Climbing Snowdon early pregnancy?

[MsBallen]

Has anyone got any experience climbing Snowdon in early pregnancy? Aibu to even consider it? Is there anything worth knowing? I would be getting the train there in the morning and when I finish.

I have mentioned that I am a skater as well which when you start into tournaments it is very physically strenuous. As is sailing as I need to keep swimming. I'm not going to conceded to being unfit simply because I don't hike.

And thanks

Weather on top may disapoint you ... can be in cloud while nice below
Go with one of the guided group walks for safety and better precaution against any unforeseen event weather or other

If something happens how will you be able to get medical help?

Your pregnancy isn’t really relevant IMO but based off this, no you shouldn’t be hiking the highest mountain in Wales if you’ve never hiked before. Is this a serious post?

I'm not going to conceded to being unfit simply because I don't hike.

So pigheaded! I expect you'll argue with the rescuers also...

🤣 not pigheaded to know I'm a very fit person and you don't have to be fit to climb Snowdon. Just facts.

Again hundreds of people hike it every day of the year with no experience and are completely ok. Even the official websites for Snowdon say you don't have to train for it.

Yes but their body isn't doing all the stuff pregnancy does.You don't want to discover some of the early pregnancy side effects (I had heart palpations) whilst in the middle of your trek.Even if you decide its too much for you there is still the way down unless you call the rescue

I don't think anyone is suggesting you aren't fit. We're suggesting you are very inexperienced. But whatever, crack on op.

Clearly you've decided you are doing Snowdon.
When are you going and are you travelling far.
The weather is so unpredicatble at the moment. It would have been way to hot to do it in the heatwave we've had. It's grim when there is low cloud.

Getting that just perfect day is down to luck!

Yes, but those people aren't in the early stages of pregnancy having never climbed a mountain before. You're obviously not interested in hearing the warnings, though.

But some of us live in the mountains and see it "go wrong" every summer when people who are convinced they're fit/experienced enough suddenly end up in trouble and need rescuing, and I believe Snowdon is the mountain that has the most call-outs too.

You may be fit, but you're also pregnant (which causes joint issues) and you've also said you already need supports on your knees. Walking down a mountain is tough on the knees - could you happily get down if you ended up in pain or struggling to walk?

It is a bit like suggesting a track cyclist can go and do the Tour de France. They can and do of course, but not without specific training to develop stamina, adapt technique and gain experience of different terrains. A litre bottle of water won't last long snd your equipment needs testing.

Glad you now have a companion and time to try out some countryside walks.

OP I am going to try this one more time and then give up. Your previous fitness offers absolutely no indication of what it will be like to try this when pregnant.

It's harder to breathe when pregnant, as you are having to take in Oxygen not just for you, but for the placenta. This isn't something that you will notice going for an easy walk on the flat, but high altitudes make it slightly harder for anyone to breathe, and for someone who is pregnant it can suddenly bring on substantial breathlessness.

It's really scary to realise when you are very high up a mountain that you are becoming breathless however slow you walk. I found this out the hard way.

Aside from it being incredibly scary that I came so close to my DH having to leave me on the top of a raining mountain with howling wind and get help, it meant that I now have a horrible memory of climbing a mountain that I had wanted to do for a long time.

I am very fit, I run half marathons regularly, and have hiked taller peaks than Snowdon in other countries, but previous fitness doesn't stop the pregnancy hormones that bring on breathlessness.

I have just got back from Snowdonia and went up Snowdon. Why not get the train up then walk back down? The train goes about 3/4 of the way up so you could walk up to the summit then back down. 6 miles round trips, carrying shopping, done regularly is a decent exercise level, not sure why others are so horrified by it

The only other thing I'll add is, an important park of hiking and being in the mountains is knowing when to turn back, and being prepared to do it. It sounds to me as though you are very very keen and determined to do this walk, and you've mentioned more than once about how you've saved for ages and waited a long time to be able to go. That rings alarm bells to me, because the least willing people to turn back are often those who are very highly invested in the trip before they go. I would strongly recommend you really have a good think about whether you would actually be able to stop or turn back if things were getting tough.

In my experience, a large number of the mountain rescue callouts involve people who, with hindsight, could see that they should probably have turned back earlier in the day but didn't. And this is where experience comes in.

Some of the responses on here are completely ridiculous. Fwiw I am an experienced walker, ex army and have done multiple treks and adventure training over the years. Make sure it's a decent day weather wise, get the train up, walk down, you'll be fine.

I did Kilimanjaro at 9 weeks pregnant with my first (I didn’t know I was pregnant). My midwife was entirely unconcerned when I had my first appointment. There’s no way o could’ve done it with my second though as I was crippled with morning sickness from the day I fell pregnant.

Although having just read all your replies you absolutely should not be doing it. I’m somewhat amazed there are adults out there that have never been on countryside walks before tbh.

Since when did I say i had never been on a countryside walk before? I've stated for the last few years, due to a pandemic and then my partner having a stroke and me working seven days a week at two jobs to care for his kids and him I haven't got the money to just get the train to popular walking spots. I still choose to do a 6 mile round trip regularly to keep fit.

The building at the top is closed at the moment.

Sheer numbers are part of the reason for the number of call outs. Also that it tends to attract the unfit/inexperienced. I could write a book on the people I encountered in my two years there.

That's good news that you won't be alone.

The thing with the Llanberis path is that the first section is really nasty. You're still on a tarmac road but it climbs really steep which is really hard on your muscles when you haven't yet warmed up. Then it's really gentle (even bits of downhill) for a mile or so before climbing again towards Clogwyn.

On the way down, it's your knees that suffer, when my mother met us at Halfway House and walked back down with us, she waited by the barn just below the start of the path (someone used to sell ice cream there) for dad to fetch the car.

I would recommend that you get the by to Pen-y-Pass, go up the Miners' Path and then back down the Llanberis or Snowdon Ranger Paths. The Miners' Path starts off more gently so your muscles can warm up before they start to be tested, with the opportunity to see the lakes and turn back if it gets nasty. Then the Llanberis or Snowdon Ranger Paths give you a gentler descent, with the added bonus of seeing a completely different side to the mountain. Obviously the Snowdon Ranger Path would then necessitate a further bus back to Llanberis, unless you are staying at the hostel.

Thank you that's so handy to know and I will definitely be looking into the hostel to stay. I'm definitely not going alone and will increase my long walks in the evenings when I put the kids to bed.

But she didn't say she had never been on a country walk, she said she didn't regularly hill walk. When I walked up Snowdon I was pretty fit and did lots of walking in beautiful countryside but since it was pretty much all near where I lived in the middle of the fens there wasn't much of a gradient on it... I was absolutely fine, incidentally. I really don't think there's a need for a healthy fittish youngish person to 'train' to do the easy path on Snowdon.

Personally I wouldn't have wanted to do it when PG.

It sounds like you are going to go ahead. If so, can I offer a couple of gentle suggestions please:

Temperature: last time I climbed Snowdon it was 17 degrees at the bottom and 1 degree at the top, without taking the wind chill into account. Take stuff for every eventuality.
Sherpa bus service, takes you from the local town to the start/end of all the walking routes.
Routes: I really disagree about the PYG path being suitable. I really don't think it is. You'd be much better off on the Lamberis path. It is steep in sections but much more a path. Parts of the PYG are difficult to negotiate with steep drops.

I've been up (and down!) Snowdon many times. The last time was when I was 12 weeks pregnant (I haven't been since as I kept having more babies!). I was very pukey with my first pregnancy but being outside and active always made me feel better.

In my opinion the Pyg path is easier than Llanberris. I'm not that fit and I didn't have any issues. I paid close attention to the weather forecasts. Good boots, weatherproofs. I didn't take a compass but I didn't and would never deviate from the path.

Plenty to drink and we used to always take salt and vinegar chopsticks to eat at the summit!

Beddgelert is a really lovely place to stay.

If you regularly walk 6 miles round trips and have a good level of fitness, you'll find it to be fine.