It was a London Mountaineering Club meet in early February and Eryri National Park’s stunning Glyderau range were blanketed in snow. We’d set our sights on two of the UK’s classic mountaineering ridges: Tryfan’s North Ridge and Glyder Fach’s Bristly Ridge. These are two spectacular yet relatively easy Grade 1 scrambles in summer. In winter conditions, however, they really bare their icy teeth and become much more challenging Grade 2 winter climbs.
My friends Will and Andrew had decided to bring their harnesses and ropes. I didn’t. I didn’t even own a harness. I’ve done them in summer, no problem, I thought. How much harder can they be under snow and ice? Making this kind of judgement is what’s known as falling into a heuristic trap. I’d made my decision based on familiarity and without considering the wider picture and the nature of the conditions. Neverthless, Tryfan was marvellous fun. But, on Bristly Ridge there were admittedly a few spicy moments. With daytime waning, we ended up having to escape the ridge with a rappel.
