I wish I had kept a
proper record of my walks and rambles. In
putting all the walk details together I have
had to rely, very much, on dates on photos and
Anne’s memory and the memory of others. One of
Larry’s cousins does it so much better.
According to Larry every walk is recorded in
minute detail with date, route, walking
companions, names of pubs visited and flora
and fauna seen. If it was all put together on
a website I am sure it would make my effort
seem poor.
I am now facing this lack
of data when writing about excursions on
Snowdon. I know I have climbed it 10 times,
but it might actually be 11, and I have
certainly done Crib Goch four times and the
Snowdon Horseshoe once and, although the
Horseshoe is a hard walk, I would certainly
like to do it again.
During our family holiday visits to Snowdonia,
which we took in the late 80’s and early 90’s, our
yearning to get up high gradually increased.
Although we had had many pleasant walks at lower
levels there was always the urge to climb another
mountain.
I had climbed Snowdon three times before these
family holidays, including twice with Anne, and was
keen to share this enjoyment with Greg and Ian. The
first excursion during this time I was just
accompanied by Greg. We had decided to go to the
top via the Miner’s Track. However, like so often
in Snowdonia, it rained. In fact it was really bad
and when we reached Llyn Glaslyn I was uneasy about
climbing up to reach the Pyg Track, the Zig Zags
and the top.
The rocks were getting
very greasy and I felt conditions would get
increasingly more dangerous and there was
always another day, or holiday, so we turned
round and walked back to the car at
Pen-y-pass. As it was, the weather brightened
up as we reached the causeway across Llyn
Llydaw and we wished we had carried on.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but on
reflection it is always better to be cautious
in the mountains than foolhardy.
It was the following August (1988) when all four of
us reached the top together. We walked up the
Llanberis Path, the one that goes almost the same
route as the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Compared
with the Pyg and Miner’s Tracks I consider this to
be a very boring route. Ok it is longer, and you
actually have to ascend more; Llanberis the
starting point is lower than the starting points
for the Pyg and Miner’s Tracks.
However, the scenery
changes you enjoy on this route are minimal.
Certainly the walk /scenery I don’t consider
to be in anyway as spectacular as from the
inside of the Snowdon Horseshoe. However, it
is good for riding down on a cycle, which Greg
and one of his friends did a few years ago
after cycling up the Miner’s track and
carrying their machines from Llyn Glaslyn to
the top of Snowdon. But I digress. This is
supposed to be about getting up Snowdon the
easy way!
At that time we did this Llanberis Path "walk" the
Halfway House Café existed and I remember all of us
enjoying lemon squash there on our way up.
Unfortunately this haven for the mountain walker is
no more. Now the only "oasis" is the café on the
top of Snowdon. Needless to say when we reached the
top it was crowded with walkers and the less
energetic that prefer to use the convenience of the
Railway to obtain the majestic views from the top
of Snowdon.
The following year (1989)
we all went up via the Pyg Track. This is a
wonderful route. You start on the top of the
Llanberis Pass at Pen-y-pass Car park, and
within minutes are enjoying views down the
Llanberis Pass and across it to the Glyders as
you clamber over rocky scrambles that, even at
this lowly level, are part of the footpath. As
you continue the path becomes steeper and I
always find it a relief to reach the Pass of
Pigs, or Bwlch-y-Moch to give it its proper
name, where the Pyg Track levels out a little.
This point is also the start of the climb up
to Crib Goch (see
Snowdon the
hard way…)
This part of the Pyg
Track between the Pass of Pigs and the
beginning of the Snowdon Zig Zags is probably
the best part of the walk. The path, certainly
in the early stages, is not too steep but the
views are spectacular. On the right is the
Crib Goch Ridge, below you can see the
causeway over Llyn Llydaw and beyond that the
twin peaks of Y Lliwedd. The path continues
upwards and soon you are rewarded by the view
of Snowdon in all it’s majesty as it rises
from the shore of Llyn Glaslyn, which is
located at its base. Just writing this
encourages me to revisit this splendour.
Usually most walkers, unless they are out to do a
personal best to the top, will stop somewhere along
the Pyg Track to have a break and enjoy the views
before they tackle the Zig Zags. Over the years,
since I first went up Snowdon in the late 60’s, or
was it early 70s, this track, particularly the
Zig Zags, has been
improved. This part is no longer as dangerous
as it used to be, but care is still essential.
Most walkers will stop on the Zig Zags bends
on the pretext of enjoying the views but more
likely than not it is to take a short break.
The reaching of the "Rock", Bwlch Glas, where
the Zig Zags meet the ridge that leads to the
top is therefore welcome. However, once on
this ridge you will be confronted by the
railway track and other walkers who will have
walked up Snowdon via the Llanberis Path or
Snowdon Ranger Route. From here it’s a short,
but still steepish, ascent to the Railway
Station, the Café and the top, which, on a hot
summer’s day, is usually teeming with walkers
and railway passengers. I have been on the top
when the railway is not running and the Café
is closed and, although it will usually be
cold, it is a far more pleasant experience.
What always amazes me though is the clothing
and footwear of some of the "walkers". Many
times when I have walked down, usually via the
Miner’s Track, I’ve passed females walking in
high heel shoes that Anne would find it
difficult to walk in even around town. And
some of the clothes would be more appropriate
on the dance floor than the highest mountain
in England and Wales. I am amazed that more
accidents do not occur on Snowdon.
The last time I was on
Snowdon was on Saturday 19th August 1995. It
was the last day of a fortnight’s holiday. As
usual we had stayed at the Princes Arms Hotel
in Trefriw. The previous day I had had a
message via Lindsay, the owner of the Hotel,
that Mick and his son Simon would be coming up
later that afternoon so they could climb
Snowdon the following day. Mick, had been on
Snowdon once before but had given up the climb
because of the bad weather conditions and the
poor visibility, which made navigation
difficult. And so the following day Mick,
Simon, Greg and I went up Snowdon. We had
intended to
park at Pen-y-pass and go
up via the Pyg Track and down via the
"Miner’s". However, the Car Park was full so
we motored down to Llanberis, parked the car
and were lucky enough to get a Snowdon Sherpa
Bus immediately, which took us up the
Llanberis Pass, and were soon at the beginning
of the Pyg Track. The day was beautiful,
bright sunshine and it was pleasantly warm. It
was a super walk and we reached the top in 1
hour and 55 minutes. As usual it was crowded
and so having said "hallo" to the summit we
walked the ¼ of a mile or so to Garnedd Ugain
(Crib-y-Ddysgl), the second highest of the
Welsh 3000s so we could all say we had climbed
two mountains that day. From there we walked
back to Llanberis via the Llanberis Path and I
was certainly sad to see the Halfway House was
no longer there. A Snowdon lemon squash would
have gone down a treat.
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