Help me climb Snowdon

[ClearEyesFullHearts]

I’m 54, I vape, am 40lbs from a normal BMI, and have heart disease.

I want to climb Snowdon next year with my children.

I am confident I can lose at least two stones before the summer (thanks Low Carb Bootcamp); I am confident I can stop vaping by Christmas. I have lost 50lbs already and improved my fitness with regular treadmill workouts (45 minutes at 4.2 kph is the current rate, but on a very slight incline). I have also started using an exercise bike for shorter times, up to about 20-30 minutes at a leisurely pace. I do this on the days I’m not in the treadmill.

This is all pleasing because I’ve made progress—three years ago I couldn’t walk the quarter mile to our local shop without stopping at least twice to catch my breath, and the chest pains were awful.

But this is the first time I’ve set an actual end goal—Snowdon—and I’m hoping that anyone with experience of this, or general fitness, can give me some tips for how to set short-term goals that will get me to the big one.

I not only want to climb Snowdon with my children, I want to do it with relative ease and not slow them down.

Any guidance appreciated. Cheers.

• ‘the mountain’

For me, the 3 Peaks challenge is the stuff of nightmares. But who knows? I do love a view from a mountaintop.

Definitely not wanting to climb with crampons etc, just want to walk up with pleasure and the least amount of discomfort possible.

Yesterday I walked up my local hill, the only one around. Torture. (Not really.). But a long, long way to go. I took a long look at myself and my general fitness. I’m going to have to schedule in the training, with variety. I’m going to have to Project Manage the shit out of this.

Thanks, everyone. This thread has been far more interesting than expected for me.

Go clear
We are all routing for you

Watching with interest. DP reckons he wants to take me up Ben Nevis (not a euphemism!)...I'm 45, obese, unfit and have never climbed a mountain in my life. Yikes.

My advice would be to take the train and meet family at the top. Book a return but you have the option of walking down with family if weather is good and you feel up to it on the day. Llanberis path is a long one and walking in bad weather is horrible.

This was the view from the top last week! Just stunning!

We did the Llanberis path, long but not too taxing. We're going to do the Pyg, but car park was already full at 8.30am!!

Brilliant experience, loved it!

And another xx

Beautiful photos *nodtik. Thanks.

MyGastIsFlabbered you can do this, if you want to. People go from unfit to fit all the time. I’m going to be one of them. You?

A couple of years ago I did Llanberis up and Pyg down, it was in April and Pyg was a challenge with some snow on the ground still, especially zig zag section. I was very surprised at lack of clear markers and we had to literally scramble over loose boulders in places.
Lived to tell the tale, but Llanberis is best if u are not a regular walker.

Don't overthink it OP; Snowdon's a funny one in that it's high (er, obvs ) but actually a very easy walk. No technical bits, no proper ascents (well, not on the Pyg/,Miners/Llanberis paths anyway), just a long steady ramble.
Ben Nevis is far tougher IMO. As is Scafell, esp if you go up the Corridor rather than from Wasdale.

Last time I did Snowdon I did it with my SIL who hadn't as much as run for a bus in about 20 years, and she made it up the Pyg and down the Miners with no hassle. Yes, shifting a bit of weight and getting generally fitter will help, but I honestly think you'll be fine. Hope you enjoy it.

Boots will give you more ankle support. Synthetic fabrics won't take as long to break in as leather but do need some!

Agree about squats and lunges, and about
Getting practice in on more hills for the terrain.

In the meantime I suggest you increase the incline on the treadmill. You wand to be doing 10-12% regularly.

Try meetup to find hill walks near(ish) to you.

Poles are a good shout especially for downhill. Do you have a decent small rucksack?

I did it this summer with my six year old, we took the Llanberis path up and down.

I’m overweight and didn’t do any specific training but do walk a fair bit and run occasionally (mainly 5km but very slowly). I didn’t find it too much of a challenge and my DD practically scampered up. It was a nice day but very cold at the top. We had plenty of layers and windproofing.

On the Llanberis track there is a half way cafe where we stopped for hot chocolate and snacks. My three year old actually made it to this point and then returned down (as planned) with DH.

The bit at the start, up the road, is quite steep and then it turns into a more gradual climb, getting steeper again after the half way point.

Aim to be comfortable out walking for at least six hours. Coming down was hard on my knees but I didn’t have any aches or pains from it the next day. I did struggle with stairs that evening!

I climbed Snowdon as a lovely fit and healthy student, it was amazing and beautiful. Luckily the group I went with had a very experienced mountain leader. Good boots essential as are plenty of drinks and food. You need to take enough clothes should the weather turn bad, eg waterproofs and warm layers. It's tempting to see it rather like a national trust day out because of the presence of the train, tea shop, so so many people etc, but it's a proper mountain and people often get caught out by not being properly prepared. I suspect if you have scouts in the family this will unlikely be the case. It's an amazing experience and I wish you clear skies at the top as the view is breathtaking!

Hi op, I’m a bit late to the thread but this thread has brought back some amazing memories.

I’m 41 and overweight with fibromyalgia so I think my mountain climbing days are done. I did Scafell Pike and almost died as I slipped down a ravine and almost went off the edge! Was saved by a boulder. I was 12

A few years later it was Snowdon. I was 15 and I still have the certificate that says I did it in 6 hours and something minutes. It was amazing and the sense of achievement is something I still remember.

At the top the cafe was welcoming! It was June but still cold up there and I remember it was raining for most of the climb. Lots of us begged to go on the train down ( not realising it wasn’t free! ) but of course the descent was much easier and quicker.

I hope you have an amazing time when you do it. It’s been over 26 years since I did it and still remember that day.

Waffles80 Rhyd Ddu

@ClearEyesFullHearts I hope so. I was going to do it this year, started exercising and fractured a bone in my foot and was out of action for 6 months. Now I'm scared to start again. I have started the weight loss though.

Definitely purchase some decent mountain boots, thermals, sticks and socks to walk it and map and compass and be prepared for the weather (so decent backpack with essentials) and do not rely on mobiles!!. You may want to consider visiting the area maybe at Easter time and walking some less strenuous mountains if where you are is too flat.

There are some lovely mountain walks in Wales that aren't as high/well known as Snowdon, especially in that area but well worth the effort, so a back up mountain might be a good idea too.

If you happen to be staying somewhere local e.g. Caernarfon for example and locals warn you about going on that day, even if it's the only day you can do it and it "looks lovely" then heed the warning and be prepared it may just not be appropriate weather, this can happen any time of the year.

Last time I was in Caernarfon there were people doing it inappropriately dressed (t-shirt, jeans and trainers and packed lunch) with useless equipment - your mobile to guide you just isn't going to work you need an actual map and compass!! And decent mountain hiking boots and sticks. It can be very dangerous, as lovely as it is, you need to prepare properly. People can and do die doing it. The people I mentioned above didn't die but if they hadn't been booked into the same b&b for two nights then the owner wouldn't have rung mountain rescue to go find them - they needed treatment for exposure and were fine, if they hadn't they wouldn't have survived. So let people know you are doing it and when you expect to be back (within reason obviously!!). Cloud cover can effect visibility massively so watch out for that and when the sun sets as well.

So plan, plan, plan, plan, proper equipment, proper prep and listen to the locals. Honestly they don't say "today's not good" just to ruin your fun!! The area around can look totally fine but weather changes very very quickly in mountain ranges, a mile from me yesterday had a lot of snow, we had sun and some rain.