Well this was yet another short planned day out and a very welcome one at that as I hadn't been in the mountains since my snowy walk back in early February. Sad I know, but I had wanted to "tick" PEN y LLITHRIG WRACH off for some time as it is my last remaining big summit from around the CARNEDDAU area of the Snowdonia National Park. There are one or two smaller outlying summits dotted about but they can wait for another day.
So another early start saw me get to the Ogwen Valley, parked and booted by 9am in good dry sunny conditions. In fact it was that good I was in my tee shirt from the off and stayed that way till I got back to my car some nine hours later. One thing that I will take from the day is that I need to pack some suncream in my pack as I got a touch of sunburn which I wasn't really aware of!! I was half expecting to see a cloud inversion as there was a lot of fog on the way down and also all round the coast but that had quickly disappeared once I made my way away from the coast. I had a twenty minute road walk from where I parked near to the campsite at GWERN GOF UCHAF to the waterboard service road opposite the campsite at GWERN GOF ISAF, two recommended campsites. The service road is a bit of a pull at first but soon starts to level out the closer it gets to Ffynnon Lugwy which lies below my first summit of the day, PEN yr HELGI DU
My Route For The Day
View towards Snowdon at 8.30am from Plas y Brenin
Waterboard Service Road
On the service road with Pen yr Helgi Du ahead
Looking back down the service road
View down the Ogwen Valley with Glyder Fawr, Tryfan, Y Garn, Pen yr Ole Wen & Llyn Ogwen
Ffnnon Lugwy below Bwlch Eryl Farchog
The path is pretty straight froward to follow as it slowly gains height before it zig zags up and tops out on the ridge of Bwlch Eryl Farchog offering great views down into Cwm Eigiau and across towards the Vale of Conwy. It was good to see that Conwy and beyond were still shrouded in the fog that I had driven through earlier in the morning and it did take quite some time for it to disappear. The views down to Ffnnon Lugwy and surrounding mountains make all the uphill walking very worthwhile and I sat up here for about 15 minutes taking it all in.
View down to Ffnnon Lugwy, a distant Moel Siabod and the iconic Tryfan
The short scramble up to Pen yr Helgi Du
Looking down to Cwm Eigiau and the cloud covered Vale of Conwy
the fog still lingers in the Vale of Conwy and beyond
Old quarry in Cwm Eigiau
I made the short but nice little scramble up onto the summit of Pen yr Helgi Du and the views just opened up. I was half expecting it to be a bit breezy up here but it was as still as it was in the valley and was just a great place to have a good rest and a bite to eat. I have been up here twice before and both times in good clear weather but this time was a bit better as there was hardly any wind. It also offers one of the finest views looking down the Ogwen Valley and all the big mountains of the Glyderau & Carneddau as well as Moel Siabod. A great place to while away 45 minutes soaking up solitude as I was the only person up here, perfect :-)
Lunch time view, Moel Siabod, Glyderau & the Carnnedau and even Snowdon was on show
The Golden Egg :-) Well it is Easter
Pen yr Helgi Du summit with Carnedd Llewelyn in the background
The Iconic Tryfan, with Glyder Fach & Fawr and a distant pointy Snowdon summit
Y Garn
I made my way along the broad summit plateau where I was heading for my second and highest summit of the day, PEN LLITHRIG Y WRACH There are one or two small pools on the plateau and all had some frog spawn in them, a good sign that spring is here, and it looked like some of it had already hatched. There is quite a steepish walk down and then straight back up again and it proved a bit tiring in the warm still conditions, plenty of water was drunk on this part. The views down Cwm Eigiau were getting better as the whole valley was coming into view with the last of the days fog hanging around the coastal area.
On my way over to Pen Llthrig Wrach
Pool with a view :-)
The way up Pen Llithrig Wrach
View back to Pen yr Helgi Du
View down Cwm Eigiau
It was when I got to the summit that I encountered a pet hate of mine and that is people summit hogging. A bit like the middle lane hoggers on a motorway with total disregard for anyone or anything else. Four people spawled out on the summit marker with all there gear scattered about. OK, its not a great summit marker, no trig point, just a pile of stones laid out flat but as anyone will tell you, if you've spent a few hours walking up a fair way it is nice to at least stand on or next to the true summit of any mountain or hill and "bag it" OK it was a lovely warm sunny day and they were only soaking up the sun and chatting away but they could of done it ten yards either side and let anyone else have there moment of glory!!Anyway, I got there and found another spot to have my rest. Again, some great views and this time I was looking down on my descent and my walk along the shore of LLYN COWLYD the deepest lake in North Wales. Before I get to the lake I was to make my way across the boggy ground leading to my final summit of the day, Cribau, a rocky outcrop that lies between Pen Llithrig Wrach and Moel Eilio, the last high point before you drop back down into the Vale of Conwy. I may have to come back sometime to visit that one!!
View down to Llyn Cowlyd
Ogwen Valley and the Big Guns
My way down to Cribau with Llyn Cowlyd on the right and Cwm Eigau and Llyn Eigau on the left
Looking down on the main A5 where I'll be heading back to the car.
I made my way down and past my last two people I saw until I got back to the A5, making a grand total of 14 people on one of the warmest days of 2015 so far. Not bad for an Easter Monday in Snowdonia. It was also where I encountered the wettest part of the walk although thankfully not too wet. The ground here can swallow you up after rain as its very boggy, today though was more of a squelch so was quite bearable. It is also quite rocky with lots of rocks and boulders strewn across the area. I got to my final rocky summit without getting wet and also following a good track that will disappear when the heather comes into flower. As well as boggy ground there is a lot of heather round this area that makes the going that much tougher. Still, a good walk and worth the effort.
On my way to Cribau
Cribau view down to Llyn Eigau
On Cribau with Pen yr Heldi Du & Pen Llthrig Wrach as the backdrop
Coming of Cribau following a fenceline and wall took me to the shore of Llyn Cowlyd where I joined the shore path for a pleasent walk along this quiet stretch of water. It was then just a case of picking up a path of sorts and making my way back down to the road and back to the car.
The way down to Llyn Cowlyd
Lyn Cowlyd
Pen Llithrig y Wrach, Cribau and derelict quarry building
Looking back on Llyn Cowlyd
On the way back to the Ogwen Valley
Service road at the start of the walk
Another perfect day in perfect weather, perfect :-)
Well what a fantastic day this was and my first real experience of walking in the mountains in snow. I have been out when snow was about, mainly around the summits, but this was snow from the off. This should of been my New Years Day 2015 walk but with the predicted forecast of strong winds and heavy rain I decided to take advantage of the clear crisp sunny winter days that we were having of late and enjoy my last walk of 2014. After checking the various webcams, weather reports and various photo's off other peoples recent trips to SNOWDON it all looked positive so with pack at the ready I was to venture out into a winter wonderland for the day. Now I don't have an ice axe or full on crampons but I do have the KAHTOOLA MICROSPIKES which are great if you don't do full on winter mountain climbing all the time. They certainly give you more confidence than slipping and sliding all over the place and there was more than one or two doing that today, and as I have been up Snowdon quite a few times I know the terrain and was more than willing to turn back if the snow & ice got too much that I felt unsafe. As it happened, the paths were well trodden and compact and I felt at home and very comfortable. I would certainly recommend some sort of spikes to give you a grip on the compact snow and ice as a safety reason and to give you more confidence to enjoy the day. If I was to be out a lot more in this kind of weather then I would certainly go for the more full on Crampons and always be prepared to turn back if conditions became unfavourable.
The day started with me finding one of the last spaces on the car park at 8.30am, a sure sign that there was to be a few people out enjoying the conditions. I bumped into a chap I know and had a quick chat in the car park before we went on our way. Mike was going over CRIB GOCH and he had all the right equipment for that today, I was to go straight up the horns from the car park as this way was away from any crowds and also from the icy long stretch of the PYG TRACK as this place is totally out of the sun at this time of year. Incidently, Mike was one of the first people I walked the Snowdon Horseshoe with about 5 years ago and I also bumped into another Mike who was also a member of the party that did that walk and he too went over Crib Goch today. That day was my first real introduction to proper scrambling and set me on the way to do many more scrambles, great memories and two really nice lads.
So on our seperate ways we went as I made my way up the steep grassy bank following the fence line as I climbed the horn that offers some great views. Lots of soft snow mixed in with boggy and icy ground with a few rocks and boulders thrown in for good measure. It's a fairly straight forward way up, steep but very rewarding and the views start to open up almost immediately.
Morning view of Snowdon Horseshoe from Plas y Brenin
My there and back route for the day. About 7 miles
Sun just rising from the car park
Looking back down to the car park and across the valley to my favourite Snowdonia mountain Moel Siabod
Pano of the Horns and Horseshoe
View down to Llyn Lydaw from the horn
Going this way offers great views of the surrounding mountains, MOEL SIABOD, GLYDERAU and the Snowdon Horseshoe. As I said before, it is also very quiet as I didn't see anyone else going this way, although there were footprints about from the previous days or earlier that day. You only start to see people when you come down and join the Pyg Track. The silence was broken when two RAF jets were on a training excersise as they flew around the valleys. Quite spectacular to see. It was when I got on to the Pyg Track that I decided to put my spikes on as a precaution as this is where the path was made up of ice and compact snow. There was also bare patches where it had melted and that was a mixture of water and loose scree. A nice steady leisurely walk round to the zig zags with plenty of stops taking it all in. This really is a great place and todays sceneary was for me just perfect.
Looking back to the horn from the Pyg Track
Snowdon ahead still in cloud
Glaslyn
Looking back along the Pyg Track
Moel Siabod in the distance and the curved twin peaks of Y Llwedd
A couple of climbers enjoying the conditions
Another stunning view back
Although the cloud had been hanging around the summit all day, there was glimpses that it would move away to give some good clear views, how wrong was I!!! Topping out at the finger post that marks the joining of paths from LLANBERIS and coming off GARNEDD UGAIN it was like stepping into another world, a cold frozen artic like world where hats and gloves stayed firmly on. Again, the path was pretty straight forward with the spikes on, a bit slippery without. I made my way to the summit to be met with a glimpse of sun before it dissapeared and the place was almost a white out with only the bare rocks and the dark silhouette's of other walkers standing out. A completely different world to the one just a hundred metres or so below and it caught a lot of unprepared people out and there was a lot of folk coming and going. I found a good spot out of the wind for a bite to eat and to people watch, had a wander around before making my way back to the more tranquil setting of the Pyg Track and the way back.
Into the mist looking down on Glaslyn
On the arctic like summit approach with the sun trying to get through
The summit cafe and wall offered good wind protection
Snowdon summit trig point
South face of Snowdon cafe
Snowdon cafe
Resident summit seagull
Getting close to a white out at the summit
Just about see the way down
Ice blasted rocks next to the path
A hole in the mist with a view down towards Cwm Clogwyn
A couple of bikers going to have an exciting way down to Llanberis
Cloud lifting slightly for a view down in to Cwm Clogwyn
Ice blasted finger post that marks the coming of paths at the top of the Pyg Track
Getting back down on the Pyg Track and out of the arctic conditions was quite a relief, an exciting and somewhat surreal time on the summit but good to get back to the relative calm and clear conditions. It was while making my way back that I decided to just go back the same way rather than take the MINERS TRACK which was my original intention. It was such a great day that I wanted to make the most of it and enjoy the good relaxed pace I was doing rather than the more labourious and most probably very icy Miners Path which on the whole is a well laid out slabbed and stone path. I just wanted the better views and more pleasant for me enjoyable way down.
Two more climbers enjoying their day
Back in the calmer conditions
Quite a few people enjoying the day
Great views all the way back
Glaslyn
Climbers enjoying Crib Goch
I bet he had some excellent views from up there
My route back towards the horn with Moel Siabod in the distance
I had made good steady progress on the way down and as I approached the path to take me along the horn the sun was going down behind Snowdon. I did pass quite a lot of people making there way up and hoped that they wouldn't get caught out by the fading light in the icy conditions. I got back to the car with about an hour of daylight left so timed my day just about right. It can be a difficult place in the dark without snow and ice so hope all got down with no misshaps.
Instead of the slippery stepped Pyg Track back to the car I again went along the Horns making the most of what was left of a great day. I also saw the only two other people on here and they had only come to get a photo of the splendid views
This was the clearest that Snowdon had been all day as the sun was going down
The only glimpse of the Summit
Great view of the Horns, Glyderau and Moel Siabod
Great view of the Horseshoe and Llyn Lydaw
Great view of the horns and the horseshoe
View down to the car park as the last of the sun lights up the Glyders
The final steep descent to the car park
A quick stop off at PLAS y BRENIN to get one final photo as the sun sets on yet another awesome day in this most fantastic place.
A fantastic end to what has been a fantastic year. Thanks for looking and I wish you all a great 2015.
Cheers
Andy
