The south face of Pen yr Ole Wen, rising almost directly from the eastern end of Llyn Ogwen, is the most brutally direct ascent in Eryri: 800 metres of height gained in barely two horizontal kilometres, on a pathless slope of heather, grass and loose rock that tests the legs and the resolve equally. It is the usual starting point for a Carneddau traverse, and it earns you the high plateau completely. This is Experience #8 of the Snowdonia 100.
Route Details
| Start | Llyn Ogwen layby on the A5 |
| Ascent | 800m in approximately 2km horizontal |
| Terrain | Pathless heather and grass — navigation by instinct |
| Time to summit | 1.5–2 hours |
| Continuation | Usually continued to Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn |
There is no single path up the south face — walkers pick their own line through the heather. The angle is unrelenting, and there is no point at which you can tell yourself the hardest part is done until you emerge gasping on the summit ridge. The reward is immediate: a sudden panorama north over the Conwy valley, south to Tryfan and the Glyderau, and west to Yr Wyddfa. From the summit the Carneddau ridge opens ahead, broad and grassy, leading north to Carnedd Dafydd and the higher Carnedd Llewelyn.
As Part of the Carneddau Traverse
Pen yr Ole Wen is almost always ascended as the gateway to the Carneddau rather than as a destination in itself. Combined with Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewelyn, and the northern tops — a day of 16+ kilometres at altitude — it constitutes one of the great ridge walks in Britain.
Experience #8 of 100 — Summits category.
Independently written — Snowdon.com