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.
Top of Page
