 ... is that a bunch of us are off to do the Welsh 3000s in a day epic on the weekend of 22/23 June.
Route: After a lot of discussion, over pros and cons, I think that although the N to S option would be more epic / scenic etc, it would mean tackling Crib Goch late in the day when people are tired and also make meeting up on the Friday night / Saturday morning more complicated. Snowdon, I think, is easier to get to.
Timings: provisional plan is to bivvy on top of Snowdon on Friday night then up and leave very early in the morning, pretty much at first light. Hopefull we'd then be finished by early evening.
Pace: no, we're not planning to run it, the aim will be to keep up a steady pace, not dog slow, but not racing around and trashing our muscle glycogen early on (see the training tips in the features section.
Fitness: I reckon anyone who's hill fit and determined should be able to manage the day however you'll be able to make things a little easier by some fine tuning of your aerobic threshold and lactacte tolerance (I'm told).
Backup: Mrs Alex Ford has kindly agreed to drive a car around and act as support. That means we should be able to pick up replacement food / drink at strategic points along the route. I'm going to see if I can get some energy drink / bars from one of the manufacturers.
Transport: Snowdonia's a little fiddly to reach using public transport, however enough people seem to be planning to drive over that it should be possible to co-ordinate lifts, or, at the very least, pick-ups from stations.
Who's Coming: a large number of people have expressed an interest already, but to clarify things, could anyone who intends to come please drop me an e-mail at:
jon@outdoorsmagic.com
so I have a better idea of numbers. Thanks.
Kit: your most comfortable walking boots, lots of fluid plus normal, lightweight hillwalking stuff. It's going to be crucial to drink and eat enough to keep going. You'll also need some bivvy gear, viz, a sleeping bag, mat and bivvy bag or lightweight tent for Snowdon, which we can dump in the car near Nant Peris.
Any questions or comments, post 'em below. It's going to be amazing and, erm, hopefully dry.
|
 |
 On due consideration, I think that Jon's right and S-N would be a good idea. Of course it means that the 'classic' scrambles are reversed (or even missed out for speed) AND that we;d have to 'do' the slog up Pen yr Ole Win. (sorry about the spelling welsh speakers)
|
|
 Oh dear, this bivvyin' lark on top of Snowdon is an extra dimension three of us weren't planning for. The main reason is that we are all working on Friday and were banking on a night time drive to Snowdon for an early morning start.
Is this a definite element then?
|
|
It does add an extra dimension.
BUT:
1. It makes it logistically easier to sort people out for meeting and such.
2. Makes the day slightly shorter, not having to slog up to come down straight away.
3. Dare I say add a sense of community to the event!
|
|
 It would add an extra dimension as you say, Jon does say 'provisional plan is'.
Could always arrange to meet up at a set time on top anyway.
I'm provisionally working on friday too, but should be able to get to the foot of Snowdon before darkness sets in.
|
|
I will be working on the Friday, etc, etc, etc. But I think that getting to the top of Snowdon on the Friday evening, when the Friday is "The Longest Day" shouldn't be too much of a bad thing...
That said I was planning on an "early finish" for that Friday...and have the following Monday off!
|
|
Yes, we can certainly arrange a start time up top on Snowdon.
|
|
 don't mind the biving thing but...
dont really want to carry bivi gear over CG.
If however its raining on the friday......
|
|
 Do we have a definitive route yet? For example, to take up Alex's point, it is possible to avoid the slog up Pen Yr Ole Wen by taking the Glan Dena path and ascending the east ridge, which would compsensate somewhat for missing out the main scrambles.
The Steve Ashton book, Ridges of Snowdonia, although decribing the N-S variant, has a linked route and useful info and tips about kit etc.
|
|
Some route suggestions for the S-N option here
|
|
Sounds good sense Simon, the route East onto Pen Yr Ole Wen is easier to find from the bottom than the top.
Some handy timings on that link too.
|
|
 I have the "Welsh 3000ft Challenges" by Roy Clayton & Ronald Turnbull which has the definitive route(s)for the S->N crossing. If anyone would like to borrow it, I don't mind posting it out.
|
|
christ..only 2 weeks away..........
better start sleeping again i think
|
|
now only a week away.... worried?
|
|
Do the participants in this venture want a preliminary discussion to consider logistics, rv point, route plan, fallback options etc?
Or are we just meeting on Snowdon and hoping someone knows the way?
|
|
the latter sounds the best idea....as Alex said. "no plan survives contact with the enemy"
|
|
But shouldn't there be a plan anyway? At the very least I think a definitive route needs to be established - the last thing we want on the day is unnecessary time wasted on debating the merits of the various options - it may seem obvious now sitting here, but unless anyone has already done the entire linked route (I haven't), we need to agree the actual detail of which options we are going for - the Pen Yr Ole Wen question being one that needs resolving before set out.
|
|
Yep, definitely need a plan!!
Jon's on holiday this week, but I'm sure we'll debate this early next week.
Think its now agreed that we'll go S-N.
One question, if we start on Snowdon after bivying the night wouldn't we only be doing 13 peaks?
I've a preference for a v. early morning start at Pen y Pass and over Crib Goch and the other one (which I can't remember) and onto Snowdon. As from memory, I think going up Crib Goch easier than down.
|
|
Lloyd, there's now 15 peaks (Garnedd Uchaf is the 15th), but traditionally the route does start on Snowdon summit, so I don't think we're in breach of the rules - Thomas Firbank's original team went up by the mountain railway from Llanberis so at least we'll get up Snowdon under our own steam!
I agree with your point about descending Crib Goch, but as I understand the route (which is another detail that needs clarification), we can descend fropm Crib Goch via the north ridge which puts us nearer to Elidir Fawr than returning to Pen Y Pass and walking down the Llanberis Pass.
Problem with starting the day at Pen Y Pass means you have to do the entire first half of the horseshoe which would probably add at least two hours to the timings.
|
|
I think a bit of planning might just be called for (well at least where you want to picked up from at the end!).
For record purposes it's from first summit to last (which I think is a bit of a cheat). The only real difficulty doing Crib Goch the 'reverse' way is the descent of the east ridge, which as Simon says can be ignored in favour of the north ridge. However this does take you into steep ground at Cwm Glas. Pen yr ole wen, take the east ridge! Don't forget to contour around Llewelyn to Elen at the 930m mark (SH 68215 63769). I have got a full set of waypoints (garmin format) for the full route if anyone wants them.
The last thing is good luck. Because the decision to go south to north was taken too late, for me (I'd never do N-S) I am now baby sitting grand children that weekend. Damn and bugger it.
Alex, mail me with your new address, 10 quid sponsorship.
|
|
