Cnicht and the Rhosydd quarries
| Distance | 11 km |
|---|---|
| Ascent | 700 m |
| Time | 5 h 30 min |
| Start | Croesor village car park |
| Map | OS Explorer OL18 |
Conditions
Cold and still after a clear night. Hard frost on the grass in Cwm Croesor that was still there at two in the afternoon wherever the sun hadn’t reached. Low cloud sitting on the ridge first thing, burning off from below, so we climbed out of it at about 600 m and had the top in thin sunshine with a sea of cloud over the Glaslyn. Wind barely worth writing down.
Route
From the car park, up the lane west out of the village and through the gate onto the open hill, then follow the obvious path north-east up the long south-west ridge. People call Cnicht the Welsh Matterhorn because of how it looks from Porthmadog; from this side it is just a good steady ridge with a steeper rocky bit at the end.
The final 100 m are the fun part. There are a couple of short rock steps where you need your hands, and the frost made the grass between them crunchy rather than slippery, which helped. Summit at 689 m is a narrow crest, not a point, and we sat on the north side out of what little breeze there was.
From the top we carried on north-east along the broad, knobbly ridge, which is much gentler than the climb suggests. Past the small pools to Llyn yr Adar, where we turned right and dropped south-east to the Rhosydd quarry. The ruined barracks and the old mill buildings are worth a slow wander, but keep well away from the open shafts.
From Rhosydd the old incline drops straight down into Cwm Croesor. It is steep and the slate underfoot was icy in places, so we took the zig-zag path beside it instead. The track along the valley floor is long and flat and takes you right back to the village.
Next time
Start earlier in November, we got back to the car in the last of the light at half four with no slack. And bring microspikes in the car even if they stay there; the Rhosydd incline would have been a lot calmer with them.