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A brief but exciting scramble up a Grade 1 classic in Snowdonia National Park. I really enjoyed this route as a short option, it served well as a recce for the harder section of the Snowdon Horseshoe round. It’s a committing scramble and requires a head for heights but there is no real technical difficulty or in my eyes a ‘crux’ section.
The track from Pen Y Pass is provides excellent going with a mix of gravel and slab, after a steady climb you arrive at a convoluted junction in Bwlch y Moch, just keep heading up from this small pass hand railing the fence until you see the sign for Crib Goch. This is where the fun starts!
After some brief zig zags on loose rock you can more or less follow the crampon marks and cairns, erring to the right hand of the ridge, although there does appear to be multiple routes. After a bit more climbing you’re met by a crown like small buttress near the 921m spot height, this is where the exposure begins.
Visibility was poor and there was some sections of the rock that were pretty slippy due to the well polished surface of the route. There are a couple of flat/slabby sections on the ridge that can provide a break from the scrambling edge - in better conditions and without a conga line on the ridge these would make an ideal brew stop! This arete, whilst fun is dangerous and given its orientation its susceptible to a cross wind - an unexpected gust could end in disaster. Don’t get caught out.
For me the highlight of this route is the pinnacles - often overlooked in the research I did but an amazing end to a challenging ridge walk. On this day they appeared out of the fog and provided a welcome break from balancing on the knife edge with ample handholds. There’s three prominent clusters before the descent with multiple routes through and traverses around.
I spent a good chunk of time exploring these pinnacles, unfortunately there was some litter but that aside I enjoyed this section the most - like a playground of Welsh rock! Sadly we were limited with the visibility so the shots in this report are focused on the edge and brief hands on scrambles.
The other limitation on this day was time - after descending into Bwlch Coch I headed SE to pick up the Pyg Track. There is no real route here and whilst it’s an easy descent trekking poles would be of benefit, especially if its wet underfoot. Once I picked up the tourist rack we motored back up to Bwlch y Moch and back to the carpark via the approach route.
I’d recommend this route to anyone with a head for heights and basic scrambling ability. Route finding/navigation is easy and its not too physically demanding. The main consideration on an exposed ridge is always going to be weather.
I’ve been lurking the forum for some time now and have found others users reports really helpful so thought I’d have have a crack myself!
