If you think rain stopping play poses problems for the Wimbledon schedule then spare a thought for the workers competing against the unseasonable weather to try and finish the £8.3 million Snowdon summit building on time.

The dramatic turn in the weather seems like a payback for the gloriously sunny and mild conditions enjoyed during the spring. All a distant memory now. It has officially, according to the Met Office today, been the wettest June on record in the UK and the wettest in Wales since 1998. Apparently, it's all the fault of the La Nina system and warm water developing in the western Pacific - probably not much comfort for the guys grafting on top of Wales' highest peak.


The rain soaked Llanberis yard at the foot of the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

In the two weeks since June 20th, five days work has been lost at the top of the mountain and high winds on a further two days has prevented any steel-work being erected. The summit has rarely been out of the cloud. During the 28th June the wind speed quickly picked up, turning a reasonable working day into a struggle against gusts over 50mph, meaning an early finish.

As Carillion Site Manager Chris Hogan said: "On most jobs you can get into a routine. But with this one there is always something that can come along and knock you off your perch."

Despite the inclement conditions of late, only three pieces of steel are required to complete the framework on the main part of the building and scaffolding is just starting to go up around the perimeter of the steelwork in preparation for adding the roof. On Saturday it is hoped to install a large net between the steel stanchions to safeguard workers when they are fitting the roof.

The eight ton Crawler Crane currently at the summit hasn't got the necessary reach for installing the roof. However, getting the 20 ton crane up the mountain, bought by the company Bob Francis for this purpose, has proved problematic.

It is too heavy to track up the railway line and the Health & Safety Executive are against flying it up. So the solution has proved to be splitting it in half and dismantling it further so it fits on the flat-bed to be taken by train up Yr Wyddfa and reassembled on site.