For a few years now, Aldi UK have been partners with Teenage Cancer Trust, the only British charity dedicated to providing specialised nursing care and support to young people aged 13-24 with cancer. Over the years, stores up and down the country have done their bit to raise awareness and money for such a deserving cause, and we at Aldi Nantwich thought we’d chip in on the fundraising.
We convened in Nantwich at 5am to make the two hour trip to Wales’ highest mountain.
INTRODUCING (imagine the Avengers theme)…
Tim, Paulina, Jack, Sean, Kath, Bethan, Aimee and yours truly.
We had chosen a beautiful day for it. This was to be my sixth climb up Snowdon and I was hopeful that finally, FINALLY, I’d get to enjoy a panoramic view from the top.
Fuelled by laughter, some trepidation and a McDonald’s breakfast, we set off up the Ranger Path at 7:35am.
Today’s route would take us up the Ranger Path and down the Rhyd Ddu route, where at the bottom I had parked my car. This is such a good route to climb. The western paths up the mountain are a lot less busy than the popular Llanberis and eatern routes, so parking is rarely a problem.
Parking until midnight at both Ranger and Rhyd Ddu car parks costs £6 each, whereas at Pen-y-Pass it can costs £18 and £25 to pre-book a space. And no, that’s not a typo. Absolutely astonishing and scandalous pricing. Definitely not Aldi prices.
For some of us, this was to be a first ever ascent of one of Britain’s Three Peaks. I had given suggestions of suitable footwear and clothing and just six minutes into the climb, some had to disrobe.
Honestly, this always happens. People always wrap up in the car park because it’s cold, and then have to undress as soon as they start hiking.
Here’s me feeling smug in my shorts and light clothing.
The first section of the Ranger Path is a zig-zaggy path up 300m, just to get your blood pumping. Fed up of going back and forth upon herself, Bethan decided to go straight up the hill.
Her thighs won’t thank her for that.
Our group was getting stretched out as poor Pau was having trouble with her knees. Tim and Jack gave her much needed support that Pau was very thankful for.
At the 300m mark, the path flattens out for a while and you can enjoy a lovely stroll through the silent countryside. The tip of Snowdon also becomes visible.
Or at least it WOULD if that cloud were not there. Am I really going to visit the summit in cloud AGAIN??
It soon became clear that reaching the summit might not even be possible. A couple of hikers passed us and informed Jack that they had turned back at the 500m point, as the wind was too severe. The internet told us that winds were reaching 45mph, but were decreasing in strength as the morning wore on. We decided to see for ourselves. If the wind hadn’t died down by the time we got to 500m, we would turn back. Even experienced hikers can get into trouble with high winds.
After 40 minutes of pleasant strolling, our path started to increase in gradient again.
But with more difficult hiking, comes more beautiful views.
At around the 560m mark, you are able to look over the ridge into the Cwm Brwynog valley featuring the famous tramline to the top. It was here that the wind started to become more powerful. A fell runner coming down the mountain warned us that the wind was even more intense further up the path. But at this moment it was manageable, so we soldiered on.
Here is where the strong winds met us:
Between 700m and 900m, the wind was intense, with some exposed points featuring powerful gusts strong enough to shove you aside. Each step took more effort as we fought the wind, and we had to have a small break to regroup and put coats back on.
The Ranger Path features no steep drop-offs to fall down, but the terrain is rocky – being blown off your feet means risking a painful and dangerous fall. But with just a few hundred metres to go, we all agreed to crack on, carefully and slowly.
I climbed hand in hand with Aimee as she started swearing in anger at the wind, though I felt like it was directed at me for dragging her along…
Thankfully, there were no issues and as the Ranger Path joined the Llanberis Path, the wind became more manageable.
I’m not sure if Kath is relieved to be out of the wind, or screaming in pain…
This is the final stretch to the top. The wind had died ever so slightly, but the powerful body-beating gusts had stopped. The cloud was even starting to thin, and we could get a great view of the Glaslyn and Llyn Llydaw lakes.
Of course, the summit was still shrouded in cloud.
Legs killing, we arrived at the summit at the 3-hour mark. Not bad for a time considering!
Standard selfie at the cairn.
Smile through the pain, guys.
Only Jack decided to climb the final few steps to the cairn.
But I don’t blame the others. On that platform at the very tip of the mountain, the wind was horrendous. You could not stand up without holding onto the cairn for dear life.
My phone was being ripped from my hands. I was glad to get down and happy to not force the others to touch the summit like true mountaineers. Anyway, they were too busy cracking open the booze.
Aldi’s finest prosecco, of course.
After celebratory photos, we went and hid behind the closed cafe, out of the wind for a well-earned lunch/beer break.
Repping Banks’s, of course. We sat for a while and I noticed rashes on my hands from the wind – and the others had them too. So my hands were stinging and my legs were starting to feel cold – my smugness for wearing shorts had disappeared. It was time to get them moving again.
Ahead lay the Rhyd Ddu Path that follows the cliffs around to the right, with a bit of ridge walking in between.
In true Snowdon fashion, as we started descending the mountain, the cloud rolled off the top. Like, genuinely as soon as we started walking down the Rhyd Ddu path, I could look back and see the top. This mountain mocks me.
However, with the wind gentle and the clouds cleared, we could enjoy the stunning vistas of Snowdonia.
It was a glorious walk. The last time I climbed Snowdon, I walked the Rhyd Ddu Path and spent the entire hike in fog, so I missed all these views. I was thankful I had decided to descend on this route rather than ascend – the wind on this ridge would have been terrifying.
As we gazed upon nature, nature started to call to us and Bethan was first to answer behind some rocks.
With Pau offering some much-unneeded shielding, Bethan claims it was the best toilet she ever sat on. With views on offer, I can’t argue with her.
Down we continued, the path bending to the right and offering us a nice view of the summit.
A clear view of the summit where the people there will have clear views of everything. I’m not bitter at all.
Wanting to leave her mark again, Bethan (the orange dot) decided she needed another wee and found a big pile of stones.
The walk down was longer than expected, with multiple wee, drink and undressing breaks, as the midday sun was starting to beat down on us.
At 1:35pm, exactly 6 hours since we left the Ranger Path car park, we made it to the Cwellyn Arms in Rhyd Ddu village for a well earned pint.
JOB DONE.
All that was left to do was fill up my car with petrol and head back to Nantwich – via a big detour as Bethan guided us to the nearest McDonald’s that turned out to be in Rhyl, which she describes as having a banging night out.
I just want to say I’m really proud of the Aldi Nantwich team because today’s conditions were not ideal. However, everyone (especially Pau who was in pain from the offset) was fully determined to power on to the top of Snowdon, and our rewards were the stunning views we saw on the route down. And the beers.
It’s not too late to chip in some money to the cause! Please, please click the link below and donate what you can to our JustGiving page:
I think the team and their aching limbs deserve it.
P.S. When we got home at 5:45pm, Aimee went straight to bed and didn’t get up again until 8am the next morning. 🙂
#VidOnTour 