We went up the Pyg (or Pig, or PYG, take your pick) track and down the Llanberis path. I don't know why the Pyg and Miner's routes are traditionally suffixed "track" while all the others are suffixed "path", but there it is nonetheless. This nice interactive clicky map thing gives you a good idea of the contrasting routes up the mountain (as does its Wikipedia page).
The two main routes I have yet to try are the Watkin Path from the south (arguably the most "honest" way up as it starts from only 200 feet above sea level and thus involves the most ascent; the Pyg track by contrast starts at the Pen-y-pass car park at about 1200 feet) and the Crib Goch traverse, which branches off from the Pyg track about halfway up and is apparently somewhat hair-raising, as can be gauged from the recent couple of deaths up there, and many more in the past - quite a large proportion of which were caused, I would guess, by people missing the Pyg track turn at the junction and stumbling up onto, and subsequently off, a 3000-foot knife-edge mountain ridge in jeans and trainers carrying a Tesco's carrier bag full of Stella. If one has designs, as I do, on one day doing the Welsh 3000s Challenge, though, Crib Goch is an integral part of it. I think some spare pants may be required, though.
After Wayne aka Joe's sterling efforts in organising the whole thing I should also plug his website - a group of linked business ventures offering everything from fine champagne to luxury apartment rental to finance for your next combine harvester purchase. I don't think that he has any connection to the somewhat bizarre-sounding Joe Fizz Coffee Soda, though.
The lavishly rebuilt summit café and toilet block (and railway terminus and probably tea-towel shop and who knows what else) appear to be just about complete, but aren't open yet. I don't know that there is an official opening date set yet - the semi-official summit blog has some interesting photos of progress, but the last entry is for September 2008 (only a couple of months after Hazel and I were up there last).
The two main routes I have yet to try are the Watkin Path from the south (arguably the most "honest" way up as it starts from only 200 feet above sea level and thus involves the most ascent; the Pyg track by contrast starts at the Pen-y-pass car park at about 1200 feet) and the Crib Goch traverse, which branches off from the Pyg track about halfway up and is apparently somewhat hair-raising, as can be gauged from the recent couple of deaths up there, and many more in the past - quite a large proportion of which were caused, I would guess, by people missing the Pyg track turn at the junction and stumbling up onto, and subsequently off, a 3000-foot knife-edge mountain ridge in jeans and trainers carrying a Tesco's carrier bag full of Stella. If one has designs, as I do, on one day doing the Welsh 3000s Challenge, though, Crib Goch is an integral part of it. I think some spare pants may be required, though.
After Wayne aka Joe's sterling efforts in organising the whole thing I should also plug his website - a group of linked business ventures offering everything from fine champagne to luxury apartment rental to finance for your next combine harvester purchase. I don't think that he has any connection to the somewhat bizarre-sounding Joe Fizz Coffee Soda, though.The lavishly rebuilt summit café and toilet block (and railway terminus and probably tea-towel shop and who knows what else) appear to be just about complete, but aren't open yet. I don't know that there is an official opening date set yet - the semi-official summit blog has some interesting photos of progress, but the last entry is for September 2008 (only a couple of months after Hazel and I were up there last).
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