Snowdon & Y Lliwedd

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Route: Pen-y-Pass, Miners' Track, Causeway, Glaslyn, Bwlch Glas, Snowdon, Watkin Path, Bwlch Ciliau, Y Lliwedd, Y Lliwedd East Peak, Lliwedd Bach, Cwm Dyli, Miners' Track, Pen-y-Pass

Date: 02/02/2019
From: Pen-y-Gwryd

Parking: Roadside
Start Point: Pen y Gwyrd Hotel
Region: Snowdonia - Snowdon

Route length: 11.3 miles (18.2 km)
Time taken: 07:30
Average speed: 1.9 mph
Ascent: 1206m
Descent: 1210m

Summits: Yr Wydffa (1,085m), Y Lliwedd (898m), Y Lliwedd East Peak (893m), Lliwedd Bach (818m)

Other points of interest: Llyn Llydaw, Glaslyn, Watkin Path

To cut to the chase, this was all set to be a spectacular day. I've had a snowy photo of Snowdon as my PC wallpaper for a long time now, but sadly it's not one of my own. Today I'd be able to rectify this as some significant snowfall coincided with a spell of sunny weather (though you will see that Snowdon is an entity unto its own).

My plan was to head up the Miners' Track to the summit then descend the Watkin Path towards Y Lliwedd - essentially the Snowdon Horseshoe without Crib Goch or Garnedd Ugain. I had my concerns about the latter part, particularly the steep descent to Bwlch y Saethau. I would have to wait and see what the conditions were like and make a decision closer to the time.

Using the free parking on the Conwy side of Nant Gwryd, I followed the road past Llyn Pen-y-Gwryd to the Pen y Pass footpath. This path climbs to Pen Y Pass while avoiding a tricky walk along the busy road. I was still amazed to see people readying themselves for a walk without any hint of winter equipment; jeans and trainers were the order of the day for some. It beggars belief seeing as the snowline was below Pen y Pass.

Y Lliwedd and the road to Pen y Pass

The path to Pen y Pass

I followed the path up to the car park which was full as usual - it must be the most over-subscribed car park in all of Snowdonia. I've rarely not seen it full. Here you have the choice of joining the Pyg Track or the Miners' Track; both taking slightly different routes to the same location at Bwlch Glas. As I mentioned previously, I had decided to use the Miners' Track due to its relative ease and the fact it approaches Snowdon's Clogwyn y Garnedd from below.

Looking down into Nant Gwynant

The Horns of Carreg Gwalch and Pen y Pass

The gated beginning of the Miners' Track

The Miners' Track, as its name suggests, is a historic route originally used by workers and wagons to reach the quarries, copper mines and crushing mills located high up on the slopes of Snowdon. This heavy engineering far pre-dates the use of the mountain for recreational purposes and people used to scratch a living digging rock out of the mountain.

The Miners' Track below Y Lliwedd

Gallt y Wenallt from the Miners' Track

The track, icy underfoot on this occasion, climbs slowly at first before taking an almost level route all the way to the west end of Llyn Llydaw. As I rounded the corner below, it was apparent that Snowdon was shrouded in cloud on this occasion but there was plenty of time for it to lift before I reached the summit, as it was forecast to.

Clogwyn Pen Llechen below Y Lliwedd

Snowdon in the cloud

The Miners' Track passes Llyn Teyrn (lake of the Tyrant) before crossing a causeway over Llyn Llydaw. Prior to the construction of the causeway, horses and wagons full of copper from the mine were carried across Llyn Llydaw on rafts, to shorten their journey down to Pen y Pass. But following an accident in which a horse drowned, in 1853 it was decided that a causeway was to be built.

Llyn Teyrn

The Miners' Track above Llyn Teyrn

Y Lliwedd

Snowdon

The Llyn Llydaw causeway

Bwlch y Seathau below Snowdon

The clouds were threatening to part as I reached the remains of the Britannia Copper Mine crushing mill, a prominent ruin on the shores of Llyn Llydaw. The building housed the large crushing hammers that were used to extract the valuable ores from surrounding rocks. Copper ore was taken down to the crushing mill by an aerial ropeway over Llyn Glaslyn; this reduced the distance the copper had to be transported and avoided the steep climb between the two lakes, which I was about to undertake.

Crib Goch towers over Llyn Llydaw

Llyn Llydaw

The remains of the crushing mill

Snowdon

Having now put my crampons on I started the climb up the snow-covered steps that lead to Glaslyn. Snowdon's summit was briefly revealed as the clouds swirled around, long enough to get some snaps of Wales' highest mountain. Approaching Glaslyn, I was keeping an eye out for the point where the Miners' Track shows its true colours; a hard climb out of the cwm to meet the Pyg Track. Despite the locations of the marker stones, the path was lost under a layer of soft snow.

The Miners' Track climbs to Glaslyn

Snowdon over Glaslyn

Y Gribin - a fine scramble

Snowdon

Glaslyn

Y Lliwedd and Y Gribin

The climb up from Glaslyn was tedious and tiring, almost like trying to climb sand given the loose, powdery snow. I followed a sensible line up the hillside, following the footsteps of previous walkers until I eventually I reached the junction with the Pyg Track and joined a long crocodile of people bound for Bwlch Glas. My ice axe certainly came in handy for some of the steeper sections.

Clogwyn y Garnedd

Looking back down to Glaslyn

Joining the Pyg Track

The Pyg Track below Bwlch Glas

Walkers climbing the Pyg Track

The zig-zags at the top of the Pyg Track were well buried but a decent route had been forged by those ahead of me. Luckily the cornice over Bwlch Glas was minimal and I made it to the col with little difficulty. This section was one that I had some reservations about given its potential for accidents.

The marker stone at Bwlch Glas

Emerging at Bwlch Glas was a surprise having been walking under the cloud all morning. Now, it was apparent that the cloud was forming as it swept up the west sides of the mountain and there were tantalising views over Cwm Clogwyn and the Moel Eilio hills. As quickly as I'd snapped a photo, the clouds closed in once again. From Bwlch Glas I made my way up alongside the railway to Hafod Eryri and the summit.

The Snowdon Ranger Path

A glimpse down to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog

A murky approach to the summit

Hafod Eryri

Snowdon's summit

Hafod Eryri

I hung around in the shelter of the café for a while hoping that the clouds would lift but they clung stubbornly to the summit. After a quick bite to eat I turned my attention to the Watkin Path - the second area I had some concerns about. The top of the Watkin Path is strewn across the steep scree slopes below Snowdon's summit and I'd have to wait and see what the conditions were like. No sooner than I had left the summit, the clouds parted revealing the most awe-inspiring views across Cwm Tregalan and Y Lliwedd.

Looking along Bwlch Main

The Watkin Path leading to the summit

The marker stone at the top of the scree

I slithered down to the marker stone at the top of the Watkin Path to have a look at the conditions. Fortunately, several others had been up or down the route during the day and left a narrow trail to follow through the snow. The softness of the snow actually made descending the Watkin fairly straightforward - easier perhaps than the typical coverage of scree. I'm sure this would have been an entirely different proposition had the snow been solid.

Y Lliwedd and Lliwedd Bach

The Moelwyns

Y Lliwedd and Cwm Tregalan

Looking down the Watkin Path

Walkers on Bwlch Main

The Watkin Path

The route carved by those ahead of me

Bwlch Main and Clogwyn Du

Cwm Tregalan

I made it down to Bwlch Ciliau in one piece with only the climb of Y Lliwedd left on my list of concerns. No visit to the bwlch here is complete without peering over the edge to the depths of Llyn Llydaw, now far below.

Snowdon and the Watkin Path

Yr Aran and Moel Hebog

Y Lliwedd

Llyn Llydaw

Y Lliwedd looms ahead. It's a superb mountain - one that would be far more popular were it not located next door to Snowdon. The climb is also easy enough, even with a covering of snow. Ice or verglas may have made things trickier but they were not evident. The wind had picked up a bit by the time I reached the summit and small eddies of spindrift were now whirling around. It was quite a spectacle.

Snowdon from Bwlch Ciliau

Nantgwyrd

Snowdon

Y Lliwedd

Y Lliwedd actually has two tops, the main summit (West Peak) and an almost identical twin (East Peak) a short distance to the southeast. The short ridge between them is wonderful, located on the edge of the crags which fall to the valley below. Beyond Y Lliwedd, Lliwedd Bach (the final summit of the day) offers a final, short and narrow ridge to finish off the day.

Y Lliwedd's summit

The East Peak and Lliwedd Bach

The Moelwyns

Y Aran

Y Lliwedd's main peak

Carnedd y Cribau and Moel Siabod

The summit of the East Peak

Nantgwynant and the Moelwyns

Y Lliwedd and Snowdon

Moelwyn Mawr

Lliwedd Bach

With the sun now lingering below the mountains, it was time to make the long descent back to the car. Firstly, I followed a route to the end of the Lliwedd Bach ridge where it drops down the valley to Cwm Dyli. The path here was easily lost and I spent half the time plodding down the snow-clad hillside before reaching the path once again. Ultimately, I re-joined the Miners' Track close to the pipeline which emanates from Llyn Llydaw and made my way to Pen y Pass.

Llyn Llydaw and Snowdon

Crib Goch

Snowdon

Moel Siabod

The path at Cwm Dyli

Snowdon

Llyn Teyrn

The Snowdon Horseshoe

I needed to get my headtorch out to successfully negotiate the last section down to the hotel but it was a relief to final dispense of the ice axe and crampons. As lightweight as they are manufactured, they do become tiresome after a whole day of wearing them. All that was left now was the long drive back to Leeds, happy that the day had turned out well and without incident (though I did see the Coastguard helicopter late in the day). This walk will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.

Gallt y Wenallt

A final view of the horseshoe

Night descends on Snowdonia