Crib Goch: The Best Way Up Snowdon, If You’re Up For It
If you’re heading for the summit of Snowdon and you want an actual adventure rather than a long walk, take Crib Goch. It’s the most fun I’ve had on a mountain alongside Tryfan, and honestly the two of them together are the best two days I’ve had outdoors, full stop.
It’s also far quieter than the standard Pyg Track or Llanberis Path. Most people walking up Snowdon never go near it, which means you get a proper sense of having the mountain to yourself even though you’re on one of the most famous ridges in the UK.
Don’t Do This in the Wet
Say this first because it matters more than anything else in this post: don’t attempt Crib Goch if it’s wet, raining, or windy. The rock here is exposed and the ridge has drops of around 1,000 feet on either side. In good dry conditions it’s an exciting scramble well within reach of anyone with a bit of confidence. In the rain, the same rock turns slick and the whole character of the route changes from thrilling to genuinely dangerous. Check the forecast properly before you commit, and if it’s not right, save it for another day.
How Easy Is It Actually?
If you’ve got even a small amount of rock climbing experience, enough to trust your hands and feet on rock and move confidently using both, this is a breeze. I went in expecting something far more technical than it turned out to be. The scrambling itself isn’t hard. What makes Crib Goch feel serious is the exposure: the fact that a slip has real consequences given what’s either side of you, not the physical difficulty of the moves themselves.
Footwear matters here more than most routes. You need boots or trail shoes that fit well, have genuinely grippy soles, and that you trust completely. This is not a route to attempt in anything less than footwear you’re confident in on wet rock.
Getting There
Crib Goch starts about halfway through the Pyg Track, branching off at Bwlch y Moch. For parking details, how to get to Pen-y-Pass, and the rest of the route to the summit, it’s all in the Pyg Track guide.
How to Find the Turnoff
From Pen-y-Pass, follow the Pyg Track for around a mile, which takes about 30 to 40 minutes of steady walking. The track rises above the Llanberis Pass and it’s straightforward hiking on this section: well-engineered path, clearly defined, nothing technical.
At Bwlch y Moch (the Pass of the Pigs), views open up ahead over (Lake) Llyn Llydaw and Y Lliwedd. This is where you leave the Pyg Track. Look for a low slate sign on the right and a drystone wall: the path forks here, with the Pyg Track continuing straight ahead and Crib Goch branching off to the right. It’s signposted. It’s a fairly obvious turn off point, the first you’ll see. You’ll see the lake and instead of heading straight towards the lake you’ll turn right and head uphill. Crib Goch runs parallel to the lake, just way up in the sky.
The Climb to the Ridge
Once you’ve branched off, the path starts steep and gets steeper. For the first section it’s still a path, rough and rocky but walkable. Use this section to take a breather if you need one, because shortly afterwards it stops being a path.
As the terrain kicks upward properly, the hands come out. The scrambling here isn’t especially technical but it’s sustained: you’re climbing almost vertically in places, covering around 200 metres of ascent over roughly 400 metres on the map. Follow the worn rock and the lighter patches where thousands of boots and hands have polished the surface before yours. That’s your guide when you’re not sure which way to go. If you find yourself approaching something that looks genuinely difficult or dangerous, back off a few metres and look around for an easier line nearby.
The only way is forward and up. That’s the good news and the bad news at the same time.
As you gain height, the arête comes into view above you. The knife-edge of the ridge, the thing you’ve seen in photos. Once you’ve spotted it you’ve got something to aim for, and the scrambling delivers you onto the ridge with one of those views that makes you stop mid-step.
Budget around 45 to 60 minutes from the Pyg Track turnoff to reach the ridge summit, depending on how confidently you move on the rock.
The Arête
Once you’re up onto the arête proper, it runs longer than you’d expect. The summit of Crib Goch itself is a barely noticeable rise roughly halfway along, marked by a small cairn most people walk past without registering. This is the famous knife-edge section, narrow with serious drops either side, and it’s where the real character of the route shows itself.
The ridge is so narrow in places you can straddle it. On the crest, stand tall and walk normally: it feels counterintuitive given what’s either side of you, but it’s the safest approach because it keeps your weight balanced properly. Crouching or shuffling on all fours, which is the natural nervous response, actually makes you less stable. Trust your feet, trust your boots, and keep moving.
Choose whichever side of the crest feels more comfortable depending on the wind and your own sense of balance. I found picking the side that felt safest in the moment made a real difference to how relaxed I felt moving along it.
You’ll likely see a couple of other people scrambling at the same time, but it’s nowhere near as busy as the main tourist paths. There’s something very special about being out on a ridge like this with only a handful of other people or no one in sight.
After the main ridge, the route crosses three pinnacles at the end of Crib Goch. These can be climbed direct or bypassed: the first two on their left (south) side, the third climbed on its right (north) side. The bypass options are reasonable and perfectly acceptable.
The arête traverse from the start to Bwlch Coch at the far end takes around an hour at an unhurried pace. Don’t rush it.
What You See at the End
Towards the end of the arête you’ll reach a dirt section that signals you’re nearly through the technical part. From here the path continues over Crib y Ddysgl, and then Snowdon appears right in front of you in full view: the summit, the paths leading up to it, the mountain railway line, and the zigzag of figures climbing from every direction. After everything you’ve just done to get there, seeing it appear like that from the ridge is a proper moment.
From Bwlch Coch at the end of the arête, you can see the Pyg Track below and the path connecting the two routes back up to Bwlch Glas. Continue along the ridge over Crib y Ddysgl and up to the summit, then descend via the Pyg or Miners Track.
If You Loved This, Try Tryfan Next
If Crib Goch was your kind of day, Tryfan is the natural next step. A slightly different kind of challenge: rather than walking along an arête, you’re climbing up a mountain almost the whole way, using your hands constantly rather than occasionally. A small step up from Crib Goch in terms of difficulty, but a different style of route. Worth doing both.
The Reality of the Risk
People die on Crib Goch most years. Most serious incidents happen when conditions turn bad unexpectedly, when people stray onto harder ground than they realised, or when nerves get the better of someone partway across and they freeze rather than retreat carefully. None of that should put you off doing it. It should make you respect it properly: check the weather, move at your own pace, and don’t push on if something doesn’t feel right.
Route-finding is fairly straightforward and it’s hard to end up somewhere you shouldn’t be if you’re paying attention. Just make sure whatever line you’re on matches your own comfort level, and backtrack without hesitation if it doesn’t.
Verdict: UNDERRATED
One of the best days I’ve had outdoors. Go in good weather, trust your hands and feet, and don’t rush the arête. Then go and do Tryfan.