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  • Snowdon – Rhydd Ddu
  • JonEdwards
    Free Member

    Planning to head over there on Friday. I’ve done Rangers before (time/energy/weather permitting I’ll do that too), but not been down Rhydd Ddu before. Any useful advice specific to that path?

    The assorted pics/vids I’ve looked at suggest a minor bit of exposure near the top, then some rocks. 😉

    Cheers!

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    It’s a fun way down! You can ride the vast majority most of it, it’s not that steep, and really only has a couple of exposed bits (which aren’t that exposed really) which tbh, are so technical anyway that you ain’t gonna be riding them unless you surname is Akrigg or Macaskill!

    It’s pretty relentless if you do it all in one hit, your legs/arm will certainly feel it towards the end 😉

    XXX
    Free Member

    I’ll buy you a pint if you clean it :-). A few moves on the top ridge might defeat you but the rest is awesome.

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    duncancallum
    Full Member

    the pubs a good un

    never ridden it, its my preferred route up n down on foot though

    DeeW
    Free Member

    Sorry no particular advice, as it was a while back, but I really enjoyed it. Felt better value than the Ranger and nothing scary/ massively exposed. As has been said above I walked a couple of very short sections at the very top, but apart from that great fun all the way. Mystified why more people don’t seem to ride it! Our only problem was hitting (not literally) a load of 3 peakers on their way up.

    tillydog
    Free Member

    Mystified why more people don’t seem to ride it

    I’m guessing that the “problem” is that there isn’t an obvious circular route via the Rhyd Ddu path (unless I’m missing something)?

    To close the loop from Rhyd Ddu to Llanberis looks like ~12 miles on narrow-ish roads.

    I’ve seen the Rhyd Ddu path from the S ridge and from the Snowdon Ranger but never walked it – how rideable is it as a route up, compared to the Llanberis path?

    robj20
    Free Member

    Park at Rhyd Duu, go along the road a short distance and up the Rangers Path and down the Rhyd Duu probably the best circular route there is.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    @robj20 – noted 🙂

    lowey
    Full Member

    Or park Ranger Station, Up to telegraph turn off, down to Llanberis, up the tourist path and down Rhyd Duu then road back to Ranger.

    flyingmonkeycorps
    Full Member

    Reckon I will be trying Rhyd Ddu next time, wasn’t impressed with the work done on the Rangers. Walked it a couple of times but not ridden yet.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    We did Lowey’s route, although starting in Llanberis, and it was good.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Is Rangers a better ascent than Rhydd Du? Just asking with a future “double” in mind.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    About as good as each other.

    GolfChick
    Free Member

    Think we’re heading over on Sunday but will be walking it. Think I’ll drag him up the rangers and down the rhydd Ddu so we can scope it for my next bike foray that way and it tends to be quieter. From memory it should be brilliant but with the odd one or two unrideable section unless as been said you’re a trials god!

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    So a a post ride report. I went up Rangers, down Rhydd Ddu, up Rangers again as far as Telegraph Valley then down that to Llanberis, up the Llanberis path, then back down Rangers.

    After an evil 2 weeks at work, doing 20 hour days and sleeping badly on a bus inbetween, suffice to say by the end of it I was f….ed.

    Rhydd Ddu is a toughy. Didn’t help that visibility up the top was poor, and there’s no “trail” as such for the first section, just patches of slightly less bouldery scree and I struggled to pick a worthwhile line – very much a walkers route rather than a bike path. After the exposed hike a bike bit things eased off, but for the most part the trail never really flows in the way Rangers does and there’s a lot of time forcing the bike rather than going with it. There’s a truly evil hairpinned gully about half way down full of wet slimy slate boulders and slabs, one traverse of which I couldn’t figure a way through. The rest was all rideable, although some sections took a couple of goes to pick a decent line. I reckon myself as a decent technical rider (I can clear all of Rangers, feet up, on a good day), but the sheer consistent brutality of Rhydd Ddu I found draining (especially solo). Wet, slabby, off camber slate makes for some proper “complete passenger” moments.

    I nearly binned off the second lap, but figured 7 hours drive for 3 hours riding wasn’t on. Telegraph was fast as, with a strong tail wind, although the same wind prevented me riding much of the Llanberis Path once above the Cloggy Station tunnel (it was brutal just pushing).

    Descent back down the Ranger was good, although I was feeling bloody tired by then. I’m reasonably impressed by how they’ve fixed up the hairpins – sure, they’re not as rocky as they were, but they’ve only slabbed the corners and the traverses are still suitably chossy. Given the amount of erosion that had taken place the last time I rode it, something had to be down, and this is a decent answer. There was one drop in the techy bit I bottled, which was boring, but a case of better safe than sorry. The moment when you drop out the cloud coming down the hairpins and the huge vista opens up in front of you, still makes my jaw drop. Final descent to the bottom was complete hoot!

    As far as Ryhdd Ddu goes. I need to go and have another crack when I’m fresh, have got likeminded company, and ideally on a bone dry, clear day.

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