TheLlanberis Pass (Welsh:Bwlch Llanberis; alternative English name,Pass of Llanberis) inSnowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east toLlanberis, overPen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of theGlyderau and theSnowdon massif. At the bottom of the pass is the small village of Nant Peris.
The Llanberis Pass lies between the mountain massifs ofSnowdon and theGlyderau in the county ofGwynedd, in northwestern Wales. The summit of the pass is 359 m (1,178 ft) above sea level, and is the site of thePen-y-Pass Hotel, now aYouth Hostel.[1] The Nant Peris valley lies to the northwest descending to the town ofLlanberis, theLlyn Peris andLlyn Padarn lakes and continues on as theAfon Rhythallt toCaernarfon and theMenai Strait. The valley is narrow, straight and steep-sided, with rocky crags and boulders on either side of the road.[2]
About one mile to the east of Pen-y-Pass is thePen-y-Gwryd Hotel. To the east of this are the headwaters of theDyffryn Mymbyr, a tributary of theRiver Llugwy which it joins atCapel Curig. To the south of Pen-y-gwryd are the headwaters of theAfon Glaslyn which flows southwestwards towardsBeddgelert.[2]
Many fine crags are easily accessible from the road, and the area is very popular withrock climbers.[3] On the north side, the principal crags are:Dinas y Gromlech (bearing the famous line ofCenotaph Corner), Carreg Wastad (flat rock), Clogwyn y Grochan (these are together called the Three Cliffs); and further down the valley, Craig Ddu (black rock). On the south side, the principal 'roadside' cliff is Dinas Mot.[4]
The Cromlech Boulders are used forbouldering. These roadside boulders were saved from destruction in a 1973 road widening scheme by a six-year protest by local people, climbers, historians, conservationists, and geologists.[5]
Climbers particularly associated with the area includeJohn Menlove Edwards (in the 1930s and 1940s),Joe Brown (in the 1950s and 1960s),Ron Fawcett andPeter Livesey (in the 1970s), andJohnny Dawes,Jerry Moffatt andJohn Redhead (in the 1980s). TheBritish 1953 Mount Everest expedition also trained in the area, and were based at thePen-y-Gwryd Hotel at the eastern end of the pass.[6]
At Pen-y-Pass there is a car park and a cafe, and three different footpaths set off up Snowdon, as well as two others to the east leading to the summits ofGlyder Fawr andGlyder Fach. the car park is usually full and a shuttle bus service from Llanberis, with apark and ride runs from near the Vaynol Arms.[7] The Snowdonia Sherpa bus service network run byExpress Motors andGHA Coaches operates frequent services betweenBetws-y-Coed,Capel Curig, Pen-y-Gwryd and Pen-y-Pass and also between Pen-y-Pass, Nant Peris (where there are park and ride facilities) and Llanberis.[6]
53°05′25″N4°03′06″W / 53.0903°N 4.0517°W /53.0903; -4.0517