DS wants to climb Snowdon in December

[JoggyBear]

He's just said this.

He's never hiked before in his life.

He's 18! And he says his friend, who he is going witjlh, has done it a few times.

It's madness right??

Now? He's planning it early December.

I think it's stupid. His Dad said he will be fine.

I have no idea about it at all from an actual knowledge point of view so I'm asking for people's views and experiences

He does have hiking boots and his Dad has gear but like I said he has zero, zero, zero experiences.

Given he doesn’t sound like someone who enjoys the outdoors, do you think it’s likely he’s actually going to get whatever he thinks is sensible kit and food, figure out public transport and then go out and do it in the cold?

Sounds to me like teenage boy bravado and fantasy and that if no one facilitates it by driving him then it’s unlikely he’ll get anywhere. You could suggest he starts training by going for a few long walks in your local area, see if that puts him off?

The llanberis path follows the railway, so it's quite hard to get lost.

He said they'll get the train.

The Llanberis is the easiest path. Sounds like his friend has a sensible plan. It’s a huge track so impossible to lose (even in the snow, unless they were up at the crack of dawn/ very bad weather, other people would have broken through the path first).

Hiking boots, warm layers and lots of food and he will be fine

Have you asked him if he can afford the kit he'll need?

He's 18, so not much you can do I suppose. Except to tell him not to be so fucking stupid and that they're being very selfish, MR don't want to have their lives put at risk rescuing 2 stupid kids.

The Llanberis path is the best but I personally wouldn't do it in December and I'm someone who's walked it multiple times via multiple routes. It's currently covered in snow and is often covered in December too. Tell him to check out the "Climbing Snowdon aka Yr Wyddfa" Facebook page to see recent photos of just how snowy it is. Although it's a relatively gentle walk up Llanberis compared to other routes / mountains, friends who've done it with no hiking experience have struggled and that's been in warmer weather. He'll need all the proper gear which it sounds like he doesn't. Met office says it currently feels like -8 at the summit and although it looks like it's going to warm up over the next week, it's still going to be blooming cold!

There are no trains. The closest he can get is probably Bangor / Caernarfon and then bus down to Llanberis.

Does the train run in winter, all the way up? Iirc you can't walk up and take the train down.

They would need to bus or taxi to the base from nearest station.

Though it does sound like his plan to get there needs some work 😂 where do you live? Bangor is the nearest main train station Betws-y-coed the nearest branch line station. But both will require a bus at the other end, it’s quite a faff to get to via public transport

He's never camped. Doesn't own a bike. He's a gamer.
The furthest he's walked is to Asda.

I would be delighted that he wanted to go do something super active then. Just make sure to help him prepare both physically in terms of appropriate clothing and mentally so he knows the route and how to get help/know to stop if necessary. Aside from that I would be waving him off with pure happiness. An 18 year old that does nothing but game need a to get out there and experience life.

Wait does he mean train to summit or train to base? As train to summit isn't an option at this time of year and as PP says you can't just get the train down even if it was running.

DH has offered to drive them to a much smaller place in the Lakes (closer to us) and do a few smaller hikes
DH camps and hikes but in summer

Not sure if DS is on board though

In terms of fitness, I did the Llanberis when I was 48 years old with a BMI of 32 (no other health issues). It was challenging but ok. I think that a youngster (with the right gear of course) will be fine.

I went in summer so I cannot comment on the weather aspect, only the fitness aspect. Other posters have talked knowledgeably about weather. I think it’s worth reiterating the point about volunteers being prepared to risk their own lives and the importance of showing them respect by being properly dressed with a charged phone, fluids and snacks.

It will probably come to nothing tbh when they realise that public transport isn’t great and it’s going to be very cold next month. It’s probably one of those things that many folk think is cool to do but then don't actually do. I am 3 stones lighter now and I think about going back but whether I’ll get round to it, who knows. It’s a beautiful part of the world though.

Well, at 18 there's nothing you can do to stop him, but I'd be showing him as many articles as I could about how dangerous it was.

The Llanberis path would not be challenging for a young person unless they were super unfit. I am nearly 60 and don't find it challenging! It's just a steep walk by a railway and you can't get lost! Clearly if it's very cold or windy or snowing they shouldn't go

Make sure they look at the weather both in Llanberis and the summit

eg today look at the difference in wind and temperature
Llanberis (Gwynedd) weather - Met Office

Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon Summit (Gwynedd) weather - Met Office

Your Ds should do that first.

Chances are if he tries snowdon even by the easy trail (its a longish uphill walk, I did it in my 50s no problem but I do walk quite a lot) he'll be ok but it might put him off hillwalking for life which would be a shame. It'll probably be unpleasant and he'll end up with blisters, sore legs if he's not used to hills, quite likely to slip if he doesn't have proper footwear and a walking pole.
If you can't dissuade him from going to snowdonia in December at least make him promise to check the mountain forecast. There are more specialist sites I think, but the met office has mountain peak forecasts, which can be startlingly different from the weather in the valleys below.
Here's today's - very cold and windy.

What train? Even the tourist trains (Welsh Highland and Snowdon Mountain Railway) aren't running in December.
Where do you live? Can you drop them off and pick them up afterwards?

The tourist path is big and wide and hard to get lost on.

However it is a proper walk and in winter you really do need proper equipment.

What you’ve describe is exactly the sort of things inexperienced walkers would plan to do. And it’s stupid (for the many reasons explained already).

Now I’m assuming he is upper 6th right which means next year, he’ll be free to do all those crazy things with other students just as crazy as him.

I think the best you can do is to say Yes but say you want to be kept in the loop.
Let him try and book a train. Look at timetables
Doing a trial walk (on an easier path!) might be a good thing too. Because yes walking boots are much better. But I’d be more worried about waterproof and them getting wet and cold. (They’ll need layers too!).

Its all part of learning your own limits and I preferred my dcs doing that in a more ‘secure’ environment (like an easier walk, having reviewed the whole walk, potential pitfalls etc… with them, ensuring they have survival blankets, some food, looked at the weather forecast etc….) than totally on their own at Uni

If they're doing it as a day trip but that includes a train journey then they'll be partially descending in the dark. Accidents happen as easily descending, especially with tired legs, and it'll be cold then too after sunset.

If he knew what he's doing, was used to hill walking and they actually pay attention to the weather and conditions that would probably be okay, but as a novice I'd suggest they wait till the spring.

If they really do want to go then the mountain weather service is useful, and they should be prepared with the right kit and be willing to turn back at any point, even after 500 yards.
www.mwis.org.uk/

Remind him it is actually a mountain and not a walk up a gentle hill.

I wouldn't worry too much, there's always a lot of people on the mountain, and as others have said, most routes to the top aren't too onerous. I did it in a group when I was in my mid-thirties, in pretty grim conditions in February, and I was fine.

Key thing is if you begin to struggle, there's no shame in turning around and going back down again. Far better to do that than press on until you get into real trouble.

I'd encourage people to do more things like this. Sure, it isn't risk free, but if you follow sensible advice, most people won't have any trouble, and it gives a fantastic sense of achievement. It's hardly like scaling Everest.

The weather can change very quickly at the top. Might be ok at the bottom but awful the further up you go.

Did you say he’d be following google maps? Really?

always take a spare back up paper map, phones can die in the cold, get lost, smashed screen, no signal etc. I learnt that the hard way hiking once.

its one thing hiking up snowdon in December when you are experienced, can navigate, are reasonably fit but quite another doing it with no experience whatsoever

Oh id want them to organise the train journey 😁😁
Esp if there are no trains or very few.

Better for them to fall on this first part of the irganisation than in the latter (more dangerous) part of the trip.