6 July 2013

We woke to find yesterday’s blue skies had disappeared, but the cloud was high, so decided to make to most of it and head off to climb Y Garn and Elidir Fawr.  These two mountains form the western continuation of the Glyders towards Llanberis.  Elidir Fawr’s western slopes are the site of the massive slate quarry overlooking Llanberis, and now the location of longest zip wire in Europe!

We planned to begin our walk for Ogwen Youth Hostel, only a mile or two down the road from the camp site, so set off at 9.30am on our bikes, and were soon at our starting point.  We followed the path to the left of the under-construction new visitor centre, up a quarried gully, then across the moor towards the foot of Y Garn’s northeast ridge.

We followed the engineered path as it zig-zagged up the steep initial ridge, making good progress as the early cloud started to break up and the heat of the day developed.  After the first steep section, the path became rougher, with excellent views back down to Llyn Ogwen, across to Tryfan and the Glyders, and down the Ogwen valley.

We followed the path as it curved to the right, then on up to the left towards the summit ridge.  Below, we watched a large group moving apparently aimlessly around Cwm Clyd (perhaps searching for some botanical rarity?)

A final push brought us to the summit ridge, where mist was rolling in and over from the southwest.  Turning to the left, it was only a five minute walk to the rocky summit of Y Garn.  The mountain has two contrasting aspects – to the north and east, it falls away into a deep craggy cwm, while to the south and west, the slopes are smooth and green.  We sat above the crags and enjoyed the view, while the mist came and went around us.

From Y Garn, we headed back west, continuing down stony slopes to the 750m col between Y Garn and Foel Goch.  Although only a mile away, to reach Elidir Fawr we had to detour round the head of the deep valley, Cwn Dudodyn.  Fortunately, an excellent level path contoured across the side of Foel Goch to the next col, then on around the head of the cwm, below Mynydd Perfedd.

Beyond Mynydd Perfedd, the ridge narrowed to a third, and very narrow, col with a fantastic view down to the Marchlyn Mawr reservoir.

A winding path continued up the ridge to Elidir Fawr’s massive bouldery summit cone.

Time for a lengthy rest in the now beautifully sunny afternoon’s warmth.

Although hazy, there were good views across to Anglesey and to Snowdon.

We returned down the same path, past the reservoir col, round the head of Cwn Dudodyn to the next col below Foel Goch.  Instead of contouring along behind Foel Goch, we decided to climb up its steep western nose, 150m of steep ascent, to the grassy summit plateau.

The summit had no cairn – simply a fence running along it.  We crossed the fence and headed off down the grassy slopes towards the spur ridge, Y Llymllwyd (“the sharp brown”)(?), which looked like a good descent route.

This proved to be a lovely little ridge leading out to a high point overlooking the valley.  At its extreme end, a small path set off down the hillside above the quaintly-named “mushroom garden”, and we followed this all the way down to the little back road, 400m below.

It was now very hot, and we were glad to reach the shade of the trees at Ogwen Cottage where we had left our bikes.  20 minutes later, we were back at the campsite, two more Welsh 3000s safely explored.

map of route on Y Garn and Elidir Fawr

Summary:
6 km cycle
10 km walk
850 m climb
8 hours

Log:

Gwern Gof Uchaf camp site	09:30
Ogwen Cottage YH (300 m)	09:50
Y Garn (947 m)	11.50 – 12.15
Elidir Fawr (924 m)	13:50 – 14:30
Foel Goch (831 m)	15:35
Ogwen Cottage YH (300 m)	17:10
Gwern Gof Uchaf camp site	17:30

(written and uploaded 03/01/14)

 

5 July 2013

It was overcast as we left Selkirk, but we arrived in Snowdonia on a lovely evening, and set up camp at Gwern Gof Uchaf in the Ogwen valley, right below Tryfan’s north ridge.  A perfect evening for a stroll down to Llyn Ogwen.   Would the good weather hold?

Next morning was bright and sunny, so we decided to make the most of it and headed off to Pen-y-Pas to climb Crib Goch (“red ridge”).  Arriving at just before 9.15am, we were just in time to get the last parking space (at £10 for the day).  Five minutes later, and we would have had to park 2 km away at Pen-y-Gwrd.  I hate to think what it must be like on a Saturday!

And so, at 9.30am, we set off with many other walkers, up the well-built path (the “Pyg” Track) that leads to the summit of Snowdon.

From a 359m start, we climbed steadily up to the Bwlch y Moch (“pig’s pass”) at 569m, where the Crib Goch path splits off from the Pyg path.  Taking a deep breath, we set off towards the dramatic crags of Crib Goch’s east ridge towering above us.  Unlike the previous time, we could see clearly the terrain ahead, and could see small coloured dots moving slowly up towards the summit.

Initially, the path was clear, winding its way through rocky and grassy knolls to the foot of the rocky section.

Now the way ahead became less clear, and we watched for a while as groups ahead tried different routes, and made slow progress.  We selected a route that seemed promising, and scrambled carefully upwards.  After the initial steep section, the broken ground ahead became easier, although still rough and rocky all the way to the end of the ridge.

At 11.25, we reached the start of the ridge – a busy place! – and the dramatic view opened up.  To the left, Y Lliwedd towering over Llyn Llydaw.  Next, the main bulk of Yr Wyddfa.  Straight ahead, the knife-edged ridge leading to the actual summit of Crib Goch, and falling away dramatically on its right side.   And, to the right, the Pass of Llanberis.  Time to sit down and admire the view, have a bite to eat and drink, and contemplate the route ahead.

By now, the route was becoming pretty crowded, and we set off with a group ahead of us and another behind.  Progress was slow, as there were no passing places!  Fortunately, everyone was heading the same direction.

To the left a steep rocky slope dropped towards the Pyg Track, some 250m below;  to the right, a sheer cliff fell 200m into Cwm Uchaf.  We teetered along the knife edge between these alternatives for a couple of hundred metres to the next top!

Beyond this, the ridge dropped down towards some pinnacles.

The big group had moved ahead of us and it wasn’t  clear how to cross the pinnacles – over or round?  However, we joined up with another couple, and found the route down and to the left of the first pinnacle to the top of a rocky gully, then up over the right hand side of the second pinnacle, with fearsome drops to the right.  The a smaller gap to scramble over the final pinnacle.

Once over, we breathed a sigh of relief – we had negotiated the hardest part (we thought!).  An hour of exhilarating scrambling was behind us.  Looking ahead the ridge was green, with just a few small crags as it climbed up from Bwlch Coch (“red pass”) towards Cry y Ddysgl (Garnedd Ugain). Technically, Crib-y-Ddysgl (“the ridge of the dish”) is the east ridge of Garnedd Ugain (“mountain of twenty”), but the names are commonly used interchangeably.

From the col, the views across to Yr Wyddfa were excellent.

Those “few small crags” provided some final interesting scrambling, including  a steep climb up a gully with a chimney at the top, to reach the final part of the ridge.

We reached the top at 13.35, and found a fine spot with a view to sit and enjoy our lunch.

We could see the crowds trekking up the path to the summit of Snowdon, and decided that we had been there before, and didn’t really want to mingle with so many other people – Crib Goch had been quite busy enough! A visit to the new top station could wait until another time!

After a 20 minute lunch break, we wandered on down to the top of the Pyg Track.  We had seen some trains earlier, but sadly all noisy diesels, but decided to wait to watch the next one pass.  A good day became even better when a steam train appeared !

Now it was 1415, and time to descend – down the Pyg Track.

Although a good path all the way back down, it was a long and tiring tramp down hard rocky ground on tired legs after a hard first hill day of the summer!  An hour and a half took us back to the col where we had started the ascent to Crib Goch, and another 45 minutes back to the car park.

map of Snowdon horseshoe

Summary:
10 km walk
750 m climb
7 hours

Log:

Pen-y-Pass (359m)	09:30
Bwlch y Moch (569m)	10:15
Crib Goch (923m)	11.25 – 11.40
Garnedd Ugain (1065m)	13:35 – 13:55
top of Pyg Path (998m)	14:15
Bwlch y Moch (569m)	15:45
Pen-y-Pass (359m)	16:30

(written and uploaded 02/01/14)