BBC Wales News - Chwarel Graig Ddu

BBC Wales News recently published an article on the discovery of a new 2,000ft mountain top in Wales.  The original article and a link to it on the BBC Wales News website appear below.

 

Snowdonia: New mountain created after quarrying - claim

 

Chwarel Graig Ddu is in Graig Ddu quarry, above Blaenau Ffestiniog

An experienced mapmaker claims he has discovered a new mountain in Snowdonia after quarrying created a peak.

 

The mountain in Graig Ddu quarry, above Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, was originally part of Manod Mawr North Top.

 

But Myrddyn Phillips said quarrying into the land had created another summit.

 

He believes it is the only man-made peak above 2,000ft in Wales - which means it is a mountain.

 

The experienced mountaineer and mapmaker, from Welshpool, has been mapping peaks for decades and has found other unknown mountains.

 

He said the latest discovery was made by a friend who spotted a noticeable gradient change while looking at a map online.

 

"The online map that shows this new mountain top has proved consistently accurate," said Mr Phillips.

 

"So to confirm the validity of its status we visited adjacent hillsides and determined its height and drop."

 

The new mountain was previously part of Manod Mawr North Top but quarrying has formed a second peak that allows it to qualify as a separate mountain.

 

Mr Phillips has named the new mountain Chwarel Graig Ddu.

 

Mountaineer Myrddyn Phillips discovered the new peak with a friend

The summit remains 613m (2,011ft) but the drop to the next peak is now 21m (69ft), meaning that it qualifies as a separate mountain, according to the Welsh Highlands criteria used by Mr Phillips.

 

"Although there are peaks and tops in Wales that have been created by quarrying and mining activity, to my knowledge this is the first one that's been discovered that's over 2,000ft high," Mr Phillips said.

 

"So it's extremely different to anything else within our country, and it's always good to find mountain tops like this.

 

"It just adds to the numerical accuracy that is then catalogued and put in hill lists."

Mr Phillips acknowledged some might question whether the peak was a real mountain.

 

The new mountain was previously part of Manod Mawr North Top

He said its man-made nature should not count against it as there were other examples in Wales of hills being similarly formed.

 

"However, none of these are over 2,000ft in height as Chwarel Graig Ddu is," he said.

"Some people view these new tops as artificial and therefore discount them from any form of list.

 

"We take a more sympathetic view for our lists and include hills such as these if they are considered solid and stable and meet the set criteria.

 

"Because of man's intrusion these exist, therefore we portray their existence in our hill lists."

 

Mr Phillips previously helped measure Ffordd Pen Llech, in Harlech, in its efforts to become the steepest road in the world. 

 

It was initially awarded the honour by the Guinness World Records, but a rethink less than a year later handed the title back to Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand.

 

 

 

For the original article published on the BBC Wales News website