good breakfast at 8:15 today, then we are off to catch the S1 sherpa bus from llanberis to pen-y-pass, the starting point for our ascend to the summit of snowdon!
the weather forecast for today is fairly good and the bus ride (the bus stop is almost right outside our b&b) is nice and short, after 20min we are at pen-y-pass. although pen-y-pass is “only” at 360m above sea level it has a very alpine feeling to it with the barren mountains surrounding it and the strong wind blowing.
we intend to take the pyg track up to the summit of snowdon — from the 1:25K ordnance survey map it’s not entirely clear where the track starts so we follow the broad miner’s track for about 200m and then climb up a small track going off to the right which takes us almost straight up and we quickly gain height. we end up on a track parallel to the miner’s track but about 100-150m higher. eventually we join the real pyg track — it turns out that it started at the northern end of the pen-y-pass car park — and are now on a nice track leading us along the eastern side of the snowdon horseshoe up to the little col between snowdon and garnedd ugain. the track zig-zags a bit, crosses boulder fields, very occasionally requiring a scramble. the view towards the south of snowdonia is just breathtaking and become better with each meter gained. when we reach the col the wind coming from the north and the sea is already waiting for us and we very quickly don our rain jackets to block it off. from the col on we join the track coming up from llanberis parallel to the rail tracks. snowdon summit is now veiled by low flying clouds and it’s become rather cold rather quickly. after 15min we reach the summit and are rewarded with breathtaking glimpses across mountain ranges of snowdonia!
our packed lunches from our b&b turn out to be a bit of a surprise: ours must have been swapped with those of the other couple staying at our b&b — i certainly didn’t order eggs with onions and mrs d didn’t order tuna with tomatoes… oh, well.
half an hour later we are on our way back down. instead of following
the llanberis path along the railway tracks back into llanberis, we
decide to take the pyg track back and follow through to its starting
point — the scenery inside the snowdon horseshoe is just so much
nicer and “dramatic” than the easy-peasy llanberis track 
back at pen-y-pass we both have a cup of tea and from the café enjoy a last survey of where we’ve been today: a fantastic walk through a breathtaking landscape with really exciting weather!
while we wait for the bus we chat with one of the café ladies and learn that this year alone there have been 10 fatalities already on snowdon; that pyg track is the most dangerous of the routes; that the sherpa buses are sometimes in a bit of a squeeze when one of those large “german made” tourist buses is coming down the pass to llanberis, forcing the sherpa buses to reverse all the way back…
it’s 16:15 when we get back to llanberis.
dinner: tandoori chicken at spices of llanberis, quite well done.
all in all: a fantastic and exciting day!
