At 359 metres, Pen-y-Pass is not high by any alpine standard, but it is the highest point on the A4086, and it feels like the doorway to something big. The road tops out here between the shoulders of Snowdon and the Glyderau, with the cliffs of Crib Goch and Lliwedd on one side and the long glacial trough of the Llanberis Pass falling away on the other. Mist often fills the gap, and on a day of low cloud it can feel like the top of the world. When the sun comes out, the contrast is astonishing, with the green valley stretching down to the lakes.
It is also the starting point for the best-known paths up Snowdon. The Pyg Track and the Miners' Track both begin here, and on a summer morning the car park, one of the most expensive and crowded in Wales, fills before eight. The old Gorphwysfa Hotel, now a youth hostel, was where early climbers gathered at the end of the nineteenth century, and nearby, the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel was where the 1953 Everest expedition team trained before their successful ascent. Their signatures are still on the ceiling of the bar.
The ride up from Llanberis is a sequence of tight bends and sheer rock, with the road narrowing in places to barely two cars wide. The surface is good, but there are cattle grids, sheep, cyclists and walkers' cars stopping suddenly, so it is no place for speed. On the east side, the road drops toward Capel Curig past the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel, and from here you can continue along the A5 or turn south through Beddgelert. Weather is important. Cloud can fall quickly, and winter ice is a real risk, so check conditions before you set out.
The mountains above hold plenty of natural interest. Cwm Glas, a hanging valley, has some of the best examples of glacial features in Britain, and the rocks are rich in fossils. Alpine plants cling to the high crags, and choughs, the red-legged crows, nest on the cliffs.
Parking at the pass is limited, and a park-and-ride bus runs from Nant Peris in summer to relieve the crowding, so a bike makes things easier. Fuel is not available here. Llanberis, about six kilometres down the hill, has services of a sort, and Bangor, a bigger town, is further away, so keep an eye on the tank. The café at the pass is handy for tea and a bacon roll in season.