Hello,

As mentioned in my previous post, the Welsh 3000s Challenge involves ascending all of Wales’ 3000ft/914m mountains within the space of twenty four hours. This is only possible because all of Wales’ 3000ft/914m mountains reside within three closely packed ranges known as the Snowdon Massif, the Glyderau and the Carneddau, allowing for a twenty six mile route to link all of the summits. Due to the distance and amount of ascent and descent involved, the Welsh 3000s Challenge is considered a far more strenuous and exhausting feat than the more commonly attempted National Three Peaks Challenge.

Included below is a list of the summits that make up the Welsh 3000s Challenge, arranged into their respective ranges and listed in order of height, highest to lowest.

Snowdon Massif:

  • Snowdon (1085m)
  • Garnedd Ugain (1065m)
  • Crib Goch (923m)

Glyderau:

  • Glyder Fawr (999m)
  • Glyder Fach (994m)
  • Castell y Gwynt (972m)
  • Y Garn (947m)
  • Elidir Fawr (924m)
  • Tryfan (915m)

Carneddau:

  • Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m)
  • Carnedd Dafydd (1044m)
  • Pen yr Ole Wen (978m)
  • Foel Grach (976m)
  • Yr Elen (962m)
  • Foel-fras (942m)
  • Carnedd Gwenllian (926m)

Castell y Gwynt and Carnedd Gwenllian are not generally considered to be summits, which is why the Welsh 3000s Challenge is sometimes referred to as the 14 Peaks. The reason for their omissions is that Castell y Gwynt is an immense rocky outcrop that juts out from the ridge between Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach, whilst Carnedd Gwenllian is little more than a slight bump on the ridge between Foel Grach and Foel-fras. Many people will make the small diversions needed to include one or both of these minor summits.

The majority of Welsh 3000s Challenge attempts begin at either Crib Goch or Snowdon, with those starting at the latter camping at the summit the night before, before traversing north across the Snowdon Massif, east across the Glyderau and then north across the Carneddau to the summit of Foel-fras. Some, including my uncle Martin, attempt the Welsh 3000s Challenge in reverse by starting at Foel-fras and traversing south across the Carneddau, west across the Glyderau and then finally south across the Snowdon Massif to the summit of Snowdon. There are some advantages and disadvantages for heading in either direction and this will come down to what physical and navigational challenges one wishes to face as each of the ranges has its own distinct character. Whereas the knife edged arête of Crib Goch dominates the Snowdon Massif, the eastern Glyderau is a chaotic mass of rocks that provides incredible scrambling opportunities, whilst the Carneddau is a large and remote range that proves difficult to navigate in poor visibility.

It is not uncommon for those attempting the Welsh 3000s Challenge to use a support team, whose task will be to meet them as they descend from each range and replenish their food and water, as well as provide fresh clothes and equipment as required. The support team also provides immediate transport for those who abandon their attempt. Some, including my uncle Martin, attempt the Welsh 3000s Challenge without a support team and will carry all of their food and equipment for the duration of their attempt. For our attempt, we will be using a support team that currently comprises of both our Dads, though two of my friends, Ben and Chris, have mentioned helping out if they can attend. Ben has also mentioned the possibility of joining us for the Glyderau and Carneddau ranges to ensure that if either me or Siobhan need to abandon our attempt, then we can leave the mountains safely with him, whilst the other continues the Welsh 3000s Challenge.

Most Welsh 3000s Challenge attempts take place around June 21st, the summer solstice, when there is around fifteen hours of light from sunrise at 5.00am until sunset at 10.00pm. Another reason for this choice of date is that the temperature in June is lower than in the following months. Temperature, as well as rain, mist and wind, will play a crucial part in the completion of the Welsh 3000s Challenge and the time in which it can be completed. If the weather is too hot, cold, rainy, misty or windy, then the completion time will increase. Even if a Welsh 3000s Challenge attempt begins on a clear day, the weather in Snowdonia can change incredibly quickly. As it is impossible to set an exact date for a successful Welsh 3000s Challenge attempt, most people will be flexible and wait for what they believe is the perfect day. For our attempt, we will be in Snowdonia from June 27th until July 1st and will attempt the Welsh 3000s Challenge on whichever is the first clear day.

Having described the main factors involved in the Welsh 3000s Challenge, I’m now going to describe the route me and Siobhan will be taking. In order to illustrate our route, I have included a series of maps showing the location of the previously listed summits, the route we will be taking and the location of each support stop.

We will be starting our attempt from the Pen y Pass youth hostel at 5.00am and will head straight to the eastern side of Crib Goch. After scaling Crib Goch’s flanks, we should reach its summit at roughly 6.30am before carefully traversing the knife edged arête to the summit of Garnedd Ugain for 7.10am. As there are several sections of the arête that are so narrow that one can sit astride upon it, progress will be slow to ensure our safety as the arête has claimed the lives of several people, including experienced mountaineers. From Garnedd Ugain, we will walk along the ridge to Snowdon for around 7.40am. We will then head north and follow the Llanberis Path to the Halfway House café before descending the eastern flanks of Llechog to the Vaynol Arms for our first support stop at roughly 9.30am.

From the Vaynol Arms, we will pass through the village of Nant Peris before beginning our steep ascent onto the Glyderau. We should reach our fourth summit, Elidir Fawr, at roughly 11.30am. We will then follow the gentle ridge east and then south to Y Garn, which offers a fantastic panorama of all of Snowdonia, for 12.50pm. From Y Garn, we will descend to the Devil’s Kitchen, which provides a safe descent to the lake of Llyn Ogwen if we need to abandon our attempt early. Providing we continue our attempt, we will ascend a scree slope from the Devil’s Kitchen to the summit of Glyder Fawr for 14.00pm before finding our way across the boulder strewn ridge to Glyder Fach for 14.30pm. After descending a scree slope from Glyder Fach to Bwlch Tryfan, which also provides a safe descent to Llyn Ogwen, we will ascend the southern flank of Tryfan to reach its summit for 15.20pm. We will then descend to Llyn Ogwen for our second support stop at 16.20pm. Providing we are physically able to ascend the Carneddau, we will replenish our food and water, change our clothes and take torches, headlamps and survival bags as we will be completing the later stages of the Welsh 3000s Challenge in pitch black.

From Llyn Ogwen, we will head north to Pen yr Ole Wen’s eastern flank and ascend a gradual path up to the summit for 18.10pm, rather than take the shorter and steeper route up the western flank. As we will have descended 605m in less than half a mile from Tryfan to Llyn Ogwen, the 668m ascension in just over a mile from Llyn Ogwen to Pen yr Ole Wen will be the most physically punishing stage of our attempt. If we cannot ascend Pen yr Ole Wen’s eastern flank, then we will turn around and return to Llyn Ogwen. If we can reach the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen, then all we have to contend with is the long distance and night time navigation to the last summit of Foel-fras, as there is nowhere near as much ascent and descent when traversing the Carneddau as there is when crossing the Snowdon Massif or the Glyderau. From Pen yr Ole Wen’s summit, we will follow the ridge north east to our tenth summit, Carnedd Dafydd, for 18.40pm. We will then follow the ridge east, then north, then north west to Yr Elen for 20.00pm. As the sun begins to set over Snowdonia, we will turn around and follow the ridge south east to the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn for 20.40pm. Once we pass Carnedd Llewelyn’s summit, there are few options for leaving the Carneddau other than to complete the Welsh 3000s Challenge. With this in mind, we will head north to Foel Grach for 21.10pm. There is a refuge built on the summit of Foel Grach, which will provide invaluable shelter in which to prepare ourselves for the last two summits and our descent from the Carneddau. If need be, we will stop at the shelter for an extended period of time in order to rest before continuing our attempt.

The last stage of our attempt will take place in pitch black, so navigation will be vital to our safety and success. From Foel Grach, we will head north to Carnedd Gwenllian for 21.30pm and then north east to Foel-fras for 22.00pm. After celebrating on our final summit, we will continue north along the ridge to Drum, where we will cut down its western slope to the lake of Llyn Anafon. We will then follow a winding path at the feet of the northern Carneddau for just over three miles to a car park outside of the village of Aber for roughly 12.00am, where our support team will be waiting for us.

Phew. I hope the Welsh 3000s Challenge is no where near as exhausting as writing those last five paragraphs.

Many thanks for reading,

Simon.