Samage

So I'm bored on Friday night, wondering what to do on Saturday. At that moment, I received a text out of the blue from a couple of old college friends, they're off to Snowdon to try and climb it and wondered if I wanted to go.

So, left at 7am today and we drove all the way to that bit of England where the road signs are spelt funny Wales to tackle this big ol' hill.

We went up a path called the Miner's path, and came down one called the Pyg path. These were recommended to us as intermediate paths, so we assumed they'd be pretty flat and easy. How wrong we were. Some bits of it involved climbing rocks, and even a little bit of scrambling in places. We didn't mind though, was enough to be fun without being too scary. Took my compact camera with me, as I thought the DSLR would be too unweildy and may get damaged, hence low-ish photo quality.

Scenery was pretty good from the outset:









The summit, from way down below...



Ruins by a lake:



It's said the water from these lakes is pure enough to drink. I can confirm it fucking well isn't, it tasted like salt with a vaguely pukey aftertaste.

Lots of rocks. Oh yes indeed:



Same ruins as before, closer up. No idea what this building was, and who thought it'd be a good idea to live in the mountains. Bet the milkman hated them:



Little waterfalls like this fed the lakes:



Snow? On Snowdon? You don't say... this stuff was actually about 10 inches deep, we had a play around in it - there's nothing quite like having a snowball fight in 18 degree weather!



Crystal clear water. Still tasted like arse though:



This, apparently, is a path. Bugger, wasn't expecting this! :



Halfway up, and the peak becomes clearer:



Remember this picture, I'll be referring to it again in a bit:



Don't look down!:



My mates climbing one of the less tricky sections:



That same lake from a couple of pictures ago, from MUCH higher up:



Me, walking like a bit of a gheyer:



My friends navigating one of the man-made steppy bits. These were few and far between:



Me and a mate navigating one of the less man-made bits (I'm in the green)...



My mate's girlfriend managed to capture the precise moment I slipped and nearly chinned myself on the rocks (go on, laugh!) :



It's that lake again, from even higher up - almost there!

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1971 Beetle 1300 - long term project
1974 K70 LS - even longer term project
1991 Polo CL saloon - the daily

Samage

Yay!



Views from the summit:







This was at the very highest point on the mountain. A triangulation point, or something:



Plaque:



A few snaps from the descent:







And finally, my personal favourite - me surveying the terrain...



I took a lot more pics than this, but they're mostly hills and rocks, much like the ones you see here. Oh, and I've left out any with me from the front on, just because.

I know Snowdon's not seen as a particularly credible mountain by many mountaineering/hill walking enthusiasts, but if you've never been up a mountain before I'd definitely recommend you have a go. It's one of those things you should do just so you can say you've done it. Had an awesome day!

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1971 Beetle 1300 - long term project
1974 K70 LS - even longer term project
1991 Polo CL saloon - the daily

Drew11

nice pics, the ruins that you saw are old industrial buildings such as miners barracks and even the copper mine mills can be found on the miners track.
and the lake you took the pics of is llyn llydaw and the water in there definately isnt safe to drink, no still water is safe to drink unfiltered as it contains all sorts of viruses and unsafe minerals, unless youre in an emergency NEVER DRINK IT without treating it first. if you want to drink mountain water drink from the waterfalls where the waters white and rock filtered, and always check upstream for animals first incase of either dead animals in the water or even a common watering place for animals as this is where theyd use the toilet too.
but after all the checking the water will be the tastiest freshest you hill ever have tasted.
ive vowed to never do snowdon again as its just too busy and popular a mountain and ive done it too many times but as you say its one everyone should do as its a great example of glacial erosion and its steeped in history and myths (such as llyn llydaw being king arthurs resting place etc), it also has fantastic views from the summit.
next time if your feeling adventurous attempt it via crib goch first now that will bring a stain to your pants

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VW-a world of unneccesary pain and anguish that somehow manages to convince you that its all worth it!! Ratlook '70

Neil E

Wow, some amazing pictures !!!
I couldn't help but laugh that you thought the route you were suggested would be flat when were going up a mountain, Ive never seen a flat route to the summit of mountain before

Sorry piss taking aside, looks like you had a fantastic day

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just happily plodding along

Samage

I didn't explain it that well really - I meant I thought it'd be a proper uphill path, wasn't expecting the rock climbing bits.


Oh and the water I tasted (didn't drink per se) was from one of the waterfalls feeding that lake, not the lake itself. It still tasted nasty.

__________________
1971 Beetle 1300 - long term project
1974 K70 LS - even longer term project
1991 Polo CL saloon - the daily

Mr Self Destruct

Looks like a fantastic trip Sam. Really good day for it too!

Got to start hill walking in earnest next year. Michelle and I bought all the gear so we could take it up with her brother (he did the whole Welsh coast a few years back), but her leg op has kinda put things off for a bit.

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