From UMHC Hiking Guide
Contents |
Introduction
As far as scenic grandeur is concerned, only Snowdon itself and the Highlands of Scotland can compete with this place. It is certainly a favourite for the hiking club with us visiting the area about two to three times a year. It is a place that is better suited to the wilderness of the Cairngorms than the busy road infrastructure here. On nice sunnyweekends, the huge number of parked cars lining the road here is testimony to the fact that this really is a great place.
The Walks
When driving towards Llyn Ogwen from Capel Curig, it is the imposing North Ridge of Tryfan that captures the hiker's attention. The ascent of this north ridge is a grade 1 scramble and is by far the most popular 3000ft summit in Wales. The ascent has a lot of walking to it but where the scrambling does exist it is enough to scare quite a few people. The main difficulties lie in finding a way through the lower crags and also the upper nose.
The scrambling fun can be continued by traversing Bristly Ridge up to the summit plateau of Glyder Fach. Bristly Ridge is said to be the same level of difficulty as the North Ridge of Tryfan but it has huge drops evident wherever you are so be careful.
The walk between Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr is certainly very rocky while the Castell y Gwynt provides some mild optional scrambling. The plateau of Glyder Fawr can be challenging to navigate off under misty conditions and with cliffs never far away, the place does have a feeling of being on a high Cairngorm plateau. Two good routes of ascent bring you up on to Glyder Fawr. The Devil's Kitchen brings you close to some fantastic cliff scenery including the deep cleft of his Kitchen itself. A scrambling option is to ascend the Y Gribin ridge. This is regarded as an easy introductory scramble and it is well worth the climb. Another route up is via the north east ridge of Y Garn that brings you on to its grassy summit ridge. Glyder Fach has a long eastern ridge that rises to a couple of subsidiary summits (including Y Foel Goch) along the way before dropping steeply to valley level behind Capel Curig. The entire northern escarpment is a site to see from the mountain on the other side - Yr Ole Wen.
To the north of the Ogwen Valley, the vast wilderness of the Carneddau presents itself. From the road they generally look bland and uninspiring. But the treasures of this place lie hidden from the road and provide many surprises that compete with and even win over the scenery to be found in many of the best parts of the Scottish Highlands. It's as if a slice of the Highlands has been brought down south for us deprived Mancunians.
From the road, the direct ascent is via the south ridge of Yr Ole Wen. A more interesting route visits the corrie of Cwn Lloer first before ascending the east ridge of Yr Ole Wen. Once high up the going is rocky to Carnedd Dafydd where the breathtaking cliffs of the 300m high Black Ladders make many people slightly giddy at the huge drop. The walk to the highest summit Carned Llywelyn at 1064m follows the cliff edge for a good part of the way.
The way north from this summit takes you into deeper wilderness along increasingly grassy high ridges. Indeed, a dayhike from the north Welsh coast to Ogwen is often done by this route and is well worth doing. Be sure to visit the summit of Yr Elen if visiting this area.
Another scramble to consider is the ascent of the Llech Ddu spur that brings you very close to the summit of Carnedd Dafydd. This route includes a walk up the Cwn Pen Llafar from Bethesda and includes the magic scenery mentioned already. It is a grade 1 scramble and is regarded as a good introductory scramble. It gives you a closer look at the imposing cliffs and it has a feeling of remoteness that makes it all the more appealing.
To the east of the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn, the ridge continues into other less-frequented areas. The ridge gets narrow at times and there are about two scrambly rock steps to negotiate. It is the narrowest walking ridge in the Carneddau and some less well-known crags can be seen from this ridge which makes it all the more worthwhile.
In summary, the Carneddau is a vast expanse of mountain to such an extent that it cannot be thoroughly explored within the period of a day. But do explore it or you'll otherwise miss out on one of Wales's hidden treasures.
Closer to Capel Curig, the summit of Moel Siabod dominates the village. It rises to 872m and has two fine ridges, both offering mild scrambling overlooking a secluded corrie. The approach from Capel Curig takes you on a tour through Welsh mining history and much is in evidence. Just be careful not to fall into the big excavated holes in the ground. The south-east ridge of Moel Siabod offers some easy scrambling interspersed with walking and is very fine. The north-east ridge continues what is now just rocky walking overlooking some fine 200m high steep ground. The summit is worth climbing as there are different parts of Wales to see that can't be seen from the higher summits to the west. It makes an easy day to nurse a hangover!
Between Capel Curig and Betws Y Coed there exist some fine forests to explore including the famous Swallow Falls. The forest rises up above the main valleys and as such, has some fine viewpoints of the Conwy valley.
Eating and Drinking
At Ogwen, a kiosk is all that exists and provides little shelter on a wet day. The choice is better in Capel Curig where at least two tea shops exist. One teashop lies on the main road junction while the other lies 1 ½ km to the east past the Tyn-y-Coed hotel. The Tyn-y-Coed hotel itself is a nice pub to spend the afternoons after a long hike.
Travel
A bus service runs through Bethesda, the Ogwen valley and Capel Curig from Bangor to Betws-y-coed
