Received a greetings card from my father in law on which he had noticed the words "Dilyn Llwybr y Moch i'r Wyddfa" - "Snowdon from the Pyg Track". He adds:
"They have translated 'pyg track' into Welsh as 'pig track', (Llwyrbr y Moch). But PYG has nothing to do with pigs. The letters stand for 'Pen Y Gwryd', where the track starts.
Still, the thought of pigs regularly scrambling to the top of Snowdon is a pleasant fancy.
This is how myths are born"
December 16th 2004
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
Landranger 115. About 3 hours up, 2 hours down
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) GR 600 544 at 1085metres is Wales tallest mountain and second only to Scotland's Ben Nevis. The mountain is visited by many thousands of people each year and sadly, on occasions, there have been fatalities somewhere in Snowdonia. There is abundant literature on Snowdon with as much detail as desired. This is simply a record of the route we took on the last visit to this fabulous place. The trek was completed in the early spring of 2000. The weather warm and sunny. Plenty of parking at Pen y Pass (top of the pass) ie Llanberis Pass, A4086. There are two main routes to the top; the Llanberis Path which follows the Llanberis Mountain Railway, and the Pyg Track. The Pyg Track again is of two alternative routes; the Pyg Track itself and a second path called the Miner's Track. They meet near the Zig-Zag, the last quite difficult climb. The Pyg Track is the shorter, more arduous climb whereas the Llanberis Path is a steady gradient. We decided to go up via the Pyg Track and come down on the Llanberis Path. This meant getting a bus from Llanberis back up the Pass to the car park at Pen y Pass.
We set off from the carpark at Pen y Pass and took the Miner's track towards the Causeway and Llyn Llydaw. The weather was beautiful and the walking easy. The placid lakes shone with differing reflections. Not many people as yet. Leaving Llydaw, the track becomes steeper towards Glaslyn. Likely to encounter other people on the track who have stopped to take refreshments. Beware young servicemen running down from the top - there are some fit fellas up there. The track gets steeper still as you approach the Zig Zags before which you will meet the junction with the Pyg Track. The path is well maintained and soundly constructed in the form of steps. Pretty tiring now as the path nears the top. At Bwlch Glas, the track meets the Llanberis Path and the Snowdon Mountain Railway coming up from the right. The summit is about 15 minutes farther up. The day started in sunshine but on reaching the top, we could see nothing.