Midweek meet, Llanberis, North Wales

Meet Report: 23-25 September 2025.

Nature smiled upon our enterprise with warm sunshine and mainly light winds all week. On Tuesday, Ian Hawkes stopped off at Ogwen and climbed Tryfan by the North Ridge scramble. Mark Rothwell climbed near Mold with a friend whilst Shaun Penny and Aoto Morikame stopped off at Penmaenbach Head near Old Colwyn. In common with many other first time visitors to this limestone sport climbing venue they were well and truly “sandbagged.” The crag has a local reputation of being steep and undergraded.

By early evening, the seven of us had assembled at the Climbers’ Club’s small and cosy Cwm Glas Mawr hut, about 10 minutes walk up the hillside from Ynys Ettws. With a capacity of 9 it is an ideal place for a small meet, feeling remote and isolated without actually being so and being surrounded by great climbing, walking and scrambling.

On Wednesday Shaun and Aoto crossed the valley to climb on Carreg Wastad, completing Crackstone Rib, S 55m and Wrinkle, VD 75m. This was Aoto’s first venture into trad climbing and he was suitably impressed by these two classic routes.

Ian walked up to Glyder Fawr from Pen y Pass then traversed Glyder Fach, descending to Pen y Gwryd via the Miners’ track. He caught a bus back to Pen y Pass to shorten the journey home.

Glyder Fawr looking east towards Glyder Fach

Mark and Tim made the steep and unrelenting ascent of Cwm Glas past Cyrn Las and up to the Clogwyn y Person cliffs. They then climbed the excellent 3 star Clogwyn y Person Arete to the ridge just below Carnedd Ugain. This route involves quite a bit of climbing at a good Diff standard and they found a rope and small rack most useful. The return was made via Crib Goch and its North Ridge. The descent of Cwm Glas requires careful navigation owing to the large crags that abound.

Steve Crossley and Peter Baker also ascended Cwm Glas, bearing left to the North Ridge of Crib Goch. They threaded the pinnacles and paused on Bwlch Coch before mistakenly following a poor path contouring the South side of Crib y Ddysgl. This led eventually to an unpleasant climb up loose scree to the summit of Carnedd Ugain. Sticking to the ridge proper from the Bwlch would have been a better bet. They left Snowdon to the crowds and descended via the Miners’ track and round the Llynau to Pen y Pass, where the bus obliged them and conveniently dropped them near the hut.

Shaun provided us with an excellent evening meal of chicken curry, apple crumble and cheese which was accompanied by the usual wide ranging conversation.

On Thursday, after cleaning the hut, some headed for home. Shaun and Aoto planned to stop for a climbing wall session on the way whilst Mark and Steve, later joined by Tim climbed at Castle Inn near Old Colwyn.