Summit To Eat on the top of Snowdon via Crib Goch

Summit To Eat on the top of Snowdon via Crib Goch

Think of a classic scramble and Crib Goch ought to be on your list. It’s the toughest and wildest way to the top of Mount Snowdon, Wales’ highest peak. In my opinion it’s also the best!

It’s only classed as a Grade 1 scramble so isn’t particularly technical. Grade 3 is the most difficult scramble with anything more being a rock climb. Having said that, it is quite challenging and gets the adrenalin going at times. Some of the drops are incredibly sheer and long. However, the ‘knife-edged’ arête offers some of the best scenery you’re likely to encounter.

Crib Goch translates from Welsh as red ridge. It has a high point of 923m (3,028 ft) above sea level so is quite substantial itself, in British terms. Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, meaning the tumulus) is the highest point in Wales at 1,085m (3,560 ft). For that reason alone, it’s worth taking a tootle up.

Change of plan

Anyway, I had been up Snowdon a few years ago with my brother, Simon, and his wife, Louise. My trusty hound, Flora, came too. The original plan was to complete the Snowdon Horseshoe via Crib Goch but Flora couldn’t manage the scramble. It was too severe. Consequently we had to divert and join the main ‘tourist’ route to the summit before continuing around the Horseshoe.

Despite the change of plan, it was an incredible walk with fantastic views. However, the summit of Snowdon was in cloud and snow was falling. It was incredibly cold and even the grass was frozen. A slight descent and we were back out of the cloud. Having completed the Horseshoe, it was agreed that we would return at some point, without the dog, and carry out our original plan.

Eventually, we got around to it. Simon had been talking to my son, Euan, about it and he also invited his own son, Freddie, along too. We also decided to try out some ‘Summit To Eat’ food and review them.

The video gives some background and shows some of the scramble.

The weather wasn’t brilliant. The mountains were shrouded in mist and it was drizzling most of the time. Fortunately it wasn’t windy – that would have made going a little more dangerous. On a positive note, it kept the usual hoard of visitors away so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Summit To Eat Review

As you can see in the video, we tried the Spicy Arabiatta and the Five Bean Cassoulet.

Ease of use:

Very easy.

All you have to do is boil water and pour it into the pouch. The Summit To Eat pouches are easy to open as there’s an indent at the top of the packet (at both sides). Simply tear along the top. I have had difficulty with some other brands of similar meals but the Summit To Eat ones were easy to open. This is especially important on cold, wet days.

Remove the oxygen absorber and pour in the boiling water up to the line level (as stated in the instructions on the back of the pouch). Stir thoroughly, seal the pouch and leave for eight minutes. After the allotted time, open the pouch and stir thoroughly again.

Eating:

Spicy Pasta Arabiatta:

Excellent taste but obviously this is down to personal preference). It definitely was spicy! The sauce was delicious and the pasta was really well cooked. I have often found that freeze dried meals after being cooked still retain a toughness. This was excellent. The temperature was really good too.

Five Bean Cassoulet:

I did like the taste of this but I do like beans. It was cooked well but wasn’t as hot as the Arabiatta (in temperature). As you will have seen from the video, the conditions weren’t brilliant but this is often the case when out hillwalking! Perhaps because less water was added to the cassoulet than to the Arabiatta this made the difference. However it was hot enough to still enjoy. At the end of a long hike on a cold day, this would be a very welcome meal.

Suitable for carnivores? Or vegans?:

I am most definitely not a vegan. Not even a vegetarian. These two meals are suitable for both and they are tasty. As an overt carnivore I thoroughly enjoyed these, particularly the Arabiatta.

Information:

I did find the instructions on the packaging too small to read without my glasses. Admittedly I’m not exactly a youngster anymore but my son found it too small to read easily too. However, the preparation instructions are simple so, once you’ve got the idea, you probably don’t need them.

There’s plenty of nutritional information too.

Weight:

Very light. Excellent news especially if you’re having to carry food for more than one day. Spicy Pasta Arabiatta: 156g; Five Bean Cassoulet: 102g

Recommend or not?:

Obviously this depends on people’s tastes but I would definitely recommend both of these, and especially the Spicy Arabiatta. For anyone who is looking for vegan or vegetarian food to take out into the wilds then these are something to definitely take.

I have had other Summit To Eat products before and they have definitely become a firm favourite.

For more information:

Visit the Summit To Eat website.

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