Work has restarted on Snowdon's new summit building a month earlier than planned. Thanks to track maintenance being completed without any unforseen problems over the winter by the Mountain Railway, a small team from Carillion got back up the mountain at the end of Feruary (25th) and picked up from where they left off in December 2007. It was initially thought they would not return until March 24th.


The flat area at the rear of the building will be covered with scree.

May 10th was the hoped for completion date when the project commenced but the crucial finishing deadline to qualify for European funding is early summer. The battered state of much of the Heras fencing that was left in place around the site gives an idea of how ferocious conditions can be at over 1000 metres above sea-level together with being utterly exposed to Atlantic storms.

 
The platform area with the blue fibreglass rainwater run-off tank waiting to be
lowered into the excavation on the left.

After a good first week's progress, in which the hole for installing the water tank for collecting run-off from the roof was dug and rock dispersal over the 'terrace area' was started, the weather closed-in, stopping any further work for over a week. A fine Spring, like we had last year, allowing momentum to be kept going will make a huge difference to the timetable. You can be sure there will be few people paying as much attention to the coming months weather forecasts as those responsible for delivering a finished Hafod Eryri to the National Park Authority.


Screed for the cafe floor pumped into the building prior to being levelled.

On Monday the train set off for the top from Llanberis at 7a.m. but was stopped by hard-packed snow on the line a short distance above Clogwyn Station. It was necessary to bring the excavator down the track from the summit to dig out the snow so the train could get through. And after this coming Easter weekend they may find that the track will need digging out again. The last time Easter was this early in the year was 1913.


The run-off tank will hold 10,000 litres of water collected from the roof.

Today, it was bitterly cold on the summit but inside Hafod Eryri with the gas heaters on it was relatively pleasant. The men screeding the floor even had a sweat-on. So long as the weather allows the train to reach the summit then interior work can continue unaffected by outside conditions, although progress on the exterior stone cladding and granite roof will clearly be dictated by the elements.


Rain water collected in this tank will be used for flushing the toilets.