Eryri · Conwy County Borough · Mountain
A quieter Eryri summit above Capel Curig: a hands-on ridge on one side, a gentler shoulder on the other, and a view the mountain doesn't always give up.
The highest ground in the Moelwynion, standing apart from the main Eryri massif above Capel Curig: a hands-on ridge on one side, a gentler shoulder on the other.
Choose your route
A hands-on, exposed ridge from Pont Cyfyng, or a gentler shoulder from Plas y Brenin with a difficult stretch near the top. Two further lines exist nearby, but this guide covers only the two approaches detailed enough to describe safely; pick one and the board below redraws to it.
Ways up
Expect hands-on scrambling, exposed rocky ground and consequential terrain in places. Treat it as a scramble, not an ordinary mountain walk.
The gentler option overall, but the final section near the summit turns genuinely difficult; avoid assuming this is an easy walk throughout.
Practical brief
The scrambling line, from Pont Cyfyng.
The gentler line, from Plas y Brenin.
Checked 13 July 2026 against Eryri National Park Authority, Plas y Brenin and Traveline Cymru. Check current parking and transport details before you go.
Before you go
Parking, transport, dogs, camping, the approaches, and safety — checked before you go.
Two further approaches are documented: from Pen y Gwryd and from Dolwyddelan (the latter reaching the Daear Ddu ridge). No parking location has been confirmed for either, so none is given here rather than guessed. Details from Eryri National Park parking (opens in a new tab) and Plas y Brenin's own parking FAQ (opens in a new tab).
The TrawsCymru T10 (opens in a new tab) (Bangor–Betws-y-Coed–Corwen) stops at Capel Curig and at Pont-Cyfyng. The route is confirmed; current frequency is not. Check the current service before travelling.
No toilets are currently confirmed at Capel Curig, at either start point. There's no food or water source on the mountain itself on either route.
Dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 metres on Open Access Land between 1 March and 31 July, and under close control near livestock at all times; a farmer may legally act against a dog attacking livestock. No route-specific dog ban is confirmed for either approach on this mountain.
The Daear Ddu ridge (from Pont Cyfyng) involves hands-on scrambling, exposed rocky ground and consequential terrain. The Plas y Brenin path is the gentler option, but its final section near the summit turns genuinely difficult, not an easy alternative throughout. Allow half a day for the shoulder route; the ridge takes longer.
Two further named approaches — from Pen y Gwryd and from Dolwyddelan — exist, but aren't detailed enough here to describe safely; this guide covers the two approaches above only.
Wind on the Daear Ddu's exposed sections can feel like a different climb from what the valley suggested, and cloud on either line makes route-finding harder than the ground itself. Wet rock adds real difficulty to the scramble. Snow or ice can turn either line into a winter mountaineering day; no official equipment mandate is published for this mountain specifically, but an ice axe and crampons may be needed depending on conditions.
The Met Office publishes a location forecast named for Moel Siabod (opens in a new tab); MWIS (opens in a new tab) publishes a regional mountain forecast for Eryri/Snowdonia. Read both, and read them as inputs rather than answers: a location forecast does not replace your own judgement about summit wind, cloud, visibility, snow and ice. No summit webcam or ground-condition report exists for this mountain specifically.
Neither route has a verified alternative descent; reversal is the confirmed plan on both the ridge and the shoulder. The Plas y Brenin path's difficult final section, flagged on the way up, is just as awkward reversed on the way down; don't assume the gentler line stays gentle in both directions near the top.
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue. No specific mountain rescue team is confirmed as covering this mountain. The T10 bus and the free car parks run to a timetable; neither is a rescue plan.
Neither route is flat or step-free; the Daear Ddu is genuine hands-on scrambling throughout, and the gentler Plas y Brenin line still turns genuinely difficult near the summit. Neither is a first-mountain or family walk, and no toilets or facilities are confirmed at either trailhead.
Specific to this mountain
Wild camping isn't permitted anywhere in Eryri without the landowner's or farmer's permission.
Sourced from Eryri National Park Authority, Plas y Brenin and Traveline Cymru, checked 13 July 2026.
The reckoning
You've seen the two lines; the last question is the weather. Check the Moel Siabod forecast, and judge the day by the ridge, not the valley; no site-specific ground-condition report exists for this summit (that resource covers Yr Wyddfa only).
The Met Office link is a location forecast named for Moel Siabod; MWIS is a regional mountain forecast for Eryri/Snowdonia. Read them together: a location forecast is not a substitute for judging summit wind, cloud, visibility, snow and ice yourself.
Use the Moel Siabod forecast, or the wider Eryri mountain forecast for regional hazards; this mountain has no summit webcam or ground-condition report of its own.
The Daear Ddu ridge in particular carries real exposure; wind that's manageable in the valley can turn a ridge into a different proposition.
Weather in upland areas of Eryri can change within hours, not days; the general park-wide caution applies here as much as anywhere.
Treat snow and ice as winter conditions. This is still an 872 m Welsh summit that will hold snow and ice like any other; check the regional forecast and don't assume a route is in summer condition (no site-specific winter resource exists for this mountain).
You climb for the view, but the mountain does not always give it. On clear days the summit opens onto much of Eryri; on cloud days, the trig point and the ground underfoot are the reward.
The summit markerVisible feature
A stone-built trig pillar stands on bare rock at the highest point: the one fixed, unambiguous marker of the summit.
Why it mattersIn cloud, this is the one thing you can be certain of reaching; everything else about the day is conditional on the weather.
Beyond the rockGeneral view
Hazy high ground rolls away on every side: genuinely open, though this particular day doesn't offer enough clarity to name a single peak in frame.
Why it mattersSources disagree on exactly how many named summits are visible from here; treat any specific count as an estimate, not a fixed fact.
Six scenes from a day on the mountain: the approach, the quarry, the panorama, the skyline.
The way down
Most of a mountain day's trouble comes after the top. Read the notices, then make the call.
No alternative escape or descent has been verified for either line on this mountain.
Upland weather in Eryri can change within hours, not days.
Fatigue slows decisions and increases risk.
The T10 bus and the free car parks run to a timetable, not to you.
The mountain casts a long day. These are the places around it.
The A5 village at the foot of the mountain: Cobden's Hotel, a scatter of places to eat and sleep, where the road forks for both approaches.
Read the guide →
Over the pass into Ogwen, where every route to the top is a scramble: the mountain to save for the day Siabod feels too easy.
Read the guide →
A Conwy village on the mountain's western flank, with its own little-used approach through the forestry land below.
Read the guide →
A turnstile straight off the road onto the Llugwy cascade: the low-effort stop that costs a hard day nothing.
Read the guide →On the Atlas
Above Capel Curig, standing apart from the main Eryri massif.
Open Moel Siabod on the mapContinue exploring
Take its quieter character into the wider landscape of Conwy.