The Snowdon Horseshoe

Sun 30 Oct 2016

Another 6.00am start, but as the clocks went back last night we did get a welcome extra hour in bed. After a similar breakfast to yesterday we packed all our gear into the cars and drove to the lay-by on the A4086 near the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel. Paul and Rebecca pulled into the lay-by moments after we arrived. The plan was to take just one car to the Pen-y-pass car park, so we had to move some of Vince and Jack's gear out of his Octavia into my Focus so that we could fit all the rucksacks in his car. We got to the Pen-y-pass car park at 7:45 but amazingly there were only about 3 (minibus) spaces left. Very soon after we arrived the entrance was coned off by the attendant. Phew!

We set off along the Pyg Track, heading for Bwlch y Moch. Although it was slightly misty, the air was still and the mountain tops were visible. It had the all makings of a good day in the hills. As we approached the bwlch we realised that there was a temperature inversion and that it was going to be a special day. Great scrambling up Crib Goch with spectacular views of the the surrounding mountains poking their summits up through the cloud. Not a breath of wind as we negotiated the Pinnacles – perfect conditions to enjoy the exposure on the ridge to the precipitous drop on our right into Cwm Uchaf, and the magnificent scenery of Y Lliwedd and Snowdon to our left.It was nearly mid-day when we finished all the scrambling on this half of the Horseshoe and arrived at the trig pillar at the summit of Crib y Ddysgl. We were already thinking that our aim to complete the entire Horseshoe including the Last Nail (Gallt y Wenault – the one that no-one ever does) was probably a bit too ambitious.  We decided that we would make the final decision whether to attempt it or not when we got to the col after Lliwedd Bach. Another half-hour or so of now easy walking descending to Bwlch Glas and then up to the top of Snowdon. We did not go right to the summit as it was heaving with people and we had all done it before anyway. We sat for a while refuelling whilst we watched the crowds, including many mountain bikers struggling to make the top (madness!). Someone was flying a drone over the summit (is that legal?).The second half of the Horseshoe begins on the upper reaches of the Watkin path – a nasty few hundred metres of loose footings until Bwlch y Saethau is attained. Easy going then until Bwlch Ciliau and then the scrambling begins again over the three summits on Y Lliwedd (West Peak, East Peak and Lliwedd Bach). We abandoned the idea of including the Last Nail in the Horseshoe because we were running out of daylight (well that’s the excuse we used to convince ourselves, but secretly we were all probably too knackered to make the extra effort involved). It was too easy an option to just descend from here to Llyn Lydaw, though there was a section that involved some tricky down climbing that I do not remember from previous occasions I have done the Horseshoe.From the shores of the lake it is all easy walking on the Miner’s track back to the car park at Pen-y-pass. We all squeezed into Vince’s car for the short drive back to the lay-by where we had left our other cars, and very soon we had all gone on our separate ways.

	Summit	Height (m)		Status
	Crib Goch	923		Hewitt, Nuttall
	Crib y Ddysgl	1,065		Hewitt, Nuttall
	Snowdon	1,085		Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
	Y Lliwedd	898		Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
	Y Lliwedd East Peak	893		Nuttall
	Lliwedd Bach	818		Nuttall

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