Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa): 3,560 ft

8:25 am: Penn-y-pass, the start of our climb up Snowdon:

The weather was overcast but not cold, and the high winds and rain were due around 4 pm, well after we were due to be off the mountain.  There was mist covering the summit and we set off with a spring in our step.  This is one of the views of the valley as we were leaving Penn-y-pass:

Here we were approaching the causeway on Llyn Llydaw lake:

A remnant of the mining days:

It's getting steeper and cloudier:

Here I am, my asthmatic lungs getting a full work out:

It's getting even steeper here:

The wind was picking up by now and it had started to rain; that bad weather front was arriving much earlier than planned!:

The last bit of pathway:

We were now climbing over rocks and walking on large stones.  There were a few cairns along the way:

James and a cairn!:

We came upon a piece of wood filled with pennies: 

By now the wind was gale force and the rain was coming in hard.  The final ascent was so steep and we were literally climbing up the rocks; it was very tough on my lungs but I kept at it, slow and steady.  11:45 am: we finally reached the summit!  Look who didn't wear waterproof mascara:

James at the highest point:

Proof I made it:

We didn't hang around; the rain was torrential and the wind was hitting speeds of at least 60 mph so we set off down the other side of the mountain.  I thought I had experienced gale force winds before, but it was nothing like the wind we experienced on Snowdon.  The trail down was hard.  My lungs were overjoyed at not going uphill, but my knees did not like encountering a trail made up of lots of large, uneven stones and slate:

James was so kind and took this flattering photo of me:

By now there was not one piece of me that was dry and my boots were full of water. The advantage to high winds and horizontal rain is that I didn't need to drink from my bottle, I was force-fed rain water all the way down.  It tasted good!

I really did enjoy the experience, despite the conditions.  It made my birthday a memorable one and I was so pleased we made the summit in 3 hours and 10 minutes (the estimated time was 4 hours).  I am proud of my lungs, they can do hard things.  Also, my legs are awesome, they do not ache!  I now never have to climb a mountain again...