THE REAL SNOWDON HORSESHOE
Why some say Gallt y Wenallt should be part of Snowdon’s greatest challenge…
THE SNOWDON HORSESHOE is the classic scrambling circuit of the ridges to the east of Snowdon, summiting the peak as part of an epic day which also includes the soaring, beetling and occasionally terrifying arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd.
But on one trip to Snowdon, CW was accompanied by Dai Rowlands, a walk leader for HF Holidays, whose base at Craflwyn Hall lies directly beneath the Snowdon massif. And he hit us with a bit of a bombshell.
“I presume you’ve done the Real Snowdon Horseshoe, have you? Not the fake one everyone else does?”
Ok, we said. We’ll bite. What’s the Real Snowdon Horseshoe?
“Well you don’t descend after Y Lliwedd. You carry on to Gallt y Wenallt. I have no idea why everyone leaves that one out.”
Now, we love Gallt y Wenallt. You’ve probably seen it, even if you don’t know the name. It’s the one that dominates the Nant Gwynant valley, looming over you on the drive down to Beddgelert from the Pen-y-Pass.
Dai is quite right that it should be part of the horseshoe; it’s a continuation of the Y Lliwedd ridge to a distinct separate summit.
Sadly, it’s a bit of a swine to do that. Due to its rough, steep northern flanks, the only option is to return to Y Lliwedd and descend to the Miners’ Track – an out-and-back detour adding another mile and a half to an already long and arduous route.
So it’s a bind. But if you do it, you will probably earn some sort of honour as a true Snowdonian hero, as well as the admiration of a lovely chap called Dai Rowlands. He’ll be very chuffed. WALK HERE: We’ve put our ‘normal’ Snowdon Horseshoe route online at www.lfto.com/ bonusroutes. Add the Gallt y Wenallt extension at your leisure. But please bear in mind that the Snowdon Horsehoe includes Crib Goch, an extreme and exposed mountain scramble that is only for experienced mountain scramblers. In a more relaxed vein, we’ve also put a circular route for Gallt y Wenallt at the same URL.
Gallt y Wenallt dominates the Nant Gwynant valley. It’s the one that looms over you on the drive down to Beddgelert from the Llanberis Pass.”