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AIBU?

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AIBU to skip the queue at the Snowdon summit?

138 replies

MadMAGA · 24/08/2026 17:46

The BBC is reporting arguments about people queue-jumping to get to the trig point at the top of Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon). Apparently queues have been up to an hour long!

I can understand queuing for a photo at the top, but if I just want to get to the top and go straight back down again then why would I queue behind the insta crowd?

People wearing coats and backpacks queue to reach the top of a mountain, against the backdrop of a blue sky.

Yr Wyddfa rows between people queuing and those skipping the line

There has been disagreement between queuers and others skipping the line to reach the top of Yr Wyddfa.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1714xg2vr9o?at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=BBC_News&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_format=video&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_medium=social&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_id=E7D60948-9FA3-11F1-8783-8C4012EDF944&at_campaign=Social_Flow&fbclid=Iwb21leAT5U1hwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHpZNkl4ZxQGpqlAgM9zcch5W9fW6Ti4dtOhFAHUCN7K53FY9w7k9FwAqCmbv_aem_YgkoAmNG5R1HsU0r6vkcIg

OP posts:
Whammyammy · 27/08/2026 08:44

Shotokan101 · 26/08/2026 23:14

Stupid question- wait your turn

Lol. You queue, many will pass you as you do.

FudgeFudy · 27/08/2026 08:44

MyShyCat · 25/08/2026 23:07

Catch yourself on!

So Joe Brown and George Band "DIDNT" climb Kangchenjunga in 1955 because they stopped a few feet from the summit out of respect for local religions?

Yeah right!

A trig point is a COMPLETELY HUMAN MANUFACTURED ARTIFICIAL ADDITION to a mountain.

By your theory "to bag the peak" you must actually do a tap dance on the crucifix on top of Carantouhill or play chess on the cross on the Zugspitz.

And don't get me started on summit cairns!!

Edited

What are you on about? So you've thought of one particular mountain where the practice was to not go right to the top and which has been climbed by fewer people than Snowdon sees before breakfast. Well done. Doesn't change the fact that the general practice amongst mountainy people is and always has been to touch whatever summit adornment there may be, or if there isn't one then to go to the actual highest bit. I've no idea what tap-dancing or chess has to do with it, but I commend your active imagination.

Whammyammy · 27/08/2026 08:45

MyShyCat · 25/08/2026 18:55

Mountain Leader here. I've lead quite a few Summer ML training sessions in North Wales.

There is no need to queue. The whole queuing system has been instigated by a bunch of townies who have ZERO knowledge of outdoor etiquette. The same people screaming "There's a queue ya know!" are the same people who are playing their bloody blutooth speakers at full volume up and down the Pyg track.

COVID/lockdown opened the outdoors to the "Great Unwashed" who should have stuck to clogging up the aisles in B&M and Sports Direct.

The amount of litter, human excrement, bad parking and general erosion is truely depressing.

I've worked bloody hard to gain my mountain qualifications and no bloody Lonsdale wearing ejit on his first visit to Eryri is gonna tell me that I "must" queue.

Yr Wyddfa is NOT Everest. On Everest the queues often talked about in the Press are actually connected with safety on very steep/chossy ground and the large amount of climbers, at the peak of exhaustion, sorting ropes out etc.

High Altitude mountaineering ethics do not apply to Yr Wyddfa. If they did, we would all be wearing down suits, carrying oxygen and queuing up like proper British gents.

I wish they would all just feck off. I really do. Just get back to Lego Land, Chessington World of Adventures or waddling around Cribbs Causeway or feck off to some bloody modified car meet. Just leave the mountains to those who know how to behave themselves.

100% this

ThatWasAFunDay · 27/08/2026 13:02

So much snobbery on this thread. I didn’t realise so many hikers and climbers were so pompous. It’s not something I have seen with my hiking and climbing pals.
Hikers are no better or more worthy than people who come up by train and there is nothing wrong with people wanting a photo at the top. If you enjoy it then crack on. Even if you are from the ‘unwashed masses’ 🫤
I judge people who take unnecessary risks while hiking or climbing especially if they are potentially putting others at risk but other than that then out beautiful British countryside should be for everyone to enjoy.
I would much prefer to go somewhere quieter but if there was a big queue at the top I’d just not bother touching the trig. I can’t fathom why people would queue, but each to their own.

MyShyCat · 27/08/2026 13:30

The beautiful British countryside is NOT for everyone.

It's only for those who can abide by the Countryside Code.

Those who can not follow the Countryside Code are welcome to stay at home and watch Love Island or Strictly or waddle around Primark until their little U.P.F. fuelled hearts explode.

EstherGreenwood63 · 27/08/2026 13:36

MyShyCat · 27/08/2026 13:30

The beautiful British countryside is NOT for everyone.

It's only for those who can abide by the Countryside Code.

Those who can not follow the Countryside Code are welcome to stay at home and watch Love Island or Strictly or waddle around Primark until their little U.P.F. fuelled hearts explode.

Edited

Made me laugh. 😄

JulietteHasAGun · 27/08/2026 13:36

I agree nothing wrong with taking photos, nothing wrong with taking the train if that floats your boat. There’s a lot wrong with trying to dictate how others behave when they aren’t breaking any rules or laws just because an individual has decided that’s how they think things should be done.

Shaynac · 27/08/2026 13:38

To be fair, if you want to avoid arseholes, Snowden isn’t the place to go.

ThatWasAFunDay · 27/08/2026 13:41

@MyShyCatI think you are on the wind up , at least, I hope you are😂 but yes, of course, people should behave responsibly in the countryside.

I suspect many local businesses are happy to see the casual daytrippers you are so scathing of.

Other than that though the countryside should be accessible to everyone. I used to live in the US and thought they managed their National Parks well. They seemed to cater to everyone from day trippers to seasoned climbers. I always found the staff to be great too.

MyShyCat · 27/08/2026 13:43

Shaynac · 27/08/2026 13:38

To be fair, if you want to avoid arseholes, Snowden isn’t the place to go.

Yup.... Have you seen the bloody crowds up there! Bloody townies clad head to toe in Lonsdale, pumping Drill music on their bloody bluetooth speakers, carrying 25 Greggs pasties screaming "There's a queue you know!"

Arsehole scum... the lot of them!

FudgeFudy · 27/08/2026 13:49

Shaynac · 27/08/2026 13:38

To be fair, if you want to avoid arseholes, Snowden isn’t the place to go.

I do tend to avoid the usual suspects in the Lakes like Scafell Pike and Helvellyn these days because of the circus they've become. Or I go up late in the day once most people are already down. That being said they do serve a purpose in concentrating the muppets in a few predictable places leaving great swathes of the national park really quite quiet when you consider how many visitors it gets each year. And then there's the Cross Fell group of hills which are always pretty much deserted bar near High Cup Nick, and even then it's a noticeably different crowd. Before anybody tells me I'm being snobby and sneery - I know.

MyShyCat · 27/08/2026 13:58

ThatWasAFunDay · 27/08/2026 13:41

@MyShyCatI think you are on the wind up , at least, I hope you are😂 but yes, of course, people should behave responsibly in the countryside.

I suspect many local businesses are happy to see the casual daytrippers you are so scathing of.

Other than that though the countryside should be accessible to everyone. I used to live in the US and thought they managed their National Parks well. They seemed to cater to everyone from day trippers to seasoned climbers. I always found the staff to be great too.

Nope i'm not on a wind up. I might say it with a cheeky smile on my face but I still mean it. The mountains are NOT for everyone.

Just as driving a car is NOT for everyone,
Just as riding a motorbike is NOT for everyone,
Just as veganism is NOT for everyone,
Just as going to University is NOT for everyone,
Just as sitting in a nice restaurant eating good food is NOT for everyone.

There is a section of the population who just don't know how to behave in public. There is a social contract that most people buy into. We all agree that there is a basic level of human decency that we all give eachother. We stop to let people cross the road, we say hello to our neighbours and don't eff and jeff in the middle of the street because we all have to live on this tiny planet and no-one gets out alive anyway.

However, there are people who just will not follow the rules of polite society.

I wish they would all just stay at home.

Hillarious · 27/08/2026 16:46

Kizmet1 · 27/08/2026 08:39

I hiked the Miners' Track and reached the summit at about 4.30pm and there was initially no queue.
I walked up and touched the trig, and took a very quick snap of my hand on it to text my partner, and then moved away so others could get in, but I have to admit as soon as a train pulled in, people piled out and rushed straight to the trig and that was when it became more difficult to get a space.
I have no problem with the train option (I'm hoping to bring my mum in spring, and she would never make it on foot so I'm glad she will get to experience the views despite reduced mobility) but I did notice that most of the people who got the train were clearly there to get their shot. They'd dressed nicely, full make up, and they wanted to take their time and make sure they looked how they wanted to look. One lady was up there for ages because she was waiting for a cloud to move (!!!) and that caused some tension.
I was too exhausted to care about taking photos of myself (I had taken a few selfies on the walk at different points, but I'm just a sweaty mess in them!) and I was so elated to have made it to the top, the picture didn't matter.
I loved the hike though, definitely one of my favourite things I've ever done and still this morning I'm so proud and happy!

Excellent. I’ve done the Pyg, Llanberis and Rhyd-Ddu paths. Well done. Shame the clouds weren’t behaving yesterday. Hope you’ve been able to put your feet up today.

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