[Closed] Snowdon, anyone fancy it?

At this rate i might have to try to clear my diary for the 27th instead!

2hrs up, 16min down

20th
maxtorque, Northampton
Junkyard Lancashire room for 1 possibly two
Timc, Liverpool (can also do 27th)

27th
Grum, Hebden Bridge, room for 2 more
Dark Side, Chester, room for 2 more
scblurlt , nantwich , room for three more
Chrism110, Wirral room for one more

"2hrs up, 16min down"

You can lead the way and get the kettle on at the summit 🙂

Anyone thinking of going from Sheffield way? I'd be up for riding Rangers again, good route. I had awful weather last time, would be nice to try again.

We did it yesterday- Telegraph, llanberis up down Rangers.

I now agree, whilst pushing up llanberis a lad coming down had zero control of his bike. Mental as he should have stopped. I hated the first part of Rangers apparently lots of new rubble added recently- soon as it went into gully-like switchbacks I loved it- on a slab on this part I was sideways laughing. The next bit of say 20m's I walked as it needed talent. That was the hardest bit.

Weather was spot on. Lots of low cloud at top but CAN NOT complain. You'll love it! 😀

20th
maxtorque, Northampton
Junkyard Lancashire room for 1 possibly two
Timc, Liverpool (can also do 27th)

27th
Grum, Hebden Bridge, room for 2 more
Dark Side, Chester, room for 2 more
scblurlt + willio , nantwich , room for one more
Chrism110, Wirral room for one more

How long did it take you Hora? Can't wait for this!

The push up isn't bad. If I had the bike weight in my backpack it'd been 100% easier on the last 2/5's. More hassle than hard. Glad I did it. Walkers were all great.

Well worth the visit. Relax. I was soo tense on the build up that I ran too much psi than my comfort zone and on a return I'd enjoy it more. Hang on. Whats your route?

Been wanting to do this for ages too, but didn't fancy it on my own. Can do either date, am travelling from Llangollen with room for 2more.

Oops. We started at 12ish finished at 4?

Apols for delayed response;

20th
maxtorque, Northampton
Junkyard Lancashire room for 1 possibly two
Timc, Liverpool (can also do 27th)

27th
Grum, Hebden Bridge, room for 2 more
Dark Side, Chester, room for 2 more
scblurlt + willio , nantwich , room for one more
Chrism110, Wirral room for one more
johnnygooner, Chester but at this stage I dpon't think I'll be travelling direct from Chester so cant make use of the lift share offer. Thanks anyway darkside. If that changes I'll let you know.

Looking forward to it.
How exciting!

Chatted to my riding buddy on Saturday, is a bit too short notice for us both but will be aiming for a long weekend (riding Friday-Monday) in the New Year. BikePark Wales and Snowdon on the list so far, what else is worth a look in between?

Probably April/March time will post nearer the time. Have fun!

We did it yesterday- Telegraph, llanberis up down Rangers.

We started at 12ish finished at 4?

We were up there at the same time and also took the Rangers most of the way back. Did 2 of your group puncture on the trail back into Llanberis? If so, you were shouting at me to "keep pedalling" as we passed you on the descent while you waited for your mates.

It was a great day. Snowdon lessons learned for me are:

1. A granny ring would be very welcome on the way up the Llanberis. 32t x 11:36 was a struggle.
2. I was very glad of big tyres (Hans Dampfs) on the way down, especially on the loose rocky stuff
3. Next time I would plan to go on a weekday, weather permitting. It was like Piccadilly Circus up there.

Top weekend, all in all. Spent a few hours around the Cli-machx trail yesterday, followed by a spin down Sustrans route 8 to Barmouth and back from our base in Dolgellau.

Nah we finished in Rhyd du (sp)

Got a few more people interested , what route are we thinking of ??

The Rhyd ddu descent is also pretty damned good.

If you're making a full day of it and you don't mind hike-a-bike, try Up Rangers > Down Rhyd ddu > Up Telegraph/Llanberis > Down Rangers.

Fish-eye lens exagerates a little but you get the idea. Some serious exposure.
[img] [/img]
(sorry for linking an MBR pic)

Hora ^ that's why I wanted to do rhyd Ddu back down!

Is anyone leaving from the Leicestershire area? Id like to tag along...no car at the minute.

I could get the train to a pick up point if need be, well up for this none of my mates have ever been up for snowdon.

I will start a new thread on snowdon for the 20 th as i cannot do 27 th

Got a few more people interested , what route are we thinking of ??

I'm quite open to the route. I have to admit, the MBR route did interest me but I'm happy to go with the flow. I guess we should should get start times and meeting points arranged too.

like the look of the route out of rangers car park then down telgraph valley up lanberis then all the way down rangers 🙂

meet time is the earlier the better for me as if the weather is half decent , there will still be plenty of folk about

Are people still up for the 27th? I am if the weather looks reasonable.

I saw the thread with the pics of big bags of rocks all over it though - sounds like it might be slightly ruined. 🙁

"I saw the thread with the pics of big bags of rocks all over it though - sounds like it might be slightly ruined. "

spoke to a lad who did this route on saturday , he mentioned the bulk bags of stone , but said he could get round most of it , and had a blast , two of us are still up for it and will go with the flow as far as routes are concerned

I'm very much still up for it on the 27th

Ok well I'm still up for it if the weather looks ok.

I'm riding down rangers on Friday. I'll let you folks know how it is, regarding the new additions, when I return.

im also stiil up for the 27th

Is this still on?

Any thoughts/comments/comparisions to help me decide if I'm up to it?

Would love to do this

Without having to trawl through the thread. I it is still on for the 27th when and where are everyone meeting? As I am flying in on the 25th and would be up for it if someone is allowed to bring a hardtail!

Don't think there's been any firm arrangements made yet. The weather isn't looking great right now (windy and rainy) but if things improve I'm still up for it. Saturday currently looks a better day but it might all change.

Don't know if anyone fancies trying to bite the bullet and take charge for the 27th? Maybe start a new thread? Not me obviously. 🙂

My Friday descent was fine. Weather was poor, visibility was poor, wind was up at the summit but still had a problem free run down rangers. We got to the summit for 8.30am and started down at 9.30. The bags are in the way obviously but they aren't going to suddenly creep up on you and you'll just have to make alternative cheeky lines.

The ascent was the most difficult with the wind and rain really trying to push us backwards but it was worth the effort. Met no walkers at all coming down either. Have fun.

Snowdon Marathon this Saturday, starts at 10:30. So road closures & will be busy.

Hope the new stone laying doesn't spoil the Rangers descent, it's fine as it is. Must be quite boggy at the bottom though at the moment, the bit before going up the hill to Telegraph Valley.

Did it this weekend with the Sheffield Uni club - incredible day, to any of you on the fence, go for it!! bring something warm/dry to change into mind..

rock bags - it definitely cuts up the descent, but it's not the end, you can get round a few, some require more inventive approaches (either on a ledge or sliding down the bank)- and the bottom wasnt too boggy considering torrential rain

Roter Stern - while most of our group we're on enduro/dh bikes.. i was on a 26" ss rigid and made it down everything just fine. Bring the bike your happiest on and enjoy!!

Saturday

Overnight showers will clear to give a much drier and brighter day with some sunny spells and just a slight risk of an isolated shower. Staying breezy and it will be cooler than recent days. Turning wet and windy once again late in the afternoon.

Sunday

The unsettled theme continues, with scattered showers following the clearance of the band of rain through the morning. Some of the showers could be heavy and thundery at times. Showers continuing through the rest of the period, accompanied by strong west to southwesterly winds.

Not sure I can be arsed shlepping all that way and up a big hill if it's going to be windy and thundery. I like nice views! Call me soft if you like.

Could still change though - if we got saturdays weather instead we'd be laughing.

Seeing as how this has gone a bit quiet, I'm getting off the fence. I'm gonna do this on Sunday. I'm gonna park up somewhere at the very bottom of the Rangers path, push/ride up to the telegraph hill 'junction' turn left to head into Llanberis before ascending the Llanberis path then descending the Rangers path all the way back down to the van. If I don't bottle too much of the descent I might even consider re-ascending to come down the Rhyd-ddu but that will largely depend on how much I've minced and how much time is left on the clock. I've just booked the last spot for Saturdays uplift at Antur Stiniog so I'm gonna make a weekend of it and consequently can't see me being at the car park much before 10am. Anyone who wants to come with to ride/walk/coax is more than welcome. I'll be in a little white Astravan. Come and say hello if you're about x

I'm still up for it. I'm in Germany at the moment but will be back later today and can start a separate thread with details if need be. I'll aim to be there for 10am too then.

Woke up with rotten man flu this morning. Looking unlikely for me.

Looking at maps, street view etc, think parking in the car park at Rhyd Ddu and riding the couple of miles to the start of the rangers path is probably gonna be preferred so I'll see you there at 10 Darkside

The unsettled and very windy theme continues, with frequent blustery showers pushing in from the Irish Sea throughout the day. Some of the showers could be heavy and thundery, and merge into bands of showers at times. Upland gales throughout the day, perhaps reaching storm force across the highest summits and ridges at times.

Yeah, thanks for that grum. I've got one eye on the Met Office forcast but I'm still gonna go. Its not like they never get it wrong!!! I'll take a view when I'm there and if it's not on there's always Coed y Brenin/The Marin/Penmachno etc but realisticly, I'd sort of expect 'weather'. It is North Wales in late October!

First Monday in October when we did it a couple of years ago.

[img] [/img]

i'll also get there for 10 , does anyone have a postcode?

Great stuff. I'll be in a silver Volvo V50 with a Yeti SB95. Should we share mobile numbers etc... Via email?

Chrism110 if you enter Rhyd Ddu into google maps it'll take you there. Other navigational aides are available!! The car park is on the A4085 south of the junction with the B4418. It's no more than 2 miles away from the start of the Rangers path.

Darkside email me on j[underscore]calvert[at]sky[dot]com Pesky spam bots!! Not even sure if that does any good but I'm sure you can work that out

Weather not looking great but I'm defo still going and I'll take a view once there

ok thanks johnny ,me and a mate will be in a silver peugeot 308 estate. I'm also going what ever the weather

Well, four of us braved the very windy wind yesterday and decided to stick to the plan and tackle Snowdon. A rather unconventional route took us up Ranger Path (not by design I hasten to add) dodging the boulder bags as we went. As we got further up it became increasingly evident that the wind was going to make descending Ranger Path foolhardy at best. We got to within spitting distance of the summit and collectively decided that enough was enough, we weren't going any further. A decision reinforced by the fact our bikes were actually being blown off the ground and visibility dropped to a few metres regularly. The wind was so bad walkers were actually lying on the path for fear of being blown over, it really was nuts.

We descended Llanberis path, which was great fun as the number of walkers were at a minimum, the one silver lining of a very grey cloud. Regularly we were blown off line even further down the hill, it created a good few hairy moments and confirmed our decision not to ride Ranger Path as the correct one. We got to the bottom of Llanberis, realised we should have come across Telegraph valley and unanimously decided that getting a taxi around to Rhyd Du was a more palatable notion than riding for another couple of hours. After a £48(!!!!!!!!!!!!!) cab ride we collected the cars, drove back around to Llanberis to collect Chrism110 (who had been charged with looking after the bikes in Llanberis whilst the three drivers collected the cars) and departed in agreement that whilst the ride had been very tough, at times very intimidating and rather expensive with the unplanned cab ride, we had an adventure in the very truest sense.

Thanks to Johnny, Chris and Lawrence for the great company.

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/58477173@N03/10543908764/ ]IMG_1171[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/58477173@N03/ ]chrisjohnlawson[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Excellent stuff, glad to see you committed, it's all the experience, whatever the conditions.

can't believe how close we got! it was still a very good day and and one i won't forget.
thanks to darkside & johnny for a great ride and next time we will make it to the summit!

Agree with everything said so far. Although we probably pushed/carried for as much as we rode it was a most excellent adventure! The spirit it was entered into was also what made it and all of us should take a pat on the back for that. I dont think I've ever been out in such a foul conditions!

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The summit is there somewhere!!

You gave up there? You only had a couple of hundred meters to go. 😀