Snowdon (Watkins Path)

DATE 15.03.2014 | DISTANCE 12.8KM | HIGHEST POINT 1085M

Posted by Matt | Filed under Snowdonia

 

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Today we split into two groups again. 9 of us chose to take the watkin path and the other 6 chose crib goch from pen-y-pass. this was the first time i had ascended snowdon this way since way back when i was a teenager doing the three peaks challenge. the most vivid merry from that time was when my friend was airlifted back down to the car park after injuring his ankle. my fingers were crossed that nobody would be today. i really couldn't remember much about the route, only that there was a steep scree towards the top. Our descent route would be the pyg track but this time we detoured down to the miners track which i had never done before. it's certainly longer that way but we found a mine shaft to explore which broke up the journey.

 

The start of the path at gwynant

starting off very gradually

plenty of old miners buildings around here.

either side of snowdon is littered with the remains of mining days. it's really interesting to see.

definitely a quieter route. maybe because it starts from a lot lower down than the popular pen-y-pass. i'd go for quieter any day.

paul and chris (father and son)

snowdon summit with a topping of cloud. would it clear for us?

although a longer route than the others, it's a very gradual climb

looking back. who would have thought it was a saturday!

alan, colin and mark. first time together in a long time

dean giving me evils. he's new to hiking in the uk.

terry took it all in his stride and puffed his way up

following the narrow track on Bwlch ciliau. next up was steep scree. i had to put my camera away for the rest of the ascent. it was also very wet and surprisingly very windy considering the mild conditions from earlier.

paul at the summit. shame the cafe is still closed this time of year

summit shot

descending a very quiet pyg track. it's saturday!!!

 

we found a mine shaft.. on the miners track funnily enough :)

there was a fair bit of water inside and my fabric scarpa's have duff goretex

obviously we were very careful and we wouldn't have done this without the torch

two veins explored

so you can see that the surface is easy going, i am sure these shafts have been here a very long time and there is no signs of any collapse but imagine taking a bad fall in here or becoming instantly unwell. imagine how long it could take for someone to come across you. i cant put these photos up without giving you the obvious warning. you have been warned :)

it's the others. finishing their route from crib goch and looking exhausted

glaslyn

the miners track

llyn llydaw

last moments of the day

later that evening at swallow falls hotel