Summit to write home about: Angela conquers Snowdon

Last month, our intrepid receptionist Angela, from our Worthing office, embarked on an incredible journey of endurance, self discovery and a mountain of mist! She took off on a family holiday to Wales, pet dog in tow, and whilst there, couldn’t resist taking on one of the most famous landmarks the country has to offer “Mount Snowdon“. Once she was firmly back on terra firma, we caught up with Angela for the full debrief!

The start of something big

Not keen on travelling abroad this year we decided to have a family holiday to Wales, which as anyone who has ever been will know, is stunningly beautiful. My family consists of myself, my husband, two boys (aged 17 & 20) and our dog, Millie. Having the dog with us meant we planned a walking holiday.

We were really keen on conquering Mount Snowdon via the Rhyd-Ddu path which runs up from the south west side of the mountain and is quieter than the some of the more popular routes. We attempted this path 9 years ago but had to turn back quite near the top due to bad weather closing in. We didn’t feel it was safe to continue with the boys being much younger than they are now. But we were determined to complete it this time.  

The trek to the top

We knew the weather would not be brilliant but it was quite warm and not very windy, apart from at the top. As we set off we could see the cloud was low and that visibility would be poor and that ultimately, we would get wet! However, undeterred, we set off.

When we reached the point we had aborted last time, you couldn’t see the drop either side but you knew it was there. We knew we had made the right decision back then! Continuing on this time, there were a few challenging parts where I suddenly felt a little dizzy and had to cling onto rocks for support, but the boys just took it all in their stride. 

There were walkers who were coming back down and there were some points where it was quite hard to pass each other. However, people do give you words of encouragement as they go by saying “you’re nearly there!”

The summit in sight

Eventually we saw the iconic but blurry outline of the summit café coming into view and we knew we had made it! It was a brilliant feeling of accomplishment and the sun even tried to put in an appearance as if to congratulate us. It was very busy around the summit with people queuing for the further few metres to the trig point which marks the summit.

Having reached the summit several times before via different paths, we didn’t feel it necessary to joint the queue. So we just caught our breath for a few minutes before heading back down.

Head for heights

We can now add the Rhyl-Ddu path to the already completed Llanberis Path, Pyg Track and Miners Track. There are still a few more different routes to take, so maybe sometime in the future we’ll be there again! A couple of fun facts from the trip include my Fitbit recording 26,386 steps on the hike up Snowdon, and I burned 1650 calories! Also, we actually also climbed the second tallest mountain in Wales that week as well (Snowdon obviously being the tallest!): Cadar Idris. You could say it was our warm up! Not as tall but still a very strenuous climb.

Well done Angela! We think you’re amazing and we never would have thought we’d see a Carpenter Box water bottle on the top of Snowdon!