On a warm but slightly overcast Sunday morning in August, we arrived at Pen-Y-Pas car park to start Rob’s first trip up Snowdon. After a quick comfort break in the last hospitable conveniences for a few thousand feet we set off along the Pyg Track for the summit of the highest mountain in England and Wales. Make sure you have the right
walking gear, this is a mountain!
After about ½ a mile we passed a plucky young girl (about 8 years old) walking with her Mum to meet her Dad and younger brother at the top. I saw her later at the top looking just as fresh (I wonder if she cheated and caught the train!!).
We soon arrived at a fork in the path branching off to Crib Goch (a beautiful but relatively precarious ridge path). As Crib Goch was covered in cloud, we stayed on the Pyg Track. We climbed up the naturally carved “steps” and hopped across small boulders for around 30 minutes before emerging from the thin mist into the sunshine. Rob and I stopped to catch our breath and turned back to see the beautiful view, speckled in cloud, showing the mountain lake and the Pyg track and miners path zig-zagging below. After a short rest we raced off again to try and keep pace with Dad (or the “man of the mountain” as he is known in Chamonix!).
30 minutes later, after a short scramble up some rocks, we reached the rack railway track (running up from Llanberis) and the final “home straight” to the summit. Following the track, we found Dad (cool and relaxed) at the train station; where we toileted and bought drinks etc.
We followed the Snowdon Ranger (the easiest track used by ponies and mules in the mining
up and down across the valley; accompanied by a multitude of animated seagulls, we continued down the rather shaley path to reach Llanberis.
The day was very enjoyable day, we had beautiful views and perfect weather for this type of walk (warm, with some cloud and a slight breeze). However being vertically challenged I did find the large “steps” on the Pyg Path proved more demanding on my legs than when I had previously used Crib Goch (as part of the “Snowdon Horseshoe”) probably because I needed to use my arms more often to assist climbing and walking on Crib Goch.
Tip: If the car park at Pen-Y-Pas is full there is a network of sherpa buses running from free car parks in the area during peak seasons. Or you can leave your car near the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel(at the junction of the A498 in the direction of Beddgelert) and walk up to to car park. Check with local tourist information for details.
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