It might have a railway up the side and a cafe at the top, but Snowdon is a proper mountain. As I found out recently when I attempted to ride up this magnificent Welsh mountain on an e-bike.

Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa to use its correct Welsh name (say Uhr With-va) rises to a prominence of 1,085m above sea level, with almost 1,000m of elevation gain from foot to peak depending on which path you take to the summit. At that height, the temperature at the top can be almost 7º C colder than at the base. And with increased exposure comes higher winds, so factor in the windchill and it’s quite possible to see the mercury plummet below -10º C.

Ice cold in Llanberis

On the day I arrived at Llanberis the temperature was in low single digits. It was overcast with cloud clinging to the top of the mountain, but there were windows of blue sky and the forecast was for spells of intermittent sunshine. I had two baselayers and a three-layer waterproof jacket, the excellent 100% Brisker winter gloves, waterproof socks, thick riding pants, a helmet that covered my ears and goggles for the descent. I’d mapped out the route accurately using satellite imagery and transferred the GPS to my Garmin. I’d informed people of where we were heading, and brought plenty of food.

Fabien Barel riding the Ranger Path on Snowdon in 2011

This wasn’t my first winter rodeo on Snowdon, either. I’d ridden up there in 2009 for an MBR feature on a bluebird day where deep fresh powder snow covered the upper slopes. And again in 2011 with 2x World Dowhill Champion Fabien Barel, pioneering geometry and suspension guru Chris Porter, and a video team from Cut Media. On that the max recorded wind speed at the summit was 78mph, firing icy pellets of sleet at our uncovered legs (yes, most of us were wearing shorts). It was miserable, but epic. An adventure that has stayed with me over the years, and one that I wanted to rekindle with a modern twist.

Taking an e-bike up Snowdon, my thinking went, would transform a slow and tedious uphill trudge, into a fiendish but achievable technical challenge. My hope was that I would have as much fun on the climb as I would on the descent.

The Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR used for the ride. In warmer and sunnier times!

Snowdon’s Ranger Path is a classic tech MTB descent

So I charged up the battery in the latest Mondraker Crafty with its smart and controllable Bosch CX motor, and began the climb, joined by videographer Nico Turner on his e-bike.

The route I chose is a classic: up the Llanberis Path and down the Ranger Path, with a link back to Llanberis via Telegraph Valley. It’s the most popular route for mountain bikers on Snowdon, the other being up Llanberis and down Ryd Ddu. I’ve not ridden Ryd Ddu, but from research (we covered it in MBR mag in 2014) it’s a knife-edge ridge that’s spectacular but only intermittently rideable. Whereas Ranger is 100% rideable, albeit with some spicy technical moves.

Given that I knew the upper part of Snowdon would be covered in snow, I opted to go for Ranger Path, which is not only the safer option, but the trail I’d ridden before, so it was a known quantity.

The lower slopes of the Llanberis path were remarkably dry and grippy given the winter we’ve been having. And that Snowdon is one of the wettest places in the UK, with nearly half a metre of rain annually. So it was a pleasure to spin up the easier gradients on smooth sections of gravel, punctuated by patches of bedrock. It was a good warm-up for what was to come.

Riding Snowdon for the first time, in 2009, was a revelation.

Stairway to heaven?

As we passed under the railway and closed in on the Halfway House (closed for winter) more stone-pitching started to appear. Huge flagstones of rock laid into rough steps to fight the erosive powers of all that rain, and the huge number of boots that pound this trail every year. By huge, I mean half a million people in 2022, that’s an average of 1,500 people per day at the summit. No wonder there are queues of 45 minutes to get a summit selfie in the summer!

Now it was starting to get interesting. I kept the Bosch unit in eMTB mode, letting the sophisticated electronics work out how much power I needed at any given moment. There was a delicate dance of traction, momentum, line choice, and body English to tick off the sections, but with every success came greater confidence in the bike and more accuracy and dexterity in my movements.

Look ahead to plot the line, then refocus on the next couple of metres to make sure the wheels and pedals didn’t snag. Rinse and repeat, over and over again, hopping up waist high ledges and pedalling up the steep stone staircase towards the second railway bridge.

Pack your head for heights on Rhyd Ddu! (Crossman-Emms)

Snowdon’s voluntary cycling restrictions – when do they apply?

It’s important in planning any mountain bike ride up Snowdon to follow the voluntary cycling code. This allows cycling on the mountain only outside peak times, to avoid conflict. Those times are 10-5pm during the summer months (1st May – 30th September).

The winter brings no restrictions, and a much quieter mountain – we probably saw 20-30 people, and no other mountain bikers – but it does bring the increased risk of bad weather. In that respect, it’s crucial to make sure you’re prepared for any eventuality. Adverse weather can reduce visibility and make navigation extremely difficult. Ice and snow can be treacherous to walk on, let alone ride. And a fall at the higher elevations that leaves you unable to ride could mean a long and freezing wait for help. Particularly on a less popular path like Rangers.

UK Mountain Rescue has a good list of advice to follow if you’re thinking of heading up there in winter.

Frozen brakes and icy goggles!

At Clogwyn we met a man coming down from the summit who warned that the next section was extremely treacherous with ice and snow, making it easy to lose footing and start sliding. It had also started to snow at this point, the cloud had rolled in, and visibility was severely restricted.

So it was on with the goggles and up with the hoods, and we pressed on to see how the ground looked, pledging to turn around if it was too risky. Up until this point I had ridden everything, but the off-camber snow was too slippery to ride. With walk mode engaged and careful foot placement using the footprints made by previous walkers, we trudged on. As the gradient eased it was possible to ride again, but arriving at the summit ridgeline revealed us to the full force of the wind, now driving from the east, really started to bite.

The fluid in my brake hoses froze, moisture on the disc rotors turned to ice, the camera stopped working, and the windchill ripped through all those layers like they were fishnet tights.

Snow and ice on the descent made it tricky difficult to see where the trail went, and the bike was constantly slipping and gripping between different consistencies of snow and ice. My goggles started to get covered in sleet and spray from the front tyre, causing them to ice over.

But as we descended, the visibility started to improve, more and more rocks poked out of the white blanket, and traction became more predictable.

Then a window opened in the clouds and an incredible golden glow appeared below as the sun blasted the long grass at the base of the mountain. It was epiphinal.

Given that the most technical part of the descent started here, switching back and forth above the lake at Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas, I was extremely glad I could see where I was going. Fiendish slabs of rock jutted out at random angles, poised to slash a tyre or amputate a mech if I didn’t ride with millimetre precision.

Snowdon – still one of the best big mountain rides in the UK

Somehow I rode it all. It wasn’t pretty in places, but the extra stability of the e-bike chassis, the modern, chunky components, and the instant power of the motor made it a lot easier than it was 14 years ago with 26in wheels and old-school geometry.

A quick blast up to the saddle at Moel Eilio and down Telegraph Valley and we were back in Llanberis. We’d notched up over 1,100m of climbing (those extra takes for the camera!), ridden for two and a half hours, and I’d used only 50% of the Mondraker’s 800Wh battery.

Snowdon is a proper mountain bike ride. Epic on any bike, but made even better by modern e-bike technology. Where the climb becomes as much of an event as the descent. Technical, challenging, rugged, and rewarding. It’s no walk in the park, and deserves respect, especially in the winter, but I can think of few mountains in the UK that are as approachable and memorable. If you haven’t ridden it yet, stick it on your bucket list.