Posts Tagged Horseshoe
“Mini” Brecon Horseshoe
Posted by Ian in Ascents - Under 3000m, Routes on June 21, 2009
Seeing a friend who’s always up for an adventure one weekend in late May, we had the chance to get over to the Brecon Beacons, and the promise of good weather. With Snowdonia so much closer than the Beacons, I’ve rarely done much more than driven through in the past. Naturally, I looked for a route up the highest/most interesting points in the range, and had soon decided on the Brecon Horseshoe which included a slightly longer/quieter ascent of Cribyn, and then onto Pen y Fan.
Kit
With a steady trail and some grassy sections in store for the day, I decided to give my Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX boots I’d bought for the Alps, their first outing on the hills. Apart from that it was the usual, with a few extra bits of clothing in case cloud cover/wind picked up and made things cold up high. The route on a nice day whilst a little muddy in sections doesn’t really need any kit; my friend was comfortable in her day to day trainers and jeans.
Route
The first challenge is to find the car park! I’d used a Pathfinder guidebook (18 Brecon Beacons and Glamorgan) for the route and eventually found the single lane track out South of Brecon (easier to find if enter Brecon via the roundabout that’s South-West of the town) by a pub called the Drovers Arms. After that by following signs for a training camp and sticking to what appears to be the main “road”, we reached a National Trust car park.
After walking up the road through the car park, the main path is clearly visible straight ahead, instead we went to the left down into a wooded area to cross the river (via a bridge). Up the bank and then through some undergrowth, we soon found the beginning of a trail along the side of the hillside now infront. This carries on a little way until things open up to your right and you’re at a wall and gate. If you can avoid going up to the gate, then stay up high and turn right into Cwm Sere, there is a path down by the wall but it was boggy, whereas the one starting about 10-15m to the side is much better. Into the cwm are fantastic views of Cribyn, which is quite some way from where you begin the walk in.
The boggy path to the left, the better path is faint to the top right.
And from then on it’s a case of just enjoying the walk in, with fantastic views all around until the path begins to drop down to the side of the river. Then it’s a case of working out how you want to make your way up to meet the Northern ridge of Cribyn.
The ascent up to the ridge is quite steep, and by far the most difficult part of route physically. My stiff boots (rated B3) meant side to side traversing over some sections before I relented and re-laced them looser to allow more flex around the top. And then onto the ridge, which is pretty dramatic due to the gradient when approached, even if it’s not at all exposed to the sides for the person walking it.
From the top of Cribyn, the views back down into the cwm and over toward Pen y Fan are fantastic. So good that the blustery wind on top didn’t bother us as we sat enjoying lunch, watching small clouds race overhead. The rest of the walk from there on is made up of a steady ascent of Pen y Fan, which we did with constant changes in temperature as the clouds/wind took away the heat of the sun off us. The summit itself whilst a little dull through being flat, has fantastic views in all directions (if you get the weather) and being accessible attracts large numbers that crowd the top. From the summit the main trail is obvious when looking North, which is easy going apart from a small stretch of rocky ground just below the top.
Walking in the Brecon Beacons was a nice change of scenery from my now regular Snowdonia outings, and reminded me just how many fantastic places there are in the UK for me to get out and explore. The route was scenic and whilst I wouldn’t call it difficult, my legs told me I’d done a decent walk when I woke up the next day. So whilst it may be a little while until I return, I’m really looking forward to my next walk in the Brecon Beacons.
Finally, if you’re wonderiing why I called the route “Mini”, it’s because the guidebook suggests carrying on to Corn Du before heading back, we decided to make our way to the car park from the top of Pen y Fan.
Cwm Llafar Horseshoe… in reverse
After spending the previous weekend on the Snowdon Horseshoe with hordes of other walkers, I felt in need of a quiet route to try out my new 70litre Arc’teryx Naos pack. Having walked in the Carneddau during early 2009 in the snow, I fancied another look at the group of 3000ft+ peaks that made up the Cwm Llafar Horseshoe. So on the 3rd of May I went back to Snowdonia.
Kit
As mentioned I was testing out my new 70l pack so I packed extra kit than was needed and 8 litres of bottled water to begin with to take the total weight carried to around 11-12kg (knowing I need to build up to being strong at 15kg for Aconcagua). Remembering the route area had plenty of rivers and with rainfall over night I stuck with my Scarpa Mantas to keep my feet warm and dry. I also took an OS Landranger 115 map given we were in a more remote area for the day.
Getting there/The route
First thing is to get to Bethesda and park if you’ve drove. And then up to the top of the town to an area called Gerlan which is marked on the OS map. There’s something of a crossroads on the road out, we took the road to the East which stays North of the Afon Caseg. Going South-East you find a trail that follows the Afon Llafar.
The road continues past some houses and winds its way upwards, it was around halfway that my calves told me 8ltrs was a little optimistic on top of the extra kit I’d packed. So I quickly drank some and poured the rest to leave me with 6litres of water, and a couple of litres in Lucozade. Coming to the top of the road it’s fairly obvious where the trail heads which is along the side of a ridge to staying high to avoid the marshy ground found near the Afon Caseg. We had a go at a more direct route to Yr Elen but quickly found ourselves in really boggy ground and soon went back up to the main trail. We crossed over Afon Wen and made our way up steeper ground into the Cwm on its left side, with Yr Elen looming to our right. Again on the steeper ground, I felt the weight on my back a lot more, so we stopped and I had a drink “to hydrate” (and reduce weight).
Once into the Cwm properly and with it levelling out, we crossed between a small lake and a little rise toward Yr Elen. We were soon traversing up onto the North Ridge which I’d been up earlier in the year in the snow. In normal conditions it’s not all that exciting really, there’s some scrambling if you really want it but not a great deal or prolonged and with the heavy pack I was just interested in getting up. The view/feeling of remoteness make up for the lack of excitement of the route though and coming up at the top, it’s quite a sight looking out toward Anglesey and the sea.
After resting on top for some food/drinks whilst checking out the view, we made our way off the summit and down to meet the ridge that joins onto Carnedd Llewelyn. The route now really clear is easy to follow to the top, which was covered in a sprinkling of snow when we were on top.
Then back onto a short ridge to Carnedd Dafydd, where I ditched the excess water given we’d be descending from then on and literally skipped over to Pen yr Ole Wen for some more food/drinks whilst looking out over the Glyders.
Coming down we ventured once again too close to the rivers after descending by Carnedd Fach (it’s the cairn between Carnedd Dafydd and Pen yr Ole Wen). It’d be much more sensible to cross over the ridge going up Carnedd Dafydd and into the Cwm earlier than we did to avoid the marshy ground and jump over a barbed wire fence.
The route, like the Carneddau as a whole, has a remote feeling, much more so than others found in Snowdonia. If you’re after a nice steady but long walk in, for a quiet and simple ridge up high, then it’s great. But with exciting (i.e. busier) ascents nearby it’s not perhaps the best option. I’ve heard plenty of good things about the Crib Lem Spur up Carnedd Dafydd so that may be the best for an exciting day in the range, so I’ll be checking that soon…
In terms of training, the extra weight was tough given I usually pack as light as possible. Whilst frustrating and realising I’ve got a lot to do, the real pain was felt in my lower legs which I can strengthen. Overall I felt strong coming back down and could’ve walked on. So I’m positive, whilst knowing I have a lot to do.
Snowdon Horseshoe
Posted by Ian in Ascents - Under 3000m, Routes on May 1, 2009
It’d become something of a long standing joke that every time I tried to summit Snowdon, I’d been beaten back by awful weather (a severe weather warning and wind strong enough to knock you over on Crib Goch). So on the 25th April 2009, with the prospect of some good weather, I made my way over to Wales for the day, to try to finally complete the Snowdon Horseshoe.
Kit
With showers and occasional gusts expected but nothing too cold I went with my trusted base layer/tshirt, Mountain Equipment Kongur Gore-Tex jacket on top, walking trousers and Scarpa Manta boots (B2 boots more because I wanted to wear them than needing to) combination. Then a light fleece and over trousers in my 43litre pack, if it got particularly cold/windy/wet on the route. My friend also kindly packed the contents of the car footwell in my pack to “help with my training”.
Getting there/The route
If you’re driving then by far the best option (if you can get there early enough) is the car park at Pen y Pas, although with limited places and us setting off from Leicester there was no chance of getting a space. The next best option is to drive down the road back toward Llanberis, look for spaces on the road or head to Nant Peris and make use of the Sherpa Bus park and ride service (cost £4 for a car then £3.50 return to Pen y Pas).
There’s countless sites/books out there that provide a far better and more detailed discussion of the route than I can, so find links to those sites below…
and I’ll just cover the exciting/interesting parts of the walk on the day.
Quick information
The route is listed at around 7 to 7.5miles, gains over 1150m over the route and should take around 6-7hrs. We got round in around 5:30hrs at a decent pace in good weather. It’s not considered a walk as such but a Grade 1 scramble, which means there could be a fair bit of exposure to heights and you’ll most likely need to use your hands to clamber up rock to complete the route. In bad weather it’s not worth attempting unless you know exactly what you’re doing as terrain is regularly exposed, steep and rocky.
You’ll pick up the summits of Crib Goch (923m), Garnedd Ugain (1065m), Snowdon (1085m) and Y Lliwedd (898m). So 3 of the Welsh 3000s and the highest point in Wales, not bad!
The walk
The initial walk takes you out of the top right of the car park onto the pyg track and ascends at a really nice gradient to get you going. By the time the track divides, with options to go either left to Snowdon or right for Crib Goch, I felt warmed up at the decent pace we’d set off at.
Naturally there was little discussion to be had, we were going via the knife edge ridge of Crib Goch to have some fun scrambling on one of the really famous routes in Snowdonia.
With clear weather and plenty of people going the same way, it was easy enough to follow the path up to the ridge of Crib Goch. Our attempt before we’d gone too far to the right and ended up on more exposed sections of rock. This time we made short work of the scramble up to the start of the ridge.
Once up onto the ridge, I was happy to at last see the summit of Snowdon, after the previous 3 times it was shrouded in clouds/rain.
The ridge itself whilst a little daunting at first, really isn’t too bad, if heights don’t bother you that is! So we took some photos, watched people move slowly like crabs across the ridge and then made our way across the top.
As notes will no doubt mention, if you’re feeling confident of your balance or there’s not much wind then walking on the ridge is no problem, if not then drop down to left (that’d be the Southern side) where you’ll find decent footing and be able to hold onto the crest for extra security. Not that if you were on the ridge you’d consider it, but the right hand side of the ridge is not a good place to go, it’s near vertical and has one hell of a drop! The true summit of Crib Goch is toward the middle of the ridge in an exposed position but with fantastic views, if you miss the cloud/fog.
A small climb down onto a grassy area is soon followed by a scramble up onto another ridge toward the summit of Garnedd Ugain. And then it’s a gradual slope down to meet up with the main trail and alongside it the train track that goes up toward the summit of Snowdon.
After what’s come before the trail is not only really easy going, you’re also in the company of the “prawn sandwich” crew up to the overcrowded summit. Still the view, if you get one, is worth whatever you’ve put up with en-route, which luckily for us on the day was pleasant weather.
After a bit of lunch looking out over the Horseshoe it’s down a steep scree slope to meet up with a path that heads up Y Lliwedd via a fun scramble that perhaps looks worse than it actually is. Coming down back after the summit my knees were feeling less than great, the terrain whilst interesting definitely takes it out of your joints if you’re carrying any weight.
The Snowdon Horseshoe is an amazing route, definitely one to try even if you just do Crib Goch, get to Snowdon then come back down the main trail. The views and sense of adventure you’ll get from the walk are fantastic and probably not matched on other similar options in England/Wales. But, and it’ll be mentioned time and time again, be aware it is exposed up on the ridges and if you’re not keen on heights or have never walked on a ridge before it’s probably best to build up to it or avoid it completely.