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The "fantastic rock ridge" (W. A. Poucher) of the Glyderau was my first 3000' high walk as a teenager. Forty years later, every time I go there it still seems like an exciting new adventure to me.
More than most hill walks, the otherworldly rocks of the Glyderau seem different on every visit, varying according to season and weather. Mist and light among the stones create odd effects of distance and proportion, making the hills feel sometimes Alpine or even bigger. So I thought I would put in two contrasting visits, summer and winter: the second was followed by an equally spectacular "traverse" of Snowdon from east to west in great snow conditions.
The summer visit first though. After an excellent breakfast at Moel Siabod Cafe in Capel Curig we set off under a June sun that already felt hot.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
We entered the deep shade below the Little Tryfan slabs. A couple of climbers can be seen on the lower part of the slabs.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Cwm Tryfan gives excellent views of Tryfan's three peaks ("try-fan" = "three summits"). We had a much-needed water stop.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
My son and his friend sought out every challenge en route.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Tryfan East Face, the Mecca of early British rock climbing.
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The cwm is a huge bowl of crags and boulders where even in summer the sense of the glaciers that carved it out is almost tangible. Glyder Fach looked fierce and sinister ahead of us.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The path winds up through rocks and thick heather to Bwlch Tryfan, then slants across the north face of Glyder Fach to emerge suddenly on a broad saddle, unexpectedly grassy and lush. Here we found we were not alone on the hills today...
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The path rises through boulders that grow ins size the higher you get. We had a good view across to Bristly Ridge.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
And a different angle on Tryfan.
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We clambered up into the lunar landscape where the top of Bristly Ridge joins the main mass of Glyder Fach. The boys enjoyed exploring the top section of the ridge.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Looking down on Llyn Bochlwyd - "Australia Lake" and Ogwen. Pen Yr Ole Wen is the dark peak on the right. To the left of the lake the lava strata on the lower slopes of Y Gribin can be seen.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Bristly Ridge and Tryfan. The skyline is Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llywelyn, the top of Craig Yr Ysfa and the whaleback of Pen Yr Helgi Du.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Obligatory posing on the Cantilever.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
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After scrambling to the top of Glyder Fach, we headed over towards Castell Y Gwynt. The Snowdon group is on the left and Glyder Fawr on the right.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
We found our way around the Castle through a maze of vertical spikes.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
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However there is one tiny grassy patch on Castell Y Gwynt, a nice spot for a sit down. The skyline is Lliwedd, Yr Aran below Moel Hebog, crib Goch, Snowdon and Crib Y Ddysgl.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
My son found some funky sunglasses.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The summit of Glyder Fawr: this appears to be the highest of the several tors but perhaps by only a few inches. The summit has now been confirmed as over 1000m high after being marked 999m on maps as long as I can remember.
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The boys scrambled to the topmost point.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
West from Glyder Fawr towards Snowdon. The dipping volcanic strata of Cwm Glas, including the cliff of Clogwyn Y Person, can just be made out below the slanting ridge of Crib Y Ddysgl.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
After finding our way carefully down a LOT of rocks, we got to Llyn Y Cwn which was like a lush oasis in the wilderness. If you ever find yourself at Llyn Y Cwn and are wondering how to find the Devil's Kitchen, then note the odd rounded tor in the middle of this photo - head through the gap to the right of it, keep straight on and you will find yourself at the top of the Kitchen.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Which is what we did... all looks quite gentle and grassy here...
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But then suddenly this huge slot appeared. Llynnau Ogwen and Idwal appear through the gap.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Midsummer early evening sunlight on Cwm Idwal as we made our way back to Ogwen.
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Ogwen Cottage and Tryfan.
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The winter trip was very different! A blanket of mist lay in the Ogwen valley, producing some odd views.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Ice on Llyn Bochlwyd.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
At Bwlch Tryfan a sheepdog followed us over the stile, perhaps we looked like we needed herding.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The crags of Glyder Fach looked like the pipes of a huge cathedral organ.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Tryfan and Pen Yr Helgi Du.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Tiny shreds of thin mist clung to Bristly Ridge, an extraordinary piece of natural architecture.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
We reached the saddle between Glyder Fach and Llyn Caseg-Ffraith.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Glyder Fach and Bristly Ridge again.
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The previous time at this saddle, the wild goats were nibbling lush grass. This time reindeer would have seemed more fitting. In the background, clouds whirled around Moel Siabod.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
As we ascended we entered a thick bank of cloud. We found our way up through the giant boulders to the Cantilever. Walking the plank...
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
As we scrambled up to the summit of Glyder Fach, the clouds ripped apart to reveal this strangely monochrome view of the ridge westwards. This is one of my favourite photos.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
On the highest boulders, The mist swirled back in again.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
And then swept away again, revealing the northern Glyders - from left to right Y Garn, Elidir Fawr, Foel Goch, Mynydd Perfedd and Carnedd Y Filiast.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The battle between cloud and sunshine ebbed and flowed, producing scenes worth of J. M. W. Turner's brush. This is looking down from the summit towards Llyn Cwmffynnon, which can just about be made out as a patch of steely blue above the tallest black rock on the left.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Blue sky now over the Glyders ridge - my companions, seen from the highest point of the summit rocks.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
On towards Castell Y Gwynt.
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A bit closer, below an ominous pointing hand of grey rock.
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Still approaching the Windy Castle. The word Gwynt in an Anglicised form occurs in the name of the Yorkshire peak Pen-y-Ghent = "summit of the winds".
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Through a gap next to the prominent spike left of the Castle.
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And on through the rocky spikes, with the sun shining again.
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Glyder Fawr summit dead ahead. This gap in the rocks was quite a squeeze.
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We descended towards Bwlch Ddwy Glyder, the col between the two Glyders.
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Someone kindly took a team photo of us with the route we'd just done in the background.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The view from Bwlch Ddwy Glyder towards Llyn Bochlwyd and its sheet of ice, Llyn Ogwen and the Carneddau, with Tryfan on the right.
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More Biblical clouds on our left as we went up the slope towards the top of Y Gribin.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
View from the top of Y Gribin ridge down towards a now sunlit Llyn Cwmffynnon. The slanting line of a short section of the Miners' Track to Snowdon can be seen above the lake.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
A view from the same spot in the opposite direction towards Tryfan.
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And back towards Llyn Cwmffynnon again: the Gwynant valley can just be seen in the background.
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However the most memorable cloudscape was just behind us. The summit boulder-structure of Glyder Fach can just about be made out, below the feet of the cloud-giraffe.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
(incidentally, on some old maps the summit rocks of Glyder Fach are given their own name "Y Gwyliwr" = "the Watcher".)
Looking down at a spot of sunshine on Y Gribin, with ice climbers near and far in the foreground.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
More ice-climbers. Parts of Moel Siabod are just visible through the lower parts of the clouds.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Ages ago I did an ice-climb, "Hidden Gully" in this area, I recall the ascent into Cwm Cneifion carrying all the gear was much harder work than the actual climb! I think this is the top of that gully. From here, the northern slopes of Glyder Fach reminded me of a waterfall.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Llyn Idwal and Nant Ffrancon
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We went on up the final slopes of Glyder Fawr
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The summit is an eerie place.
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The northern ridge of the Glyder range from the top of Glyder Fawr. Y Garn is on the left, and on the right the summits of Foel Goch, Mynydd Perfedd and Carnedd Y Filiast appear in a line. Cloud fills the hollow of Cwm Idwal.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
We set off down the slopes towards Llyn Y Cwn, with a line of mist rising up from the depths of Cwm Idwal in front of us. We could see Llyn Padarn down on our left, and clouds swirling around the summit of Elidir Fawr ahead of us.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The northern slope of Glyder Fawr can seem quite an evil place in icy conditions, and we had to be careful of our footing. But we had some good views across to the west faces of Y Gribin and Tryfan.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
We did not linger at Llyn Y Cwm but headed down towards the edge of the Cwm Idwal crags and the path that threads through them.
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The mist thinned below us, and we looked down into the cwm which was now in deep shadow. The lake looked like glass, seen through the gauzy film of the last of the mist.
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Llynnau Idwal and Ogwen and the Carneddau from the mouth of the Devil's Kitchen.
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Lower down the path we could see the slopes of Pen Yr Ole Wen reflected in the lake.
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We reached the lake shore. Evening glow on the west slopes of PYOW reflected in the water.
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We had a bit of a drive to reach our beer/food/accommodation for the night - this was a very welcome sign.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
The next morning was frosty - this is the roof of the car.
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We split into two groups, one party was tackling the Nantlle Ridge but three of us went to Snowdon. By driving round to Llanberis Pass, this was a rare opportunity to traverse the mountain. From Pen Y Pass, Crib Goch towered above us.
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Looking down the Llanberis Pass to the twin lakes, Padarn and Peris.
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A discussion about routes: Crib Goch vs Pyg Track.
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From Bwlch Y Moch, we got our first glimpse of Snowdon itself.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
There was also a beautiful view south over Llyn Llydaw. The top of Arenig Fach can just be seen on the left above the long rising ridge of Moel Penamnen. The twin-peaked mountain in the centre is Arenig Fawr.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
However our eyes were fixed on the closer views - this is Snowdon, of course, with a glimpse of Llyn Glaslyn at its foot.
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Slightly further on, more of Glaslyn came into view: even under a winter sun the turquoise colour of its copper-ore stained water could be seen.
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We got closer to the huge cliffs of Snowdon.
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Looking back, with Moel Siabod in the distance.
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Looking up the gap between Snowdon and Crib Y Ddysgl towards Bwlch Glas.
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A closer view of the cliffs.
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The last steps up to Bwlch Glas felt like a walk in the Alps... complete with gloriously crisp snow, bright sunshine - and a clearly-worn trail.
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Very pleased to reach Bwlch Glas!
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The final ascent to the summit.
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Looking down from the top of Snowdon's north-east crags into Cwm Dyli and Llynnau Glaslyn and Llydaw and Moel Siabod. The line of the path can be traced. On the right skyline is I think the craggy hinterland behind Manod Mawr, a remote area where, during the Second World War, treasures from London galleries and museums were kept safe in the caverns. There is maybe a glimpse of Cadair Idris among the distant clouds.
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At the summit - more clouds had appeared in the view. Helmeted climbers were appearing from the direction of the Trinity Gullies. A seagull can also be seen, no doubt prowling for dropped sandwiches.
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Looking south towards Yr Aran and its western shoulder which looks like a separate peak from this angle.
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Looking back along the ridge to Bwlch Glas, with Llyn Padarn in the background. In the Ingrid Bergman film "Inn of the Sixth Happiness" this view was where Ingrid pointed out the Yangtze river (Padarn, in reality) to the group of children she was leading to safety from the civil war in China. The children were played by children from Liverpool's Chinese community.
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Summit shot.
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And the classic summit view - Cwm Dyli and Crib Goch, with Glyder Fach, Y Foel Goch and Moel Siabod in the distance. The sharply scarped edge of Crib Goch's North Ridge is very apparent in this view.
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Starting our descent down the south-west ridge.
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A little further down the ridge. The sharp peak is Snowdon south summit, the most southerly 3000' high ground in Britain.
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It must also be one of the most impressive "peaks" not to have any status as a summit in its own right. To round off this TR, here are a last couple of photos of this dramatic "mountain".
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
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