Snowdonia
1 SH623569 From any of the lay-bys below Carreg Wastad follow the road to the most westerly (and newest) of two bridges that span the Afon Nant Peris. Cross the bridge and almost immediately turn right over another to gain a path which rises to a wall and stile. Carry on upwards to enter Cwm Glas Mawr passing between two huge boulders on the way. The path crosses the stream and before long the going steepens and becomes rough under foot. The way into the upper cwms doesn’t stray too far from the left-hand side of the stream but the route allows some variation and some easy scrambling.
SH615557 Once out 2 of the rough stuff turn left and follow a faint path to beautiful Llyn Glas. From the llyn’s outflow, mount the high ground which forms a shelf above Cwm Glas Mawr and make your way to the foot of the scree which tumbles from the start of Crib Goch’s North Ridge to tackle the short grind up the very steep and slippery path to the start of the ridge.
SH624555 The ridge 3 is fairly wide to begin with and gains height steadily throughout its course. Before long it narrows into a fine arête of shattered rock with paths avoiding the exposure of the crest on the right-hand (western) side. Nearing the top, hands will need to be taken out of pockets where a notch in the ridge has to be negotiated. A short scramble out of the notch over quartz blocks will land you on easier ground a few metres short of Crib Goch’s east top.
SH625552 A 4 spacious platform marks the east top (Crib Goch’s true summit lies halfway along the ridge) and this is a good place to gather yourself and drink in one of the most powerful views in the British mountains. The confident will stride across the knife edged arête while the timid will drop down a few feet and then use the crest for handholds. Most will employ a combination of both techniques until their arrival at the pinnacles, the first two of which can be avoided on the left or climbed on big solid holds. The third pinnacle is more problematic to bypass and is usually climbed using a rightward slanting staircase. Downclimb a couple of short steps to reach the grassy haven of Bwlch Coch.
SH621551 From the 5 bwlch there follows 1km of the most superb ridge walking and scrambling on Crib y Ddysgl. The ridge is made up of easy walking sections punctuated with rock steps which can be taken direct or by devious routes following obvious weaknesses showing the passage of many feet. Flanking paths on the left can lead to dead ends so sticking to the rock is the way to go. The bald summit of Garnedd Ugain is adorned with a trig point which has seen better days and exhibits a
tremendous view of Snowdon’s Clogwyn y Garnedd face.
SH610551 From 6 Garnedd Ugain head north-west for 100 metres and pick up the path which hugs the rim of Cwm Glas. The views are spectacular and you can trace your expedition along the skyline of ridges across the cwm. The going is easy until a steep, rocky nose drops off on three sides. Carefully descend a gully system to regain the grassy ridge which can be descended at leisure. After about 500 metres and once past the final band of steep crags on the right re-join the path near the stone wall and retrace your steps to the start.