Miners Track

After registering and signing in at the start point in the car park in front of the   Legacy – Royal Victoria Hotel you will be transported by our free shuttle bus to Pen Y Pass where you will receive your pre climb briefing before setting off for the summit of Mt Snowdon.

The Miners Track to Llyn Glaslyn was built during the last century to serve the Britannia Copper Mines, abandoned in 1917. The Track is well defined and obvious until you reach Llyn Glaslyn but after that the path to the summit is considerably steeper and can be a serious undertaking especially in winter. The path starts at the far end of Pen Y Pass car park.

At first the path contours gently with fine views down the Gwynant Valley on your left. The valley was carved out by a slow moving glacier during the last ice age which ended about 10,000 years ago. After a short while a sudden right turn in the path reveals the three peaks of the famous Snowdon Horseshoe, from left to right they are Y Lliwedd (2947 ft.), Yr Wyddfa or Snowdon our destination (3560 ft.) and Crib Goch (3023 ft.). You are now about 1300 feet above sea level.

You soon pass above Llyn Teyrn, a small lake on your left – the ruins you can see on the lake shore are the old miners’ barracks. The path continues to climb gently until you come to Llyn Llydaw. Make sure you take the right hand path as you near the green valve house and continue on to and over the causeway that crosses the lake. Some of the most impressive views of Snowdon are to be had along this stretch of the route.  The lake itself is a glacial corrie lake, gouged out of the mountain during the ice age and is 190 feet deep.

On the lake shore you can see the derelict sorting and crushing mill of the Britannia Copper Mine and shortly beyond that you encounter the first steep section of the path up to the third lake – Llyn Glaslyn. On reaching Llyn Glaslyn, the ruins you pass on the right are the former barracks where the miners lived during the week and just after the barracks you will come to a path that ascends very steeply up the slope in front of you  to join the Pyg Track. For many this part of the ascent is the most demanding and difficult part of the climb as you pick your way slowly and carefully up the rocky path.

The junction of the Pyg Track is marked by a conspicuous striated boulder – turn left here and follow the track until you reach the Zigzag. The route upwards from here is well defined and has been subject to a great deal of work by the Snowdon National Park Authority. The path has been edged with rock filled gabions to prevent the scree above from engulfing it. This part of the climb is very steep and quite strenuous so take your time. Please treat this part of the ascent with great respect and keep strictly to the path.

Continue up the Zigzag until you reach the 8ft marker stone at Bwlch Glas – this is where the Miners / Pyg  Track meets the Llanberis path which will be your route down after reaching the summit.  So now turn left again and follow the path up to the top – from here it is a relatively easy 15 minute climb but please do not be tempted to walk along the Snowdon Mountain railway track at any time. Not only is it forbidden but it can cause serious erosion to the track bed and can be dangerous especially in wet conditions. You must keep to the path which follows a line along the edge of the ridge well to the left of the railway track which soon reaches the summit of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) at 1085m or 3560 feet.