The Snowdon horseshoe walk / scramble includes a circuit over the highest peak in England and Wales, Snowdon at 1085m also Crib Goch 923m, Garnedd Ugain 1065m and finally Y Lliwedd 893m. Garnedd is also known as Crib y Ddsyl. This is a challenging ridge walk and scramble best tackled in good weather. In cloudy,windy and or rainy conditions this route can be treacherous to say the least and has claimed many lives in it's history. I have been eager to attempt this fantastic day trip for many years and last week set myself up for a go at it. My original plan was to try at the 14 peaks challenge but as this includes Crib Goch and Tryfan along the route, common sense would dictate having some experience of these routes before taking on the very challenging full route.

So I got dropped off at Pen-y-pass on the A4086 at 8am with a promising weather forecast. At Pen-y-pass there is a car park, toilet, cafe and mountain centre. Also I think you can catch a bus from Llanberis if you are car and lift less. I suspect it would be easy to hitch a ride down to Llanberis too. In line with leave no trace you should use the toilet before heading up into the mountains.

My local friend had told me to expect it to take between 5 & 7 hours in favourable conditions. Any faster than 5 hours would mean jogging along the easier parts. I was in no rush and wanted to enjoy the route.

So from the pass take the right or near Westerly path away from the car park towards the ascent of Crib Goch. You can just make out the ridge leading off away from you provided the cloud is not down. I followed the good path up to a style where a red sign for Crib Goch confirmed the correct route. Then the challenge began. I found the way up was fairly clear with many choices available around the general area of the ridge leading to Crib Goch east summit. My preference was just to the left of the ridge to avoid the cutting wind.   Making my way up I was slightly concerned at the strong wind driving up the pass of Llanberis but on reaching the top found it to be not as bad.

Looking up at the ascent of Crib Goch's east summit (not visible)

When scrambling I try to go slowly looking up ahead remembering to constantly assess the rock for down climbing or descent. A friend told me 'always leave yourself a back door', a sensible suggestion as turning around can be likely due to the weather changing fast in Snowdonia. If I get stuck or find the route a bad choice I simply climb down and find another way up.

Now up on the Crib Goch ridge I could see some of what lay ahead and proceeded carefully along keeping my feet slightly to the left of the ridge and using the rock as a hand rail where possible. The going was fairly straight forward with the rock dry but I would guess this could turn into a nightmare with bad conditions.

Crib Goch at it's best with some people behind me

A hiker behind me on one of the pinnacles

In places there were lower paths worn on the loose scree where people had dropped off the ridge but I tried to stay on the ridge with the dry rock. As with all scrambling you need to be diligent to test every foothold and handhold. Several times I found loose handholds and had to search for solid rock. Not a place to rush on or place pressure on others around you.

Crib Goch consists of three high-points or summits, the last of which are the pinnacles which are probably the hardest obstacles to negotiate. I managed to climb over them without too much difficulty although some routes could be tricky or dangerous especially in poor weather. Go slowly and be safe. I think there were lower routes to the south of the ridge pinnacles but they could be loose and steep.

Now from here I was treated to a great view of Snowdon and Garnedd Ugain ahead.

Garnedd Ugain has it's own pinnacles one of which I took a difficult route at first before back-climbing to try another way. Once over the pinnacles the rest of the way to the summit is fairly straight forward and I found myself on top of a newly bagged peak with more great panoramic views.

From here the ascent to Snowdon's summit was an easy walk up the ridge in a near southerly direction. I trail runs near to the Snowdon railway tracks and I was amazed at how busy it was, with many people on the mountain, some of whom were wearing cotton jeans, tshirts and shorts! Bear in mind it was about 5deg C with a 20mph cooling wind. The view from here is superb giving a clear view of Snowdonia's peaks and Anglesey to the north.

The cause of many a debate - the Snowdon train

From the busiest and highest mountain in England and Wales take a southerly path down towards the Watkins path. In fairness I made my way down in a S/E direction which was steep and probably not the correct route. I think the south ridge leads directly to the Watkins path and would offer a safer descent. However, soon I met the path and made my way towards the saddle between Snowdon and Y Llewedd.

Now with the final summit ahead of me I pushed on and zigzagged my way up the last mountain of the day. This is a very attractive jagged peak that actually looks a lot harder than it is. The descent off Snowdon is probably the hardest part.

View from Snowdon of Y Llewedd.

Once on this impressive mountain you have a great view of your conquered route.

Crib Goch on the right and Snowdon on the left.

To get down I followed the ridge over the second summit and gradually dropped down in an east to north easterly direction. Aim towards the end of Llyn Llydaw where your trail joins the miners track. It took me just over 5 hours to complete the route and I was getting tired on the descent. It turned out to be a very enjoyable day and certainly one I would recommend. I have found a map here but suggest you use an Ordnance survey and study the route well before.

Kit for the day - Clothes, Waterproofs, thick gloves, windshirt, trail runners, lightweight jacket, 2 litres water & food, compass, map & route notes, gps (not used but for emergency), brolly for hike down at lower levels, light pack

In hindsight some thin climbing gloves would have been much better and possibly climbing shoes although the runners coped OK. 

It's funny how many odd looks the lightweight brolly gets in this country...and the trail runners too.