Author Topic: How hard is Snowdon?  (Read 84810 times)

Skip

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #45 on: 19:37:28, 18/04/18 »
... fine settled weather, the mountain is straight forward... the mountain is 3560ft above sea level... its close proximity to the Irish Sea, attracts high winds and lots of mist and low cloud.... it can receive just about any kind of weather, whatever the time of year....
Its a high mountain .... it deserves respect ...go fully prepared .... its an easy mountain to ascend in fine weather.

Sheesh! You've said all that already.
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Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #46 on: 22:24:53, 19/04/18 »
Climbed it this afternoon, 19/04/18 on what turned out to be the warmest April day on record, or at least since 1939, but not here in Snowdonia.
Arrived in Llanberis at around 11am, and blimey the weather was looking unpredictable, with the top of Elidir Fawr clothed in heavy swirling mist, and by the looks of the prevailing wind, it was pretty gusty above 2800ft.

Used the llanberis path, and there were heavy clouds, and mist that was down to Clogwyn station, and a brisk wind.

The clouds were dark with possible rain, but none was forecast, so i decided LET"S GO FOR IT.

The Railway was in operation, but i soon discovered they were not going as far as the summit, just as far as Clogwyn.


Knowing this i decided to use the main railway line, which is a fair bit quicker than the dreaded slopes of upper Clogwyn.

Small pockets of snow, not amounting to much, enough to fill a skip or two, were thawing rapidly,  and like my previous visit some months ago, the direct railway ascent is a fair bit quicker, and possibly safer as well,  as long as one is fully confident no railway engines or carriages are using the upper line.

Being mid week, traffic on the mountain was very lite, and temperature was 8C at the summit.


Cafe still closed, for a May opening,  and lo and behold, by around 2pm, the weather had cleared beautifully, instead of a chilly wind, in the sunshine it was tee shirt weather.


With a bit of experience and knowledge of the mountain, an ascent of Snowdon, does not have to be a challenge, and in all, i was up and down in 3hrs 38mins.
« Last Edit: 22:28:58, 19/04/18 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Surfer99

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #47 on: 12:31:08, 20/04/18 »
Planning on to Snowdon first week in May with my 10yr old daughter,  had thought of accent via the miners and decent via the pyg unless anyone has any other route suggestions.

RogerA

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #48 on: 16:17:33, 20/04/18 »
Planning on to Snowdon first week in May with my 10yr old daughter,  had thought of accent via the miners and decent via the pyg unless anyone has any other route suggestions.

As a suggestion up Pyg and down miners might be better - miners on the way up has a fairly steep scramble on the last section that I find easier to come down.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #49 on: 18:36:30, 20/04/18 »
My suggestion, is to stick to the southern half of the mountain.
Not that the PYG and Miners paths are more of a challenge, but if the weather is far from ideal, as it usually is, then climbing the mountain via the Snowdon Ranger path will almost guarantee success.
For someone taking up a young companion, full of excitement in climbing Snowdon for the first time, ascending the Snowdon Ranger path, is by far the easier option.

Its the oldest route up the mountain, and alongside the Rhydd Ddu path, a few miles up the road, its the most gentle side of this magnificent mountain.

I am sure others will have their own views, but there is nothing technical about the Snowdon Ranger path, and its a glorified path, with a very gentle incline up the mountain, and very easy to follow.

In poor visibility, you need a path that is never in doubt, and if the mist is down and its raining, then navigating the mountain is far easier on its southern flanks than its northern side.

You also have the bonus of not being ripped off with extortionate parking charges.

Its £10 to park in Pen Y Pass, if your lucky to find a place to park, and there are numerous places near Bettws Garmon, where you can park safely for nothing.


You could easily park at Rhydd Ddu, and use the Rhydd DDu path, and decend via the Snowdon Ranger, the distance between both paths is less than two miles distant, and the parking charges are far less severe.

A tenner would go along way for some nosh in Petes Easts in llanberis,  and i am sure your daughter would not care one bit, as long as she reached the summit.


Good luck, and fingers crossed for good weather.
« Last Edit: 18:44:03, 20/04/18 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Surfer99

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #50 on: 18:49:55, 20/04/18 »
As a suggestion up Pyg and down miners might be better - miners on the way up has a fairly steep scramble on the last section that I find easier to come down.


Yes Roger, your correct I had them the wrong way round  O0

My suggestion, is to stick to the southern half of the mountain.
Not that the PYG and Miners paths are more of a challenge, but if the weather is far from ideal, as it usually is, then climbing the mountain via the Snowdon Ranger path will almost guarantee success.
For someone taking up a young companion, full of excitement in climbing Snowdon for the first time, ascending the Snowdon Ranger path, is by far the easier option.

Its the oldest route up the mountain, and alongside the Rhydd Ddu path, a few miles up the road, its the most gentle side of this magnificent mountain.

I am sure others will have their own views, but there is nothing technical about the Snowdon Ranger path, and its a glorified path, with a very gentle incline up the mountain, and very easy to follow.

In poor visibility, you need a path that is never in doubt, and if the mist is down and its raining, then navigating the mountain is far easier on its southern flanks than its northern side.

You also have the bonus of not being ripped off with extortionate parking charges.

Its £10 to park in Pen Y Pass, if your lucky to find a place to park, and there are numerous places near Bettws Garmon, where you can park safely for nothing.


You could easily park at Rhydd Ddu, and use the Rhydd DDu path, and decend via the Snowdon Ranger, the distance between both paths is less than two miles distant, and the parking charges are far less severe.

A tenner would go along way for some nosh in Petes Easts in llanberis,  and i am sure your daughter would not care one bit, as long as she reached the summit.


Good luck, and fingers crossed for good weather.

Thanks, will take a look at those options and you’re correct, she is quite excited and really looking forward to it. We’ll be going mid week so hopefully it won’t be as busy the the weekends

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #51 on: 21:15:13, 20/04/18 »
When you know exactly the date of your intended visit to Snowdonia, check the National Park weather forecast, to have an indication of what the wind speed and cloud situation is on the main summits.
If it was not for the ridiculous parking fee of £10 at Pen Y Pass, then i would certainly not discount the Miners or PyG tracks up the mountain, but they are far more rugged in nature, and can be quite slippery in wet weather.
Another disadvantage with Pen Y Pass, is that the carpark fills up extremely quickly, and very early, and ive seen it full up by as early as 7.30am in the morning in high season.

Not knowing what part of the country you are coming from, you want a virtual guarantee of a safe and secure parking place for your vehicle.

This is where the Southern parts of the mountain has its great advantage, because parking facilities are far more numerous, and what's worse than arriving after a lengthy journey to find you simply cannot park anywhere.

You can of course walk up the mountain from the Llanberis side, but this is the longest route, being ten miles up and down and possibly the most tiring for your young daughter.

If the weather proves settled and fine, i would suggest either the Rhydd Ddu path, or Snowdon Ranger, simply because they offer the easiest ascent of this high mountain,  and their by far the safest in poor weather.

Try explaining to your daughter that due to the inclement weather, an ascent of the mountain is out of the question.

For personal safety in adverse weather conditions, i would alway's suggest the Snowdon Ranger route, as virtually the entire path is fairly sheltered, until your with twenty minutes of the top of the mountain.

Good luck and hope all goes to plan.

dank86

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #52 on: 11:45:20, 23/04/18 »
I'd also recommend the ranger path for your first try. It's a nice route even as an out and back, I did it the opposite way to a lot of people but found it worked better for the new person I took up, he said when we came down rhydd du that if we had gone up that way he'd likely of backed out at the ridge. I was parked at rhydd du and walked to rangers path, so we decended straight to the car and all the treats I had stored in there lol, fizzy drinks and chocolate is good incentive to get over the ridge 😊

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #53 on: 13:10:23, 23/04/18 »
Thank you for the vote of confidence, the Rhydd Ddu and Snowdon Ranger paths, are still pretty quiet compared to the llanberis,  Pyg and Miners paths, which is a real shame.
I suppose their a little more difficult to locate for a visiting walker, visiting Snowdonia all intent on climbing Snowdon for the first time, but their certainly an easier alternative than most of the routes up the mountain.
Was it not for the hefty parking charges at Pen Y Pass, then i would not discount using those routes up the mountain, but in mist and rain they can be very confusing.
Fine for fit and experienced walkers, but far from ideal for a first time visitor with excited daughter in tow.

Study the Snowdon Ranger and Rhydd Ddu routes, and make your mind up, they offer a more gentle side to the mountain, and which ever route you eventually take, its still the same mountain your climbing.

You can make the going hard, or easy.

I know which i would prefer in poor visibility and weather far from ideal.

Surfer99

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #54 on: 19:03:52, 23/04/18 »
Thanks again, we’re around 2hrs drive from Snowdon and will indeed be checking the mountain forcast before setting off. Will also take a look a the other routes suggested above  O0

Surfer99

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #55 on: 13:07:13, 24/04/18 »
Ok so I’ve studied the three routes;


The ranger is a steady accent over the distance. Followed by the Rhydu Ddu the theres the miners is is the short sharp accent although I do like the idea of the circular route rather up and down the same path.

Thursday next week is the planned day.

Been a long time since I was there, travel time is the same for all three routes. looking at the satellite image parking for the miners/pyg route doesn’t seem a lot, mid week would you expect to get a place there say 8:00 / 8:30?


Doesn’t look like much parking at Rhydu either, unless I’m missing it? So the ranger seems a safe bet at the moment.


dank86

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #56 on: 13:14:20, 24/04/18 »
Surfer the parking is at rhydd du train station it can hold a fair few cars, probably more than pyp and a lot cheaper too (machine was out of order recently so free) going up rhydd will probably involve using hands on some early sections, ranger as you said is a gradual accent the zig zags get a bit steep but nothing to bad

ninthace

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #57 on: 13:57:39, 24/04/18 »
Solvitur Ambulando

dank86

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #58 on: 14:34:14, 24/04/18 »
One thing I will add, can't remember if I said it or not but the bath between rangers and rhyd is pretty boggy in places and no real defined path, there are markers with arrows but its pretty easy to miss a marker (we missed a few but made our own way through)

rural roamer

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Re: How hard is Snowdon?
« Reply #59 on: 19:34:17, 25/04/18 »
We’ve just booked a farm cottage just outside Beddgelert for 6 nights from 5th May.  Planning on walking up Snowdon as part of our idea to do the National 3 peaks this year.  We have more or less decided to walk up the Rhyd ddu path and down Snowdon Ranger, especially after reading this thread. I prefer steeper going up and don’t mind an easy scramble, would rather the gentler path for coming down.  Hopefully we will have enough days to pick a decent weather day, but as bad weather usually follows us around when we do a LDP I’m not so sure!


Not done a great deal of walking this year so far, longest being about 8 miles, although we did at least do some short hill walks when in France recently. So if anyone can recommend some walks before we tackle Snowdon that would be great.


 

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