Hill-Bagging

By Dugswell2

Cnicht, The Welsh Matterhorn.

Cnicht is a mountain in Snowdonia which forms part of the Moelwynion mountain range. It was the first of seven peaks climbed today on The Nuttall walk 5.3 plus a look at Rhosydd Slate Quarry

Its appearance when viewed from the south-west, i.e. from the direction of Porthmadog, has earned it the sobriquet the "Matterhorn of Wales". In reality Cnicht is a long ridge and, at 689 m, is the 5th highest peak in the Moelwynion mountain range. It can be easily ascended from Croesor, the village at its foot, or, with more difficulty, from Nant Gwynant to the north-west.
Although rightly regarded by most people as a mountain in its own right, there are compilers of lists who consider that it does not in fact have enough prominence to separate it from its parent Allt-fawr in spite of over 110m of re-ascent and a distance of more than 4 km. Hence it is not regarded as a Marilyn.
The mountain gets its name from the old English word 'knight', the silent 'k' being pronounced at that time. It is said that the shape of the mountain bears a similarity to a knight's helmet.

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