A guided Crib Goch day: what actually happens
If you’re thinking about booking a guided Crib Goch day, you’ve probably already seen plenty of photographs of the narrow ridge. You may have spent rather less time thinking about the climbing before it, or how much mountain there is afterwards. Here’s how a day with Mountain Craft usually unfolds, including the bits that rarely make it into the reels.
Before the day
Our open days have a maximum of four people per guide. You can read about the route and book a place, or get in touch first if you’re unsure whether it suits your experience. People join us with different ambitions, and it helps to know if you’re hoping to learn more about scrambling independently or simply want to enjoy this particular crossing.
Your booking email includes the consent form and a welcome pack with the kit list, along with the meeting arrangements. Two or three days beforehand, I put together a WhatsApp group and send the final briefing. We can discuss the forecast and sort out any questions about getting to Pen y Pass. There’s a chance to say hello to the others too, if you fancy it, but no pressure to get involved in the chat.
Pen y Pass and the walk in
We normally meet at 08:30 outside the National Park wardens’ office at Pen y Pass. Some people book the car park for convenience; others use the park and ride at Nant Peris or come by bus from elsewhere. It’s worth sorting that out beforehand so you’re arriving ready for the day rather than trying to solve the parking situation at the last minute.
We have a quick chat about the plan and check that everyone’s got what they need. I also start the Garmin inReach satellite tracker, which is monitored throughout the day. Once we set off, the Pyg Track gets us climbing almost immediately, with steep rocky steps that soon warm you up. I’m quite fond of “be bold, start cold” here, provided you’ve got your layers ready to put on when we stop.
The first 30–45 minutes takes us to Bwlch y Moch. I’ll already have learnt quite a lot about how everyone’s moving, and there’s no need to race up those early steps. We want enough energy left to enjoy the scrambling.
At the pass, the Pyg Track continues over the stiles towards Yr Wyddfa. We branch off towards Crib Goch, but first I want to be happy with the conditions. Bwlch y Moch can be a remarkably windy spot, and on marginal days this is often where I make the decision about whether the ridge is appropriate. If it isn’t, we change the plan.
Getting onto the East Ridge
We pass the stone Crib Goch sign and continue uphill, with a few small scrambling sections before the steeper rock. I like these early slabs for talking about footwork. We can look at the difference between an incut hold and a sloping surface, and I can watch how people use their feet while there’s still room to get comfortable.
A little higher, we stop on a ledge below and to the side of the first steep step. There’s space for a drink or a snack, and we can look back towards Pen y Pass while watching anyone climbing above us. I’m also checking how everyone’s feeling before we start the more committing part of the ascent.
The rock steps are short, with ledges between them. Some involve a fairly steep move on good holds; elsewhere a gully gives us a better passage than the slab beside it. One of the slabs is heavily polished and can be particularly unpleasant when wet, so I usually take the short ridge alongside it. This is where knowing the individual variations makes a difference.
I’ll position myself where I can help with the moves, whether that means showing you a foothold or spotting where appropriate. Quite a few people expect the famous knife edge to contain the hardest climbing, but some of the steepest individual moves are on this approach.
Eventually we gain the East Ridge properly and the view opens out around us. It’s often worth pausing somewhere suitable to look around. After concentrating on the rock close to your face, it can take a moment to get used to the space on either side.
The main ridge
Where the East and North Ridges meet, there’s a broader section before the narrow crossing begins. We stop for a quick explanation of how we’re going to move, and I arrange the group so I can stay close to anyone who needs more support.
The north side has very steep drops and can be damp, with more vegetation and loose rock. Much of our usual line uses the southern side just below the crest, holding the rock above us while finding footholds a little lower down. We come onto the crest itself where required. There’s no expectation that you should walk upright along every inch of the skyline.
People find their own rhythm within what I judge appropriate. Some move more sideways, while others are comfortable walking along with a hand on the ridge. We stay together, and nobody needs to rush or put themselves in an awkward position to let another party past. We’ll deal with passing in a sensible place.
The actual summit of Crib Goch is partway along the ridge, at 923 metres. There’s no big cairn announcing it, just a natural rock feature. We continue towards the pinnacles, where the narrow ridge eases for a moment and we can take stock before the next section.
The pinnacles and Crib y Ddysgl
I usually take the traversing line around the first two pinnacles. Their tops add some very exposed climbing that isn’t what I’m aiming to provide on this day. The third pinnacle is normally part of our route, with an exposed move onto its face before better holds lead us up towards the top. We take care here, and I explain what’s coming before we start.
Wind or a substantial bottleneck can change how we approach that section. There are alternatives, but they involve awkward, loose rock of their own, so it’s another decision to make at the time. After the pinnacle, there’s a short downclimb where I’ll usually encourage people to face in, then further scrambling brings us to Bwlch Coch.
We’ve finished Crib Goch itself, and people are usually pretty pleased with themselves by then. We can stop for something to eat before continuing over Crib y Ddysgl, which still has roughly a kilometre of ridge leading towards Garnedd Ugain.
The scrambling here is broken up by walking, although there are further exposed sections and some steeper climbing. The nose of the ridge can look intimidating on approach. A worn path heading left, known as the Goat Track, might look tempting, but it leads into very loose, unpleasant scree and rock. We climb through the nose instead, using one of the passages that leads back to the crest.
Higher up, the ridge gradually eases and we reach Garnedd Ugain’s battered trig point. It can feel cold and exposed to the weather up there, so we may need another layer before continuing. From there, it’s usually another 20–30 minutes to Yr Wyddfa, where we join the busier paths.
Yr Wyddfa and the way back
Our arrival time at Yr Wyddfa varies with the group and conditions; I don’t work towards a fixed summit time. Lunch might be outside or in the café if it’s open and the situation suits. The final summit steps can have a sizeable queue, so whether we join it is something we can decide when we get there.
The main question over lunch is how we’re going to finish. We can descend on the Miners’ Track, which usually takes around two to two and a half hours, or continue over Lliwedd to complete the full Snowdon Horseshoe.
Lliwedd means descending the steep upper Watkin Path, climbing again and doing more scrambling before an involved descent back towards the lake. It can be a wonderful continuation when everyone’s keen and moving well. It can also be a lot to ask of someone who’s already getting tired.
I’ll listen to what everyone wants and make the final call with the weather and our progress in mind. We’re still a group of four, and I want the person with the least energy left to have a reasonable afternoon too.
Whichever way we finish, there’s time on the walk out to look back at the ridges. Some people are already talking about Tryfan or another day in the mountains, and some are simply very pleased to have done Crib Goch after years of thinking about it. Others come back and do the same route with me again. Some people come once and I never see them again, which is fine too. They booked a mountain day and we had one.
