Snowdon viewed from the Pyg track
The first time I walked up Mount Snowdon (the highest mountain in England and Wales at 3560 feet) was with a group from my sixth form college, the Watkins path was the route, and on arriving at the café I stopped to down water and food. I then unknowingly descended the mountain without actually doing the extra thirty or so feet to the cairn at the summit, and enjoying that 360˚ view. I was mildly aggrieved when I realised what I’d done some weeks later.
For some years this perceived failure haunted me, well perhaps haunted is a bit strong but that ’summit thing’ crossed my mind on a fairly frequent basis since. I decided that I needed to lay that ghost to rest, and on a whim one December (2004 if I remember correctly) me and a friend decided, that we needed to climb Snowdon. Yes. December?!
It was the 6th of December, cold but not wet, when we set off for Llanberis, armed with a pristine OS explorer map, a flask of coffee, some sandwiches, chocolate and enough warm clothes to start a charity shop with. We’d scoured the map the previous evening and opted for the Llanberis track which pretty much follows the rail track all the way up. It was a long cold walk, but we made the very top, where it was blowing a gale and the air had the clarity of cotton wool; I couldn’t see a thing. Thwarted again!
The next attempt was a couple of years later, this time in the balmier climate of a February morning! There were four of us, and we’d parked at Pen-y-Pass to walk the Miner’s track; in the drizzle. We shuffled through the ever heavier drizzle, rain, mist and just about every other form of precipitation until we reached the start of the climb, proper. It was at this point that my girlfriend of the time decided she’d had enough and wanted to go back to the car, it was clear that no amount of cajoling would make a difference so two of us did an about turn and left the other two to continue. Foiled, again!
Looking back toward the Youth Hostel at Pen-y-Pass
I could see a pattern forming, and didn’t entertain the concept of a lovely view from Snowdon’s pinnacle for a while. Then at the end of March this year, on seeing a promising weather forecast for the approaching weekend, the germ of the idea started forming in my head again. I called my friend, Joe, and persuaded him that it would be a doddle, the sun would shine and it’d make a change from the normal Saturday routine. He agreed, and I put my organising head on.
Having attempted this several times before, I knew an early start was crucial, as the evenings drew dark quite early yet; you wouldn’t want to be on the mountain past about 7:30pm. I suggested, that Joe come over to mine on Friday evening, we could go for a couple of early beers and then leave for Wales at around 8am.
At 2:30am I finished my last Glenfiddich and went to bed! Morning came sooner than usual, and though 8am had passed me by, it was only just gone nine thirty, and there was still time. I awoke the human form which was comatose on the sofa, and informed Joe, that we were still going: I’m convinced getting me drunk was some sort of escape plan. I wasn’t going to be defeated this time.
The car park at Pen-y-Pass was at more than capacity, so we had to park back down the road toward Capel Curig, giving us a mile extra of road to walk before we even got to the foothills of Snowdon. That aside the sun was out, clouds were scarce and I was full of hope and anticipation of the views which lay ahead of me. I put a fair pace on, having done a bit of cycling and walking recently, and lost a couple of stone, I was feeling more than up to the job. My friend who has never attempted anything like this before was finding it a bit more difficult, and was quite shattered after the first fairly steep climb up from the car park to the fork in the path. The right fork takes the adventurous to the summit via Crib Goch, the left one takes the more leisurely, and less life threatening track along the lower reaches of the Crib Goch ridge.
Llyn Llydaw from the Pyg Track
After a pause for a drink, I suggested that we each go at our own pace and would meet at the top, that was a mutually agreeable suggestion and off I went, past the gorgeous lakes of Llyn Llydaw and Glaslyn to the point where the climb starts. This where it gets a bit steep, (and there’s no respite until you reach the ridge just below the summit of Snowdon) if you’re quick though, from here you’re only about 30 minutes from the top, and if you keep stopping and starting to catch your breath, you’ll look behind and note how rapid your ascent is. The path consists of large rocky steps, so at least the ‘where to put your feet’ element of hill walking shouldn’t present too many problems; it was on this point of the path that I saw a chap swaggering up this natural edifice in his Dunlop Green Flash pumps, swinging an Asda carrier bag with his lunch in it, in one hand and clutching a cigarette in the other. Fair play!
The summit, looking toward Llanberis.
Once you’ve reached the top of this abrupt incline, you’ve 99% made it. Take a left turn at the top, by the menhir, or whatever it is and take the, in comparison to what’s been before, gentle stroll to the summit. Catch your breath, take in the vista, take some photos, upload them to Facebook (there is 3G at the summit, if you’re lucky!) Even when it’s warm at the car park, it can be exceedingly raw, and brisk at the summit, especially if there’s a stiffish breeze.
It was a busy summit on this particular day, it was the first sunny day in April, and this must have given everyone that summery, let’s get out and do something feeling. The new café wasn’t open, but I believe its construction progress has been hampered by the atrocious weather, it would have been a nice touch to have had an espresso and a piece of carrot cake at three and a half thousand feet.
After you’ve had your sandwich, it’s time to do the same, but in reverse!
Since this trip I’ve been up once more on yet another beautiful sunny day, so the ghost of Snowdon’s summit has well and truly been exorcised! Incidentally, my friend caught up with me about 40 minutes later, not quite as enthused about the whole experience as I was…
Me at the summit, and still smiling!
