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I've never done this before mainly cos I have a negative view of large crowds when out on the hills, it sort of defeats the purpose.
But i've decided i need to bite the bullet and get over myself. But if a quieter route (if possible??) can be found then that would be preferable.
My other half doesn't like scrambling or drops etc.
Pyg (out) Miners (back) may be OK but i hear that's the most busy?? How scrambly is Pyg?
Telegraph then Rangers then llamberis ??
How about up via Rhyd Ddu path, down via South ridge and Yr Aran.
Get the Sherpa bus back to the car.
I looked at the Rhyd Ddu path. How gibber / scramble is Bwlch Main?
Watkin Path
the Rhyd Ddu path is just a walk not a scramble, it's a little bit exposed in places but pretty straight forward.
There are lots of online blogs with photos out there so they're worth checking out.
I recall taking the pyg and ending up on miners last time (I think it was that way round), we branched left when we should have stuck to the right. It got a little bit steep in places, but I really enjoyed it, my wife a bit less so, but we both made it quite easily.
Watkin or ( slightly easier) Ranger ? Watkin has a short, possibly hands on section ( was like that couple years back , unless it’s been ‘sanitised’ )but isnt exposed as such. Ranger a little more straightforward. Once across the railway on Ranger you might meet the ‘hordes’. Either way you probably will as you approach the cairn.
@BlackFlag - there are some steep sections on the PyG and Miners tracks but zero scrambling if you stay on the path. They're busy as they're the quickest ways to the top and have the smallest height gain to the summit (Pen-y-Pass is quite high up).
They will be very busy though, they always are, hence my suggestion of coming from the South
We did Rhyd Ddu up and Ranger down, in June with the Kids(10 & 11) lovely day out. Was very quiet up and down it was very busy at top. We didn’t hang about at the top. Ends at a nice pub or a lake for a paddle or a swim. The kids and Mrsdts went on down the Ranger, I cut back over the slate workings to get the car. We also went up the Watkin path to watkin pools for a swim, that was lovely but got busy as it was a scorcher of a day.
are you fixed on the summit?
there are some nice routes/loops without going to the top. I've only been all the way to top once.
if it's nice it'll be heaving, if its not you won't see anything anyway.
Thanks all. I'm liking the idea of the Rhyd Ddu up and Ranger down. Just need to show mrs blackflag a video of the exposed bwlch main section and hope shes OK with it.
The “crux” on Bwlch main is a good path, mrsdts was a bit sweaty plalmed in that bit but it is short an not airy on both sides at once. The kids loved it! Certainly easier up rather than down not hands on scrambling. Definitely quieter
The vids make it looks worse than it is.
Have a great day!😀
They really do
So GoPros make MTB trails look less steep, but mountain paths more exposed...
Right, after looking at numerous videos Mrs Blackflag is happy to do Rhyd Ddu up and Ranger down. So thanks for all your help.
Next bit... the parking at Rhyd Ddu... is this a "get there before 9am" job? or is it likely to have spaces later in the morning. This will be either a Thursday or a Friday.
get there early. It's not a huge car park
Has something changed around there recently? Last time I went up it was literally no bother. Parked in a side street at the start of the Llanberis path for free, walked up, admittedly late afternoon now I remember, and a weekday as I was on my way back from a funeral, but summer, maybe 2018, barely saw five people including one guy sat on the summit. Have they made it all double yellows in Llanberis or something?
Park at the water tank on the train line it's not normally that bad. Though it's been a while since I was there.
Parking at the train station/water tank Was fine in June, not a particularly early start. Always better to start early and finish early ime.