Cwm Glas horseshoe

Peaks: Crib Goch, Garnedd Ugain, Yr Wyddfa

Area: Snowdon

Snowdonia has been unprecedentedly busy since the end of lockdown, so all trips this year have been about crowd avoidance: multiple methods deployed to that end. Today, I parked below Carreg Wastad and ran to the top of Pen y Pass. Although I was early, there was of course no avoiding the hordes, but I ran up to Bwlch y Moch in around 15 minutes, then straight up Crib Goch. I've no idea how often I've done this over the years, but it's a lot. I reached the top in around 37 minutes from PyP and then carried on, moving reasonably quickly, across the ridge itself: as enjoyable as ever, but passing lots of early starters the whole way. From Garnedd Ugain, I ran up to the summit of Snowdon, astonished at the sheer volume of people, then escaped the crowds completely by contouring down to the Cyrn Las ridge. This gives a fine downward scramble, narrow in places, and is almost always empty. It completes what I call the 'Cwm Glas horseshoe': a kind of alternative Snowdon horseshoe for connoisseurs or the anti-social. Two hours exactly for the round back to Carreg Wastad today. The route works even better if you use the north ridge of Crib Goch first and avoid the road, which is how I did it last year.