A Semester Abroad: Conquering Snowdon!

Snowdon is Wales' highest mountain at an elevation of 1,085 meters (3,560 ft.) above sea level. It is located in Snowdonia National Park. The mountain was formed by volcanoes in the Ordovician period and sculpted by glaciation to form the pyramidal peak. It is the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland and is one of three mountains climbed as part of the National Three Peaks Challenge. There are multiple paths that lead to the top as well as the Snowdon Mountain Railway. At the top the cafe, Hafod Eryri, sells warm refreshments and souvenirs, ~Wikipedia

Yesterday I ventured to the top of Snowdon with Aberystwyth's Hiking Club. It was quite the adventure and definitely worth it even though my knees didn't appreciate the descent. There were three options of paths to follow: easy, medium, and hard. I chose to hike the medium path and wasn't disappointed in the challenges it presented. The views were absolutely gorgeous. I could have spent a couple days there just taking pictures. Farmers had their sheep out on the mountain so every once in a while we had to open and close gates. It was really neat to see some of the animals near the summit standing on thin ledges or laying on a rock shelf with not a care that they were a couple thousand feet up, just chewing their cud. One of the guys in the club that had hiked the summit before commented that the view of mountains and lakes inspired Tolkien when writing the Lord of the Rings and the elvish is derived from Welsh!

Beginning the climb:

Cairns! People will bring rocks from the bottom of the mountain and make these piles
to mark the paths. When there's a blanket of snow the path is still marked.