Mountains [MSPUB.EXE]

Mountains ; Do you know what makes a mountain a mountain ? Mynydd (Welsh for Mountain) may be in the name, but technically the ‘feature’ must measure over 610m /2000ft to be a proper mountain. Under that, and it’s a hill. In the past, mountains were measured by theodolites, an instrument that would take the angle to the summit, and with the distance as well the height was ‘triangulated’ . By now technology has moved on. Satellites and and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) give more precise measurements, and by now it’s ‘fashionable’ to re-measure Snowdonia’s mountains. Recently Mynydd Graig Goch has become a ‘proper’ mountain. Although always called a mountain (mynydd) it was only 1999ft, and so didn’t qualify. Re-measuring and it came in at 2000ft and 4.9inches, enough to make it an official mountain. Tryfan has kept its place as one of the top 15 summits after being measured, as modern technology added 2.48m (8 ft) to it. Glyder Fawr also grew and is now 1000.8m (rather than 999m). I wonder which mountain will be under the spot- light next? Did you know ? • There’s 2652 km of footpaths in Snowdonia. Placed together in a straight line and you would arrive in Russia. • The summit of Snowdon receives about 4343mm of precipitation on average—can you imagine a meter and a half of water swilling about on your bathroom floor? Snowdon; Icon and honey pot site Snowdon stands by itself in Snowodnia—it can be seen from afar and is a dramatic feature. Often when people write about Snowdonia, it’s a photo of the summit rather than the rivers and lakes that accompany the story. There are several types of rocks to be found there—sedimentary stones and igneous/volcanic rocks. The rocks along the summit contain fossils of sea creatures. Surrounding it are the glacial troughs of Nant Peris, Glaslyn and Nant Gwynant, deep valleys with flat floors and ribbon lakes formed by valley glaciers in the past . Snowdon itself is a pyramidal peak. Glaciers eroded three sides forming this characteristic shape, leaving two arêtes – Crib Goch and Lliwedd above cwm/corrie formations with hanging valleys above the main valley glaciers below. The welsh name for Snowdon ‘Yr Wyddfa’ (Gwyddfa) means burial place, and according to legend, Rhita the Giant is buried under the summit cairn. Snowdon has attracted visitors since the C17th and we know that people used the mountain before then. The Snowdon bowl found under Crib gôch dates to the Iron Age and was probably an offering to the gods. Snowdon's Ecology Even though Snowdon, at one time, would have been covered in trees up to 500m, agriculture has cleared the slopes of the trees. Sheep and ferral goats now graze on the highest slopes and cattle are on the lower slopes. Much of Snowdon is a site of scientific interest (SSSI) The Lloydia Serontina or Snowdon lilly found on the steep cliffs facing the north/north east on poor soil – a plant not seen outside of Snowdonia in the UK and one that needs to be protected. You can’t touch the plant without permission. Other plants and creatures that are protected include the Snowdon beetle and purple saxifrage. Extreme Snowdon Snowdon attracts around 500,000 walkers every year; yup, nearly half a million because • It’s the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 feet or 1,085 metres (before it’s re measured of course!!) • Can’t walk far? Take the train. It’s been running to the summit since 1896 and carries around 110,000 visitors every year. An hours journey up, half an hour at the summit to take photos and another hour down. Lovely. • Thomas Johnson wrote the first account of walking to the summit in 1639 the year that Charles the first started the civil war against the Scots. • There’s been a building at the summit since the 1820 s. During this time, Florence Nightingale was born, Napoleon died and the Menai Suspension bridge was built • The summit temperature ranges between - 20°C to +20°C • Winds of 150 mph gust around the summit often in winter. • Over 4 metres of precipitation is received annually. • There can be snow near the summit for six months of the year Hafod Eryri This is the new building at the summit of Snowdon, but not the first by a long way. The previous building had been designed by Sir Clough Williams Ellis and built in 1935. Unfortunately, all the original windows were blown in during the first winter. It wasn’t fit for purpose. Each window opening had to be made smaller to withstand the weather Demolition of the old building began on September the 12th 2007 ‘Hafod Eryri’ opened on the 18th of June 2009 81,383 people walked to the summit in August 2010 and 7,940 in January. Balancing act; Enjoyment and conservation Good footpaths are a way of conserving the land on either side, land where many rare plants grow that need to be left alone. A team of workers maintain the paths on Snowdon to a high standard but sometimes problems occur. Gutters that carry water off the paths are sometimes stuffed with rubbish and need to be cleared and a general rubbish sweep is needed in the summer months as people leave items on the mountain rather than taking them home. The Conservation Section works with the farmers to reduce the number of sheep grazing the mountains. Sheep graze low, and eat everything and cane leave a barren landscape behind. By reducing the number of sheep, the biodiversity value of the land increases giving some of the rare plants a greater chance at survival. Encouragement is also given to plant hedges and conserve woodlands (why not find out more about our ’Hedge fund’) Wild or feral goats are a problem in some areas. Due to mild winters and the fact that there’s more grass (and less sheep, so less competition) the numbers have increased dramatically. They’re a problem as they eat everything and can undo the work that the farmers and conservationists are doing. They can climb trees to get at the leaves. They’re counted every year so that their numbers and location are known. What would you do to keep the balance? .

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