The Snowdon Circus

The prospect of ticking 3 Moss summits drew my attention to the southern and eastern slopes of Snowdon.  Rather than battle the crowds up one of the better known paths to the top, I suggested starting on the Watkin Path and aiming for the Yr Aran – Yr Wyddfa col before tackling the south ridge.  It is much less known than the usual routes and doesn't suffer from the hordes that can be found elsewhere on the mountain.  It is also, in my opinion, the best purely walking route to the roof of Wales.

Starting from Nant Gwynant and passing above the attractive falls flowing out of Cwm Llan, we reached a point where it was sensible to take a direct line to the col on the skyline.  Because there is no obvious path up to it, we had the col and the start of the ridge to ourselves, taking the opportunity to enjoy the views over Snowdon's southern outlying summit, Yr Aran.

The south ridge, Allt Maenderyn, is not difficult to follow and its solitude adds to its enjoyment.  Although we were now in cloud it was easy to acknowledge to drop to the right and imagine the views that would be seen in good weather.  It was here that my first Moss summit of the day – Yr Wyddfa South Top – was found and ticked.

We became part of what is the summit throng, queuing to get to the very top.  But I did succumb to the "tourist" atmosphere by taking advantage of the souvenir shop and bought an "I Climbed Snowdon" badge!

Descending the Watkin Path proved a little tricky high up as the path was being repaired and the many helicoptered sacks of stone were obstacles to overcome.  But once past the difficulties and having descended to less steep ground, we explored above the top of the Y Gribin ridge for the best views and I ticked off Yr Wyddfa East South Top.

Lliwedd

Crib Goch

Llyn Llydaw

I tried to find the third Moss summit – Y Lliwedd West Top – but with the grid reference I had, there was no summit, obvious or otherwise, and I assume that the entry on the list was based on a spot height on a long obsolete OS map.  I'm noticing that some of the entries on the historic lists are ephemeral – is it worth continuing to tick them?

The walk back to Nant Gwynant was taken at a leisurely pace, enjoying Cwm Llan.  The quiet and lack of walkers made a pleasant contrast to summit circus.