Crib Goch
A fantastic scramble to the summit of Snowdon.
Crib Goch - Grade 1 - Overview
The Crib Goch ridge on the flank of Snowdon is one of the best scrambles in the country and it offers a unique experience: an adrenaline fuelled route to the summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. The scramble along the knife edge ridge is very exposed, with dramatic drops on both sides of the ridge.It certainly requires a steady head.
Starting the ridge is probably the hardest psychological section, but once committed, the 3 Pinnacles block the escape and give the hardest climbing on the scramble. Once over this a final hard section of scrambling on Crib y Ddysgl leads to the main Snowdon summit path.
Crib Goch means 'Red Ridge' in Welsh. It is in the Snowdon Massif and forms part of the Snowdon Horseshoe. Crib Goch, is a very exposed scramble that starts as a broad rib then higher up turns into a classic knife edge ridge with steep sides and a very narrow top. It is possible to carry on scrambling to Lliwedd after you have reached the Snowdon Summit to complete the Snowdon Horseshoe.
Crib Goch is a grade 1 scramble in good conditions, but in adverse conditions it becomes a lot more difficult and high winds especially can make the ridge seem very precarious. If you are used to mountain scrambling -and have a good head for heights- then it is a relatively straight forward but strenuous scramble. If you don't have the experience or confidence required, it is worth considering hiring a guide who knows the various route finding options and the escape routes. Hiring a guide means he or she can protect you along the most exposed and hardest parts with the assistance of a rope.
Crib Goch - Route description
The route begins at Pen y Pass at the top of the Llanberis pass.
Initially, the route follows the Pyg Track. This is a well defined walking path that leads from the right hand side of the Pen y Pass car park to the summit of Snowdon.
The Pyg track initially winds steeply upwards on massive man made steps through a boulder field that has great views of the Glyders and the Llanberis Pass. The path up the initial inclines gradually becomes less steep and an obvious mountain looms up and to the left - this is Crib Goch (The Red Ridge.
It takes about 40 minutes to reach the prominent col of Bwlch y Moch (Pass of the Pigs). Here you will enjoy are great views to Llyn Llydaw (Brittany Lake) and the massive rock buttress of Lliwedd. A ladder stile shows the way of the Pyg Track, but we take the route going up to the right (West) that leads to the East Ridge and the start of Crib Goch.
The route starts off fairly well defined, but soon we have to start scrambling up the steep rock; the direct approach is quite hard, but it is possible to use a little cunning and outflank the difficulties by moving left and then coming back right. At the top of this first 70m sustained scramble a resting area makes a natural rest area pause before you tackling the famous arete.
From the east end of Crib Goch, we continue to the knife edge ridge of Crib Goch itself. The difficulties are not great at first, but the ridge soon becomes very ragged and thin. The drop is steepest to your right and most people walk to the left of the crest of the ridge and use this very crest as handholds. Stick to the top of the ridge as much as possible because the various faint paths to the left are loose.
The true summit lies half way along the ridge, but there is a lot more scrambling to do before you are back on walking terrain.
After the ridge, you have to tackle the Pinnacles - the first two of these can be avoided on the left, but the third is best climbed fairly directly to reach the exposed summit notch. The exposure and views on this section are amazing.
After descending from the third pinnacle to the pass of Bwlch Goch we continue up to the ridge of Crib y Ddysgl (Rake of the Dish) and the next knife edge section. We follow the crest of this ridge fairly directly with some great scrambling before easier ground leads to the triangulation point on the summit of Crib y Ddysgl, The summit is called Garnedd Ugain and is the 2nd highest mountain in Snowdonia. The summit of Snowdon now lies just a kilometre to the south.
We carry on heading south east off Garnedd Ugain and soon hit the main Llanberis path. This leads more easily, but still uphill, past a finger stone (marking the Pyg and Miners routes to the left) before finally reaching the summit of Snowdon at 1085m.
Once at the summit, we can choose from several options - continue along the high ridge scramble of the Snowdon Horseshoe or descend back to Pen Y Pass via the Miners Track or the Pyg Track.
Or you can enjoy the moment and return back to Llanberis in luxury, via the steam train after having a well earned cup of tea in the summit cafe.
Snowdon Horshoe
The full Snowdon Horseshoe ascends 4 mayor summits in Snowdonia: Crib Goch:921m, Garnedd Ugain:1065m, Snowdon:1085m and LLiwedd: 898m
This itinerary is demanding; it involves 12km of mountain walking, 1120m of height gain and can take anything from 5 to 10 hours depending on the pace of the team.
The descent is normally made towards the Miners Track to Pen Y Pass. This makes for long and strenuous -but very rewarding!- day out.
Rates per person
The course price depends on the ratio of clients to instructor.
Half Day
Ratio 1:1
£150 per 1/2 day
Ratio 2:1
£95 per 1/2 day
Ratio 3:1
£75 per 1/2 day
Ratio >6:1
£60 per 1/2 day
Full Day
Ratio 1:1
£220 per day
Ratio 2:1
£120 per day
Ratio 3:1
£95 per day
Ratio >6:1
£75 per day
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