There are numerous Facebook groups relating to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), and aside from people posting about their achievements, mostly in reaching the summit, the majority of posts are from people who know little about the mountain and wish to know more about the paths and conditions, what to take and wear, etc.
Most responses are helpful; in fact people largely fall over themselves to give good advice, though they naturally don’t always agree. Someone asking which is the best path, for instance, is likely to get very mixed responses.
However, there is the occasional unpleasant response, largely along the lines of “If you’re having to ask that, you shouldn’t be climbing Snowdon”. Fortunately the senders of these messengers normally get shot down pretty quickly, with the reminder that the group aims to be totally inclusive and that there’s no such thing as a stupid question; if you want to know something, then feel free to ask. It’s the stupid people who often don’t ask questions when they really should!
In fact, wasn’t it Einstein who said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” That was actually part of a longer quote, which ended with the line: “Never lose a holy curiosity.” Einstein thought questioning and curiosity were the key to learning.
The fact is, there was a time for us all when we knew nothing about Yr Wyddfa. We all had a first time. For many of us, that time was many years ago, and we really can’t recall back to when our knowledge amounted to zero. As silly or obvious as some answers might seem to us now, we were all there once, and we need to remember too that many of the people we encounter on the mountain are not hill walkers per se; for many, it is the first time they have done anything like this, and good on them for wanting to ask a few questions before they set off blindly into the relative unknown.
It was the constant request for answers which was the impetus for setting up this website. Often the same sorts of questions were repeatedly being asked, so the website was set up with the intention of answering not just the common questions, but every possible question about walking up Yr Wyddfa.
If you google information about Yr Wyddfa, you’ll quickly find answers, and this website is invariably near the top of the list; however, some people don’t do googling, they prefer to ask questions on social forums, and that’s OK but it’s often not the quickest or best method.
Having looked at this website, some people still have queries – often more unique and complicated ones – and we receive numerous queries through our ‘contact us’ page. Examples include lost property, complicated parking queries, complicated transport questions, reports of damage, and even requests from film companies! Whichever, it’s always a pleasure to be able to provide information, even if it’s to direct the person to a better authority. And on occasion in the past a query has prompted us to add more information to the website.
I recall one query asking if it’s possible to drive to the top of Yr Wyddfa since there’s a café there. OK, so maybe there IS such as thing as a stupid question!