a remarkable chasm in the line of cliff which faces the head of Llyn
Idwal on the south-west, being a northerly continuation of Glyder Fawr.
From Benglog, which is much the nearest place, there is little choice of
route; either side of Llyn Idwal will do, but the west side is rather
less boggy. Keeping well up you pass the head of Idwal until you bring
it on with the head of Llyn Ogwen, and then about 500 ft. above the
former you find yourself at the foot of this grand fissure. In dry
weather all but the highest patch can be easily ascended; after rain it
is sometimes difficult to enter the place at all. In the summer of 1893,
which was extraordinarily dry, a young fellow claimed to have done it
single-handed, but it was supposed by some that he had mistaken the
place. During the intense cold of March 1895 an extraordinary _tour de
force_ was accomplished here by J. M. A. T. and H. H., who cut their way
up the frozen waterfall, and thus accomplished what was probably the
first ascent of this formidable chasm. The height of the final pitch in
its normal condition is about 53 ft., measured from the top of the block
down to the surface of the pool below. When the climb above described
was made, no doubt much of this height was filled up by snow and ice,
yet the remainder was not surmounted in less than 7 hours, so that the
average rate of progress must have been about 5 ft. per hour. The total
time from Benglog to the top of the Kitchen was 8-1/2 hours. The party
descended in the dark to Llanberis in 3 hours more, having left Ogwen in
the morning at 10 o'clock. Those who approach from Upper Llanberis by
way of Cwm Patric or from Penygwrhyd over the shoulder west of Glyder
Fawr, and, in fact, all who do not come by way of Benglog, have to
descend the high cliff out of which the Kitchen is cut. The only
convenient passage starts about a furlong to the south of the Kitchen,
and is very awkward at night or in mist. It begins as a wide, straight
trough (the largest and most regular of two or three), which slopes
gently downwards and towards Benglog. Presently it takes a more
northerly direction and becomes a steep, wide slope of scree following
the line of cliff to the great blocks of fallen stones which mark the
mouth of the chasm. An active man can return from the lower to the upper
exit of the chimney in ten minutes, and the descent could, of course, be
done in even less time. In dry weather there is but one slight
difficulty before reaching the grand crux at the head. It can be climbed
by passing into a cavern and up to the left, but the easier, and after
heavy rain the only practicable, way is up the side-wall just to the
left of the choke-stone on to a broad ledge. A little way above this a
huge slab, fallen from above, is seen leaning against the wall on the
right. The passage to the right of it can always be made, however strong
the stream on the left hand may be. The climb to the top of this slab is
very neat, and, besides affording a capital view of the situation, is
about all the consolation left for the ardent explorer, who will seldom
succeed in penetrating any further. There are, however, two possible
lines of advance, both on the left-hand wall, one well in under the
colossal cap-stone, which hangs 50 ft. overhead, and the other outside,
nearly opposite the great slab. By the latter route 20 ft. or 30 ft. can
be climbed with some little difficulty, but the traverse to the right
would no doubt prove a very ticklish operation. Cliffe, in June 1843,
penetrated to the foot of the final obstacle, and gives a very good
description of it.
[Illustration: TWLL DU
(looking up from within)]
* * * * *
=Glyder Group.=--=Glyder Fach= (3,262 ft.), though called 'the lesser,'
is far finer than its brother peak, so much so that many have found
great difficulty in believing that the Ordnance Surveyors were right in
ascribing 17 ft. of superiority to the more lumpy western summit. One
might be tempted to build a 20-ft. cairn but for the fear of spoiling
the great glory of Glyder Fach, the chaos of rocks on its summit. The
present cairn was not in existence ten years ago, and must have been
built about 1887.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF
THE GLYDERS
AND
TRYFAEN]
_Ascents._--From Benglog the most interesting ascent is by the Gribin
ridge, between Idwal and Bochllwyd. It involves a slight descent (about
150 ft.) after reaching the ridge, but it is less fatiguing than that by
Bwlch Tryfaen and the steep rough screes on the right hand beyond it.
From Penygwrhyd you mount behind the inn, crossing the bog as you best
can towards a wall which goes straight up the hill. When the direction
of the wall changes you make a compromise midway between the old and
the new, and very soon come on to a line of cairns which continues right
on to the boggy tableland above. Tryfaen top now appears over the hill,
and as soon as it is fairly lifted you bear to the left and up a stony
slope to the cairn. From Capel Curig it is a simple matter to follow the
ridge of Cefn y Capel, but quicker to keep along the highroad past the
Llynian Mymbyr, and then strike up a grass slope to the right. As often
as not both Glyders are ascended in one expedition; the dip between the
two is only 300 ft., the distance is under a mile, and stones are the
only obstacles.
[Illustration: SUMMIT OF GLYDER FACH]
_Climbs._--The north face of this mountain is remarkably fine and
contains all the climbing there is. At the east end is the bristly ridge
leading down to Bwlch Tryfaen. This is stimulating, but not difficult.
In the centre of the face there is a large gully, ascended in November
1894 by J. M. A. T., H. H., and H. E. They did not find it necessary to
use the rope. The lofty pitch at the foot of the eastern gully is
decidedly hard. (J. M. A. T.) In May 1888 W. E. C., A. E., E. B., and E.
K. found and ascended a gully close under the west side of Castell
Gwynt, and add that they reached Penygwrhyd by way of Cwm Graianog. The
last statement is very mysterious. About the Castell itself (the rugged
pile of rocks between the two Glyders, marked by its slender outstanding
'sentinel'), and about the summit of the Fach, there are some good
scrambles on a small scale.
[Illustration: CASTELL GWYNT AND GLYDER FAWR]
Directly under the top stone is the minimum thermometer, which has been
kept there for some years.[10] The most interesting thing on the whole
mountain is undoubtedly the pile of stones on the top. According to the
bard Taliesin it is the burial-place of a mighty warrior, one Ebediw. If
a kind of Stonehenge was erected there to his memory and afterwards got
upset by an earthquake it might account for present appearances. Edward
Lhwyd, the great antiquary, was particularly struck by them 200 years
ago, and his description and remarks are equally applicable to-day.
[10] See the _Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society_ for
April 1893, xix. No. 86, for a summary of the temperatures thus
recorded.
[Illustration: ROCKS ON GLYDER FACH]
'On the utmost top of the Glyder,' he says, 'I observed prodigious heaps
of stones, many of them of the largeness of those of Stonehenge, but of
all the irregular shapes imaginable, and all lying in such confusion as
the ruins of any building can be supposed to do.... Had they been in a
valley I had concluded they had fallen from the neighbouring rocks ...
but, being on the highest part of the hill, they seemed to me much more
remarkable.' He goes on to remark upon a precipice which has not been
identified (see _Esgair Felen_). 'On the west side of the same hill
there is, amongst many others, one naked precipice (near or one of the
Trigfylchau, but distinguished by no particular name), as steep as any I
have seen, but so adorned with numerous equidistant pillars, and these
again slightly crossed at certain joints. 'Twas evident that the gullies
or interstices were occasioned by a continued dropping of water down
this cliff.' Trigfylchau, by the way (i.e. 'Twisting Gaps'), is a name
which does not seem to be known at the present day.
Lhwyd's description fired the curiosity of the travellers who explored
Wales nearly a century later, and the amusing part of it is that they
could not find this wonderful mountain, or even hear of it from the
intelligent natives.
Cradock (1770) found an aged man, who told him that the mountain was
'now called the Wythwar (Wyddfa),' which stands 'a few miles south of
the parish of Clynog;' and H. P. Wyndham went further by identifying it
with 'the mountain called Ryvil in Speed's map' (i.e. Yr Eifl). It shows
how little the natives knew about their mountains until the travellers
came and taught them. Pennant made the ascent, and gives a picture of
the summit. Bingley also went up, and gives a good description.
Kingsley's fine description, in _Two Years Ago_, of Elsley's ascent
really applies mainly to Glyder Fach, though he only mentions the Fawr.
Elsley's descent, by the way, was apparently into Bochllwyd by way of
Castell Gwynt.
* * * * *
[Illustration: GLYDER FAWR, NORTH FACE]
=Glyder Fawr= (3,279 ft.).--The meaning of the name is a mystery. One
Welsh scholar gravely tells us that the real name is Clydar, which at
once yields the obviously suitable meaning of a 'well-shaded ploughed
ground.' Either of these epithets would be quite as appropriate to the
Sahara itself, for the two Glyders are among the barest and rockiest
mountains in all Wales. The two roads which lead from Capel Curig, one
over the Pass of Llanberis and the other through Nant Ffrancon to
Bangor, enclose between them the whole of the Glyder group, forming a
singular figure, which recalls Menenius Agrippa's description of the
Second Citizen as 'the great toe of this assembly.' The toe is slightly
bent; Penygwrhyd is the knuckle, Capel Curig the tip of the nail, and
Benglog (the head of Nant Ffrancon) is just in the inside bend. The
highest point of the group lies practically in a straight line with
Snowdon and Carnedd Llewelyn, and, roughly speaking, midway between
them. Of Snowdon it commands a profoundly impressive view, and is in
turn itself best seen from the Carnedds.
Both Glyders are very frequently ascended from Penygwrhyd, Llanberis,
Capel Curig, and Ogwen.
The simplest way up is from the top of the Llanberis Pass, from which a
ridge leads to the summit. This is, perhaps, the best way if the start
be made from any place not on the north side, though from Penygwrhyd the
route may be boggily abbreviated by making up the little valley to the
north-west. From Ogwen the usual ascent passes near Twll Du, though the
ridge separating the Idwal and Bochllwyd lakelets is sometimes chosen,
and certainly affords a greater variety of fine views.
Climbing on this mountain is practically confined to its northern face,
and even there very little has been done. There are also a few rocks on
the west side. The climbing-book at Penygwrhyd contains very few
references to it. At Easter in 1884 H. and C. S. mention that they
enjoyed fine glissades down the snow slopes on the north-west side to
Llyn y Cwn, but the first real climb recorded therein is that of the big
gully in the north face, made on November 25, 1894, by J. M. A. T., H.
H., and H. E. From the far end of Llyn Idwal a long scree leads up to
the mouth of the gully, which may be identified from a distance by the
pitch which blocks it about half-way up and a broad strip of grass
outside it on the west. The point to make for is the head of a wall
which runs up from the extreme south end of the llyn to the corner of a
huge mass of bare smooth rock. If the traveller reaches this point
without being engulfed in the boggy ground which fringes the llyn he
will now continue in the same general direction as the wall, and soon
sees the gully just before him. A kind of trough, probably produced by
weathering of the rock, is now seen on the left, and this, as it
appeared more interesting than the steep grass of the central part of
the gully, was followed at first by the above-mentioned party. The
trough is very easy at the foot, and has good holds, which higher up
incline outwards, and become less and less prominent until at last
progress becomes a question of delicacy and circumspection. Before the
trough came entirely to an end the party traversed into the gully, but
even there found the ascent to the pitch far from easy. Utilising the
full length of their 80-ft. rope, and moving only one at a time, they
reached the cave under the big pitch. Here it appeared hopeless to
climb out on either side, and recourse had to be taken to engineering of
the same kind which was successfully put in practice some years ago on
Dow Crags, in Lancashire, by a very scientific band of brothers. Similar
success crowned the efforts of this party, and brilliant gymnastics on
the part of the leader landed them safely at the top of this difficulty.
From this point the remainder of the climb has a deceptively easy
appearance. Some 80 ft. higher up the difficulties begin again, and
continue up to a small pitch just below the top. On one stretch it was
found necessary to adopt a compromise between the wisdom of the serpent
and the aimlessness of the crab, advancing by lateral jerks in a
semi-recumbent attitude. Possibly these extreme measures would not have
been necessary but for the fact that on this occasion the conclusion of
a spell of three weeks of incessant rain was chosen as a suitable
opportunity for attacking this face of the Glyder. It was the opinion of
the party that the climb--at any rate in its then condition--is
incontestably more difficult than that of the western buttress of
Lliwedd. The time taken was 4 hours, including a short halt for
luncheon.
[Illustration: WESTERN GULLY IN NORTH FACE OF GLYDER FAWR]
This gully is the more westerly of two. The other one was climbed in May
1895 by J. M. A. T., H. H., and W. E. One of the party says of it, 'We
soon came to some rather difficult rocks; we climbed them close under
the right-hand wall--a really stiff little bit. The gully here is still
quite broad, and on the left side of it we saw another way, which looked
much easier. We found no special difficulty in the jammed stone which
looks from below such a formidable obstacle. Two of us climbed it on
the right; the third man circumvented it on the left. From this point to
the summit is excellent throughout, the rocks being steep, the holds
strong, well defined, and most conveniently distributed. In my opinion
it is the best thing on the Glyders, and it can be done by a single
man.' Still further east a narrow crack gives a very steep but easy rock
staircase, while west of the gully first described is another with two
pitches, of which the lower is harder and the upper easier than they
look. The 60 ft. just above the latter are climbed by means of slight
rugosities in the left-hand wall. It is somewhat curious that when, in
February 1873, Glyder Fawr was crossed from Ogwen by way of Twll Du,
with John Roberts as guide, it was recorded in the _Alpine Journal_[11]
as something of a feat and something of an eccentricity. Twenty years
have made a great change, and now, about Christmas or Easter, the snow
on these hills is marked by tracks in many directions.
[11] Vol. vi. p. 195.
* * * * *
[Illustration: LLYN IDWAL
_a_, The gullies of Glyder Fawr.
_b_, Descent to the foot of Twll Du.
_c_, Twll Du.]
=Esgair Felen= (i.e. 'The Yellow Shank').--In August 1893 G. W. de T.
found very good rocks and gullies on this shoulder of Glyder Fawr.
Ascending from just above the cromlech stone in Llanberis Pass, the
buttress immediately above can be climbed on the right or south-west
side. The upper half may be climbed by a narrow gully, too narrow at
first to enter, and giving little hold for hands or feet, and that
little not sound. Apparently the leader climbed up a little way, and
then the rest of the party climbed up the leader. They found good
climbing without special difficulty among the rocks on the top of the
great gully in the centre.
It is somewhere in this neighbourhood that we must look for the
mysterious precipice of which Edward Lhwyd wrote two hundred years ago
as being strikingly columnar in structure, and possibly identical with
'one of the Tregvylchau or Treiglvylcheu.' He says it is part of the
Glyder, and faces west. Perhaps it is about the east side of Cwm Patric.
As seen from well down the Llanberis Pass these rocks have a very
striking appearance.
The term 'esgair' is very commonly applied to long straight projections
from higher mountains. Instances of its use are E. Weddar, E. Yn-Eira,
E. Geiliog, E. Hir, and E. Galed.
* * * * *
[Illustration: TRYFAEN FROM THE EAST
(Sketched by Colin B. Phillip)]
=Tryfaen= (3,010 ft.), not to be confounded with the hill of the same
name on the Llanberis side of Snowdon, or the other near Bettws Garmon,
is the most remarkable rock mountain in Wales; it has two pillar stones
on its summit, from which it is often said that the name (= 'three
rocks') is derived. In answer to this it is enough to point out that the
assumed third stone is not there, and could not have disappeared without
a trace, while the name would equally well mean 'three peaks,' which the
mountain certainly has when viewed from either east or west. The Welsh
dictionaries give a word 'tryfan' with the sense of 'anything spotted
through,' and, whether or not this has anything to do with the origin of
the name, the component rocks certainly are quartz-speckled in a most
extraordinary manner. The mountain is practically a ridge of rock
running in a southerly direction from the head of Llyn Ogwen towards
Glyder Fach, from which it is separated by a sharp dip, Bwlch Tryfaen.
This dip, which may be reached either from Cwm Bochllwyd on the west or
from Cwm Tryfaen on the east, offers by far the easiest ascent of the
mountain. The best starting-point for Tryfaen is Ogwen Cottage, at
Benglog, from which Llynbochllwyd is reached in 25 and the said dip in
45 minutes; so that, if need were, the whole height (2,000 ft.) and
distance (1-1/2 mile) to the summit could be attained within the hour.
From Capel Curig, on the other hand, there is a good hour's walking
before the highroad is left, beyond Gallt y Gogof, which Borrow calls
Allt y Gog (Cuckoo Cliff), and even then the traveller has about as far
to go as if he were starting from Benglog. Most of the Tryfaen climbs
being on the east side they can be reached from Capel Curig with much
less exertion than from Penygwrhyd, the route from which involves a
long, rugged ascent, hot after the sun has risen and ankle-breaking
after it has set.
_Climbs._--These are extraordinarily abundant, and the hold is nearly
everywhere gritty and good. The most popular climbs are:
1. The east side, including especially the two gullies on either side of
the summit known as the North and South Gullies.
2. The north ridge up from the head of Llyn Ogwen.
3. The west side.
_The South Gully_, climbed by R. W. (1887). The first ascent noticed in
the _Book of Penygwrhyd_ being that of H. G. G. and W. in 1890. On
September 5, 1891, H. G. G. and E. B. T. offered some clear notes on
the subject, to the following effect: The first difficulty consists of
three or four jammed stones, each slightly overhanging the one beneath,
with a total height of about 10 ft. It can be passed by keeping to the
right close to the obstacle, but would not be easy in wet weather for
any climber single-handed. At the place where the gully divides the
left-hand or nearer division is not difficult. The broad division was
found impracticable by a party of four on September 4, 1891, the large
smooth rocks at the top being very wet. This place was climbed in 1890
by Messrs. G. and W. by keeping to the extreme right close to the wall
of the gully, and then returning along a narrow ledge. It was an awkward
place. There is nothing above where the two gullies unite that offers
any real difficulty.
The North Gully is the more difficult of the two if the immediate centre
is to be followed; but it is always practicable to break out on the face
to the right. The difficulties of the South Gully are not so severe, but
such as they are they must be climbed, as there is no lateral escape.
Under date of June 9, 1894, a very clear account is given by J. M. A.
T., J. R. S., and H. E. At the first obstacle the first man climbed up
into the hole formed by the projection of the topmost rock, but, as the
next beneath slopes outwards and downwards, found it impossible to
relinquish a crouching posture. The pitch was abandoned. The right-hand
rocks close by were taken, and the gully rejoined without difficulty. At
the fork the northern branch was chosen. It can scarcely be called a
gully; the water trickles down over the crags in several places, but
there is no main or well-defined channel. A pinnacle is soon seen on the
right, and here the climbing becomes difficult; the footholds are far
apart, and the small tufts of grass, which were then wet and slippery,
cannot be trusted. The course taken was to the extreme left, and as far
as possible from the pinnacle, and in this respect it differs from that
taken by Messrs. H. G. G. and W. in 1890. A firm, flat grass-covered
shelf, at least a yard square, is seen in a straight line up above, and
as soon as the first man has reached this a rope can be used to
advantage. A steep rock some 12 ft. in height and of ordinary difficulty
remains, and the climb thence to the summit is quite simple. By keeping
to the left a cavern is reached, the further end of which opens like a
trap door upon the summit; this interesting method of concluding the
ascent should not be missed.
On August 25, 1892, G. B. B. with Mr. and Mrs. T. R. climbed the five
pitches of the South Gully, _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_; _a_ by the
right-hand wall, _b_ in the centre, _c_ by divergence to the right-hand
branch and return to the left over a narrow ledge, _d_ and _e_ in the
centre or slightly on one side of the face. The gully was never left.
Time, about 90 minutes.
_North Gully._--This appears to have been climbed in 1888 by R. W. and
T. W. Writing on September 5, 1891, H. G. G. and E. B. T. gave the
following hints:--
The first difficulty is at the bottom, below the level of any part of
the South Gully, and might easily be missed if the horizontal track be
followed. On August 30, 1891, these gentlemen found the middle of this
(after very wet weather) quite impracticable, and the smooth rock on
the right hand, lying at a very high angle, was also wet and very
difficult. Either might possibly be passed in a dry season, the rock
almost certainly. The next point of note is a very large lodged stone.
Going under this they passed through the hole above, one climbing on the
other's shoulder and afterwards giving him help from above. The passage
was not easy.
The next difficulty is made up of two lodged stones about 10 ft. apart.
The first might be passed in dry weather. A tempting ledge to the left
was climbed without result; ultimately they rounded the obstacle by
keeping to the right.
On September 19 W. E. C., H. R. B., and M. K. S. ascended the North
Gully. They describe it as containing seven pitches, two of which are
caverns. They believed that this gully had only once been climbed clean
before--namely, in the autumn of 1888, by Messrs. R. W. and T. W.
On April 1, 1892, H. B. D., F. W. G., and A. M. M., with Mrs. D. and
Mrs. C., ascended the North Gully in 2 hours 10 minutes. The last pitch
gave some trouble.
In August 1892 W. H. P. and G. B. B. climbed all the pitches of the
North Gully clean, taking the sixth from the bottom by the right side
and the rocks straight to the summit stones, from where the gully
divides. Time, 91 minutes. There is a singular difference of opinion
among climbers as to the relative difficulty of these two climbs.
Varying conditions of rocks and climbers may partly account for this.
Without pretending to decide the matter either way the writer would
give it as his experience that unusual conditions more readily affect
the southern for evil and the northern for good. For instance, wet or
ice makes the former very nasty without altering the latter to the same
extent, while really deep and good snow moderately improves the former
but converts the latter into a delusion and a mockery, for it ceases
altogether to be a climb at all, and becomes a mere snow walk. Even then
it is worth doing if it were only to see the wonderful convoluted
strata, in the case of more than one great block imitating the rings in
the trunk of a tree.
_Nor'-Nor' Gully._--On September 18, 1891, Messrs. W. E. C., G. S., and
M. K. S. ascended a gully leading on to the north ridge of Tryfaen just
to the north of the most northerly of the three peaks. The gully
contains three pretty pitches, all of which were climbed, but two of
them can be turned.
There is yet a fourth gully, still further north, but it has only one
obstacle in it, and more scree than anyone can possibly want. So much
attention has been devoted to these gullies during the last few years
that the ridges which separate them have been unduly neglected. To the
writer at least they have always seemed to offer better climbing than
any of the gullies, and that of a kind which is very much less common.
The ridges on either side of the North Gully are especially fine, and
would satisfy the most exacting but for one thing, and that is that the
hold is almost too good.
_The North Ridge_, from the head of Llyn Ogwen, is of very imposing
appearance, and was long spoken of with bated breath. In reality it is a
fine but very simple and safe approach to the summit. The gluttonous
climbers of the present day will probably complain that it is not a
climb at all, but, though the difficulties, such as they are, can all be
turned, the more enterprising members of a party can always find
abundant outlets for their energies in numerous wayside problems.
Some of the rocks are very fantastic in shape; one projecting
horizontally bears a resemblance to a crocodile and can be easily
recognised from the east. Highly crystalline quartz veins render the
rock surfaces even rougher than they would otherwise be, and in a few
places the face of the rock is covered with egg-like projections, each
containing a core of quartz. At a little distance they look like huge
barnacles; their real nature may be left to the geologists.