Hiking Snowdon - 3 hidden gems

On my recent climb to Snowdon, I realised that this beautiful mountain has so much more to offer than just the summit. If you venture just a bit off from the standard routes, you will be rewarded with even more amazing views and peaceful wilderness where you are just by yourself. See below for the hidden gems I discovered on my climb.

1.  Climbing Wales's second highest peak -- with amazing views towards Snowdon

The Snowdon massif contains not one but two of the highest peaks in Wales -- and you can easily climb them both in one go! The second highest is Garnedd Ugain (1065 m), just 20 metres lower than Snowdon, and it sits less than a kilometre north of Snowdon's summit.  You can easily access it from most paths up Snowdon (the Llanberis path, the Snowdon Ranger path, the Miners/Pyg track), adding just a couple of hundred meters of not too steep hiking and 80 metres of ascent. Since it's so close to Snowdon, you might even wonder if Garnedd Ugain counts as a separate mountain -- it does count, with a drop of 72 m (see Wikipedia). There are at least two great reasons to take the extra 15-20 minutes to climb to Garnedd Ugain. Firstly, from the top you can experience what are perhaps the best views of the summit of Snowdon -- better than what you get from the Llanberis path. It's a perfect place for taking pictures of the summit. Secondly, from Garnedd Ugain you get a dramatic view (see picture below) of Crib Goch, a knife-edge arête that is by far  the most difficult route to Snowdon, involving some serious jaw-dropping scrambling and exposure. In fact, Crib Goch ends at Garnedd Ugain, so you can see here climbers who have made it to the end of their scramble celebrating their achievement.

views from Garnedd Ugain

Summit of Snowdon from Garnedd Ugain

summit of Garnedd Ugain

2. How to avoid the crowds on the Llanberis path

There is an off-the-beaten-track way to get from Clogwyn station to the summit of Snowdon, paralleling the Llanberis path but yet avoiding its crowds and leaving you with a peaceful hike with just beautiful nature and dramatic views around.  For this path, deviate left (if ascending) from the Llanberis path soon after Clogwyn station, just about when the railway starts curving. You will first reach an area marked on the map as Gyrn Lâs. The route then rises from here to Garnedd Ugain and then ascends back to the main path, just a stone's throw away from the summit. Although you'll always stay within a few hundred meters from the Llanberis path, you'll be surprised how quiet it is on this route -- and the views are better, as you are near the dramatic cliffs on the East edge of Snowdon. The Llanberis path misses these dramatic cliffs for the most part, apart from brief sections at Clogwyn and just before the summit. Of course, you shouldn't venture too close to the cliff edge, but it is easy to admire it from a reasonable distance. Chances are you'll have this route all to your self, a stark contrast with the Llanberis path! Only on the final ascent from Garnedd Ugain you'll be joined by some people coming from Crib Goch. 

 

Click here for a detailed description.

here above the Llanberis path you can avoid the crowds

On this route, Gyrn Lâs is a particularly beautiful and remote spot -- well worth the small amount of time it takes to venture here. You get a fantastic view of Crib Goch from here-- from the side perspective, whereas from Garnedd Ugain you get the front view. This side perspective is perhaps even more stunning, showing the spiky sawtooth edge that forms the arête, and you may spot climbers on it as tiny dots in the distance. Also, we saw Welsh mountain sheep here -- searching for salt and minerals to eat! That's right, mountain sheep and goats need salt and minerals for their bodies to work, and they are willing to  travel long distances to difficult mountain areas to get them (see the video below to see what I'm talking about!) Some stones on Gyrn Lâs contain minerals, and the sheep we saw were licking them. Pretty wondrous sight!

Gyrn Lâs

 

A sheep on Gyrn Lâs

 

Stone with minerals on Gyrn Lâs -- the sheep like it

The sheep are willing to go to difficult places

3. Take a peek at the south side of Snowdon

If you ascend Snowdon along the Llanberis path or the Miners track or the  Pyg track, you may easily miss views towards  south from Snowdon -- and those views are well worth seeing! From the summit itself there is a wonderful view north towards Garedd Ugain and east to the lakes below, but the views west or southwest are not equally good because the station building obstructs part of it and the building doesn't look so good in pictures. To get a more magnificent view south (and therefore getting a 360 degree view of what's around) it's better to head behind the station building to the very final part of the Rhyd Ddu path. This adds just a couple of hundred metres of distance, and you are offered views to Moel Hebog mountain, Porthmadog, and the Irish Sea.

views from the side of the station building

you can see people venturing on the steep Watkins path

views from behind the station building