At 06:45, there were only two car parking spaces at Pen y Pass car park. It was a huge relief, after getting up before 5am and assembling a sleepy group of students who were all very keen to climb Wales’ highes peak! We ate porridge in the car park, checked our laces and set out into the gloom of first light. Moments later, Crib Goch (Welsh for Red Ridge), began glowing red from the sunrise. A stunning start to a fabulous day!

We followed the PyG track and where it splits to climb Crib Goch, we stopped and watched the sun come over the horizon. Amazing. Well worth the early start, but there were still more good views to come…

Clouds rolled in over the hills and filled the valley below us as we climbed. Magic.

And as we neared the summit, the clouds briefly cleared completely for a photo opportunity!

There was not a breath of wind.

As we reached the summit ridge, the clouds moved back in giving some atmospheric conditions.

We got above the clouds on the summit and stood on top with a 360 view and a broken spectre below us!

All in all, quite the experience and a real reward for us having got up super early on a Sunday morning!

Back at Pen y Pass, we walked straight into the YHA for a cup of tea in a comfy arm chair to swap photos and revel in our achievements. The bus ride home was a quiet one, with everyone asleep by the time we reached Llanberis! (except the driver – me!)…