Crib Goch is a knife-edged

arête An arête ( ; ) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

in the

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales. The name means "red ridge" in Welsh. The highest point on the

is above sea level. All routes which tackle Crib Goch are considered mountaineering routes in winter or scrambles in summer—meaning that they must cross "graded territory" as defined in Steve Ashton's ''Scrambles in Snowdonia''.Steve Ashton, Scrambles in Snowdonia, (Cicerone Press, 1992) The easiest of these lines (the ‘bad step’ part of the route) is given a scrambling grade of Grade 1 (the most difficult being Grade 3—routes more difficult than Grade 3 are considered rock climbs).

Route

The classic traverse of Crib Goch from East to West leads up from the Pyg track to a ‘bad step’, where hands and feet are both needed briefly. It is followed by ascent to the arête, before tackling three rock-pinnacles to a grassy col at Bwlch Coch. This first part of the ridge is exposed with

precipice In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are co ...

s below, having resulted in several fatalities, even of experienced mountaineers; the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

Authority describes it as ‘not a mountain for the inexperienced’. It is also possible to ascend Crib Goch's North Ridge, which adjoins the main ridge. The route is far more difficult in high winds or frozen ground, and so it is recommended that walkers check the weather forecast beforehand. It is possible to ascend Crib Goch from Bwlch y Moch or from

Nant Peris The Llanberis Pass (; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom o ...

, an ascent via Cwm Beudu Mawr. From the col the ridge rises again, joining the main

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

ridge via the sister peak Garnedd Ugain in the west. Here the path meets the Pyg Track (which descends to

Pen-y-Pass Pen-y-Pass is a mountain pass in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a popular location from which to walk up Snowdon, as three of the popular routes (the Miners Track, the Pyg Track and the ascent via Crib Goch) can be started here. ...

) at Bwlch Glas (marked by a large standing stone), before the final climb to

summit. To the south of the arête lie the lakes of Glaslyn and Llyn Llydaw. To the north is the

Llanberis Pass The Llanberis Pass (; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom o ...

. Crib Goch is classed as a Welsh 3000er and is also often climbed as the first part of the Snowdon Horseshoe, which goes on over Garnedd Ugain, Snowdon and Y Lliwedd, before returning to

. Crib Goch is one of the wettest spots in the United Kingdom, with an average of

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

a year over the past 30 years.

References

External links

Crib Goch Visit Wales Video
Climbing Crib Goch video
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www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Crib Gochwww.walkupsnowdon.co.uk : Details of the Scrambling Route and map
{{Welsh3000 Hewitts of Wales Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Nuttalls Ridges of Wales Furths Beddgelert Llanberis Mountains and hills of Gwynedd