Written by pewe Friday, 05 May 2006

Scrambling is the link between mountain walking and rock climbing, often involving the rockiest way up a face or ridge or tackling deep dark damp gullies avoided by rock climbers.

Many mountaineers would describe scrambling as being “movement on a mountain which is too difficult to be regarded as a hill walk but too easy to be regarded as a proper rock climb”; that this is totally subjective is very obvious. A steep walk to some will be a scramble for others. All would agree that scrambling is potentially the most dangerous of all mountain activities. The danger comes from the nature of the terrain and the fact that it is generally performed with out the security of a rope.

Scrambling is the ultimate “what if experience”, demanding a variety of techniques and a high level of judgment and a high awareness of abilities and limitations.

Scrambling Is Probably The Most Dangerous Mountain Activity You Will Undertake: Do Not Undertake It Lightly

This exposition should make mention that coastal traversing(coasteering) and vertical cliff exploration can be one of the more extreme forms of scambling; the necessary tidal calculations and timing pressures adding a certain amount of “spice” to the proceedings.