It’s the highest mountain in Wales and England, don’t you know? But ‘they’ say it’s just a straightforward stroll to the top – so straightforward, in fact, that you can actually ride a bike all the way up it. Turns out it depends which path you take.

With the dastardly zipwire out of the way, Steve and I were looking forward to kicking back a bit with a wholesome and decidedly less nerve-shredding yomp to the top of the mountain after which the area is named. With maps, macs and flapjacks packed, and a full Welsh breakfast inside us (though we’d made the unfortunate faux pas of asking for a full English at the B&B), we were ready to ramble.

There are several walking paths to the top of Snowdon (not to mention a steam-powered mountain railway), and after a bit of research we opted for the Miner’s Track as, apparently, it’s one of the easiest ways up.

Our first mistake was turning up at the small but very popular Pen-y-pass trailhead car park expecting to find a space. Full to the brim. So having parked a mile or so away and walked back to the trailhead along a tricky, rocky path, we set about the ascent proper. The early going was promising – easy, wide hardpack with not much in the way of gradient, which wound around a large lake. At this point, things suddenly took a turn for the challenging, and the path became steeper, with rock slabs underfoot.

We reached another lake after half an hour or so, where the path flattened again. I allowed my legs to lap up the respite, wilfully ignoring the fact that the summit still towered overhead. Munching laboriously on a cinder-dry Welsh cake and squinting upwards, my gaze fell upon a small figure about 20 metres above me, making his spidery way up the mountainside, seemingly vertically. He wasn’t following a path to speak of, just steep, rocky hillside. Another climber, then another, came into view, until we realised that this was actually part of the Miner’s Path. If this was the easiest way, I’m loathe to even consider what the hardest might be like.

Having meddled with climbing walls, paragliders and a ridiculous zip wire this year, I’m OK with heights these days. Exposure though, I’m not used to and I find it uncomfortable. It was hardly Crib Goch, and people actually had dogs and young children with them – one couple was even feeding a small baby halfway up which I found pretty alarming – but when I struggled over the lip of the climb and on to the relative comfort of the Pyg Trail above, I was relieved in no small measure.

From here began the second and hardest half of the climb, steep and rocky all the way and with a small amount of scrambling too. The sky was leaden and the temperature dropped as we climbed. By the three-quarter mark and more than two hours of climbing, we just wanted it to end. The narrow path up here was thronging with walkers to the extent that frequent stops to allow oncomers to filter through were required.

Finally we emerged on the upper ridge, practically at the summit. On the other side the sun was shining on an amazing vista 1,000 metres below us, which stretched all the way to the Irish Sea. A chuntering in the distance signalled the approach of the mountain steam engine, which puffed past with a carriage full of warm punters, none of whom had lifted a finger to get up here, yet all of whom were going to get to the cafe before us. Bastards.

Just a couple of hundred yards of rocky trekking and we’d reached the summit proper.
Unfortunately it was totally enveloped in cloud, so there wasn’t much to see. However, the cafe was waiting for us, where a large tea and an enormous pasty formed the warm and tasty foundation of our fuel supply for the trek back down.

Where? Mt Snowdon, Gwynedd, Wales
How much? Free (notwithstanding the price it extracts from your legs)
Pros: It’s a thoroughly life affirming experience in awe-inspiring scenery
Cons: Exhausting and slightly nerve jangling at times
Verdict: Everyone should do it once
40 Things Rating: 8/10