[Closed] Snowdon Ride

My preference for Snowdon is....

Up Llanberis (Big brekker at Pete's optional).

Down Ranger, then over to Telegraph back to Llanberis. (Waterbar punctures permitting).

A great ride. Just great. Some of the Ranger sections are super techygnar (Technical term).

Thats a great ride I am sure. Carrying my bike from peak Snowden for the first part of Rhyd Du is beyond me, I would have to hold on with both hands as I am not great with heights.

Normal route is Llanberis up to peak, the retrace for a km (?) before truning left down Rangers Trail then look for right turn to Telegrapgh Road back to Llanberis.

There are many threads. Hopefully you'll have a clear day as the views are wonderful

Just done Llanberis, Rangers and Telegraph valley this weekend. The Rangers path was a bit more difficult than I was lead to believe ...quite challenging in places. No punctures down telegraph valley either.

We did plan to ride Snowdon on Saturday but it was lashing it down, so we did the Marin trail instead. Woke up to a glorious sunny sky on Sunday and headed for Snowdon.

Good craik with many of the walkers.

Obligatory picture with bike on the summit.

ha.... thanks to some wise advice from this forum i ended up riding there Sunday just gone, too...

from Llanberis it is an easy ride-push-ride-carry-ride up to the summit. took me 1:30h according to strava. left Llanberis at about 2ish.

rode back down the Rangers path. one drop caused me to put a foot down (somewhere where it gets a bit zig-zaggy). the end of that trail up to the post (don't miss it or you'll have a long ride home) was good fun, if a little wet. from the post with "Llanberis" written on it you'll have a slippery push up to the gate. from there the path is fun... nice and open, boost over the water bars, splash through the puddles.

at the end where the road leads down to Llanberis i decided to go through the gate and follow the bridle path.... bit of a waste of time... no real trail to speak of, lots of thick mud, cow/sheep poo and gates.

overall a worthwhile ride...!

oh, and views were brill... clouded up and got a bit moody as i approached the summit, but cleared up nicely just as i started the descent.

Another vote for Llanberis, Rangers and then the easy to miss grassy climb to Telegraph. There is a nice quiet/basic campsite that lets you have a campfire on the lane that leads back into Llanberis, which means you get a nice little run through town before the big climb, and you finish on a high after a nice fast run down Telegraph.

You are outside the summer ban now but during summer its a great place to be for an early ascent.

I'd recommend the Captains route as well.

My tip, for the right hand turn to Telegraph valley is take the footpath a few hundred yards before. Rideable ish from memory if you're that way inclined but the actual bridalway is very, very steep!

up llanberis, down rangers is trhe classic snowdon ride, but id be interested to hear more about the Rhyd Ddu route...?

Thanks for all your help.

http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qhwgvhhswtjhyfyt

This is the route... I think there's an exposed ridgeline across the top, I'd be keen to hear from anyone that's ridden it.

Rhydd du...
I haven't ridden it but three of our group did it earlier this year the day after we did the traditional rangers path route.
As we were staying near the bottom of Rhydd du they pushed up to as far as the end of the top carry section then rode down. Advantage being they could check the lines on the way up.
Reports were that it was better than rangers as more tech and more of a challenge. These are fast gus that all got down the full rangers from summit to yha inside strava top 10. (We started at the yha the day before)
The rest of us did penmachno instead for a rest.
So if you like super techy stuff you'll like it. If you want flow look elsewhere

Planning snowdon Monday morning, up to now weather looks good ish/ok
Any parking or starting point recommendations?

The issue with @doc's mates ride is they didn't go to the top. Having been up Snowden a few times and had a look at Rhyd Du I would not be able to carry a bike down. As I said I don't like heights, anything where a slip = serious injury or death

Snowdon. NOT Snowden. FFS.

[quote=CaptainFlashheart ]Snowdon. NOT Snowden. FFS.

if you're going to be a pedant then surely it is actually Yr Wyddfa?

Well, I see both as accurate, but Snowden isn't. Valid point, however!

Done both Ranger path and Rhyd Dhu, much prefer Ranger. Rhyd Dhu is a precipitous push for about 1k from the summit then a mix of techy rocks, some of it a bit stop - start cos it's hard to keep momentum, then gets a bit grassy/boggy towards the bottom

Last time I/we rode Snowdon we climbed the Llanberis path up to the Trig point, descended Llanberis path down to the gate at the tarmac, back up to the start of the Ranges Path, descend this to the footpath over to Telegraph Alley and back into Llanberis.

Quality day out and great views from the top. Tough on the legs though, but worth it

Carlos

I haven't done exactly flashy's route, we park at the ranger station, ride up the zigzags, push up the grass to telegraph valley, down there, skip across to llanberis path upto the top then down rangers. I like a riproaring descent back to the car so [i]feel[/i] this would be better than flashys route but like I said, can't confirm.

Have heard mixed views about rhyd Ddu, wouldn't mind a bash at some point.

I still reckon that Double Llanberis is a lot of fast fun

If you've got the height and like to ride flow rather than tech then up n down Llanberis is ace

Rhydd Dhu is good, as good as Ranger's but more technical and less fast and flowing. If you're a decent rider and have done Ranger's it's worth a go.

The two/three times I've done it I park at the YHA at the bottom of the rangers, push up to the telegraph descent then ride down it, push up llanberis and then ride the full rangers back down to the car. Much of a muchness whichever way you do it but I always pick the quieter starting and finishing point personally. Totally love riding Snowdon and the Rhydd Dhu option is on my todo list just to say I've done both!

Rhydd Dhu isn't too exposed at the top. You'd actually have to be quite a muppet to fall off the side (nowhere near the exposure of some of the more basic alpine stuff!) But unless you're DannyMac, the ridgeline isn't really rideable as there are large, rocky steps down a couple of meters height, then immediately (ie less than a bikes wheelbase) back up again, so you'd need trails style rear wheel hops to get down/up them. Just carry your bike along, it's not far, probably 400m max, then you can ride again. (it's rideable from the summit, down the steps behind the station, across a small rock / scree area, till you break off left to go along the ridge)

The rest of the path is pretty technical, and full of tricky wheel grabbing rocks and slabs, and most of it isn't that steep, to takes some effort to pedal along! If you ride it( where possible, i'd say 90% is rideable for an average rider) its a decent length descent all the way down to the road by the lake.

Rhydd Dhu in Pictures:

Down slope behind station:
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Push along ridge:
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Carry along ridge:
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The fast fun bit after the high ridge:
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If you're on xc tyre casings, you may be doing this a few times:
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Definitely easier on a longer travel bike (160mm or more 🙂
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Views depend on weather and how much you have to look where you are going!
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Watch out for those rocks that suddenly jump out in front of you:
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Don't forget your chip butty in PetesEats!
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What D0NK said ^

Did snowdon on Monday, 2h easy ride push up, coffee at the cafe at the top, then rangers path down. Loved the first bit still in view of the cafe, and the really tech switchbacks after that, but after that it was a disappointment and a probably wouldn't bother again unless the other routes are hugely better???

I live about 5 miles from the summit and guide on it as well. I'd say that Llanberis, Rangers, Maesgwm, Telegraph Valley is a real classic and well worth the effort - and I'd also suggest it's plenty technical enough for 90% of the riders I see on it. Rhyd-ddu is ok once you're off the south ridge, but it's a scramble from the summit down to there really, and only a trials jedi would ride it. After that it's ok, worth doing if you have already done the Rangers Path, but not as good really. If you do decide on the Rhyd-ddu, I'd suggest pushing up it to where it joins the South Ridge, then descending from there. Little point in carrying your bike to the summit. Enjoy!

Stunning day when we did it on the 1st Monday in October

[img] [/img]

We went up Llanberris down rangers, good to say you've done it but wouldn't bother again - so much better riding in the area.

I did Rhydd Ddu followed by Rangers in a day in April '15.

Rhydd Ddu is WAY more raw than Rangers. The bit immediately down from the station is almost rideable. I was on my own, cold, wet, and hadn't got my head in gear and only had a couple of dabs. The exposed bit is definitely hike-a-bike, although its not too long from memory.

Then there's rocks. Lots and lots and lots of rocks. And a death-on-a-stick slippy wet gully a bit below a gate.

I can't recall any of it exactly flowing, but if you like a good techgnar rock smashing section, it'll appeal.

FWIW my route was park at the Rangers YHA. Up Rangers (its rideable up to the bottom of the tech rocky section), down RD, up the bottom of Rangers again, Telegraph Valley, Llanberis path, down Rangers, monster face stuffing session in Petes)

Might be a daft question but is it a ride or push up? Not sure which route we'll be doing.

I'll be heading there soon and wondering if on balance it's better to carry the FFace up or wear a normal lid. I'll have both with me but obvs don't want the FF if there is worthwhile pedally bits.

Ta

Llamberis is ride with a little bit of bush until the last section after the train tunnel, then it's a push till the cafe, I did it on Monday, going as fast as I dare to go on the rangers I went over bars with a full face on and was obviously fine,my pal face planted with a normal lid on and ended up with a cut nose and a fat lip, I'd defo full face if I did it again.

Thanks Chris 🙂

Top tip.