Snowdon I’d been planning to walk up Snowdon all year and had even got as far as booking time off work and a hotel a couple of times, but the weather had thwarted my plans. As summer crept into autumn, the opportunities to tick this particular challenge off my list were starting to get decidedly thin on the ground. Then, at the start of October, a relatively stable weather forecast for a couple of days gave me a window of opportunity.All of the photos in this gallery were taken using the Camera+ application on my iPhone.
Approaching Snowdon After an overnight stop at the pleasant Premier Inn at Oswestry, I was up well before the crack of dawn to drive the last 60 miles to Snowdon.There were some fabulous views as the sun came up.
Car Park It appears that my plan to get there early and beat the crowds had worked more effectively than I anticipated, with my little Honda being the only car in the car park when I arrived at 8am.
Watkin Path A few minutes later I passed the impressive marker for the start of the Watkin Path.
Valley View (Down) About twenty minutes up the path, this was the view looking back towards the car park.
Valley View (Up) And this was the view looking in the direction I was going. The slope on the right is the bottom of Snowdon.
Valley View As I climbed higher, there were some magnificent views. What the photos aren't capturing is how incredibly windy it was, with occasional gusts strong enough to rock me on my heels. Never had I been so glad to be walking with a pair of sticks.
Another Valley View Another beautiful valley view.
Clouds If this photo looks like I was almost touching the clouds, it's because I was almost touching the clouds. Despite the fact that visibility is excellent below the cloud base, on this day the top 200 meters or so of Snowdon are up in the clouds. And the wind! Doh!!
Clouds A few minutes later I had ascended into the clouds and visibility was down to around 50 feet. Given that the wind was also occasionally trying to take me off my feet, this was turning out to be one of the most challenging hikes I'd ever undertaken.Also, the top couple of hundred meters of the Watkin Path, i.e. basically the bit I was having to do in very reduced visibility, entail a fairly unpleasant semi-scramble up a steep, loose rocky slope. It was often difficult to tell which direction the path went off in because it looked like over time people had gone off in all directions. If it hadn’t been for the trail I was following on my Garmin Fenix, I think I would have had a serious sweat on at this point given that a) I’d seen no people all day so far, b) I had no phone signal, c) I couldn’t see very far, and d) it was incredibly windy.I can see why so many people get into difficulties up here.
Summit I got my first glimpse of the summit through the clouds. You can see the marker just to the left of centre in the distance.
Summit Although I did make it all the way to the top, I have no actual proof because it was so incredibly windy right at the top that I dare not try to get my camera out for fear of actually getting blown off. So here's a photo of the steps up to the summit.Given the weather conditions, there didn’t seem to be any point loitering about at the top, so I decided to head on down asap.
Pyg Track To make the walk slightly more interesting, I had decided to go down a different path to the one I'd gone up. I picked the Pyg Track for my descent because it seemed to offer a relatively simple route from the bottom, round the East side of Snowdon and back to my car.
Pyg Track View I think I must have been the first person to the summit on that day because on my way down the Pyg Track I passed many people on their way up and most of them stopped to chat and ask me what the conditions were like at the top. I told them it was “challenging”, but none of them seemed in the slightest bit discouraged. Everyone I saw on their way up (with two exceptions) appeared to be extremely well prepared and equipped.
Sea View From this point, probably about half way down, I could see all the way to the sea.
Pipe Having made it safely to the bottom of the Pyg Track, I started round the East side of Snowdon back towards where I'd parked my car. About half way round I passed this enormous pipe (it’s probably three or four feet in diameter) that had been seamlessly integrated into the countryside. NOT!How on earth did they get away with that in an area of such outstanding beauty?
Nearly There The final couple of miles. My car is down there somewhere.
Car Park Back in the car park, a few more people had turned up, but it was still far from rammed.I've covered 13.6 miles in 6 hours and 1 minute. My total ascent for the day was 5,043 feet. My total descent was the same (obviously, because I’ve finished back where I started).On the one hand, I can now tick Snowdon off my list of things to do. On the other hand, I've still not seen the view from the top. And there are three routes to the top that I've not walked yet (although I might give the Llanberis trail - the one that follows the railway line - a miss).So I reckon I'll be back soon. Can't wait.