Tryfan West Face scrambles

Crag/Peak: West Face, Tryfan
Routes: V Buttress Arete (M:led p.1,2,3), Notch Arete (M:led p.1,2,3)
After taking John on his first ever climb last month, I thought he might enjoy a short mountaineering day a little more, so we went for a combined run/scramble up the West Face of Tryfan in the continuing spell of high pressure and warm sunshine. This is usually described as Tryfan's 'cinderella' area, far removed from the crowds of punters on the East Face classics. This combination gives a superb mountain day, however, and was ideal for our purposes as time was tight. We jogged slowly upwards to gain the shallow gully which gives steep but rapid access to the upper part of the West Face (20 mins). I've done some routes here over the years, but couldn't remember going this far 'up'. I located the V Buttress quite easily, and led off from the loose gully in running shoes on my short 9mm rope. After a flake, some nice moves gain the crest of the buttress, after which a series of sharp flakes led to a belay. I deliberately kept all the pitches short so I could keep an eye on John. Above, the ridge continued in this vein: easy angled slabs and flakes at the exact border of scrambling and climbing (Alpine PD+ perhaps). At the top, I led through up a variant finish - a steep little chimney on the crest of the ridge. We then unroped and scrambled diagonally up right to where I thought Notch Arete started. This was nice, but a bit midgy, and involved some scrambly sections to gain the base of the arete. Notch Arete was a real surprise: a lovely Alpine style ridge, almost a chandelle, glowing in the sunshine. Perfect rock, and I weaved around picking up nice variants up chimneys and grooves to gain a sloping platform. Two more pitches led quite delightfully up the centre of the arete - all easy angled, big holds, perfect for novice John. Wonderful views, and a connoisseur's route up Tryfan. We emerged at the Notch, then enjoyed picking a direct line above to North Tower to lunch on the summit in hot sunshine. We descended the South Ridge to Bwlch Tryfan, then ran down via Llyn Bochlwyd: Notch Arete very obvious as a line from here.