Rockfax Description
Dolmen Ridge is the final part of the Glyder Fach trilogy and is one of the most sought after scrambles in North Wales. The crux is exposed and on immaculate rock but its seriousness has given the route an air of notoriety.
Approach - Go right underneath Alphabet Slabs. Continue along the base of the crag passing below East Gully and past West Gully. This defines the right edge of The Dolmen Buttress, where a Quartz band arcs across the lower wall.
1) From below the quartz band, scramble up to the right side of the gully, heading diagonally rightwards away from the gully on well-travelled ground. After 20m or so, start to zig back up and left to reach the rib of the gully.
2) Ascend the stepped ribs to easier ground and trend right before heading up to a grass/scree bay just above a narrowing of the gully. From here you should be able to see where the route traverses left along a rampline to reach the crest of the Dolmen Buttress.
3) Traverse out left from the gully along a rampline to gain the left arete of Dolmen Buttress almost half-way up it by some small spikes.
4) The next section is one of the hardest and most sustained in this guide but the rock is immaculate. The line follows a well-travelled slabby groove to the top edge of the buttress.
5) From here, go up the ridge past the Dolmen (a rock balanced on others like a burial cairn). Carry on up following your nose as the terrain is generally easier clambering over boulders. © Rockfax

UKC Logbook Description
Mostly a grade 2 scramble

Ticklists

Top ridge scrambles of Britain , Scrambles in Snowdonia - Steve Ashton , North Wales Scrambles - Garry Smith , The Ridges of England, Wales and Ireland , 10 Year Walking And Scrambling Challenge , Snowdonia Mountain Walks and Scrambles - Mark Reeves , British 3 Star Scrambles , Snowdonia *** Scrambles

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