Mountain rescuers issue advice to people visiting two Snowdonia incident hotspots

Mountain rescuers have issued advice to people visiting two Snowdonia incident hotspots.

Teams are said to have dealt with a significant number of call outs to the notorious Crib Goch ridge in recent weeks.

A subsidiary summit of Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa, the knife-edge ridge is a tough route to climb and can be very dangerous.

Meanwhile, there have been six call outs on Tryfan in just over a week, with four on Saturday (March 4th) alone.

Offering advice for those planning to visit Crib Goch, members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team said: “Crib Goch is considered a serious mountain scramble due to the delicate and potentially consequential crest of the ridge line and steep rock sections.

“Route finding along certain sections can be problematic and the consequences of going the wrong way or scrambling in less than ideal weather conditions can be severe.

“Having a number of options for a day in the mountains is always worthwhile and saving such a magnificent scramble for a dry day may be something to consider.”

In relation to Tryfan, the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation said: “Tryfan can be a great day out but can take longer than planned.

“Leave plenty of time for your adventures and have enough warm clothing, food and torches for unplanned delays.

“It’s dark at the end of every day so be prepared to turn around if you are not making the progress you expected.”

A list of the recent incidents on Tryfan can be viewed below:

February 23rd: A pair of climbers finished climbing on the Milestone Buttress and abseiled off. At the bottom of the abseil they found their ropes were stuck and they could not continue any further so called for assistance. A small hill party was deployed with fixed handlines to assist them over steep ground down to the main descent path and then on to the road.

March 2nd: A party of three had ascended Tryfan during the day and were towards the end of their descent when they could see their vehicle parked. They followed a track they believed would take them direct to it. This took them into steep ground above the Milestone Buttress area and they could not find a way onwards so called for assistance. A small hill party was deployed to meet with the walkers, locating them on the climbers descent path. The walkers were then assisted down the steeper terrain with confidence ropes and back onto the main North Ridge path to the road.

March 4th: A walker called for help as they were near the summit of Tryfan when they succumbed to painful cramp in both legs and were unable to walk. A small hill party was deployed from base and met with the walker who was provided with salty food and water and encouraged to walk under their own power. The walker and hill party made their way slowly back down to the road.

March 4th: An informant called North Wales Police after seeing orange smoke at the summit of Tryfan. A small team was deployed to investigate and met with the initial informant who had seen nothing further. No additional reports were received so the job was closed with North Wales Police.

March 4th: A party of sic walkers were descending the north ridge of Tryfan and followed another group into Nor Nor Gulley but became crag fast on steep terrain and called for help. A hasty party was deployed to locate the group and a second hill party followed with full rope rescue equipment. Once found, the party were secured, a technical rope rescue rigged before two separate lowers saw the groups lowered down to Heather Terrace. Once all parties were down to safe ground the equipment was retrieved and team members assisted the groups back to base.

March 4th: A caller had reported seeing lights on the side of Tryfan. After speaking to the informant the team leader established that they had seen the lights from the mountain rescue team who were still dealing with an earlier incident.