Elidir Fawr and Y Garn

Monday 1st September 2003

With no new walks to report I’m going to describe my first ever walking holiday in Snowdonia. At this point in my walking experience I had done a lot of walking in the Peak District and the Brecon Beacons, and I’d been to the Lake District twice, but I’d never been to Snowdonia despite the summit of Snowdon being the most visited mountain-top in Britain. In late summer 2003 I finally made my way to Snowdonia and set out to climb all fifteen mountains above three thousand feet, and failed in that task due to omitting a notable top. I didn’t make any notes during this holiday and I didn’t take any pictures, so since it was over ten years ago I may have difficulty remembering every little detail about the week. However, I seem to recall a surprising amount of things about the holiday and assuming I’m not getting it mixed up with subsequent visits I should have plenty to write about.

My first target was not one of the more well-known mountains, but a couple of infrequently visited mountains that lie north of the valley of Nant Peris. I think I chose to walk up these mountains first because I had spent most of the morning driving to North Wales so I only had time for a shorter walk that could be done during the afternoon. The first thing I remember about this holiday is that I had forgotten my map and compass. I don’t remember when I realised that I’d forgotten them, but it must have been while I was in the car park in Nant Peris preparing to set off. Rather than abandon the walk before I’d even started I set off regardless relying on my memory of the map that I’d left at home. I crossed the road and somehow managed to find my way through Old Llanberis and onto a track that climbs the hillside beside the Afon Dudodyn. Eventually I crossed the stream, where I filled my water-bottle (though why it needed filling or why I still remember that is unfathomable), and started to climb the steep grassy slopes of Elidir Fawr.

This was a long tiring climb with no path to follow but lots of scree and rocks to clamber over. Part way up I got a call from home to inform me that I’d left my map there, but this was not news to me and surprisingly I didn’t seem to need it. As far as I can remember the weather was good, though the summit of Elidir Fawr may have been covered with clouds, but on such a narrow ridge this wasn’t a problem. I climbed straight up the scattered rocks that abundantly cover the area and eventually reached the top and then, after a rest, I set off along the ridge eastwards. Tragically I have been to the top of Elidir Fawr just once since this walk, way back in 2006, when I was similarly endeavouring to visit all fifteen three thousand metre tops in Wales, and similarly failed. Why is completing a list the only reason to visit this fabulous mountain? The weather on that day was poor with no view from the summit, but a picture that I took in 2006 from Bwlch y Marchlyn shows how narrow is the thrilling ridge.

I probably had better weather for my first visit as I crossed the narrow ridge and skirted below Mynydd Perfedd before climbing to the top of Foel-goch. The ridge broadens after this and easy walking beyond led me to the final climb of the day zig-zagging up to the summit of Y Garn, my second Munro-sized mountain of the day. I have no idea what it was like at the summit or anything else about the walk at this point. I think my descent route was a basic straight down the western slopes into Cwm Gafr following a right of way that is marked on maps and ends in Nant Peris. Despite not having a map for this walk I seem to have managed surprisingly well. In clear weather the place where a map is most needed is in the valleys, so you can find the right path onto the open hillside, but I seem to have been able to find my way up without a map, perhaps from memory, though it may have taken me several attempts.

I guess I was lucky that the weather wasn’t worse and that the route was clear. I wasn’t so lucky for the rest of the holiday, so a map was urgently needed and Joe Brown’s in Llanberis was happy to furnish me with a new map and compass. I seem to recall asking for a GPS, but for some reason I didn’t get one, possibly because Joe Brown’s didn’t stock them. Whatever the reason it would be another three years before I finally bought a GPS and that was a very basic one that I have never felt the need to replace (or use very often). A GPS is a handy tool to have, but is no replacement for a good map and compass, and even more importantly the ability to use them. On this holiday I put that to the test.