Snowdonia - damp hut but sunny hills

The initial aim of this weekend's trek was to check out the Imperial College hut, in the heart of Snowdonia, a few kilometres west of Snowdon. Located in Drws-y-coed, it was a beautiful location in between two steep hills. The hut is used by the university's mountaineering club and was well kitted out, but needed a clean and some new appliances. But the aim of the trip was mountaineering not dawdling in the hut. The weather couldn't have been better. We started our trek on the A498, below Pen-y-pass. Rather than paying the carpark, we parked beside the road and walked up. From Pen-y-pass, you cross the road and pass through a gate that leads to the ascent of Glyder Fawr. The north west ascent above the lake Llyn Cwmffynnon is quite steep, going from 350m to over 850m. This took us well over an hour, plus it was quite hot. You have great views of Crib Goch and Snowdon behind you. The ascent probably took 2 1/2 hours in total to the top of Glyder Fawr. From there you have fantastic views of the Welsh coast and Y Garn to the north west. The next stage of the walk is relaxing as you walk along a plateau towards Glyder Fach. There are great views looking down Llyn Ogwen and down a steep slope to Llyn Bochlwyd. As you walk along towards Glyder Fach, you also the pass the famous Cantilever stone. A rock that is balanced flat and can be walked on. At this point, you can continue on to Tryfan or head back to the Pen-y-pass road.