OFFICIALS have accused walkers of being “totally unreasonable” as they persistently build cairns along mountain trails across Snowdonia.

Over the years it has become customary to build cairns on mountains in order to identify paths and junctions or dangerous places.

However, recently it has become customary for ramblers to identify the routes they have taken by placing a stone on a pile of stones and in doing so, creating a cairn.

On Cadair Idris, Snowdonia National Park Authority claim, it has become such a problem that the senior warden for South Snowdonia has decided to organise a day of reducing the size and number of Cairns across the national park.

“It’s quite a problem on Cadair Idris,” said senior warden Simon Roberts.

“As the cairns are built, stone by stone, the footpaths are eroding and the fragile landscape is being damaged.

“Footpaths widen and the cost of maintaining the footpaths increase.

“But, even more dangerously, they can mislead walkers, especially in fog.

“Later this year, we will begin to rationalise the cairns, but in the meantime we are appealing to walkers to stop moving the stones on the mountains.”

Myfyr Tomos, another Snowdonia National Park warden, added: “On the Ty Nant footpath, within less than a mile between Rhiw Gwredydd and Bwlch y Cyfrwy, there are 102 cairns, and at the base of each cairn a very large hole where stones have been lifted from the path and adjacent land.

“Some of the stones are huge and the cairns are increasing every week.

“We need to ensure that future generations can enjoy walking the paths and mountains of Snowdonia and therefore reducing erosion by encouraging people not to move the stones, is a way of contributing to this.”

Paul Williams, manager of the Cadair Idris Nature Reserve on behalf of Natural Resources Wales was also upset by complacent trekkers.

“Building cairns has been of great concern over a number of years – the practice, by now, is totally unreasonable, creating scars on some of our most significant landscapes.

“The practice damages fragile habitats such as the moorland in the uplands and the scree, together with the animals and the plants associated with them.

“The damage can also cause new footpaths which expands erosion on our mountains.

“There are plenty of examples of this on the slopes of the Glydeiriau, Cadair Idris and Snowdon.

“A cairn should only show the summit of a mountain – where historical cairns are already there.”

Elfyn Jones, the British Mountaineering Council access & conservation officer for Wales, also urged caution as too many cairns could lead to become overly reliant on the stoney piles.

“Building cairns along the main paths on a popular mountain such as Cadair Idris is unnecessary and causes erosion of mountain habitats,” he said.

“It can also encourage laziness in people by not using a map and compass which can in turn lead them to a dangerous situation.”

With the help of volunteers from the Welsh mountaineering club, Clwb Mynydda Cymru, the cairns will be reduced and some will be completely demolished in the forthcoming months.

If anyone is interested in volunteering, they can contact Simon Roberts at the National Park Office in Penrhyndeudraeth on 01766 770274.