East Ridge of Y Garn (Grade 2)

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Filmed this 2 weeks ago after reviewing comments on my other videos.
Had a discussion with a few people about this line as a good intro to typical grade 2 terrain/routes.
There is some limited exposure, some limited technical moves.
In my opinion this is a fairly solid grade 2 route.
While there is some possibility for making things harder or slightly easier in places, the line as described in Steve Ashtons book Scrambles in Snowdonia is fair for grade 2.
Let me know in the comments if you prefer this style of video with no music etc.
And let me know if you want me to just shut up and climb!
I'm sure I'll sneak the odd tune into future videos ;-)

[@TG-pd3ft]

Enjoyed that video and the commentary Rhys. It's hard to say "Grade 2 should feel adventurous but not too technical etc" as that's subjective... G2 is steep enough for a fall to probably be fatal. the biggest danger for scramblers is going off route onto harder terrain and your video is very helpful in this regard

[@Astilath]

All climbing grades can be a bit of a joke. 😅 To be fair, even most grade 1 routes carry a significant risk of injury or death if you're unlucky or careless. That description was a brief/poor explanation of how I rationalise scrambling grades. I have always thought of it like... Grade 1: simple tech and limited exposure eg. Crib Goch. Or techy and less exposure e.g. tryfan north ridge. Grade 2: a bit more techy while being less exposed/less techy while being more exposed. With maybe some other factor like route finding being awkward or the route always being wet. E.g. Bryants Gully or Esgair Felen direct. Grade 3/S: some (or all, for an S) of the above to a greater extent. Maybe my meaning didn't come across so well. Not for the first time! As you say its very subjective and of course all it takes is a loose hold, a wobble in balance or a even just a bad mood and what would normally be comfortable suddenly feels terrifying. I climbed cneifion arete in winter once, had a migraine come on for the second pitch. I went from "great fun!" to "is this how I die?" In about 5 minutes! Luckily I was with a partner, climbing with gear and I still managed to lead safely. In hindsight it was still great fun in a twisted way 😅

[@thebaldscrambler]

Nice explanation of the sloping left ramp near the top. I prefer the talking as you provide insights into where you're going and what you're looking for, why you're taking a certain line etc. If you look at KZbin's analytics, you should be able to see the "average percentage viewed" figure and over time, you can compare this to other videos you have. I suspect vids with talking will hold the attention of the viewer for longer rather than just music and footage.

[@Astilath]

Thanks dude! I will look at that! Not really explored the analytics. What started off as a bit of an exercise in fun has proved a little more popular than I'd anticipated 😅 Thanks for the feedback! 😁 If you've got any route suggestions I'd love to hear them! Thinking of Parsons Nose next. Then getting round to shark buttress and bilberry terrace!

[@thebaldscrambler]

I've found that my vids with average percentage viewed of above 40% tend to get shown more prominently on KZbin, I have a couple over 50% and one of those has had 18k views so I'm always trimming the footage down and trying to cut out the fluff but I'm still learning myself. Having wide-angle footage from a GoPro on a ledge or tripod seems to help and drone footage adds a sense of scale which is hard to achieve with a GoPro on a head strap but it's a total pain having to stop all the time to setup up cameras/tripods/drone etc and editing is more difficult with dozens of different cuts. Route wise, how about Shark Buttress and Chasm Face combo? You wouldn't need to walk far with both being close to each other and both are at upper grade 3. I published the Eastern Terrace of Cloggy scramble on my channel a few days ago and the western terrace looked way more challenging and doesn't have many ascents logged. @@Astilath

[@Astilath]

@@thebaldscrambler I tried to film chasm face. It didn't really feel like scrambling after that short wall. Quite a laugh though! West terrace of cloggy felt like the grade 3 was for risk rather than technicalities but the rock is very unique! So that's a good shout! 😁 I've not really got the budget for multiple cameras and a drone, unfortunately. I'd invested in an auto-tracking drone years back but the company flopped. It was a kickstarter thing. Got my money back. But no drone. Thanks for the advice! I should pay more attention to that stuff! 🙈

[@JayChambers83]

Fantastic commentary. Looks like a great route with options. Grade 2 is as far as I’ve gone and need to tick this one off at the earliest opportunity. Cheers for sharing your days out, great stuff as always 🤙🏻

[@Astilath]

Thank you Jamie! You're very welcome! Weather has been absolutely terrible recently and I've been inundated at work. But more is coming!

[@JayChambers83]

@@Astilath no drama, worthy of positive feedback. Love your attitude to the scrambles. You and Bald Scrambler aka Daniel, ha! Ogwen valley is a special place to find one self.

[@stuart7403]

On the contrary to other comments, I think the continual commentary is great and a welcome change from the chopped up videos usually uploaded by people.

[@Astilath]

Thank you! Seems like the vote is tending towards commentary over music. Although both are fun to make. I think the choppy videos are a drive towards awful tiktok style

[@charlie.carter.outdoors]

Nice!.... I did Needles Eye Arete the other weekend based off your video, ace, sketchy 😆 Appreciate this new talking format, would like to see a video on Nor Nor, the 3S version, or Shark Buttress or Chasm Face. Cheers 👍

[@Astilath]

Fantastic! Glad it came in handy! I've not done shark buttress yet. But chasm was a good laugh! I'll go repeat that at some point. 😁 I have done nor nor too but honestly I can barely remember it! I'm really appreciating everyone's feedback. For such a small channel I feel like I'm getting a lot of engagement. It's brilliant 😁

[@dw2dw2]

Love this Scramble and its various options - usually do it at the start of the summer season to blow away the cobwebs. Quite like the music in previous videos, maybe include some in the easier sections and fade out when you want to explain some of route or get to the more serious sections that require focus - whatever you decide they are always good to watch any very informative.

[@Astilath]

Thank you very much for the brilliant feedback! I'm working on my editing. 😅 I've got much more experience with climbing than editing and it probably shows! A blended approach is likely the winner! As with everything 😁

[@This.Island.Earth68]

*When Rhys makes the lower section of Y Garn look like the upper section of Yr Esgair*

[@Astilath]

"Purity of the line" 😉

[@This.Island.Earth68]

​@@Astilath- New format with commentary is better - very instructive, Carl (formerly Boiling Frog).

[@Astilath]

@@This.Island.Earth68 glad you liked it Carl! Much appreciated feedback! 😁

[@richardharding2942]

Hi Rhys, I miss the music, perfer comments to be written and would be most ecstatic if you would do Y Lliwedd blueberry terrace

[@Astilath]

Thanks Richard! You've not seen the last of the eclectic tunes 😉🤣

[@bilaltahir9978]

Did you use a gopro and do you tend to strap it to your chest or head?

[@Astilath]

It is a gopro. I put it on a headstrap and these days "try" to not rapidly glance about too much! Even with the smoothing settings on it can be a bit rapid if I'm not careful.