No mountain has meant more, to more people, in more different ways than this. And that’s wonderful.
SNOWDON FALLS INTO the category of Things Everyone’s Heard Of – and there aren’t many mountains in that one. But unlike Manchester United and Jeremy Clarkson, Snowdon’s is a ubiquity which inspires universal affection. Not just among walkers. Among rockclimbers, mountain-bikers, bloggers; botanists, photographers, BASE-jumpers; litterpickers, school-children, mountain goats; fell-runners, fundraisers, folklorists; from tourists to trainspotters, Chris Bonington to Kevin Bacon, everyone looks up to Snowdon. There are many hills that are good at a few things, few that are good at all of them. None has the consummate crowd-pleasing ability of Snowdon. It certainly puts its Three Peaks siblings in the shade. Because whatever you’re doing, doing it on Snowdon makes it an occasion.
A primary school class can be enthralled by an account of a summer’sday ascent of the Pyg Track complete with ice cream at the top; a climber’s attention wrapt by tales of the Pen-y-Gwryd and Trinity Face; a wheelchair user’s horizons gloriously widened by the expedition to Llyn Llydaw. It’s the enormous elasticity of Snowdon’s appeal which is the key, and for every constituency of visitor, in their own way, it’s a Very Big Deal. For mountain bikers it’s a rite-of-passage ride, and their voluntary exclusion between the hours of 10am and 5pm from 1 May to 30 September has only made the quality of light in their trophy photos the richer.
Alan Hinkes says even after climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks, it’s still among his very favourites: “It has just about everything a mountain can have.
It’s steeped in mountaineering history, where early Everest pioneers trained; it’s spectacular and looks like a mountain, especially in winter. There are very difficult ways to go up, like Crib Goch, rock climbs on Cloggy and Y Lliwedd, and classic ice gullies in winter. But if you only fancy a bimble, in summer there are relatively easy paths and even a rack and pinion railway with classic, heritage steam locomotives, hauling tourist trains. What it lacks in height to an Alpine or Himalayan peak, it makes up for in quality – a ‘value for money mountain’ whose value is essentially infinite.”
When walkers get to the top, there’s the excitement of choosing your way down (and the chance for your knees to advocate for one of the few standby tickets for the train ride down). But for some Snowdon visitors a yet intenser thrill awaits.
Jumping off. Psychologist Dave Gallagher works with BASE jumping collective mountainmanbase.com, and says the mountain’s Clogwyn Du’r Arddu or ‘Cloggy’ side is the ultimate diving board: “Standing on the lip of those big cliff
