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??

Absolutely no way should two inexperienced teenagers be doing that. I did it a few times back in the day when we were at uni, but only ever in good weather. A lad we went with was killed in a fall on Snowdon a few years later in winter, he was an experienced hiker, it just takes a bit of bad weather and some bad luck.

I've partially walked Yr Wyddfa and TBH there are some parts of the path that are very narrow and in bad conditions could lead to an accident.

Also the weather at the summit can be so different to the weather at the base. It's not recommended for people to go mountaineering in Dec especially if they're a novice. It doesn't sound like his friend is particularly experienced either.

Yr Wyddfa is pronounced Uhr With-va

Thanks @HippyChickMama , I was just about to ask when I saw that

Experienced hiker here, been all over, have the gear and know what I’m doing. There is no way hiking when inexperienced plus in months when weather can change so quickly is a good idea.

He needs to learn how to map read and use a compass before touching anything. This has to be a wind up

A couple of days ago on Eyri (Snowden).
Utter madness , the weather can change so quickly that even the train up has to stop at points . It can even catch you out in summer if not prepared properly .

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/two-rescue-missions-launched-snowdonia-30432010

Just in case he is still considering it.

I've shared that with DS. Your username is factual :)

Maybe he can watch a few episodes of SOS: Extreme Rescue on the BBC. Docuseries in Wales with the Mountain Rescue teams, if I remember correctly.

I agree with everyone who is saying walking is good for you. Sure, it is. But the way to stay that isn't to set out on a long hike, in poor weather conditions at a time of year where there will be max 8 hours of daylight. That's a great route to needing to ask mountain rescue volunteers to risk their lives on your behalf. Which they will do, but there's no need to make it any more often than necessary.

Edit: sorry, realised that might sound grumpy at you OP, it wasn't intended to, I can see you're thinking sensibly about this.

I want to absolutely encourage him, it's a fantastic hobby but I don't support the way he is going about it.

He's very young for his age and after Xmas we are expecting a positive Autism diagnosis from his recent assessment. He just doesn't see the danger in things at all sometimes, even though he is a young adult I often have to explain things to him.

I'll probably be accused of drip feeding for that but I didn't want to make him sound like he is incapable, he isn't at all but he needs to work his way upto this.

But did they do it in December in sub-zero temperatures?