CRIMEA PASS

BLAENAU FFESTINIOG, GWYNEDD

This climb has a monstrous beginning. So monstrous it comes close to spoiling any enjoyment you may derive from the sublime slopes further up. Coming out of Blaenau Ffestiniog, you rise up and then drop down; gather some speed here as up ahead the road ramps up like a wall – a dark grey, foreboding stretch of tarmac. As you hit it, the speed you gathered on the approach vanishes in an instant, and within a handful of pedal strokes you’re grinding at a snail’s pace, unable to change down quick enough. Be careful not to drop your chain here as you quickly leave the big ring and engage the small. Past the last of the houses and at the start of a low slate wall the turmoil thankfully ends. From now on the experience is bliss; enjoy the silky smooth tarmac as the wide, quiet road sweeps right between the mountain peaks. It’s at this point that you’ll wish the climb were 10 kilometres longer.