Saturday, 16th April 2022
Easter bank holiday weekend is a 4-day weekend that we are never home for. Who cares about Easter when you can go travelling?!?
From South Hampshire to North Wales it takes 5-6h depending on traffic. Pretty much a day affair. We stopped on the way to break the journey, stretch our legs and have food but the bulk of the fun were the middle 2 days, Saturday & Sunday.
A few years ago I decided that I wanted to climb the highest peaks in the UK. There are 3, one in each country (England, Wales, Scotland) and we decided to start in Scotland. We booked a trip to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis but it didn't actually happened because we had problems with renting a car and got stuck in Edinburgh. I was so disheartened that I let the idea sit on the back burner until now.
Snowdon in North Wales is the second highest peak in the UK and the highest in Wales. It's called Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, stands at 1085m high and is located in Snowdonia National Park.
There are 7 routes to the top of Snowdon, from the easiest and most popular Llanberis Track to the scariest which is the Crib Goch Track. If you think I chose one of the 7 routes, you are very mistaken. Why just go up and down Snowdon when you can do that, plus the adjacent 4 other peaks and go around what effectively is a horseshoe configuration of the area? Why make it easy when you can make it so much more difficult? A challenge needs to be a proper challenge!
Me and Jorge have a relationship in which I came up with the crazy ideas and he analises them: approving them (not too crazy, can be done safely) or vetting them (too crazy and dangerous, chose something else). I rely on his common sense and trust his judgement completely. This time his common sense failed us... this was one crazy and dangerous idea! We didn't get hurt but we could have...
The Snowdon Horseshoe is a mix of different tracks:
- start off on the PYG Track at Pen-Y-Pass - climbing the 1st peak (Bwich y Moch, 587m).
- move to the Crib Goch Track - climbing the 2nd peak (Crib Goch, 921m) and 3rd peak (Garnedd Ugain, 1065m).
- meet the Llanberis Track by the train track - climbing the 4th peak (Yr Wyddfa - Snowdon, 1085m).
- start descending via the Watkin Track but move towards the last peak - climbing the 5th peak (Y Lliwedd, 898m).
- finally descend towards the lake and joint the Miner's Track to return to Pen-Y-Pass.
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| Map of our trek showing the horseshoe. |
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| Elevation graph of our trek. |
We arrived at Pen-Y-Pass car park at 6.40am because I read everywhere that it is very difficult to park and the car park is full by 7am. Alas, they recently changed the parking to pre-booking (managed by JustPark) and we were left stranded. Following the other disappointed drivers, we realised there was limited parking spaces on the side of the road further down and managed to park the car for free. Walking up to Pen-Y-Pass added another 2km each way to the route.
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| Pen-Y-Pass Youth Hostel can be seen at the top of the hill. |
There is a Snowdon Sherpa Bus you can take which may be a good alternative. There are several routes for the bus depending on what track you are doing. Check: https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Parking-roads-and-travel/Travel-passes/Snowdon-Sherpa.aspx
It was cloudy and cold but not many walkers at this time of the morning. The start of the route is the easiest. The beginning of the PYG Track is well marked.
When you reach Bwich y Moch (meaning the Pass of Pigs) at 587m, you'll see a marker to continue down to Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa). That is the route to continue via the Miner's Track, a much easier route. Move to the Crib Goch Track instead.
Crib Goch Track
This is the hardest part of the route.
The terrain is rough and steep, at points the ascent is vertical. Without ropes or harnesses and sometimes wet stone, it is tachycardia inducing and highly stressful. I didn't look down and kept telling Jorge and myself 'forward is the way'. He asked 'Why can't we go back?' Well... descending vertically is more scary than ascending vertically.
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| View downwards. Thank God it's cloudy! |
For a time we followed this Polish family. Father, mother and 2 sons strapped together with harnesses and rope. The father looked like he knew what he was doing and he was good at choosing the best route.
When the track reaches Crib Goch (921m), the stress morphs into panic and you finally realise why you cannot be afraid of heights. Walking along the peak, on the crest of the ridge with sheer drops in each side is not for the faint of heart and something I do not wish to do ever again.
It involves level 1 scrambling which is considered to be the best in Britain. I had no idea what that was but soon realised that, for me, it involves spider-walking and extreme concentration. I walked on my hands and feet because it was not just scary, it was also very windy. I kept 3 points on the ridge at all times as if I was climbing a wall. I did not look down or to the sides and kept saying (and doing) the same mantra over and over again: hand - hand - foot - foot. I was terrified!
The clouds were low which totally ruined the view but, did I really want to see how high I was and how steep the ridge was? Probably not. I count it as a blessing that we had no downward visibility. I would have seriously panicked and you can't really go back when you are on the ridge. The other walkers can't really bypass you either. There is only one line and only one way.
This is how the knife-edge route looks like on a clear day:
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| credits: www.snowdoniawalkingandclimbing.co.uk |
I didn't shit my pants but, boy!, was I close!! We made it through to the other side of the Crib Goch. Alive.
There is a little pass and next was Garnedd Ugain (1065m) but we were so worked up we decided against going on the ridge again and took the route on the south face of the ridge. Unlike Crib Goch, Garnedd Ugain has a side path. It is still high but not a knife-edge. Later we checked pictures and the Garnedd Ugain's ridge is actually a narrow path. Much easier than the Crib Goch.
The disadvantage of this side route is that there is a lot of loose rock. The peak face has eroded in quite a few places and it is also dangerous to traverse some of these 'rivers of stone'.
The advantage of this route is that we came across no one else and we could finally have a wee!
Llanberis Track to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
For the final kilometre to the top you join Llanberis Track near the train track. This route is the most popular and, for the less physically adventurous, there is a train that ascends from Llanberis to Snowdon, the Snowdon Mountain Train. It runs in the Summer.
Snowdon (1085m) was crowded. Mind it was a bank holiday weekend but when you get to the top you finally realise what the websites mean by 'busiest mountain in Britain'.
The top was cloudy. There was no visibility. Photos would be rubbish. Yet, the top had a huge queue of people waiting to take a photograph. Bonkers!
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| Top of Snowdon. |
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| The insane queue. |
I was starving and dragged myself up this last kilometre. I was in desperate need to rest and eat. Jorge found a rock to seat on and 30min later I was back to my normal self.
The cafe and toilets at the top are closed until 2023.
Watkin Track to Y Lliwedd
Take the path behind the cafe and soon you'll find the marker stone indicating the Watkin Track. Follow the route down. It's relatively easy. Some places more challenging but nothing like our way up. Lots of loose stone.
When you get to a pass that has the Watkin Track continuing right and down and the Y Lliwedd's rock face to your left, you need to take the left and start climbing the peak.
At this point we were descending below the level of the clouds and we started having some visibility.
Without the Polish family to follow and remarkedly less walkers on this part of the route, we had to climb freestyle. There is no visible route so you just make up your way as you go along. Some vertical climb and some scrambling but nothing as bad as the Crib Goch.
Visibility improved remarkably on the way up.
On the top (898m), the view is amazing and breathtaking!
We sat on the top to eat the remaining of our food, on a south ledge that was protected from the wind, with views to the lakes, the Snowdon and the Crib Goch. We could finally see the peaks without clouds.
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| From left to right: Snowdon, Garnedd Ugain & Crib Goch. Llyn Llydaw below the peaks. |
Y Lliwedd to Miner's Track
The descent is a bit rocky and steep in places but fairly easy. Follow the route down onto Llyn Llydaw, the lake.
There is a small bridge where the track joins the Miner's Track.
The remaining 2km are an easy flat route but busy with lots of walkers. Has Jorge put it, it's like the M25, a 4-lane motorway on a busy Sunday.
The track passes by Llyn Teyrn, a smaller lake, on the way back to Pen-Y-Pass.
As we were leaving Pen-Y-Pass, a rescue helicopter landed on the mountain. A reminder that this may be a popular tourist attraction but it is also a dangerous mountain.
The Showdon Horseshoe was difficult, it was scary and it took long to finish (9h). The views were amazing. It was a challenge and it was hard but we made it. We were exhausted but happy.
We rewarded ourselves with dinner out. We went to Bangor, to Y Ranch. A pub with a weird smell and a sticky floor but plenty of available tables. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to eat and go to bed so I ignored the smell. The food was much better than we were expecting!
When preparing for a trek there are a few things to consider. Clothes for different weather, waterproofs, sunscreen, hat, map. Of all these I would like to highlight a few that I have found of extreme importance on this trek:
- Plenty of food and water. We packed 4 sandwiches, 4 pieces of fruit, a packet of chocolate digestive biscuits and 3l of water. We had it all. It wasn't a hot day but, if it had been, we would have easily had more than 4l of water between us.
- Gloves. Climbing and scrambling on rock will cut your skin. Wet rock is slippery but gloves will help with the grip. I am so grateful I had my leather gloves with me. They were badly beaten by the end of the day but my hands were fine.
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| The top was fine. |
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| The bottom was not. |
- Walking boots. Walking in trainers is fine however, boots will support your ankles, grip the soil/rock and they have a hard top which will protect your feet from the rock. Below is how my boots looked like by the end of the day. Trainers would have been ripped.
- Trousers. It's good to walk in shorts on a hot sunny day however, climbing and scrambling in bare skin can be hazardous. My trousers got ripped at some point on top of the Crib Goch. Better the trousers than my legs!
