Scrambling
A non-technical summit is one that is reached without the need for certain types of climbing equipment (body harness, rope, protection hardware, etc), and not involving travel on extremely steep slopes or on glaciers.
However, this can mean negotiating lower angle rock, traveling through crossing streams, fighting one's way through dense brush, and walking on snow-covered slopes.
[5]: 511 In the British climbing system, it is Easy with some of the harder scrambles incorporating moves of Moderate or even Difficult standard.
The North Ridge of Tryfan in Snowdonia, or Striding Edge on Helvellyn in the Lake District, are classic Grade 1 scrambles.
[10] Via ferrata is "a mountain route equipped with fixed ladders, cables, and bridges in order to be accessible to climbers and walkers" common in the Dolomites of Italy.
The essence of a modern via ferrata is a steel cable which runs along the route and is periodically (every 3 to 10 metres (9.8 to 32.8 ft)) fixed to the rock.
Scrambling has become an increasingly popular form of mountaineering in Britain; the English Lake District, the Scottish Highlands, and the north of Snowdonia in Wales being the chief regions of interest.
Popular Scrambling guidebooks exist for these areas, outlining a wide spectrum of routes in terms of both difficulty and style.
UK scrambles vary enormously in length; from as little height gain as 30 metres, as with many crag rock climbs, up to the 700+ metres of vertical height gain encountered on Tower Ridge, a famous 3S grade scramble that ascends Ben Nevis via its north face (Tower Ridge is also graded as a 'difficult' rock climb - arguably Britain's longest.).
A hiker who has scaled all possible marked tourist trails will in time typically start looking for more ambitious goals, namely those peaks that by law are only accessible via hiring a licensed mountain guide (for a fee).
More adventurous individuals, however, or those on a tight budget (often college/university students) endeavour to climb those harder accessible summits without assistance, especially since very accurate descriptions of (typically "normal", i.e. the easiest) routes are readily available on the Internet.
