Cwm Clogwyn horseshoe

Peaks: Snowdon

Area: Yr Wyddfa, Eryri

You rarely hear this circuit described as the Cwm Clogwyn horseshoe, even though it has always seemed the best description to me. A few years ago I did this clockwise, up Snowdon Ranger and down Rhyd Ddu. This time I did the reverse, parking for free in the village and then going for a sustainable but relatively quick ascent. The weather was worse than forecast, low cloud and few signs of imminent clearance. All the paths on this side of the mountain weave around a bit, but Rhyd Ddu stays engaging and is more interesting than the Ranger, albeit perhaps a little more demanding from a running perspective. Into the mist and wind below Llechog, where the ground drops away to the left and the route becomes interesting, giving way to a narrow but level path that leads to the little col below Clawdd Coch on the south ridge. Steep wet rock then leads direct to the cafe, always a strange contrast especially on a day of howling wind with rain starting to fall. An empty summit and then it was the familiar jog down from the top before taking the Snowdon Ranger path which is nicely runnable at first, bringing back memories of my three Pedol Peris races. It gets awkward lower down, and it was very wet now, a real soaking. At the base of Moel Cynghorion I branched off for the obscure little path past Llyn Ffynnon y Gwas to Cwm Treweunydd and an awkward route through the derelict quarries and over the railway to the road just north of Rhyd Ddu: 1.59 for the loop, slower than the clockwise version, back just before midday.