I’m off to Snowdonia for a 4 day trip next week, staying near Coed-y-Brenin so will do a day there, and probably a day at the Climach-X trail, or may Llangdegla. Considering tackling Snowdon on the other day if the weather behaves itself (fitting in with the voluntary ban 10-5 of course). Any advice on riding Snowdon would be much appreciated.

I’ll be on a full-suss 29er and the other two on 140mm trail bikes. Are local trails are South Downs, Stanmer Park, Surrey Hills etc, but we’ve ridden Afan, CyB, Brechfa, Nant-y-Arian, Cwmcarn etc before so have a idea of the terrain to expect.

Thanks in advance,

Paceman

Rangers Path – you get the good weather and its one of the best descents around. Steep switchbacky goodness.

Go up Llanberis path. Back down Rangers before cutting through Telegraph valley I think it’s called. Bit of carrying on the way up so make sure your shoes are ok for walking in. Might want some pads for the descent as bits are very rocky.

Sounds excellent!! We’ll make sure we’ve got pads with us.

What’s the approx distance / timescale for that route?

I did Snowdon for the first time ever on my mtb and it took 2.5 hrs up the Llanberis pass with a few stops to take in the scenery we spent about an hour on the summit the whole ride took about 4.5 hours we had a few mechanical issues on the way down rangers and telegraph valley, I rate it amongst one of my best rides ever. Can’t wait to get Jedi’ed later this month so I can tackle the worst of the gnarly lovelyness.

The final descent of the climachx trail is shut at the moment. With that descent being the major attraction of the trial I’d be cautious about devoting a whole day of your trip to it.

You’ll be up and down within three hours assuming no mishaps or extended stops. Pads not crucial if you don’t normally wear them, but I always wear knees and elbows. Having ridden with a guy on a Tallboy in Les Arcs, I reckon you have the perfect Snowdon bike.

Timmys, cheers for the info on that, will look for an alternative to the Climachx.

…excited about riding Snowdon now 😀

I was hoping to ride the Climachx tomorrow. Can you confirm the final descent is closed?

I was hoping to ride the Climachx tomorrow. Can you confirm the final descent is closed?

According to this it is: http://www.dyfimountainbiking.org.uk/Dyfi_MTB/Welcome.html

There is a diversion but haven’t done it so don’t know how “good” it is. Unless a local pipes up your best bet might be pop into the Holey Trail in Machynlleth and get the low down if you are already in the area.

Timmys, cheers for the info on that, will look for an alternative to the Climachx.

Nant Yr Arian is lovely but maybe a bit too far south to be practical.

Good article on Snowdon in the latest issue of Singletrack.

You’ll be up and down within three hours assuming no mishaps or extended stops

You wont unless you are very fit and dont stop at all.

Thanks for that,

I am off to NYA today and was hoping to get Mach on the way back tomorrow. Will try the shop as suggested.

Rhid, let us know what you find out about the closures at Mach.

Cheers

Paceman

Just did it last week and it was ace even though I was in cloud and drizzle for the top third of the climb so didn’t get the views. One of my best rides ever.

Went up the llanberis path which is mainly rideable until you get past the halfway point then its mainly push/carry especially up 2 sections where its very steep.

It got very cold towards the top despite being warm enough at the bottom half to be sweating in a t-shirt, because of this I didn’t spend long at the summit and didn’t enjoy the first part of the descent until I’d warmed up.

I was plannning on doing the rangers descent but the llanberis path looked like fun as I was riding up it and I’d heard the rangers was a bit more steep and technical so I bottled it and decided to come back down llanberis instead. I was cold and starting to get wet so just wanted to get back down in one piece more than anything, would love to try the rangers at some point but the llanberis was a blast anyway.

It took me 1 hour 45 mins for the full route with a couple of short stops on the way up and down

strava link

There’s a voluntary agreement not to ride it between 10 and 5 and it gets very busy with walkers so it’s a good idea to stick to arrangement.

Do yourself a favour and make sure you spend more than 3 hours on the mountain, it’s worth taking your time.

You’ll pass lots of walkers on the way up , especially if you climb on the Llanberis path. Some will be encouraging, others will say hilarious things like “You should be pedalling”, “Anyone can PUSH a bike up Snowdon” etc… Respond by retorting “Anyone can walk up the tourist path on Snowdon”.

Whether you come back down Llanberis or the Rangers, the top section has man made steps and a tight double switch back (assuming you dont ride next to the railway) – fairly techie and not a place you want to stack, as there will be lots of people around!

Telegraph Valley makes for a nice loop, but is over pretty quick.

I would think about riding from the bottom of the Rangers Path. Ride up the zigzags (not included in the ban), up to Telegraph Valley then ride down towards Llanberis, but turn right to the Hebron Station to save yourself losing too much height and having to climb on tarmac from Llanberis itself. As above, it’s mostly ridable to the Halfway Station (depending on the time of day!), then it’s a push/carry to the cafe. Then you can descend the whole length of the Rangers Path (or Rhyd Ddu if you fancy it…..). Rangers is a great ride, as close to a big Alpine descent as you’ll get in England or Wales.

Great ride, and means you dont spend all your time in Snowdonia riding around in the trees.

If the weather is putting you off, but you still want to ride a proper mountain, have a look at Cadair Idris – a little lower and further south, so often gets better weather.

Have a good time.

[…] from the bottom of the Rangers Path. Ride up the zigzags (not included in the ban), up to Telegraph Valley then ride down towards Llanberis, but turn right to the Hebron Station to save yourself losing too much height and having to climb on tarmac from Llanberis itself

That’s a pretty good idea!

It took me 40 minutes to ride up and down Ranger. I could have done it quicker but I got chainsuck dropping from the 42t to 32t ring a couple of times on the steeper climbs.

It’s a mountain with very variable weather patterns. Just ignore any willy waving pleb on here and assume you’ll be up there for hours with several mechanical issues, and any less time up there will be a bonus. Unless you are still enjoying yourself of course.

It isnt a race, enjoy the views (…that you are unlikely to get!)

But…there is a video on Youtube of a guy descending the Rangers Path from Summit to Zigzags in under 10 minutes! I suspect he didnt ride up so fast on that rig though.

Youtube

I’d try and do Penmachno if you can’t do the Climachx

A vote for the slate quarries here. Start in Llanberis go along the lake towards the sea. Across the old road bridge and turn right. Climb uphill on the road. Keep climbing, climb some more towards the power station. Bear right and… uphill some more. Stop for lunch and then head down as fast as you dare on the terracing. Rejoin the road just South of the Vanyol arms in the pass and then head back into Llanberis and a well deserved Pete’s chip sandwich.

Cheers guys, especially the heads up on changing temperatures / weather conditions etc. I’m assuming parking the bike van at the bottom won’t be a problem either.

Took us about 2.5 hours to get up. Probably could’ve been quicker but one of our group doesn’t do much cardio and struggled up quite a lot of the climb. Awesome views if you catch a break in the clouds. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it much as rocky/techy isn’t my kind of riding but the descent was one of the most fun times I’ve had on a bike.

Our route was the typical up Llanberis path, down Rangers then cutting across telegraph (which was also awesome).

I’m assuming parking the bike van at the bottom won’t be a problem either.

If you park my the lake its free after 6, careful in the carpark opposite the mountain railway as it gets locked.

Awesome fun and despite lack of skills/big cojones I really enjoyed it. I would like to do it again and hope for better weather at the top. Take a pair of warm gloves and a jacket.

I put the fattest tires on my hardtail that I could fit in the frame/fork, mostly to give a bit of extra grip and cushioning.

I did a lot of hike a bike as I found it hard to keep forward momentum on some of the steeper parts.

What seems to works best as far as avoiding walkers goes? Early morning start or evening ride up and down?

Depends on weather forecasts, but if equally OK I’d go for evening. As mentioned above, the slate mines are across the other side. Sandwich’s directions are slightly off. Let me know if interested and if so I’ll type out the proper ones.

Saxabar, directions would be hugely appreciated 😀

There are a few ways of doing it and there’s a couple of places you can start from.

1. The easiest way to do it is to climb the descent itself. This means:
– Stage 1. Leaving Llanberis and heading towards Nant Peris.
– Cycle along for about a mile and you’ll see an access road on the left with either a bridleway or footpath sign.
– Go through this gate and continue for a hundred yards and go through this gate too. The climbing starts here and is straight up for 20mins (depending if you’ve done a Snowdon run beforehand!).
– You’ll go through a huge gap in a rock and continue along until you drop down a path and then up again and over another gate. About forty yards along there’s a gate on the right which says something to the effect of Keep Out.
– Stage 2. Go through and continue climbing up to the top. I haven’t cycled up this way, but I’d guess it’s about 30/40mins to the top.
– Once you get to the top: enjoy the view and then descend!

2. To make this into a loop
As Sandwich says, start in Llanberis and head along the left-hand side of the lake in the opposite direction to Nant Peris towards Brynrefail. Go across the old road bridge and turn right. Climb uphill on the road. If I understand Sandwich correctly, his route only takes you to the Stage 1 descent. To get to this continue along the road for another mile or so you’ll see parked cars in a lay by. Go through and along and the Snowdon vista will open before you. Continue to the gap in the rock and down all the way.

Or! Keep climbing on the road heading towards Mynydd Llandygai/Bangor/Bethesda. Head along as here as the road levels out and after two miles take a right (it’s the only one you will see). Cycle gently up and over the gate heading towards mountains. Follow this access road up for a mile and then turn right continuing up another access road. As you reach the end of the barriers go over the gate on the right. Descend!

There’s lots of other wooded descents and ways of getting around that side of the valley, but I’m guessing I’ve confused you already!

Why risk the probability of being on the mountain past 10am?

Snowdon is excellent – one of the best UK rides i’ve done, but if your at Coed-y-Brenin, i would strongly recommend tackling Cadair Idris

You can ride to it from CYB and i honestly found it a much more enjoyable ride.

There is way less people up there, the views are, IMHO, epic, more of it is rideable, no voluntary bans and the DH is just mental – especially the last bit on the slate steps

We hooked together an epic 40 mile around there which was something else – happy to share the GPX if you want

boltonjon
I would like a look at your gpx if you don’t mind 🙂
jonwalla24@gmail.com

Boltonjohn, thanks for the advice, will bear that in mind and possibly do both 🙂

Walla24 – its on its way

All this talk of Welsh mountains is making my very jealous – i need to get up there again soon!

I think everyone has covered the possible route options pretty well – all I’d add is that if you don’t ride down the Rangers then you’re really cheating yourself (having ridden both) – it’s about a million times more fun than the Llanberis as a descent. I also reckon you’ve far more chance of hurting yourself going down the Llanberis.

Make sure you have lots of warm clothing – temperature will drop a lot as you head up, and if you’re in a cloud it will be very cold and wet. It’ll also likely be pretty windy. Allow plenty of time too, just in case you’re lucky enough to get a view from the top – even if you don’t, you’ll want to stop and admire it as you drop down out of the cloud. We found (doing it yesterday!) that we hit cloud quite close to the bottom of the Llanberis path on the way up, but dropped out of it pretty quickly on the Rangers going down, so comments about the Rangers getting better weather aren’t unreasonable.

We did it in the morning – from the campsite above Llanberis I think it took us about four and a half hours, but we certainly weren’t racing up or down, and we spent a fair while at the top faffing with pads, complaining about the lack of view and talking to a very strange man who was camping right outside the window of the cafe. The advantage of morning is that any folk you meet are likely to be coming up, and thus see you, get out of the way then laugh when you fall off. There’s also less chance of being stuck on top of a mountain in the dark. Weather at the moment seems to be cloudy in the morning clearing later on though, so you’ve more chance of views doing it in the evening. We saw maybe ten people in three groups on the Rangers, and they were all friendly, though clearly thought we were mad.

Pics to follow later, didn’t have time to sort them last night.

Thanks FlyingMonkeyCorps, would love to see the photos 🙂

Will stick a couple up tonight 🙂

Hi all,

Bit of a post hijack so sorry for that, but is anyone around this week and riding Snowdon? I’m on hols in Portmadog and supposed to be doing it with a mate who’s pulled out on me at the last minute – don’t fancy doing it on my own! Anyone I can hook up with?