So a few days ago I decided it was time to return. Not to try a complete traverse, as I would be scrambling solo, but to complete the rest of the ridge and the longest section.
Starting quite late, I raced up to the col above the recreation area, even Kate was find the pace a bit quick! But there was a mission to get on with and speed would be key.
From the col Kate & Don descended tracks to the North side to complete a walking circuit which would meet up with my route later. I began the scramble to the main summit of Segaria. Easy but prickly.
The ridge soon became more exciting, but the main joy came from the amazing view along the ridge line, absolutely spectacular.
I was expecting some abseils so had a 50m rope and some climbing hardware with me, carrying all this made me so much more wary on the exposed sections as my bag was heavy and occasionally put me of balance!
Reaching the first abseil, which led to a massive gash in the ridge, I decided to down climb instead as it was quicker and straightforward.
Once in the big notch I eyed up my route back out, and on initial inspection this looked scary! The exposure would be huge and with plenty of loose rock around this was definitely something to take with extreme caution. The climb was far easier than it looked and the rock mostly very good, and soon I was on a knife edge ridge enjoying big exposure and scrambling at its very best. Route finding was nice and easy, but there was still always the element of what's around the next corner, and I would later find this taxed me a lot mentally.
I began to descend this narrow ridge and it briefly widened, so much so it was possible to jog a few sections. I could see Kate & Don sitting in the sun watching my progress. I was nearing the end of the ridge and was pretty pleased as my brain was ready for a rest! I soon found fixed anchors in the rock, but these proved useless for an abseil. So I continued to search and found a number of other pieces of fixed gear, none of which were suitable.
I descended a little more, passing a pinnacle and down to a tree, here I found the double bolt anchor that would take me to the ground safely.
This abseil was less than 25m (I had a 50m rope) and led to a grassy area and path next to a north facing crag. After a brief rest, we enjoyed a lovely walk out along the southern flanks of Segaria.
This section had taken around 4h 30m car to car for a solo traverse.
Next is to link it all together, that'll be quite a day!
