’t have a rigid list of routes everyone must have completed before booking. I’m happy to talk it through and give you an honest answer, including suggesting something less committing first. A private day might make sense if you’d benefit from more individual attention, but the route still needs to be suitable for you. Having a guide beside you doesn’t change the rock or remove the exposure.
Once we meet, I’m watching how everyone’s getting on from the start. The climb out of Pen y Pass tells me quite a lot, and the small scrambling sections below the East Ridge give me a chance to see how people move before the more serious climbing. I can help with foot placement and get a better sense of who might need to stay close to me later.
I have turned people back when continuing wasn’t appropriate. It’s rare, but I need to be willing to make that call, and I’d much rather we’d had an honest conversation beforehand than discover a significant problem halfway up.
If you’re unsure, send me a message with a bit of your mountain history. Include the day that didn’t go brilliantly as well as the ones you enjoyed. There’s a good chance that’ll be the most helpful part of the conversation.
