Snowdon from Glyder Fawr

The Llanberis Pass and the northern aspect of Snowdon from Glyder Fawr

I have always been fascinated by the complexity and sheer majesty of its great north-eastern cwms and ridges of Cwm Dyli, Cwm Glas, Crib Goch and Crib-y-ddysgl. Those who climb Snowdon by way of Crib Goch and Crib-y-ddysgl experience in some measure the precipitous nature of this flank of Snowdon; but it is only from the upper slopes of the neighbouring Glyder range that the magnificence of this mountain landscape is truly revealed.

With the aid of digital mapping and some preliminary excursions on slopes above Pen-y-Pass on the Snowdon side, I identified a shallow stony couloir lying east of the ridge adjoining the top of the cliffs of Esgair Felen to the summit of Glyder Fawr. Just a few hundred metres off the tiny path from Pen-y-Pass to Glyder Fawr this couloir not only seemed to offer the viewpoint I was seeking, but my impression of the nature of the ground suggested that it might also provide excellent foreground and a framework for the image that I had in mind.

Here also was a small rocky outcrop that offered the perfect location upon which to set up my cameras. The area was scattered with numerous large flat stones and provided excellent foreground interest. At the centre of my composition, above all else, is Snowdon itself; with its many ridges falling from the summit. Best of all were those of Crib Goch and Crib-y-ddysgl clearly supported by the crags of Clogwyn-y-Person and Dinas Mot.