Ive read a few posts about people ascending snowdon before dawn and gettin to the summit for sunrise. I am planning a trip to snowdon on 2nd may and think this sounds like a fantastic idea, but is it only advisable if you have experience of the path? ive never been anywhere snowdon before and never climbed a mountain in the dark before! any advice would be fantastico chars…

From my experience of snowdon (always on foot) its pretty much motorways in any direction, hard to go wrong without fog/snow. I dont remember anything that would be particularly tough with a good torch/lighting system on the way up in the dark.

yeah you should be fine, it aint technical!
going via crib goch (the ridge) might be a bit sketchy in the dark.

we (bad brains mbc) did it last year setting off in the dark to watch the sunrise from the summit.

the llanberis path is fairly easy to follow to the summit – we were blessed with godd weather and fantastic views at dawn.

the weather is the main concern -you need to carry enough gear to be prepared for all conditions. layer up and take a good water and wind proof jacket,carry at least one extra top, more food and drink than you need, at least a foil blanket if not a survial bag just in case , a wooly hat is also a good idea,a whistle, a map, compass and GPS (not essential but handy) in case of low cloud/mist/fog etc.

golden rule is if the weather does turn against you, turn back – don’t be a hero

are you doing it alone?

we rode down it at night – spectacular sunset and then put the full beams on!

Loved it, not that difficult although hed to walk some of the steps.

Hmm confidence is going up reading these posts, cheers guys!

Nah im doing it with a mate, probably wudnt have the confidence to do it completely alone, although im normally a soloist in the peaks. Really can’t wait for it now, the pics on google look amazing, im just praying for nice weather now, i’d be gutted if i cudnt see the views from the summit, all that effort! im sure the rise down makes it worth it though!

Did it last Sept (solo)Was the 1st one up there that day- it’s great to see the little train puffing up the hill and knowing that you’ve beaten it!

Did it on my tod in September as no one else would ride with me,set off to late and got a two thirds of the way up and watched the sunrise

wow that pic looks incredible, anything like that and ill be chuffed to bits!

Oh this brings back memories. Waaaaaaay back in the day the club I used to ride with (Cheshire Peak and Plain I think it was called) did a dawn raid on Snowdon. A big group of them rode up at night and then camped out on the summit before riding back down the next morning at first light.
MBUK did a feature on it (Called Dawn Raid I think). This was in 1990 or thereabouts. Everyone’s lights failed on the way up and they almost froze to death on the summit. The ranger kept getting arsey with them for making too much noise and keeping him awake. My parents wouldn’t let me go, which sucked as everyone got their piccy in MBUK, which at the time, was seen as being the height of cool.