
57. Group: Dave (Llanberis). Weather: strong wind 40-60 SSW, broken cloud. Route: Pen y Pass, Bwlch Dwyglydion, Glyder Fawr, Y Garn, Foel Goch, Elider Fawr, Dinorwig quarries (6h). Small snow patches on the ground.
Strong winds forecast, so I opted to try to stay away from north-facing cliffs and east-west ridges. This was a day of verifying conditions every step of the way. we were in cloud as soon as we entered the Bwlch. small snow patches were better than expected. Over Glyder Fawr, I kept upwind of the top ridge path until we reached the summit cairns, navigating using pacing (which was bang on!)and contouring. Then we sheltered behind them for lunch while the wind whipped the clouds by very quickly - like being in an industrial tumble dryer!
Clouds cleared on the path down to Llyn y Cwn, which was mostly clear with only about 10m of snow to cross on the scree slope that was icy but packed and soft enough to dig your boots into.
Ascending Y Garn was a challenge, but didn’t get blown over the edge! Descended the other side toward Elidir Fawr, but, tired from the wind, I chose to descend the Cwm (using contouring to minimise route time) and we investigated the quarries.
http://doctoruseful.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/pen-y-pass-to-llanberis-via-glyder-fawr.html
Area :
Glyderau
The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word "Glyder" derives from the Welsh word "Cludair", meaning a heap of stones.