Cambrian Way rerun: Dinorwig to Llyn Ogwen

Thursday 5th June 2025

The weather forecast for this walk was for rain, on and off, which should have convinced me to not do a mountain top route over the Glyderau, but the winds were not too high and after almost three weeks on the Cambrian Way I wanted to keep to the correct route. When I first attempted to do the Cambrian Way last year bad weather intervened which prevented me from following the route throughout most of Eryri (previously known as Snowdonia). This year, so far, I was more successful, but I still encountered bad weather in southern Snowdonia which had prevented me from going over Cadair Idris so, if possible, I wanted to keep to the route for the rest of the Cambrian Way. The penultimate stage of the Cambrian Way starts from Pen-y-Pass, but a lack of accommodation at the youth hostel meant I had spent the night at the Dinorwig Hostel above Llanberis. Rather than going via Pen-y-Pass I decided I would take the direct, mountain top route over Elidir Fawr and Y Garn, which initially meant heading north before turning back towards the mountains on an access road for the Marchlyn reservoirs. At Marchlyn Bach Reservoir I turned right to climb along a clear path heading south towards Elidir Fach with views behind me out to sea while temporarily enjoying an easing of the rain.

There were many places on this walk when I could or should have turned off the treacherous mountain top route and the first of these was at the start of the access road where I could have followed the Snowdonia Slate Trail to Bethesda, which is what I did last year. Instead I slowly headed up to Elidir Fach, soon disappearing into the clouds, and at the top I turned left to follow a fence steeply up the hillside as the rain inevitably came back. Despite the promise of low winds, this was a blustery location which gave me a lot of problems as I tried to put my waterproofs on. With hindsight, I should have put my overtrousers on before leaving the hostel and as a result my trousers stayed wet for the rest of the day. I got very annoyed and frustrated with my difficulty in putting my waterproofs on in the windy weather but eventually I was ready and set off up the stony hillside. The wet conditions meant the rocks were very slippery so I had to take extra care as I climbed up to the summit ridge and along the top in the murky weather. I love Elidir Fawr as it feels like a proper mountain, like a Munro in Scotland, but I often have bad weather when climbing it, so I want to return some time in good weather so I can really appreciate its merits and this route up appears to be the best. Eventually I reached the stone shelter that marks the summit and since it was already almost noon I stopped there to have my lunch.

When I set off again I slowly made my way along the bouldery ridge until I eventually came off the rocks and onto a path which negotiates an excitingly narrow ridge with glimpses through the clouds to my left down to Marchlyn Mawr Reservoir. As I crossed the head of Cwm Dudodyn I was rather frustrated to see the sun shining in the valley, around Llanberis, while I brooded under dark clouds with rain never far away. At the lowest part of the col I saw the stile I had crossed last year after passing over the windswept hills of Carnedd y Filiast and Mynydd Perfedd. I had escaped the winds on that occasion down the grassy slopes into Nant Ffrancon and I could have taken the same escape route this year, but instead I kept going along the ridge, though I bypassed the minor top of Foel-goch, before climbing the zigzags all the way up to the top of Y Garn while the weather slowly improved around me. At the summit I was astonished to encounter some people, my first of the walk, with many more wearily climbing the broad grassy slopes on the other side. At Llyn y Cŵm, at the bottom, I could have turned left into Tŵll Du, the Devil’s Kitchen, but this was another escape route on this walk that I ignored as I set off up the horrible scree slope of Glyder Fawr. This is one of the worst paths in Britain, either in ascent or descent, and so I soon wished that I hadn’t decided to take this route. Initially it zigzags up a scree slope but eventually deteriorates into a steep, featureless slog on a path that is heavily eroded down to bare earth.

Half way up it started to rain again, which just added to my misery, as I slowly headed up to the summit of Glyder Fawr. The Cambrian Way takes a different route up Glyder Fawr, climbing the southern slopes from Pen-y-Pass and now I wished I’d taken that route, which I have previously taken only once before, back in 2006 in descent. With the rain now falling quite heavy, I made my way across the barren summit to Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder where I was confronted with a wall of rock and no sign that the path ascends that way, but I knew from experience that I had to scramble up the rocks. Trusting in my memory of the route and taking extra care on the wet rocks, I scrambled up and after a brief rest, and a check of my bearings, I continued the scramble until I reached the rocks that mark the summit of Glyder Fach. This was a very difficult place to walk in this treacherous weather and so I couldn’t help thinking of all the opportunities I had ignored to escape this torturous terrain, but I had no choice now except to keep following the route of the Cambrian Way and trust in my experience of walking in mountains to see me safely down. The path eventually led me to a large cairn where a trail of helicopter bags seemed to mark where a path was being constructed, however this didn’t match the path marked on my map so I stayed at the top of the ridge until I reached a much more slender path which finally swung into Cwm Tryfan to descend across the steep hillside, but this was a very difficult path to follow in the wet weather. 

Further down I came upon a clear manufactured path, the bottom of the path I had seen earlier, and probably should have taken, but the good path was short-lived and soon I was struggling again along a narrow, rough path until I eventually reached Bwlch Tryfan. A good, manufactured path led the way for me beyond, but was still slippery in the wet weather, although the rain had now eased as I slowly made my way down to Llyn Bochlwyd and the path continued beyond beside Nant Bochlwyd on a tricky, steep descent until eventually the gradient eased and I was finally able to accept that I had survived a traverse of the Glyderau in wet weather. It has been said that I am a fair weather walker because I will usually not go walking in bad weather, which is true. I walk purely for pleasure and not to challenge myself so I don’t see the need to walk in bad weather, which is why on the Cambrian Way I didn’t go out of my way to reach every checkpoint if the weather was not right. This is my holiday and I do this for enjoyment, so I don’t care if I miss a few checkpoints so long as I am enjoying the walk. However, on this walk I had challenged myself to keep to the mountain tops despite the bad weather and I survived and my waterproofs kept me dry, except where I had failed to put them on in time, though I was very relieved to safely reach the youth hostel at Idwal Cottage.

Glyder Fach from Glyder Fawr

This picture shows the rocky summit of Glyder Fawr in Snowdonia and looks across to Glyder Fach. Glyder Fawr is a vast, barren rock-covered desert, but Glyder Fach is a fabulous place with many interesting rock formations. I hadn't planned on climbing these two mountains on this walk in 2015, but the weather was getting so good I couldn't resist it despite the moonscape on Glyder Fawr I and was rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable traverse.

Tryfan and the Glyderau

Monday 2nd September 2019

As part of my memorial tour of Wales I had reached Snowdonia and the mountains more than three thousand feet high that are around and including Snowdon, but the peak I was most eager to climb was the difficult Tryfan and the north ridge ascent. When I was in Snowdonia in 2015 I was unable to climb Tryfan due to heavy rain and I also encountered poor weather when I had climbed Tryfan in 2009 during a highlights tour of Wales. The last time I climbed the north ridge of Tryfan was in 2007, so I felt a re-ascent was long overdue. I woke to good weather, which is exactly what is needed for such a scramble, but the forecast was for the weather to deteriorate so I needed to make the most of what I had before it went. Setting off from a car park on the A5 beside Llyn Ogwen I walked to the foot of Tryfan and up a manufactured path to Milestone Buttress under warm, sunny skies that soon made me sweat. Before too long I had to come off the manufactured path to face the bare rock and tackle the north ridge. Route finding is critical here and I don’t think I have ever taken exactly the same way up twice, and I have not been particularly good at picking the right scrambling route. Behind me were three guys who seemed to know exactly which route to take, so when they overtook me I naturally followed them.

However, they seemed to be veering towards the eastern side of the mountain and they had climbing helmets on their rucksacks, so thinking they were heading towards a proper rock climb I left them behind and took my own route up. I would gingerly try a scramble to see if I liked the feel of it, and if it became too scary I would back out and attempt something less hair-raising elsewhere, therefore the key is always to never climb what you can’t climb down. Eventually I came across a cairn on a level platform and soon I came across other cairns that reassured me that I was going the right direction with easier scrambling that enabled to enjoy the climb and views behind me towards Y Garn and the Carneddau, but then I hit a sheer rock face that was unclimbable to someone of my limited abilities. I don’t know whether I effortlessly sailed up that cliff-face in 2005 and 2007, but I am a lot older now and more aware of my own vulnerabilities. I saw a path leading around the rock face and hoped that would provide me with a way up, but instead it led me to a steep scramble that had me quaking with my heart in my mouth until eventually the terrain eased and I was able to catch my breath.

Moving back across the ridge I found another faint path that took me up to the north top of Tryfan and with a little rain in the air I carefully made my way finally up the last pull to the summit and the two rocks that mark the top. I can’t say I enjoyed that climb up the north ridge of Tryfan and I may not be eager to do it again soon. Strong winds and rain hit me as I started to scramble down the south ridge, which made the descent really difficult and reminded me of the fact that most accidents on mountains happen when coming down. Despite the rapid deterioration in the weather during the morning I still had views towards the neighbouring mountains with the clouds staying off most of the tops and just brushing the tops of the Glyderau. Eventually I managed to reach the safety of Bwlch Tryfan where I had to decide whether to turn left, right or straight on up Bristly Ridge as I had done on my previous climbs up the north ridge of Tryfan. Turning right would have meant heading back down, which I had thought might be necessary, but the weather was starting to improve slightly with the rain not forecast to come back until mid-afternoon. Since I had not enjoyed the earlier scramble I did not want to do the harder scramble up Bristly Ridge so I turned left along the Miner’s Track.

There is a path up the screes beside Bristly Ridge that I came down in 2003 on my first visit to the area and I have never taken that route since. The faint, rough Miner’s Track is much better and took me up to the top of the main Glyderau ridge where a cold and biting wind forced me to wrap up before turning west, into the wind, towards Glyder Fach. While occasionally the sun attempted to push through the clouds I climbed up the rock-covered terrain until finally I was able to sit beside the mass of rocks that form the summit of Glyder Fach looking across to the distinctive cantilever rock. After eating my lunch I rounded the summit and made way past the fabulous rock formation of Castell y Gwynt, down the rocks to the col and slowly across the bleak moonscape of Glyder Fawr up to the summit. It was very windy as I made my way across the shattered landscape, but also sometimes sunny as the sun continued its hopeless battle to break through. From the summit of Glyder Fawr I slowly headed down broad, dreary scree slopes until eventually the terrain steepened and I found horrendous, heavily eroded scree-runs that were a nightmare to descend, especially with my wobbly knees, and I hated every moment as I slid all the way down.

With rain forecast I was more than happy to head to Twll Du, the Devil’s Kitchen, and the fabulous path that descends through awesome rock scenery with views across Llyn Idwal to Pen yr Ole Wen. It was great fun scrambling down this fabulous path into Cwm Idwal and more than made up for the horrible descent down the screes of Glyder Fawr. Once I reached the bottom of the valley the promised rain started, perfectly on time, as I walked around Llyn Idwal and past Idwal Cottage back to my car. This was a funny day when the weather didn’t seem to be able to make up its mind with the sun repeatedly trying to peak through the clouds even after the skies had clouded over. Even the walk was not wholly enjoyable with some of the scrambling on Tryfan too terrifying, but the highlight of the walk was the descent through Devil’s Kitchen. Tryfan is a very distinctive mountain that cannot be walked up from any direction and requires at least a scramble to get to the summit. I am not good with heights and this does not seem to be getting any better with age, but if successful, an ascent of Tryfan is always rewarding.

Elidir Fawr, Y Garn and the Glyderau

Monday 31st August 2015

On this holiday I had set myself the goal of visiting the top of all fifteen of the Welsh mountains above three thousand feet, and over the previous two days I had done the seven peaks around the Carneddau. Now I turned my attention across the A5 road to the Glyderau range of hills that stretch from Elidir Fawr in the west to Tryfan in the east. Many years ago I thought of an innovative route up the western hills but until now I had not had the chance to try my route to see if it was as good as I’d hoped. I had not been on these hills since 2009 when the weather had been poor, so I was eager to return to this area again and explore these fabulous mountains. Under grey skies and with damp ground underfoot I set off from the car park beside Llyn Ogwen on the constructed footpath that climbs steeply up the north-west ridge of Y Garn. However, not far up the path I came off the clear way and headed across pathless grassy slopes below Pinnacle Crag and into the mouth of Cwm Cywion, which is a fabulously quiet valley with hardly any sign that anyone else had been there before.

It is astonishing that only because the maps don’t mark a path in this area few people venture there, but Cwm Cywion is a magical place with awesome crags and many options for safe exploration. On the steep grassy slope, after crossing the stream that comes out of Cwm Cywion, the sun started trying to come out and afforded me with some great views back over Llyn Ogwen and towards the distinctive skyline of Tryfan. When I eventually reached the top of the ridge, Y Llymwyd, I plunged into patchy clouds that gave me fleeting views across the valley and into the steep sided Cwm-coch on the other side of the ridge. The cold, northerly wind that I suffered from on Saturday, and was pleasantly absent on Sunday, was now back forcing me to wrap up as clouds billowed through the gaps in the ridge. A clear path now emerged on the top of the ridge reassuring me that I wasn’t the first to walk here as I made my way along the short ridge and up the scree to the grassy top of Foel-goch.

The appeals of this new route were actually short lived with the main advantage being that I’d never done it before and that it’s rarely walked by anyone. The top of Foel-goch was in thick clouds and the poor weather continued as I headed along the path down the scree on the other side of the hill and around the top of Cwm Dudodyn. Still in thick cloud I came off the path and climbed a steep, grassy slope to the top of Mynydd Perfedd. Turning left I followed the narrowing ridge until it steepened to a rock step above the excitingly narrow Bwlch y Marchlyn. This is a delicious ridge that was a delight to walk over despite the strong winds that now forced me to wrap up tight, but I was enjoying this ridge too much to be concerned about the wind. As I started to climb the gloriously rocky slopes beyond the saddle towards Elidir Fawr I was reminded of great mountains in Scotland and thought that it is a tragedy that what in Scotland would be a proud Munro is here a neglected hill overshadowed by its vastly more popular neighbours.

The craggy climb took me all the way up to the top of this great mountain where I stopped near the summit, sheltered from the cold winds, and had my lunch. As I began to leave the summit I was thinking that Elidir Fawr must be one of the best mountains in Wales, which is praise indeed. In response, as I passed back along that fabulous ridge again the weather began to clear so that by the time I was passing across the slopes below Mynydd Perfedd the sun had come out and the weather continued to improve throughout the afternoon. The cold wind seemed to have changed direction during my lunch and had eased by the time I reached the summit of Y Garn with the clouds lifting to enable me to enjoy fabulous views back towards Elidir Fawr. I had originally planned on descending back to the road from Y Garn but with the weather getting better I knew it would be madness to stop now, so after coming down the long slopes of Y Garn to Llyn y Cŵn I kept going and started to climb the horrendous scree slopes of Glyder Fawr.

I knew from experience that this route up Glyder Fawr is a dull trudge up loose stones in surroundings that are totally devoid of vegetation in a landscape that has been described as a moonscape. Piles of stones mark the route up a scree-filled rake and across a featureless scree-field until eventually I reached the summit on one of the many rock stacks that litters the top of the mountain. I was relieved to have finally reached the top of Glyder Fawr, but the sunshine and the stunning views behind me across the gap of Llyn y Cŵn towards Y Garn had made the climb seem less frustrating than it could have been. By the time I reached the top the clouds had lifted even from there but they were not far above the tops as I made my across the shattered summit rocks of Glyder Fawr towards Glyder Fach. I had thought of descending Y Gribin between these two mountains but the good weather prompted me to change my plans once again.

The sight of Glyder Fach ahead of me as I descended towards Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder proved irresistible and so invigorating that I leaped up the rocks to the top of this mountain seemingly with the vigour of youth. I have no idea where I got this from but I was abounding with energy as I leapt from boulder to boulder past Castell y Gwynt and over the vast collection of enormous rocks that make up the summit of Glyder Fach. I have always thought that this fabulous mountain is considerably more fun to walk over than its slightly higher neighbour and I’ve always thought it a tragedy that the elemental forces that shaped these mountains should have made the greater mountain slightly smaller than its tedious companion. I jumped and leapt over the summit rocks until I eventually reached and straddled the boulder that is the very highest point of Glyder Fach. Feeling ten years younger I was reluctant to leave the summit but eventually I made my way back to the col and to top of Y Gribin.

I had only once before descended this ridge, in 2005, and now I was definitely feeling ten years older again as I had a little problem finding a route scrambling down the steep rock face. I was relieved when I finally reached the bottom of the scramble where the ridge levels and I was able to relax while passing a few mountain goats before the ridge narrowed for the final descent to Llyn Bochwyd. There I found a path past Bochlwyd Buttress and down the boggy slopes to my car at the end of this awesome walk. In changeable weather I had been over some great mountains, and others that were simply in the way, on a walk that seemingly had everything. Cold winds in the morning were replaced with stunning sunshine that had me leaping about like a teenager. I really enjoyed this walk amongst stunning rock scenery in a fabulous area.

The Glyderau

Thursday 4th September 2003

I was in the middle of a week spent walking up the three thousand foot high mountains of Snowdonia and on the first day I had climbed two lesser known tops in Elidir Fawr and Y Garn before moving my attentions to the biggest of them all, and the one that lends its name to the whole park: Snowdon. I had such a great time going up Snowdon that I went up it again the day after, from a different direction, but after that I finally managed to tear myself away from that great mountain and continue bagging the other three thousand footers. I had so far bagged four and missed one, but I was undeterred in my goal to bag the other ten before the end of the week, and on this walk I managed to bag three more. These days I’m not so obsessed with bagging the top of mountains as I’ve found that the best bits of a mountain are invariably not at the summit, and even the view is often better lower down than on a broad summit plateau.

At this early stage in my walking career I hadn’t grasped this truth yet, so on a gloriously hot and sunny day I set off from the Ogwen Cottage car park along a popular path that climbs into the stunning surrounds of Cwm Idwal. After passing rock-climbers on the cliffs above Llyn Idwal I climbed steeply into the excitingly rocky landscape of the Devil’s Kitchen, called in Welsh as Twll Du, the Black Hole. I had a thrilling climb through the Black Hole, despite sweating copiously from the heat and eventually emerged from the rock gully onto a shallow depression with Llyn y Cŵm a short distance away. Before reaching the lake I turned left up a vast, dreary landscape of loose stones that eventually ended on a broad summit plateau that is littered with large collections of rocks. One of these was the summit of Glyder Fawr, the highest point in the Glyderau, the collective name for the mountain range between Nant Peris and Llyn Ogwen.

Since I was unsure which collection of rocks was the summit I visited all of them so I could be sure of actually bagging the summit, such is the stupidity of summit bagging. Continuing east from the summit I dropped gradually down to Bwlch y Ddwy Glyder before a short, sharp, rocky climb brought me up to the summit of Glyder Fach. Before visiting the summit I had to stop by the weirdly shaped rock formations of Castell y Gwynt and climb to the top of them where I had views across the Glyderau and beyond, back to Snowdon and onward to the Carneddau. The top of Glyder Fach drew my eye as it features a seemingly precarious rock known as the Cantilever Stone where one can amazingly defy gravity by standing at the end without the whole thing toppling over.

The summit of Glyder Fach is a much more interesting place than its higher neighbour Glyder Fawr so it attracts many more visitors, despite not having the characteristics that would give it Munro status, if it was in Scotland. Eventually I left the summit and made my way across the rock strewn landscape past the top of Bristly Ridge to a steep scree slope with a drop of over 600 hundred feet, which was not a very pleasant descent as I gingerly made my way down the loose stones carefully trying to not let the stones slip from under my foot. In all my subsequent visits to this area I have avoided this scree slope by either going around it on the Miner’s Track or above it scrambling along the top of the Bristly Ridge.

At the bottom of the huge scree slope is Bwlch Tryfan with the awesomely shaped mountain of Tryfan beyond it. There are very few mountains in Britain that can’t be summited without simply walking, and Tryfan is one of those. On this occasion I took the easiest route up, which is a grade 1 scramble that involves climbing the rocks around the Far South Peak before climbing a steep gully up to the summit. I remember sitting at the summit below the two large rocks, known as Adam and Eve, that sit on top of the mountain, and becoming very nervous about the sheer drops around me. I’m not great with heights so I was uneasy sitting on such a narrow summit with such long drops not from where I sat. It wasn’t long before I got back onto my feet and made my way back down the mountain. In subsequent years I have taken the more challenging route up the north ridge of Tryfan, and even jumped between Adam and Eve, but I’ve never gotten over my unease at sheer drops, which probably keeps me out of danger.

Slowly I made my way back down the distinctively shaped mountain to Bwlch Tryfan where I dropped down the path that passes the Australia-shaped lake of Llyn Bochlwyd before dropping steeply down the northern slopes back to Ogwen Cottage. I was lucky to have such good weather for my first walk in the fabulous rock-filled landscape of the Glyderau as for one who enjoys walking in rugged, rocky scenery I was overwhelmed with delight at the abundance of rock in the Glyderau. Rock-climbers are well catered for in this area, and even for us mere mortals it is an area with plenty of safe, but thoroughly enjoyable, walking opportunities. I always enjoy my walking in this area, especially when the weather is good, but the most tragic thing about this area is that it is now almost five years since I last did any walking there. That surely is something that I must correct at my earliest opportunity.

Tryfan & Glyder Fach via Bristly Ridge

I'm going back to 2005 to post reports of walks in North Wales over the August Bank Holiday:

Saturday 27th August 2005 

I was back in Snowdonia for the Bank Holiday weekend and I wanted to practice my scrambling skills in preparation for a trip to Ireland in a couple of weeks, so what better place than the north face of Tryfan and the Bristly Ridge. I set off early but due to my incompetence and the traffic on the A55 (I don't think I'll use that road again) I didn't reach the foot of Tryfan until almost noon. So I was not a happy bunny even before I had started my walk, and finding that I'd left the inner soles for my boots at home also failed to lighten my mood. I set off through the Gwern Gof Uchaf campsite to head up to the start of the north face of Tryfan. I had climbed up this by fabulous route only a couple of months before and I had just as much fun scrambling up now as I had before, especially towards the end as the scrambling became more technical and I was able to sail past other people also climbing up. The summit was packed with people, many of them attempting to leap between the two summit rocks, known as Adam and Eve. I joined them and found it ridiculously easy, much easier than it had been a couple of months before in high winds. After lunch I descended to Bwlch Tryfan and curiously found the descent just as much fun as the ascent had been. Once at the col I began the sole reason for doing this walk: the Bristly Ridge. I made my way straight towards Glyder Fach over the high, narrow, razor edged ridge with scrambling that wasn't too difficult so long as I picked my route correctly, which was often my problem. Several times I would begin a climb and think better of it, or I would achieve a very difficult climb only to find a much easier ascent on the other side. The biggest problems I encountered were large dips in the course of the ridge that required a tricky descent before another steep climb. This was a tricky, challenging ascent, but thoroughly satisfying as a result, so it was with a great sense of achievement when I eventually gained the summit of Glyder Fach. 

Once at the top I was a little deflated; maybe it was the anti-climax after all that effort, or maybe I was exhausted after the intense concentration of the climb, but I'd been at the top of Glyder Fach quite recently, admittedly not in as good weather, so the summit held no interest for me. Therefore I immediately began the descent to Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder where, last time, I made a big navigational error in the mist. In good weather now I could see just how easy it was to do, indeed the couple ahead of me seemed to make the same error but, due to the clear conditions, quickly realised their mistake and corrected themselves. I ascended to the top of the Y Gribin ridge and began the descent of this ridge that I'd never walked along before. Eschewing the footpath over the screes, I kept to the top of the ridge scrambling over the rocks before joining the footpath down to Llyn Bochlwyd. I don't think I was really able to enjoy the descent or the stunning views of Nant Ffrancon as much as I would normally because of the strange mood I was in after the morning's madness (it also didn't help that I was desperate to use a toilet!). It is amazing how such little things can cloud your enjoyment of what should have been a fantastically enjoyable walk. I had originally planned on climbing Pen yr Ole Wen when I reached Idwal Cottage, but with the advancing clock (and the fact that I couldn't be bothered) I decided to walk down the A5 back to the car. This was a good, challenging walk, albeit short, but I wish I had been in a better mood for it.

The Glyderau

I am continuing my report of the walks I did in Wales, May 2005, with a rather significant walk that had a lasting effect on me. 

Sunday 1st May 2005 

I wasn't sure which walk I would do on this day with a toss up between the Glyderau or Snowdon. The deciding factor was the weather, but as it turned out I got it all wrong. It was raining as I left Bangor so I decided that I didn't want to do Crib Goch in that sort of weather (just wait for the next day!) and after driving down the A5 to Llyn Ogwen I parked at the lay-by midway between the Idwal Cottage car park and Tryfan. As I prepared to start the weather cleared and the sun came out, which was good for that morning's walk, but a pity about the next day's walk over Crib Goch. I set off down the A5 till I was beneath the Milestone Buttress where I started to climb beside a stone wall and across the north face of Tryfan, and so began my ascent of the North Face of Tryfan, one of the best scrambles in Wales. The weather on this sunny Sunday morning was perfect, but I could sense trouble brewing on the higher hills. The Glyderau spent most of the morning in the clouds and the speed that those clouds were moving indicated that it was going to be very windy on the tops. 

The trick to climbing Tryfan by it's northern face is simply to take it one step at a time, so I just put my head down and tackled it one rocky ledge at a time until I was surprised to discover that I was at the top, which is unmistakable by the sight of two large columns of stone, known by the names Adam and Eve. The highest point of Tryfan is at the top of one or both of these rocks and since the height of Tryfan is 3002 feet you have not been over three thousand feet high until you have managed to climb onto one of these pillars. So feeling like I had an obligation I scrambled up onto the northerly of the two rocks, which is either Adam or Eve, I don’t know which one is which! It is said that you will earn yourself the freedom of Tryfan if you step from one pillar to the other, bearing in mind that they are over 2 metres above the rocky summit of Tryfan which itself is 2000 feet above the valley floor. This is not a step for the timid or vertiginous. Two years before this walk, when I climbed up Tryfan for the first, I daren't go onto either rock let alone step from one to the other. This time I was determined to do it, despite the fact it was blowing a gale. 

Crouching on the edge of the northerly stone I waited for just the right moment when the wind died down long enough for me to gather the nerve to step from Adam to Eve (or Eve to Adam). Eventually I made my step, but it was more of a leap from a crouching position on one rock across to a crouch on the other. It might not have been an actual step but it's close enough, isn't it? Feeling happy with myself I began my descent of Tyfan, which is potentially a more difficult undertaking than the ascent. Spurning the main route down I tried to stay on the top of the ridge all the way, ensuring that I passed over all the subsidiary peaks on my way. As I descended I came upon a difficult section that required that I swung around into the rock wall, but I swung too quickly and bashed my left knee into the wall. I received several bruises over this weekend, though most were not very painful, but my knee continued to complain for a long period afterwards whenever I went up or down stairs or whenever I was immobile in a chair. I felt like an old man, and for a long time I feared that my knee wouldn’t heel completely and I'd become like those people who are always complaining about their knees when walking. Fortunately, although my knees flared up again the year after I haven’t had any problems since. 

Undeterred by such problems I reached Bwlch Tryfan and turning left I followed a miner's track around the top of Cwm Tryfan to reach the col between Glyder Fach and Y Foel Goch. The latter was a hill that I had never been to before, so I crossed the boggy col and walked up to the top of Y Foel Goch, and then I turned around passing over the col again and began the ascent of Glyder Fach. The sun by now had gone in and would never be seen again on this walk, and with the wind as strong as ever the clouds began descending, which set the pattern for the rest of the day. The summit of Glyder Fach, though in the clouds, was well populated with a dozen or two people on or around the summit rocks. After my morning's scrambling practice on Tryfan I found it ridiculously easy to walk up or leap over the rocks to the highest point, quickly bypassing the people who were nervously making their way from rock to rock up to the top. 

As I made my way between Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr I started to make a series of mistakes that wouldn't stop until I was on the other side of Glyder Fawr. This has became something of an infamous hill for me after this walk as I tried to go up it in total cloud cover without a compass. I had realised I'd left my compass in my car at some point during the morning but I didn't think I would need it in the clear weather, which was wrong. I believe my first mistake was turning south at Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder and descending below Waun Gron. If I'd had my compass with me, my mistake would have immediately been obvious, but as it was when I finally realised it was too late to turn back. Eventually I decided that I would try to get to the summit whatever the means, so with a stubborn face I set off straight up the hillside trying to find the summit or at least a path and somehow, with a lot of luck in the worsening weather, I managed to drag myself up to the summit where I found a lump of rock with a cairn on top of it and people milling around. With great relief I collapsed in a heap and had my lunch. As I set off I resolved that I would keep to the path and not lose it again, but of course I quickly lost the path again and started to veer to the north. If I'd even just consulted my map I'd have seen that I needed to be going more west but without a compass I didn't know which direction I was going. I was totally lost descending a rocky slope that lead towards a sheer cliff face: the Upper Cliff of Glyder Fawr. As I got more and more lost I became more and more angry; I was furious with myself for leaving my compass in the car. I was adamant that I would never, ever, leave my compass behind again, if only I could get safely down. When I got to my wits end I started praying, which was something I really should have done earlier as I didn't have any other chance. Wainwright famously said that if you get lost in the mist on Haystacks in the Lake District your only option is to drop to your knees and pray. On the upper cliffs of Glyder Fawr I followed his instructions, and the clouds opened to reveal a clear path a long way below me. I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but I had some nasty suspicions. Feeling a little hopeful I asked the Lord to give me a better view and the clouds opened up even more to reveal a distinctly shaped lake, which a look at my map revealed was Llyn Idwal. I was going in completely the wrong direction and heading towards the top of a high cliff. Turning around I headed back up the steep slope until I reached a point where I could cross the stream that I had been following. Going around the side of the hill from that point I soon found my way down to the top of the Devil's Kitchen. A very dangerous detour had been averted by a divinely inspired parting of the clouds that revealed my true position. In the future, always remember to take your compass. 

Once at Llyn y Cwm I put aside any thoughts of returning straight to my car and headed up the clear path to Y Garn. I was now returning to my intended walk, heading north towards a collection of hills that I had never been to before, but which would entail a considerable diversion in order to bag. Despite my 'delay' on Glyder Fawr I felt the effort would be justified, so after finishing my climb to the top of Y Garn I continued north to the three hills that I wanted to bag. First was Foel-goch, then Mynydd Perfedd, and then across a rock strewn plain to Carnedd y Filiast. After my exertions of earlier in the day I had little energy left for these outlying hills but somehow I eventually managed to reach the last of these hill before turning around and going all the way back to Y Garn. With all my energy now completely depleted I struggled up the last steep slope to the top of Y Garn with the strong wind making each turn of the zigzag path either a blessing or a curse. With considerable relief I finally made it to the top again and began to descend the excellent north-eastern ridge of Y Garn around the top of Cwm Clyd. Despite an initially steep descent across a scree slope, the whole descent is relatively easy and quite enjoyable. I was able to relax and enjoy the walk down to Llyn Idwal where I joined the main footpath that took me to the toilets and shop near Idwal Cottage. A short walk along the A5 brought me back to my car, 9½ hours after I'd left it, which made this the longest walk I'd ever done up to that point, and almost my last. It was such a variable day! I had a fantastic ascent up Tryfan and an enjoyable walk over Glyder Fach, but it was off-set by bashing my knee on Tryfan and getting lost on Glyder Fawr. C’est la vie.

Cwm Idwal and Tryfan

Saturday 29th August 2009

To start of a week in Wales I visited an area of outstanding and dramatic rock scenery: Cwm Idwal, which seems to draw me back again and again even though it only a small area. The weather was poor throughout this walk and gave me the first downpour of the holiday, which was unfortunately something I would become tired of by the end of the week. After spending the morning driving over the lovely purple heather covered moors of the Peak District from Sheffield I started the walk at lunchtime parked below the impressive tower of rock known as Tryfan. I wanted to explore possible routes out of Cwm Idwal on this walk so I started by climbing up the path towards Y Garn before going off to look at a prospective path that climbs beside the stream to Llyn Clyd. This ultimately proved futile even though I did find a faint path beside the stream that would favour exploration another time. Moving back into Cwm Idwal I made my way across the heather clad slopes of the cwm while rain began to fall heavily, though it was short-lived. Upon reaching the fantastic Cwm Idwal path I climbed to the top of the coomb in the mouth of Twll Du, the Devils Kitchen, before descending along the path back down to the shores of Llyn Idwal. Leaving the main path behind I climbed the grassy hillside towards the bottom of the Y Gribin ridge. I had never been on this path before and I was really just following the clearest path I could find which seemed to be actually going towards the Nameless Cwm and hard scrambling territory. After finding the proper path again I passed over the top of the ridge to the lake, Llyn Bochlwyd where I joined the heavily constructed path that took me up to Bwlch Tryfan in rocky surroundings that were a sheer delight. After all my off-path excursions in Cwm Idwal it was wonderful to be able to relax and follow a clear path while enjoying the spectacular scenery. At the pass I took a path on the eastern side of Tryfan to the col with the far south top and scrambled all the way up the rocky terrain to the summit. Tryfan is one of the few mountains in Britain that can’t be walked up, even though the necessary scramble from this direction is relatively easy. In the damp conditions, however, it was a little tricky as the rocks were slippery but it was all right so long as I was careful. This was not the weather for a hard scramble (for me no weather is!). On reaching the summit it was very windy even though it hadn’t rained for a while so I turned around and headed back down to the col and onto the Heather Terrace.

I had never been on the Heather Terrace before and since I like terrace paths I was looking forward to this one but I had a mixed reaction to it: it's fantastic, clearly defined and narrow at the beginning, but deteriorates lower down becoming indistinct. It was still an enjoyable descent, but not as good as it could have been or as I’d hoped. This was quite a good walk, but marred by the poor weather. The main problem was the lack of a clear objective at the beginning. It might have sounded like a good idea to explore but it lacks a goal so it was only once I was heading for Tryfan that the walk became more satisfying and purposeful. I think exploring is only something that can be done in good weather which is what I didn’t have for this walk. The various paths I found would be worth exploring, even those into the Nameless Cwm, but they would have to wait for better weather.

The Glyder Ridge

Sunday 24th August 2008

This was a day of changeable weather that started with rain first thing but ultimately turned out well and provided me with a great day's walk over some quite scintillating scenery. I parked near the Gwern Gof Uchaf camp site and walking through the site I made my way to the byway that runs along the bottom of the valley. This often wet and muddy track took right into Capel Curig and I actually quite enjoyed it. It was along the level so really was easy to walk and reminded me of some long distance paths; I don’t know if I’m getting older and a little unfit but I never used to like that sort of walk! With a view before me down the valley, past Capel Curig, I began my climb up the hillside through heather and outcrops onto the wide boggy ridge that led me all the way onto the Glyderau. I've never been on this path before and despite the extreme wetness I enjoyed the walk through lovely purple heather.

Eventually I left the worst of the bogs behind me and started to climb Gallt yr Ogof, branching away from the path to bag the top. From the summit I surveyed the scenery ahead of me, which included the Glyderau with Y Garn beyond, but the weather at this time was not agreeable as it was grey and overcast with occasional showers. During the climb I had glimpsed rain in the distance so I put on full waterproofs to prepare myself for the worst, but in fact it never happened and fortunately later in the day the weather improved. A little further along the ridge I reached Y Foel Goch where I had my lunch behind a small stone shelter while looking eastwards across the wide ridge I had just walked across and the dark clouds overhead. After lunch and with the weather still looking ominous I began to climb up to Glyder Fach. This is a great mountain that always attracts many people and this day was no exception. Moving past the crowds at the cantilever I walked up to the summit rocks and climbed onto the rock that is usually considered the summit. I have been up there quite a few times but it’s always necessary to make that attempt because just as on the nearby Tryfan it is the difficulty that makes the attempt worthwhile.

With that task completed I attempted the more difficult job of actually getting back down again, which I eventually accomplished, though not without difficulty. After crossing over to Castell y Gwynt I passed to the left of this magnificent assortment of rocks that also has its share of admirers and descended the gloriously rocky terrain below to make my way over to Glyder Fawr, a mountain that I have absolutely no love for. Glyder Fawr does have some good parts but none of them are near the summit which is bleak and inhospitable. Despite being bigger than Glyder Fach there were markedly less people at its summit (and they were only at the summit, unlike on Glyder Fach, which had people spread all over the top), and I also didn't linger long before beginning the tedious descent to Llyn y Cŵn. Once I had finally traversed the bleak, never ending scree slopes I started to climb up to the top of Y Garn, taking the right hand path to the cliff edge rather than the more direct route. The view from this path at the edge of the cliff was simply exhilarating especially when looking back towards the Glyderau. The weather by now had improved markedly with bright sunshine replacing the grey scenes of earlier in the day and enabled me to be able to take some quite good pictures of the Glyderau. Once over the summit I began my descent back into the valley down Y Garn’s magnificent north-easterly ridge, but I was distressed to discover that the path had been ruined! As I was going down I was just thinking that this was a wonderful route, possibly even better than the Devil’s Kitchen because it didn’t have a heavily manufactured path. And then just around the corner I saw lots of large black bags full of stones that had been helicoptered in, while a little lower down the path had already been manufactured which spoilt my fun challenge of trying to get down the steep, rocky hillside. Steps in the side of a mountain just ruin all sense of fun in the walk, making it too easy and is also harder on your knees. I guess the trick to avoiding abominations such as this is not to walk anywhere that is popular, but that can’t be helped when the scenery is as good as this. Overall, this was a great walk over territory that I love so much I keep returning year after year. There is nowhere else in the country to compare with the scenery in Cwm Idwal; it is a truly awesome place, but just a little too popular. I guess I should try and find an unorthodox route like I did a couple of months ago for Scafell Pike. A short walk along the road brought me back to my car.

The Glyderau scrambling all the way up

Monday 27th August 2007

This was yet another day spent scrambling in Snowdonia and this time it was the turn of the Glyders and Tryfan to host my gravity defying excursions. After parking on the A5 in one of the laybys near Tryfan, a short walk along the road took me to a gate in a wall and up a path beside the wall to the foot of the Milestone Buttress and the start of the north ridge of Tryfan. The start proved to be the most difficult part as the first route I tried to climb proved unclimbable (to me), but moving further east yielded an easier route of ascent.

Once the start had been made there followed a series of scrambles with occasional easier patches that took me all the way up to the top. The strong wind during the ascent had eased once I reached the top so the jump from Adam to Eve was a triviality. The first time I was up there I couldn't stand let alone jump from one rock to another! I still managed the leap, but without standing up at any moment, and with a lot of hesitation. Once my manhood had been proven I began my second scramble of the day down the south ridge of Tryfan. Technically this is easier than the north ridge but I tried my best to take the hardest line staying at the top of the ridge all the way, but I didn't succeed all that much!

Once at Bwlch Tryfan I began the third and hardest scramble of the day: Bristly Ridge. The hardest bit was definitely at the beginning as I tried to climb a gully up to the start of the ridge. It was really tricky and nerve-wracking, but eventually I made it and continued along the whole ridge with the difficulties coming thick and fast. During the ascent I hooked up with two other guys who were doing the climb as well and by the end there were three of us doing this difficult climb, which was really quite fun. Eventually the boulder field at the top of Glyder Fach was reached and we went our three separate ways. After a look at the cantilever I went across to the summit and stopped for lunch. My scrambling was now over having taken me from the A5 all the way up to the top of Glyder Fach and it would be easier going from here on in. Feeling that one more tiny scramble would be in order I climbed up to the top of Glyder Fach's Castell y Gwynt before descending to Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder. Bypassing the grassy top of Y Gribin I entered the desolate boulder strewn terrain of Glyder Fawr. In comparison to this, Glyder Fach has a majestic, elegant summit. The whole top of Glyder Fawr all the way down to Llyn y Cwn at the top of Devil's Kitchen is a huge slag heap that deserves no praise and no pleasure can be had from a traverse of its summit. I was relieved when I finally got down to the lake at the bottom and was off the excruciating scree that dominates the landscape.

With the weather beginning to close in and with a real reluctance to walk up to Y Garn I followed the heavily constructed staircase through the Devil's Kitchen. Despite the severity of the construction I really liked this path as it is astonishingly well engineered as it weaves around steep crags slowly descending into Cwm Idwal. This cove is an amazing place with stunning rock scenery in all directions and with great views across the lake to Pen yr Ole Wen. Coming out of the rake from Twll Du I joined the equally well-constructed path that circuits the cwm passing the Idwal Slabs all the way down to the road.

After a visit to the toilet I decided that it was too early to finish so I returned to Cwm Idwal and walked all around the cove anti-clockwise enjoying the scenery again and smiling ruefully at the clouds that had now descended over the tops. I was in the best place. Back to Idwal Cottage I walked along the road back to my car, happy that I had just enjoyed another good walk and was hopeful for one to come on this holiday.

The Glyderau

Sunday 30th April 2006

The weather for this walk was not so good as the day before with low cloud obscuring the views almost all day. With this in mind my plan of walking up all of the 3000 footers in the Glyders was less appealing, though it was always going to be unlikely in the time as large diversions would have been required to bag both Elidir Fawr and Tryfan in the same day and still end up at Pen-y-Pass. In the end I decided that I just couldn’t be bothered to go to the effort of going up Tryfan, which I had been up twice the year before. I decided I would let time decide and as will be seen there wasn’t the time to go up Tryfan once I reached Glyder Fach, but only because I hadn’t rushed during the day.

I started by walking through the cleft in the rocks near Idwal Cottage, which I’d seen before but never been through. Proceeding from there I ascended the ridge up to Y Garn, beginning with a very steep rocky path and then after a level respite up an increasingly steep scree slope. Eventually the summit was reached and I descended north down another scree slope and on to a fun path that skirts the steep slopes of Foel Goch. Coming around the head of the valley I started the ascent of Elidir Fawr, but soon I noticed a path that continued on the level instead of climbing up to the top of the ridge. Curiosity got the better of me and I followed this path that became fainter though never disappeared even as it negotiated the crags and screes south of Elidir Fawr.

Eventually the path vanished in a mass of loose scree and I decided I would have to climb up to find the proper path. With difficulty I climbed up the loose slates and scree until I reached grass and then on all fours I dragged myself up the hillside until I saw a group of people walking up the path above me. With an effort I climbed onto the path and followed the group to the summit where I’d been only once before, three years before. From the summit I followed the top of the ridge, having tremendous fun on the rocks and perilous drops until I reached the col where I dropped down to my outward path. Following this excellent path I returned to the bottom of Y Garn, but instead of climbing it again I found my way around the western grassy slopes of the mountain to Twll Du, the Devil’s Kitchen. This is a fabulous place where rock is king and the views into Cwm Idwal are stunning. I hung around for ages, hopping from one outcrop to another taking pictures. I didn’t want to leave, but eventually I had my lunch and left Twll Du climbing up the depressing scree filled slopes of Glyder Fawr to the desolate, forsaken summit. The top is a grim, barren place in good weather, but in thick cloud it is gloomy and depressing. I quickly left and made my way to Glyder Fach, which although is also full of rocks and thick fog is for some reason a much more fun place to be. I had a clamber around the rocks on the summit and a look at the cantilever before deciding it was time to head off to Pen-y-Pass. Returning to the col I struck off onto a path that descends across the southern slopes of Glyder Fawr. I took this path by mistake the year before and had to climb steeply away from it onto the summit. This time I deliberately took the path heading south-west across the lower slopes of Glyder Fawr towards the path that descends from the summit to Pen-y-Pass.

This was a terrific walk with the path soon becoming too faint to be seen so I made my own way across the fascinating landscape around a lake (Llyn Cwmffynnon) to Pen-y-Pass. The clouds quickly cleared as I descended, which afforded me with great views all around. It’s astonishing that with masses of people on the main paths there are still stunning places to walk far from anyone else but only a stones throw from the crowds. This was a fantastic end to the walk.