Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest
mountain in
Wales, and the highest
British mountain south of the
Scottish Highlands, with an
elevation of 1,085
m (3,560
ft)
above sea level. Its summit is known as
Yr Wyddfa (meaning "the
tumulus"
). The English name Snowdon comes from
Saxon "Snow Dun", meaning "
snow hill". It is also one of the very few peaks rising above 1 kilometre in Wales.
It is located in the
Snowdonia National Park (
Welsh:
Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri). The whole park is very popular with tourists, especially for hiking, and Snowdon is one of the greatest attractions. As the highest peak in Wales, Snowdon is one of three mountains climbed as part of the
National Three Peaks Challenge.
Snowdon offers some of the most extensive views in the British Isles; on exceptionally clear days,
Ireland,
Northern Ireland,
Scotland,
England and Wales are all visible, as well as 24 counties, 29 lakes and 17 islands. It is also possible to view the newly built
Beetham Tower in
Manchester from here. The view between Snowdon and
Merrick (southern Scotland) is the longest theoretical line of sight in the British Isles at 144
miles (232
km)
[ In practice atmospheric conditions make such sightings extremely rare.].
Snowdon has six ridges
: these are steep and rocky to the north and east, shallower and grassy, but more remote to the south and west. There are many
cwms formed by glaciation in the
ice age, some filled with lakes. Subsidiary summits include
Garnedd Ugain (1,065 m), the knife-edge summit of
Crib Goch (923 m),
Y Lliwedd (898 m) and
Yr Aran (747 m).
Although Snowdon has probably been climbed since
time immemorial, the first recorded ascent of Snowdon was by the botanist
Thomas Johnson in 1639, although there is also a reference to "a triumphal fair upon this our chief of mountains" immediately following
Edward I's conquest of Wales.
The many steep cliffs in the Snowdon range are significant in the history of British rock
climbing. The first recorded climb in the area was the 1798 ascent of the Eastern Terrace of
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (
Welsh:
the black cliff of the dark(ness)) by the Reverends Peter Williams and W. Bingley, botanists looking for alpine plants. The north face of
Y Lliwedd was explored in the late
19th century and in
1909 was the subject of the first British climbing guide,
The climbs on Lliwedd by J. M. A. Thompson and A. W. Andrews. Also,
Edmund Hillary trained here for his climb up
Mount Everest.
 |
Y Lliwedd (left) and Snowdon |
Marked footpaths lead to Snowdon's summit from all sides, and can be combined in various ways. The circular walk starting and ending at
Pen-y-Pass and using the Crib Goch route and the route over Y Lliwedd is called the
Snowdon Horseshoe, and is one of the best ridge walks in Britain. The routes are arranged here clockwise, starting with the paths leading from Pen-y-Pass.
Over Y Lliwedd
The southernmost of the paths leading from
Pen-y-Pass leads up
Y Lliwedd, to the south of
Llyn Llydaw, and from there over Bwlch Ciliau (
Welsh: variously
pass of corners/nooks or
pass of retreat), where the Snowdon Ranger paths joins with it, to Snowdon itself. Shortly before the summit, this path merges with the Rhyd Ddu path. This is one half of the Snowdon Horseshoe, together with the Crib Goch route (see below). It includes a sharp ridge and requires some experience of
scrambling and a head for heights.
 |
View from the summit of Snowdon, looking east over Llyn Llydaw |
Pyg Track
The Pyg Track is a popular path leading from the
car park at
Pen-y-Pass along the lower slopes of
Crib Goch before zig-zagging above the smaller lake
Glaslyn to the col between Snowdon and
Garnedd Ugain and thence to the summit of Snowdon. Previous
Ordnance Survey maps marked this path as the
Pig Track, and although it is widely believed that the name
Pyg derives from the initials of the
Pen-y-Gwryd hotel near its base (prompting occasional
PyG spellings), this is probably a coincidence; the true etymology is likely to be that the "Pig Track" passes over the pass called "Bwlch y Moch" (Welsh for
pass of the pigs). The
Crib Goch route forks off upwards to the right from the Pyg route after roughly a mile (1.6 km), whilst the Pyg route itself carries straight on, initially dropping down slightly onto a flatter section of path before the ascent towards the zig-zags. Some less experienced walkers have been known to get confused at this point, later finding themselves out of their depth on
Crib Goch.
Miners' Track
The Miners' Track begins at the southern end of the Pen-y-Pass car park. After approximately 750
m to 1
km, it passes above
Llyn Teyrn and then continues for another kilometre before reaching the shore of
Llyn Llydaw. After crossing Llyn Llydaw and following it around, the track rises more steeply and eventually leads to Glaslyn (
Welsh:
blue lake). The final part of the Miners' Track consists of a
scramble from the edge of Glaslyn onto the latter part of the
Pyg track. The combination of ascent via the Pyg track and descent via the Miners' track is one of the most common ways of combining routes on Snowdon, due to their sharing a start point at the Pen-y-Pass car park.
Crib Goch route
The Crib Goch route also starts at the Pen-y-Pass car park and initially follows the
Pyg track before separating off from it at the
Bwlch y Moch and leading up the side of
Crib Goch. From there it follows the ridge of Crib Goch, over the summit of
Garnedd Ugain and on to the summit of Snowdon. This forms half of the Snowdon Horseshoe route, the other half passing over Y Lliwedd (see above). It includes a very sharp ridge and requires some experience of
scrambling and a head for heights.
Watkin Path
The Watkin Path has the greatest change in altitude out of all the paths up Snowdon. Starting at 60
m above sea level at the Nantgwynant car park (SH628506) south of Snowdon, and finishing at Snowdon's 1085-metre high summit, the Watkin Path has a height gain of 1025 m. It follows the course of the Afon Cwm Llan river, past the Gladstone Rock, before heading up the hillside to Cwm Ciliau (between Y Lliwedd and Snowdon) and onward to Snowdon. It is also possible to walk from Nantgwynant to Bwlch Cwm Llan, between
Yr Aran and Snowdon and from there, either down to Rhyd Ddu or along Allt Maenderyn, along the top of the Clogwyn Du cliff face to meet the Rhyd Ddu path going to the summit. During the summer, apart from stunning views of the surrounding
Welsh countryside, plenty of tourists take to "cooling down" in the local
waterfalls, part of the way up the path.
Rhyd Ddu Path
The Rhyd Ddu path leads from the village of
Rhyd Ddu to the west of Snowdon, gently up on to
Llechog, a broad ridge to leading west from the summit of Snowdon. This is one of the easier routes up Snowdon. It is also possible to walk from Rhyd Ddu to Bwlch Cwm Llan, between
Yr Aran and Snowdon and from there, either down to Nantgwynant, or along Allt Maenderyn, along the top of the Clogwyn Du cliff face to meet the Rhyd Ddu path going to the summit.
Snowdon Ranger Path
The Snowdon Ranger Path is named after the Snowdon Ranger
youth hostel on the shores of
Llyn Cwellyn, where it begins. It rises gently to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog, between
Moel Cynghorion and Snowdon, and then along the top of the Clogwyn Du'r Arddu cliff face to Bwlch Glas between Snowdon and
Garnedd Ugain.
Llanberis Path
The Llanberis Path leads from
Llanberis, approximately along the course of the
Snowdon Mountain Railway. This is one of the longer routes up, although as the slope is mostly comparatively shallow, it is considered one of the easiest. It is also the path followed during the annual Snowdon Race (
Welsh:
Râs Yr Wyddfa). The first part of the path also leads to the well-known climbing cliff
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu.
Snowdon Mountain Railway
For those who do not wish to or are not able to walk, or wish to walk one way only, the
Snowdon Mountain Railway (a
rack railway) runs from
Llanberis to the top. A restaurant and shop can be found at the top station, just below the summit .
When the Snowdon Mountain Railway was opened, a hotel was built at the terminus, a short distance from the summit. In the 1930s, this was replaced by a restaurant designed by
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. By the end of the twentieth century, this was run as a café and shop complex (selling, amongst other things, "I Climbed Snowdon" T-shirts). However it was becoming increasingly dilapidated and was described by
Prince Charles as "the highest slum in Wales". Its state led to a campaign to replace the building. In April 2006, Snowdonia National Park Authority agreed a deal to start work on a new café and visitor centre complex costing £8 million
. The old building will be demolished and a new visitor centre will be erected in 2007
.
*
Webcams from the Snowdon Weather Stations Project
*
Route descriptions*Computer-generated virtual panoramas from Snowdon
1:
north;
south
