Carneddau Traverse, Snowdonia

An awesome day venturing into The Carneddau, a range of mountains at the northeastern edge of Snowdonia. It is famous for the Welsh ponies which roam the mountain slopes. Our 18.5km route will start in Ogwen Valley and take us up the east ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen. From the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen we’ll continue on a fantastic ridge walk along the Carneddau range over Carnedd Dafydd, Yr Elen, Carnedd Llewelyn (the second highest mountain in Wales), Foel Grach, Garnedd Uchaf and Foel-fras. What a day! The traverse is mainly scramble free apart a very short section on to Pen yr Ole Wen known as ‘the choke’ on the east ridge. (A scramble is midway between hiking and climbing. In other words, it's hiking with some use of hands to stabilise yourself). I am a qualified mountaineering instructor (MIC) and full member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors so you’ll be in good hands. Grade: Walk Distance: 18.5 km Height gain: 1250m Time: 8-9 hrs

Itinerary

This 8-9 hour hike will start in the Ogwen valley and head up the east ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen. This involves some mild and short-lived scrambling through ‘the choke’ (less than Grade 1). From the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen we’ll continue on a fantastic ridge walk along the Carneddau range over Carnedd Dafydd, Yr Elen, Carnedd Llewelyn (second highest mountain in Wales), Foel Grach, Garnedd Uchaf and Foel-fras.