- Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085m and, as such, naturally draws large crowds of hikers. There are a number of different routes up Sonwdon attracting varying numbers of walkers and offering differing views, terrain and difficulty.
My personal preference is the exposed, grade 1 scramble of Crib Goch. But I’ve made no secret of the fact I’m happy to skip the Snowdon summit these days even on my Crib Goch ridge days. It’s a busy old summit many days of the year and as wonderful as it is to see people out and about enjoying the mountains, I do tend to prefer my summits a tad quieter.
Anyway, back to Yr Wyddfa! Here are some stats about the highest mountain in Wales!
How Many People Climb Snowdon? The Visitor Numbers:
According to the Welsh Government, around 600,000 people climb Snowdon every single year.
The same dataset also provides information about the most popular routes (though some of the 2022 data is extrapolated owing to some technical issues that the Park Authority experienced with counting).
It shows this for the most popular route visitor numbers (taking Crib Goch and Pen y Pass Paths of Miner’s and Pyg out to avoid double counting):
| Year | Llanberis | Miners Track | P.Y.G. | Rhyd Ddu | Snowdon Ranger | Watkin | Total |
| 2014 | 220,561 | 70,324 | 118,719 | 12,107 | 17,481 | 16,049 | 455,241 |
| 2015 | 149,259 | 124,700 | 124,982 | 10,693 | 16,560 | 16,862 | 443,056 |
| 2016 | 173,817 | 110,889 | 126,966 | 15,618 | 18,365 | 19,278 | 464,933 |
| 2017 | 202,772 | 112,333 | 126,128 | 23,163 | 32,170 | 28,587 | 525,153 |
| 2018 | 226,346 | 112,420 | 130,512 | 21,636 | 33,030 | 34,047 | 557,991 |
| 2019 | 249,525 | 116,027 | 131,231 | 31,410 | 22,335 | 37,336 | 587,864 |
| 2020 | 166,616 | 54,507 | 63,076 | 6,377 | 12,018 | 26,677 | 329,271 |
| 2021 | 259,470 | 84,570 | 106,410 | 16,832 | 19,109 | 58,098 | 544,489 |
| 2022 | 234,469 | 95,501 | 115,744 | 22,190 | 18,560 | 57,079 | 543,541 |
Here’s the graph:
Crib Goch Visitor Numbers
Crib Goch and a section of the Miner’s track is omitted from total figures by the Parh Authority to avoid double counting, given they both start at the same place.
They do provide separate figures for these though. So just how many people climb up Crib Goch?
Here’s the data:
| Year | Crib Goch Visitor Numbers |
| 2014 | 18,046 |
| 2015 | 11,678 |
| 2016 | No data |
| 2017 | 23,780 |
| 2018 | 25,527 |
| 2019 | 27,959 |
| 2020 | 15,182 |
| 2021 | 29,857 |
| 2022 | 30,275 |
Unsurprisingly, this route has low visitor numbers, with fewer than 10% of all visitors to Snowdon’s summit reaching it via this ridge.
Snowdon Mountain Rescue Callouts
A mountain this busy leads to busy periods for mountain rescue too.
- According to the 20215 Mountain Rescue England and Wales Annual Review (which summarises 2024’s data), the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, which covers Snowdon, was the busiest in England and Wales with 9% of all callouts being theirs.
- Llanberis Mountain Rescue dealt with 327 individual incidents in 2024 – that’s not a million miles off one a day!
- Between 1 and 3 people lose their lives on Crib Goch every year. The death toll is no joke
Sno-Joke…
Snowdon always feels like an “accessible” mountain given that the paths are so incredibly well maintained and it’s so well serviced by public transport to and from the base via several routes.
But in turn this means it attracts lots of people who may be less experienced and thus ill equipped for conditions on the summit. So if you’re making Snowdon your first mountain hike, do have a great day and just bear in mind:
- Conditions on the summit can be hugely different to conditions at base. Check a mountain specific forecast and pack appropriate layers
- Pick a route that suits – read and research. Llanberis is typically regarded the most straightforward, while Crib Goch is the most difficult involving grade 1 scrambling
- Allow plenty of time and set off with enough daylight to complete your walk
- Pack sufficient food and drink
Have fun!
