Yr Wyddfa visitors urged to respect queue etiquette after climber rows

Visitors to Yr Wyddfa, the mountain formerly known as Snowdon, are being urged to respect queue etiquette after rows broke out among climbers. Record-breaking weather has brought bumper summer crowds, with some people waiting more than an hour to reach the 3,560-foot peak.

The issue came to a head in May, when climbers completing a charity walk were booed by others waiting in line. That incident sparked a debate about mountain manners, both online and on the slopes themselves.

Opinions among walkers are divided. One visitor said: "I don't think that you should have to queue. It's a mountain, you should just be able to go up and that's it. There shouldn't be any queue and we're not at Alton Towers for a ride." Another countered: "I just think it's decency, really, and respecting everyone else and we have just climbed that and, yeah, you've got to wait your turn." A third added: "People jump for queues all the time. The etiquette should be, go up there two minutes and then move on for everyone else."

The National Park Authority has no specific policy on summit queues, but is asking walkers to use common sense. A spokesperson said: "You don't have to go to the trick point where the queue starts. You get to the summit when it gets to the summit building, so if you are wanting to go to the summit trick point, you need to be a bit more considerate and maybe do queue, don't skip the queue. You don't need to cause any argy-bargy or that on the summit."

Visitor numbers have surged over the past decade, spiking to more than 600,000 a year. That has made the climb not just a test of endurance, but also of patience.