The Snowdon Horseshoe, part 1

Saturday 11th August 2012

Over the last couple of years I have been doing one-off walks in the middle of the summer. Last year I walked along the Walna Scar ridge in the Lake District, the year before I walked up Snowdon, and in 2009 I did a mammoth walk around the Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District. Without deliberately realising it I had started alternating my high summer walk between the Lake District and Snowdon, possibly two of the greatest mountain areas in England and Wales. I probably picked those areas because I had been trying to maximise my opportunity for one great day up a mountain in the middle of the summer. The actual reason I chose to walk up Snowdon this year was because I have always walking up Snowdon at least once a year, and I hadn’t been up this great mountain yet this year. When I realised this I was briefly a little disappointed with myself that I felt compelled to follow form instead of anywhere else I may have been thinking of walking, but when I thought about the prospect of walking up Snowdon again I became excited at the thought of climbing that great mountain again.

I got up in the middle of the night and drove all the way from Leicester to North Wales parking near the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel at the same spot I’d parked the year before when I had led a group of guys from my Church up Snowdon. Soon after 7am, with the sun just beginning to appear over the tops of the hills, I set off from my car along the new path that was laid in the spring of last year. It didn’t take me long to climb up to the Pen-y-Pass car park, but even at this early hour the car park seemed to be full, which I found astonishing and, to be frank, rather stupid. The Pen-y-Pass car park charges £10 a day whereas where I had parked it was only £4, and a lot of people were prepared to pay that amount and get there at the crack of dawn for the privilege! My reason for starting so early was so that I could get the mountain to myself, but that was obviously not going to happen. Most people were heading off along the Pyg Track so I set off along the Miners’ Track around the small lake of Llyn Teryn and just before reaching the second lake I branched off the path past the inlet for the pipeline to the Cwm Deli Hydroelectric Power Station.

I had decided that I was going to climb Snowdon by the ultimate route: the Snowdon Horseshoe on top of the sharp ridges that lie to the east of the mountain. The horseshoe is usually (probably almost always) done in an anti-clockwise direction starting along the northern ridge of Crib Goch. Since that was the direction that I had taken six years ago when I climbed Snowdon on the horseshoe, and since everyone else was going that way, I followed the narrow path that climbs to the top of the southern ridge, Y Lliwedd. This is a great way round Snowdon, especially at this time of the morning as I literally didn’t see anyone during my climb over the top of Y Lliwedd, unfortunately I didn’t see much else either as it was very hazy with the humidity ruining my view despite blue skies overhead. This was a great disappointment as I had come to Snowdon expecting excellent views but it was just too humid, which is typical of this time of the year. Nevertheless it was great to feel solid rock below my feet again and to have the energy to make the most of it thanks to a determined effort to improve my fitness since returning from Scotland.

After visiting the East and West Peaks of Y Lliwedd I climbed down tricky, steep, rocky terrain to the col of Bwlch Ciliau and joined the Watkin Path where I saw my first people since leaving the Miners’ Track. It was still very early and yet here were people climbing the Watkin Path who must have started as early as me; it seemed like everyone had started early to climb Snowdon. I immediately left the crowds behind, coming straight off the Watkin Path to follow the top of the ridge and I had great fun weaving my way along the top of the crags. At one point I walked along a narrow edge that could have challenged Crib Goch, if it had three thousand feet sheer sides. When the gradient sharply increased I spurned the Watkin Path in favour of a direct ascent of the steep hillside climbing straight up to the top of Snowdon. I had taken this route in 2007 so I knew that it is a very tricky ascent and requires a careful picking of your route. You’ve got to stay away from the scree on the southern slopes as it’s difficult to get a grip on loose stones and these could fall down onto anyone on the Watkin Path, but you’ve also got to stay away from sheer cliffs on the unclimbable eastern slopes. A course has to be found between the treacherous loose stones and the dangerous cliffs up rocks that are both slippery and requires some scrambling. It’s no surprise this route is not recommended, but because of the difficulty I found it an exciting route up and there was no one around to interrupt my fun.

Eventually I reached the top of Snowdon and was disappointed to find the summit packed with people despite it being only 10.30 in the morning. Any other mountain in Britain would have been empty at that time of the morning, but not Snowdon on a Saturday in the summer in good weather. Snowdon seems to be getting more popular every year and that is beginning to put me off climbing it, which is a great pity as it has got to be the greatest mountain in Britain, but it’s a victim of its own greatness. I climb Snowdon every year because it is a great mountain, but if I am unable to climb the mountain without being surrounded by hundreds of other people I may stop doing so. One of my reasons for climbing mountains is to get away from the sort of crowds you’d find in a typical shopping centre, but the top of Snowdon is just like High Cross in Leicester, only higher. I found out on this walk that even if you get up ridiculously early in the morning you’ll still not get the mountain to yourself. Snowdon is just too good.