The 3000-foot mountains of Wales

Summary

There are fourteen 3000-foot mountains in Wales, all in Snowdonia. Of course, the number depends on how you define a 'mountain'; the acrhetypal British 3000-foot index, to the Munros of Scotland, has been revised several times as ideas vary on what is a peak and what is merely an outlying top. There's less contention in Wales; if there were a fifteenth, it would be Garnedd Uchaf in the Carneddau, between Foel Grach and Foel-fras. It has a splendid rocky top and ridges diverge from here, even if re-ascent from the col to the south is minimal. I used my cross-Wales walk as an excuse to complete the round, more than thirty years after I had started it; no great achievement, when there is a well-known, and regularly surmounted, challenge to complete in 24 hours. Still, here are notes and photographs to tempt more to these wonderful hills.
 
The hills fall naturally into three groups. The Snowdon page will follow in May.

Snowdon

Snowdon, at 3560ft, is the highest mountain in Wales, or indeed anywhere in Britain south of Perth. It's worthy of its pre-eminence, as a spectacularly photogenic hill with a variety of exciting routes to the top (and a few dull ones too). The most exacting traverses the exposed and scrambly ridge of Crib Goch (3026ft), with Crib y Ddysgl (3493ft) intervening before the summit of Snowdon itself, or Yr Wyddfa as it is known in Welsh. 
 
The Snowdon page, coming soon, will have photographs from walking the Snowdon horseshoe with Dave Travers in 1974, and an ascent as the final leg of a sponsored Ben Nevis - Scafell Pike - Snowdon three peaks challenge in 1992.

The Glyders

This is the central group; they rise on the other side of the Llanberis pass to the Snowdon massif, with the Carneddau to their north and east across the gap formed by the Ogwen and Ffrancon valleys. The range of five 3000 footers is named after the two highest hills, Glyder Fawr (3279ft) and Glyder Fach (3262ft); just to their south is perhaps the most striking of all the Welsh hills, the remarkable Tryfan (3010ft). The more northerly pair, Y Garn (3104ft) and Elidir Fawr (3030ft), are less well-known but highly rewarding too. 
 
The Glyders page has photographs from walking Tryfan, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach with Dave Travers in 1974, and Elidir Fawr / Y Garn in 2006 - maybe the two best single days in the hills I have ever had.

For my Glyders page click here.

The Carneddau

The largest group, both in number (six, seven if Garnedd Uchaf is included) and area. Carnedd Llewellyn (3490ft) is the centre of the range, with a number of ridges: south-west to Carnedd Dafydd (3425ft) and Pen yr Ole Wen (3211ft), north-west to Yr Elen (3152ft), and north to Foel Grach (3196ft) and Foel-fras (3092ft).
 
The Carneddau page describes one circuit (Pen yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewellyn) and one traverse (Carnedd Llewellyn to Foel Grach and Foel-fras), both in 2006. The latter was the final stage of my cross-Wales walk.
 
For my Carneddau page click here.

 
Site created by Peter Aylmer of London

page created 22 November 2006, amended 25 March 2007