Dragon’s Back Scramble
By The Bald Scrambler
Dragon’s Back
Not to be confused with the famous Dragon’s Back Race, this is a cracking little scramble that would make for an excellent introduction to grade 2 scrambling.
In the dry, I found the rock is super grippy, almost all of the moves are avoidable via the left gully, the walk-in is short, and there’s a car park nearby.
This is the Dragon’s Back grade 2 scramble in Snowdonia.
The lower half of the route
The mid and upper sections of the scramble
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Parking
The route is only a short riverside walk from the popular Nant Peris Car Park.
You may find a layby spot a little closer to Llanberis.
Approach
From the back of the Nant Peris Car Park, I headed downstream along a very pleasant riverside walk until just before a layby, with Ben’s Bunkhouse in view.
Just before the layby, I went left through a wide gate onto the other side of the fence.
I then headed uphill towards the bunkhouse.
Next to the bunkhouse is a stone wall, here I came off the path and made my way up the hill, with lots of grass, heather and broken rock to navigate. I took a diagonal line leftwards towards the wide, heavily vegetated gully (I kept the gully off to my left, as it was far too unpleasant to scramble up the gully itself).
Approach to the start (note the heavily vegetated gully, best avoided on its right)
Start of the Scramble
This route starts to the left of the ridge, where a delightful crack offers some decent grade 2 scrambling to get onto the ridge proper:
Me making my up a crack at the start of the route
Mid Section of Scrambling
Many of the moves on this scramble can be avoided by going into the gully over to the left, but staying on the rock, I was rewarded with some quality scrambling over very grippy rock.
This isn’t an overused route, so there’s little polish.
Short, sweet, never desperate and always escapable:
(above) Me on the juicy mid-section of the scramble
Looks inviting!
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Continuation and Descent
Above the crimpy section shown in the video, the route continues roughly at grade 1 and slowly the “back” merges with the hillside; the upper reaches aren’t worth the scramble, so I headed back to the start via the left gully.
Above this line, the “back” merges with the hillside
These Are Perfect for General Hiking:
What I Think of This Scramble
While this route won’t win any awards or make any top ten lists, it’s well worth the walk-in if:
- You want something short and sweet, perhaps an evening scramble.
- You want to try a grade 2 scramble for the first time; this would be perfect.
- You prefer quieter routes – I didn’t see anyone on this scramble.
Route Profile
Grade: Grade 2 from me but the tough bits were all avoidable.
Suitability for beginners: A great introduction to grade 2 scrambling (in the dry, not sure when damp).
Navigation: I found it easy enough to find but a bit of a naff approach up to the left side of the lower ridge.
Dangers: The usual for this grade.
Popularity: This route isn’t popular but climbers sometimes take their clients here to practice rope work.
Fun rating: 1.5 stars out of 3 in my opinion.
My likes: A quiet, underused route and good grippy yet escapable scrambling, perfect for an evening or bolt-on route at the end of the day.
My dislikes: Too short, scrappy approach (short) and intermittent scrambling.
Nearby scrambles: Llechog Buttress and Llechog Ridge both up the valley and both at grade 2. Bryant’s Gully, Crib Goch North Ridge and Clogwyn y Person Arete are also further up the valley.
About Daniel Weadley
This route up The Dragon’s Back was created by Daniel Weadley, aka The Bald Scrambler.
From walking along beaches and kayaking down rivers to making his way up mountains and even jumping out of planes, Daniel has a love of the outdoors but scrambling is his real passion.
Daniel Weadley aka The Bald Scrambler
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1 Comment
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Have fun, keep safe. Hopefully I’ll see you on the mountains one day
By The Bald Scrambler
Great to see you scrambling again! I shall visit this one looks great!