h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is a tough but immensely enjoyable walk which I have done many times.

Park, if you can, in the Pen-y-Pass youth hostel car park, and head up the steepest thing you can see (a track on the right, adjacent to thge road to Llanberis). Don't follow the tourists round the Pyg Track as this means a long, slow scree climb up the cwm to the final ridge. Keep on top of the ridge, walk round Cryb Goch and Cryb-y-Dysgol, over the ridge and up to the summit following the line of cairns placed in case of poor weather.

On the way up you will (hopefully) see amazing scenery, lots of fluffy white sheep and a clear view of the coast (including, for the keen-eyed, Caernarfon Castle).

At the top if you are lucky there will be no cloud and a spectacular view as far as Ireland. If you are really lucky, you'll be above the top of the clouds and get the most spectacular view in the British Isles - mountain tops sticking up through fluffy white cloud. Fantastic!

Enjoy also the feeling of smugness at having come up the hard way, not on the train.

Go back down the same way you came up, and aftewards go to the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel for a cream tea. You've earned it! Alternatively, walk down one of the other paths and get someone to meet you at the bottom (you can't guarantee you'll make that bus, as you have to go at the pace the terrain demands). Beddgelert is particularly nice, and you can blow a few quid on cheap outdoor goods at Y Warws.

The walk will take from 2 1/2 hours (very fit) to over six hours. Children below the age of about six are unliklely to be able to manage it, and you sure won't feel like carrying them up the final slope.

You might also want to take some money to buy tea at the cafe on the summit, and to post a postcard in Britains highest postbox.

WARNING: This is a mountain, and every year several people die on it. Don't be scared, be prepared. NEVER walk on mountains without proper equipment: wear strong shoes or walking boots, carry plenty of water and some high-energy food (Kendall mint cacke is the classic, but unsalted peanuts, muesli bars and such are pretty good), and carry a waterproof even on a sunny day as the wind on the summit can be incredibly strong. For best results carry a Trangia stove and the makings for tea. Tea made on mountainsides tastes much better than ordinary tea, for some reason!

Two other things to do when taking routes like this.
One: Try and let someone else know what you are doing and the expected time it will require (if you are staying at the Youth Hostel then this is a good place to leave details).

Two: Carry a good whistle (preferably plastic). If you do get into trouble it is much easier to attract attention with a whistle rather than shouting. If you have a whistle then, if I remember my scouting days correctly, six short blasts every minute is the recognized way of indicating you need help.

Wick

Wow! Guy! You made this sound enjoyable. I'll do it again, and this time I'll make sure I'm not still in the Army going for the land speed up Snowdon record like I did last time!

I would add though, that you should always carry a basic first aid kit, and some thin layers of extra clothing.

An absolutly top class walk is that. Doing it in summer can mean that you're following a line behind a lot of other people. Unbelievable as it might seem I have returned sunburnt from this walk
At this time of year (January) it is a completly different prospect with snow and ice all over the rocks. If you do it make sure you've had experience and training for the conditions you'll encounter - very cold temperatures, very high windspeeds snow and ice - and that you carry the correct equipment. Snowdon summit station does provide some shelter from the wind but not a great deal.

For the return journey on a nice day how about continuing round the horseshoe. The start is behind the summit station initially following the line of the Watkin path to go down to Bwlch y Saethau. When you get to the start of the climb of Y Lliwedd break from the path and follow the edge of the cliff up. Don't get too close to the edge as the drop is several hundred metres and it would hurt - lots - if you fell. When you drop down after the summit of Lliwedd you'll probably want to travel over towards Llyn Llydaw and pick up the miners path at the eastern end of the lake. When you're back on the miners path it's a short trip back to Pen Y Pass where you started from.
If a drink in the Pen Y Gwryd isn't your thing then travel down into Llanberis and see the people getting off the train and go to Pete's Eats cafe for a well earned chip butty and large mug of tea.

Two things to avoid;

Taking the miners path on the way up - killer

Cup of tea from the shop at the top - the water won't boil at 100'c at this altitude and so tastes like dishwater

Top class walk indeed. December and January are great times on the mountains, as long as you're careful of the ice - you can get some astoundingly clear weather

A fantastic walk - although I went via the Pyg track up. That scree slope is a beast!

At the Pen-y-pass cark park there is a weather report posted that I would strongly recommend reading! Take note in particular of the cloud base - if it's lower than the summit remember you will be climbing the last bit in low visibility and in the cold & wet.

I started at Pen-y-Pass (in May) in dazzling sunshine and a t-shirt. 1,000 feet below the summit all the woolies and weatherproofs went on. To really rub it in, we had no view, the cafe was shut, and never, ever bank on getting the train down - the day we went it wasn't running so we couldn't cheat on the way down!

If you do get the sherpa bus from one of the other paths back to Pen-y-Pass, it's a great ride with lovely views of the valley while you take the weight off your weary feet.