Snowdon Trip Report - Snowdon Horseshoe

By Isabell Morgan, UMWC Gear Officer

It’s never easy…

You try and keep a straight face and think about the serious dilemma of deciding which route to take up Snowdon, but the sight of Pete wearing pyjamas emblazoned with ‘Woman with Altitude’ on a Saturday morning would boggle the mind of anyone. Sorry Pete… I think Laura’s fairy costume last year still holds the title, but it does draw level with Martin’s extreme ironing as one of my enduring memories of the traditional last UMWC walk. We’re going up Snowdon.

An image of the Snowdon Mountains

For my last walk of the year with the UWMC I’ve decided to join the group doing the harder walk, we’re going to do the Snowdon Horseshoe. The Horseshoe is a classic walk in Snowdonia, first there’s the challenge of Crib Goch ridge and summit before the second highest summit in Snowdonia, Crib-y-Ddysgl. Then it’s on to the unmistakable summit of Snowdon itself. For the second half of the Horseshoe we would leave Snowdon for the double summit of Llwedd before heading down to Pen-Y-Pass for the ride back to Bangor University.

Mike (‘Ned’) and I will be leading the Horseshoe group, which has now been split in two because of the size of the group. We will ascend the East Ridge of Crib Goch and do the extended horseshoe, whilst pyjama man Pete will lead a group up the North Ridge. Another group will also be ascending the East Ridge of Crib Goch, with full Kinder egg supplies for our President Andy whom would be conquering his Crib Goch virginity despite his fear of heights, and descending Snowdon using the Llanberris path. A final group would be ascending Snowdon via the Pyg track and joining the group going down the Llanberris path.

There is an excitable buzzing atmosphere on our bus as we make our way to Pen-y-Pass. The winding Llanberris pass road is amazing and I never get bored of this route. The road is fringed with the indomitable mountains of Snowdonia, I recognise many of them now, having walked and scrambled up a number of them with the club. We’re only a short time away from Bangor but it could easily be a million miles from the city.

‘Ned’ and I depart Pen-y-Pass with our group, passing the ‘Dinner Jacket’ boys on a stag do, as we make our way to the start of Image of Snowdon Mountains the scramble up the East Ridge. We never did ask if it was just water in their flasks. We can see the ridge of Crib Goch rising up above us and periodically disappearing behind the clouds. We stop for a break and don waterproofs as a quick rain shower arrives just before we start the scramble up the East Ridge. Parts of the scramble are exposed and everyone supports each other as we make our way up to the ridge of the infamous Crib Goch.

On the way up we see the other group making their way up the Pyg Track and catch a sight of the other East Ridge group behind us. We reach the top of the East Ridge and look over the sight of Crib Goch, we can see Pete’s group coming up the North Ridge and the ridge of Crib Goch stretches before us, it is narrower than I remember. It starts to drizzle again and whilst ‘Ned’ walks over the top of the Crib Goch, I adopt the tried and tested crawl position to work my way over the knife-edge ridge. The weather clears up again and a radio call from M@ and Maria’s group tells us that they have reached the summit of Snowdon and would be heading down the Llanberris path shortly.

I search for a good grip on the rock over one of the Pinnacles of Crib Goch; it’s an adrenaline-pumping thrill to be on this ridge and we had been making fast progress. My feet slip from the foot hold I had been using and an unexpected hand give me a good shove from behind, it’s the ‘Dinner Jacket’ boys, ‘Ned’ is able to support me over the last bit. That’s the way it works up here, everyone helps and supports each other. Some drizzling rain turns into an unseasonable fleeting snow and hail shower as we finish the Crib Goch ridge and move on.

Everyone is in good spirits as we make our way to the trig point on the second summit of our walk, Crib-y-Ddysgl. It’s a grassy summit from which you can see the whole of the Snowdon Horseshoe, which today was a monotone shade of grey cloud. We can hear the whistle of the train near the summit station of Snowdon, an eerie sound through the mist. From here it’s a short jaunt to our main objective of the day Snowdon itself.

Image of University Mountain Walking Club at mountain summit No matter how many times I have touched the trig point on Snowdon there is always that sense of achievement. We’re at 1085m, that’s 3560 ft, and its feels as though you are standing on top of the world. It’s a feeling that is hard to beat. There is always an interesting array of people on the summit, if you come with us one day you will understand what I mean. We stop for lunch just past Snowdon’s summit and there is some banter over the radio. Andy made it over Crib Goch with some strategically placed Kinder eggs and the other Horseshoe group isn’t that far behind us, whilst M@ and Maria’s group were on their way down to Llanberris.

The last leg for us is over the distinctive double summit of Llwedd. We are all still in high spirits and the rain has stopped. On our way up to the summits the cloud briefly breaks and we can see the other side of the Horseshoe it’s a view that is well worth the wait. We reach the summits and take a break we have a laugh and review the events of the day. We don’t have the time to walk the extra summit of the extended Horseshoe but complete the classic Snowdon Horseshoe, descending down the path to Pen-y-Pass, sighting the other group standing on Llwedd’s summits as we go. We reach the waiting bus at Pen-y-Pass and wait for the second group.

It is defiantly them I recognise the trousers” says one of our group, the Woman with Altitude and his group finish their descent from Llwedd and join us on the bus. Tales are told and images are conjured up of Pete performing first aid, on someone they passed on the way, whilst dressed in his girlfriend’s pyjamas. Stories of flying Kinder eggs that disappeared over the edge of Crib Goch and the one that was never found are told as we make our way to Llanberris to pick up the remaining two groups.

The Bus is quieter on the way back, at least two people were found sleeping. I take it as sign that it has been a good day everyone seems lost in their own thoughts. My mind wanders over the events of the last year and ponders important questions. How am I going to get the clubs Chinese meal on time? I wonder if someone found the lost kinder egg? And whom the other one landed on?

The people I have met on these walks have been as varied as the walks them selves, all are friends or soon will be. My experiences with the club will always remain with me and I owe a lot to the people here. I have laughed and challenged myself, I have had fun and adventures and made stories to tell others, I have made new friends and have a new found confidence in myself. It’s hard to accept that for some it will be their last walk with the club, as they will soon be leaving the university. Yet there is some comfort in knowing that there will be new friends to be made next year. And, of course, there will be plenty more stories and fun to be made with the University Mountain Walking Club. Image of University Mountain Walking Club at mountain summit

Izzy

(Isabell Morgan)

UMWC Gear Officer