Winter Camping in Snowdonia Video
A 2 day solo snowy wild camping trip into the mountains of Snowdonia.
Winter camping in Snowdonia
What an absolute blast that was! Two days on the rugged slopes of Pen yr Ole Wen to capture glorious winter views of Tryfan and the Glyderau.
After a rather cold few days, I decided it was time to head back into the mountains of Snowdonia for a spot of winter wild camping and some photography.
A long slow snowy drive into North Wales ended at the car park on the A5 in the Ogwen Valley.
The mountain weather forecast was favourable. A mixed day with a few snow showers should give way to some changeable conditions overnight, with low average wind speeds but strong gusts, and it should then ease off into the early hours of the morning and turn into a beautiful day.
My main objective for this trip was a single photograph and timelapse of Tryfan mountain at night, so while not ideal for clear night skies, I thought I’d give it another go. I’ve already failed to capture this 3 or 4 times, so why not just try again….? That, and the opportunity to relax in the mountains is always appealing.
Important note - No beers this time. I don’t want to talk about it.
A short walk down the A5 brought me to the familiar end of Llyn Ogwen and the steep climb up the mountain. I was immediately met with a problem.
A baby wild goat blocking the path. He looked VERY young.
To be fair, he was cute enough and seemed to be smiling at me. Great.
His mother, however, was a different story. She was a little bit protective.
With baby goat boy stuck scrambling on the only real path it held me up for 20 minutes or so, but I was ok, it was great to film.
I hiked on up Pen yr Ole Wen for a few hundred metres in changeable weather conditions, the odd snow flurry with gusty winds and a bit of sunshine.
The views here are incredible. That’s why I was there. Check this out, the mighty Tryfan in the background.
I arrived at the camping spot just as a heavy snow shower began to whip up over the ridge.
I hid behind some rocks and contemplated my life decisions….
That’s a bit dramatic. I was enjoying the views.
Those low drifting snow showers were curling over the side of Pen yr Ole Wen and funnelling down the Ogwen Valley beneath me. It was awesome. So awesome that I pretty much just sat there in awe, I didn’t come away with much footage of these incredible scenes. Sometimes only the eyes can do it justice anyway.
The snow showers started to ease and I started to get the tent up. I don’t think I’ve ever pitched it with such incredible views.
It’s an MSR Elixir 3, a great tent. I’ve been using it a while now and it’s big enough for a big fat man on a no-beer diet with an obscene amount of camera gear.
Now for some photography.
I’d taken 2 x Sony A7iii’s, a Sony 20mm f1.8 lens and a Sony 24-240mm lens.
The 24-240mm I’d use for most of the hiking footage, and the 20mm for some overnight timelapse work.
I also had a little baby drone with me, a DJI Mini 3 Pro.
I took an action cam, the DJI Osmo Action 3, although didn’t use it much. Just a couple of long timelapses.
Check out MY GEAR for a full rundown of my current gear, and I’m happy to answer any questions on how I made any of the clips in the YouTube video.
I mucked around capturing a few frilly bits for a while, and settled down for a well-earned coffee after setting up my big sturdy Manfrotto Tripod for an 18-hour overnight timelapse of Tryfan.
The wind gusts continued to batter the slopes of the mountain, but those rocks kept me mostly out of the harshest winds and its wind chill.
The weather felt warm enough, the coffee was hot and the views of Snowdonia were incredible.
A look at my phone revealed that a couple of people I know were on the other side of the valley climbing Y Gribin to wild camp on the summit of the Glyderau somewhere. It was cool to see their Instagram stories in real time as I sat trying to pick them out in the distance. They both have YouTube channels, Andrew Beavers & The Lone Explorer. I’ll stick the links to their videos from this trip at the bottom of this blog post.
Wild camping priorities -
Views.
Food.
I built a kitchen area out of some snow and took a quick nap. I was going to be up during the night to monitor batteries on the 18-hour timelapse. So why not sneak a few zzzz’s now?
I woke up to cook a few steaks in my new JetBoil skillet, (yes, not the cheapest, but bloody good)…. and went back to sleep. What a life, eh?
Tryfan mountain timelapse in Snowdonia National Park Stock Footage
Here’s one of the timelapses from that night. It’s available as stock footage through this LINK, you’ll receive a 20% discount.
Here’s the link to the wider collection of Tryfan timelapse stock footage clips from these two days, and you’ll find a whole load of incredible stock footage from Snowdonia National Park in my stock footage portfolios.
After a long cold January night, I was treated to a wonderful Snowdonia sunrise, and so I stood around for far too long taking it with a hot coffee.
Low clouds and snow curled up over the Glyderau in soft pink-orange morning light. Wonderful.
I finished the video off with a 3-minute behind-the-scenes talk. I think I’m much better off behind the camera than in front of it, but I point out some of the views and describe the route and scene a bit.
These are some of the best views in Snowdonia IMO, Tryfan and the Glyderau, Glyder Fawr, Glyder Fach, Y Gribin, Y Garn, and Llyn Idwal… superb.
The photograph…..???
THE photograph I made the trip for, ahhhh, Tryfan at night.
Check this out!
Tryfan at Night is available as a wall art print and limited edition canvas.
Winter camping in Snowdonia. A 2 day solo wild camping trip in Snowdonia National Park with views of Tryfan and the Glyderau.
And finally the videos from Andrew Beavers and The Lone Explorer, they were on the other side of the Ogwen Valley while I made this trip and they both made videos too.
It was great to watch them, and have a chat on the A5 as all 3 of us finished our camping trips. Their videos tell the story of these beautiful days in Snowdonia very well. Recommended viewing.
Cheers
Chris
Andrew Beavers, wild camping on the Glyderau mountains of Snowdonia
This wonderful image was taken high up on Pen yr Ole Wen mountain on a cold January night in 2023. Vehicles light up the A5 as it passes through the Ogwen Valley, as the last remaining hikers on the Glyderau light up the trail near Llyn Bochlwyd.
The snow-covered mighty Tryfan rises up into the cool night sky in this amazing winter scene. There's a full behind-the-scenes video on the creation of this image, also available on limited-edition canvas, on my YouTube channel. It's called "Winter Camping in Snowdonia". It has taken 3 separate 2-day overnight camping visits and more than a little mud, sweat and beers to capture this scene.