UKC

Hi,

Taking three kids, 8, 7 and 5 to Snowdonia this week. Looking to do three climbing related activities and looking for advice on what to do, how and where?

1) Summit Snowdon – which path should I choose? Obvious choice is Llanberis however I’m more worried about the distance than the steepness.
2) Easy top-roping – a quick search suggests Lion rock but I’m open to other suggestions.
3) Scrambling – I’m thinking of another summit that is safe but more scrambly than Snowdon – Tryfan might be too much?

Thanks in anticipation

In reply to radddogg:

Tryfan is too much for three small kids if you can't be supervising them 1 to 1. For easy climbing, what about Little Tryfan or the Gladstone Slab? That was where I learned to abseil at the age of seven. Classic abseil, mind!

In reply to radddogg:

I would second Rigid Raider's post.

As for Snowdon, I would have thought the Miner's track should be ok in dry weather for the older two, and you can always hold the 5 year old's hand on any potentially dodgy sections like the zig-zags.

I agree that the Llanberis path is long and a bit monotonous. It's also lacks interest, and might put them off for future walks, with memories of tiring and tedious boredom!

In reply to radddogg:

Miners track for Snowdon, try to get a midweek sunny day to avoid crowds and putting them off forever.

How about Cnicht for a (tiny bit) scrambly pointy hill?

In reply to radddogg:

And if the weather turns bad - there's always...

https://surfsnowdonia.com/

In reply to radddogg:
I first took my son climbing on Tryfan Bach when he was 7 and followed this up the next day by walking up Snowdon via the Pyg track and descending via the Miners. He loved both. The climbing was on the diff routes on the left hand side of the crag. There's a topo on line somewhere which I will try and find. Try this.

https://www.rockfax.com/databases/results_buttress.html?id=2057

My Daughter was taken up and down Snowdon via the same route also aged 7 but by that age she had already been up Bla Bheinn and Am Basteir.
I agree with the earlier comments about Tryfan. Easy for a little one to go off route and get stuck if your not able to supervise on a one to one basis, especially near the top.

In reply to radddogg:

Are these activities they want to do or you want to do. Why not one climbing and maybe something else.

In reply to radddogg:

My kids enjoy going up the Miners track, down the Pyg track and then the shuttle bus to Petes Eats

In reply to radddogg:

Your 8 yr old will be very different to your 5 year old. Stamina is a key thing. Think about splitting the party. Any scrambling with 3 kids really requires a 1 to 1 adult ratio.

A couple of ideas:
1. Cnicht from the North side park here: 53.015172, -4.041061 Follow stream SSE, plenty of water play opportunities, Cross the flat boggy area to the start of the ridge here 53.001899, -4.031706, https://binged.it/2fIo386 then find scrambly bits of rock to top. Probably more interesting for your 5 yr old.

2. Snowden via the miners then gribbin (?) scramble from Glaslyn here: https://binged.it/2fJonUe - from the head of Glaslyn walk over smooth rocks SW until you need to scramble up the crags to Bwlch y Saethau. You'll need extra adults though with a party of 3 kids. - then direct up the SE ridge to the top. My son was 9 when I last did this. Would question this for the 5 yr old though ...

Do I detect a desperate parent hankering after the hills?

Your problem is your 5 year old. Its too easy to push them too far trying to amuse the older kids. We put our daughter off mountains for life trying to keep her older brother and ourselves happy.

In reply to tallsteve:

If wanting to take the kids climbing I suggest Union Rock at top of Llyn Padarn.
Easier to keep an eye on the little ones and you'll need an additional length of rope for top roping on the left hand side of the crag (facing in). Also an easier (drier) walk in than Lion Rock after rain.

Pyg or Miners track for Snowdon is fine for them as shorter than Llanberis path and at end of day (when they're tired) the miners path is relatively flat for the last hour.

Enjoy
Allan

In reply to radddogg:

1. Not sure about Snowdon... the nicer the route the more involved or distance you add.
2. Lion rock was good for my two but can be really busy. You need to be flexible with which bit you use. There was some good scramble type areas to the right of the ordinary routes. We trialled roped scrambling there before bigger things.
3. Tryfan was great for mine at 6 and 8 but they are quite unusual in stamina levels. Lots of breaks and food is key. We went up Little and North Gullies to summit between Adam and Eve.. . Kept us away from the crowds.

In reply to radddogg:

Thanks all for the suggestions. They are surprisingly resilient, especially the youngest. She's been around over the col behind Tryfan, doing a full lap from Llan Ogwen when she was 3.

We spent the first day (Wednesday) going local to our hut in Ffestiniog, up past the moelwyns crags, around the dam, up over the top, through the disused mines to cwmorthin and back to tanygrisiau.

Today we've been to the slate museum then top-roping at lion rock.

Tomorrow its Snowdon, then Saturday it's the Ffestiniog railway to Porthmadog and the beach.

In reply to radddogg:
I've taken my grandchildren to the Capel Pinnacles, easy climbs and other children there.

In reply to johncb:

I hadn't realised the Capel Pinnacles were open access now? Always used to be "private", or so I thought... Nice easy routes though

b

In reply to radddogg:

For a smaller, scramble-ish peak how about Moel Siabod? Half a day out for adults, probably a full day out (and some) for a five year old. You can always skirt bits of the ridge if the "scramble" (around SG0.5) is a bit much.