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Start: |
Pen-y-Pass |
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Start (OS ref): |
SH647557 |
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Map (1:25,000):
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OL17: Snowdon and Conwy |
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Parking: |
Pen-y-Pass Car Park |
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Distance: |
9 miles (14.5 km) |
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Time: |
5 hours |
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Difficulty: |
Hard |
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Climbing: |
864 metres |
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Hazards: |
Steep climbing |
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Refreshments: |
Llanberis |
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Route Map: |
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The Story of the Walk:
After four rainy days in Snowdonia this was our last chance to reach the top of Snowdon. To our relief we woke up to a dry morning. It wasn't exactly sunny as we had breakfast but the cloud was rising and breaks were appearing in the cloud as we drove up to our starting point at Pen-y-pass. Hopes were high as we set off in bright conditions following the Miner's Track, one of the easier routes to the summit but our choice as we still had the gruelling Cornish Coastal Path with backpacks to come. As we walked past Llyn Teyrn and towards the reservoir that is Llyn Llydaw the sky was becoming very blue, apart from one piece that is, the section on the summit of Snowdon.
Soon we arrived at the old crushing mill of the Britannia Copper Mine. The mill was worked by a water-wheel fed from Llyn Glaslyn high above. In its day this was one of the most modern mills in the country. After passing the mill we made a steep ascent to the shores of Llyn Glaslyn. The blue-green colour of the water results from dissolved copper salts that have leached into the lake over the years.
Nearby admirable National Trust volunteers were repairing footpaths on the 400 metre ascent over scree that we now had to make to reach the Pyg Track on a plateau above. Those guys do a great job and what a hell of a walk they have to and from work each day. At least they were blessed with the same views we had. And the views were very clear, even at 900 metres which is about the height where the Miner's and Pyg tracks rejoin. Alas we could see cloud rolling over the top from a westerly direction directly above us.
The cloud relentlessly hung around awaiting our arrival on the ridge that leads to the summit of Snowdon. One minute, a few steps from the ridge we were in sunshine and a few steps later in over the ridge and in cloud and the exposure of the western side of Snowdon. The temperature had dipped from around 18 degrees to freezing in the space of a few yards. Oh well, this is real mountain climbing conditions.
A train on the Snowdon Railway tootled by within a few feet of us. We didn't see it in the cloud. After a hurried scamper along the ridge and to the summit we called in the summit cafe for a drink and then left to begin our descent down. We decided to walk to Llanberis and after dropping a few feet off the summit we were out of cloud and in glorious sunshine again. It was amazing, an absolutely beautiful day.
We descended along the long Llanberis Path watching the trains stopping at the stations between Llanberis and the summit. As we got lower we met people walking towards the top, a few t first, mainly sensibly dressed but as we descended further there were more and more people, some aged, some young and some family groups. Some were dressed for the seaside and some were in the most ridiculous footwear. But then it was sunny and warm, a perfect day out. Our guess was many would fail to get even half way and would need to invest in a train ticket at some point.
We continued to loose height whilst enjoying the most spectacular views of the Welsh Coast, Anglesey, Caernarfon and the rest of Snowdonia. The views down to Llanberis and Llyn Peris were stunning too. We took a break on the grassy banks to take it all in. It was fantastic weather now, a real delightful end to our walking holiday in Snowdonia. The weather had let us down a little and particularly clouded our summit experience but it was certainly making up for it now.
We reached Llanberis and walked through the village back to the hotel. Job done. Steve and I went back up to Pen-y-pass to I recover my car. Now we looked ahead to a night of celebration. We had no walking the next day as we were driving down to Cornwall to begin the Cornish Coastal Path the day after. So we celebrated and our host at the Gallt -Y -Glyn treated us to a juggling show. Goodbye Snowdonia and thank you. |
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