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Three Peaks Challenge

Snowdon is normally the final mountain to be tackled by most teams, and although not a difficult mountain in itself, you may well find this the most challenging due to fatigue and parhaps an unexpectedly long and steep descent into Llanberis. Currently the summit cafe and station do not exist, although the new £8.3m cafe (Hafod Eryri) is due to open late 2008, so do not expect to get a cold beer at the summit - or a train down..! It's well worth checking out the construction progress before your challenge on the Snowdon Summit Blog. The actual summit cairn is only a few metres from the pictured construction area. Recommended Approach Route. Starting at Pen-Y-Pass allows the greatest height gain in your vehicle, and the smallest amount of climbing needed by walkers. However, the Pay & Display car park at Pen-Y-Pass fills up very quickly, and during a sunny weekend is often full by 9am. If you arrive between 9am and 3pm, you should expect to only be able to drop off walkers here. On very busy periods, even a simple drop off may not be possible, and the turning/drop off area may be closed to all vehicles apart from local shuttle buses. Vehicles parked on the road will be given parking tickets, or possibly removed, and a local land owner has blocked areas previously used for parking, leading to more congestion problems. Please consider our recommended approach route: Leave A55 by last exit before Bangor, onto A5 for just 100 metres. Llanberis and 'Electric Mountain' are well signposted. At mini roundabout, turn right onto A4244 and pass 24 hour petrol station on your right (older maps show this as a 'B' road). After 4 miles, at next roundabout, turn left still on A4244. Follow for another 4 miles to junction with A4086. Turn left, drive through Llanberis until Nant Peris - stop at the free car park on your right. Here, all walkers should sort out their equipment, put on boots and waterproofs, etc., get rucksack and walking poles to hand, and be ready to start their next walk. They must be ready to literally get out of the vehicle and start walking..! Pen-Y-Pass is only 10 minutes away. At Pen-Y-Pass, pull into turning area, let your team get out, then return down the Llanberis Pass to park up in Llanberis. Your team should walk down the Llanberis Path to meet up with you.

Snowdon (1085m)

The Walking Route. Two routes to the summit are possible - the Pyg Track or the Miners Path. Previously we have recommended the Pyg Track, but in recent years the Miners Path has been hugely improved and we now recommend this path as the most suitable for Three Peaks Challenge teams. The Pyg Track is well used and can be very popular throughout the year, it also serves as one route to the base of Crib Goch and is used by scramblers and climbers, as well as walkers. Take great care not to divert from the path towards Crib Goch itself. Starting from the car park at Pen-y-pass, it climbs steadily to meet the summit ridge, then just a short walk to the top, and station cafe. The Miners Track is a wide, well maintained path, which leads quite gently around the lower reservoir of Llyn Llydaw, crossing the causeway, then climbing to the northern tip of Glaslyn, where the real climb begins. Climb the steep zig-zags and meet the Pyg Track, before joining the route from Llanberis at a rock post. Then just a short walk to the summit. The descent should be via the Llanberis path, a fairly well maintained and popular route, generally following the course of the railway. At this point you will probably need some liquids and food, your body will be quite fatigued, so don't skimp on supplies for this last section. Remember to take some money with you for this mountain, the cafe may be open whilst you're on the top (in 2008) !!  However, don't expect to be able to buy a train ticket for the journey down to Llanberis, even if it's running it's often fully booked.

Walking times As a rough guide, you should be aiming to achieve these times at least on the mountain From Pen-y-pass: 2hr climb, 2hr descent. Or whatever time you have left...!!! Remember that Pen-y-pass is at around 360 metres height, reducing the total climb up the 3.5 mile Pyg or Miners Track to the summit, but the route back into Llanberis is about 5 miles long. And you may be very tired by then..!

Llanberis : A short stroll from the Mountain Railway Station will lead you into Llanberis village centre which offers a number of cafes, B&B's, hotels and shops, including the famous Joe Brown climbing shop. More information about Llanberis can be found on the local website.

Mobile phone coverage Llanberis has very good coverage, but teams should note that coverage from Pen-y-Pass is extremely poor. A payphone is available outside the cafe.

Snowdon Area Map

Laterooms.com If possible, try to stay in north Wales to enjoy some celebrations after your challenge. Click above for last minute deals on Snowdonia accommodation.

Snowdon Mountain Railway Information website about the mountain railway which you will get to see up close..!

Well done..!  Snowdon Railway Llanberis Station in the background.

Need Three Peaks Transport? During 2006 we helped over 50 teams raise over £100k for local and national charities. We can help with all aspects of this Challenge, from transport and logistics - to accommodation, catering, mountain guides and leaders, and general event support. For more details, please visit the 'transport' page, or drop me an email at richie@merseyventure.com We are normally fully booked at around 6 months in advance, so early booking is essential, but please check-out our bookings calendar for more details. Short notice bookings are sometimes available out of season.

Another successful team at the finish, Snowdon Mtn Railway, Llanberis

Comment from previous team: "Thank you very much for a great weekend.  We both really enjoyed it - it exceeded my expectations, I had a brilliant time and would love to do it again over summer.  We thought it was excellent value given all that was provided.  The plentiful supply of food was appreciated."

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with 'kind' (?) permission of Ordnance Survey and Multi Media Mapping.