North Wales Wanderings

My Salewa adjustable crampons, which had seen service since 1976, were finally replaced today as I purchased a lovely pair of yellow crampons from the Cotswold Store in Betws Y Coed.  It was clear that there was snow on the mountains but the weather forecast was just abysmal.  It was one of those days when an afternoon with a good book by the fire was preferable to struggling up a wind blasted Welsh mountain side.

Amazingly though the torrential rain, which had been a pouring down for the last couple of hours, stopped as I walked out of the shop and so the reasons for not going on the hill were rapidly disappearing.

I decided to follow the path into Cwm Tryfan, hoping that I would get some shelter from the wind and if at any time the conditions deteriorated too much it would be relatively easy to retrace my steps.  As it turned out I had an interesting few hours and didn't see anybody else all the time I was walking. 
Sadly though I didn't get to use the new crampons.

 Leaving the A5, conditions were really wet under foot but it was clear that there was snow higher up.

 The east face of Tryfan, disappearing into the cloud.

 Looking up towards Glyder Fach

 I headed up this slope to Bwlch Tryfan.  On the way up I has considered crossing the col and heading back to the car by Cwm Bochlwyd but the gusts of wind were so strong I preferred the shelter of my ascent route.

Just starting the descent, back into the relative quiet of Cwm Tryfan, trying to seek some shelter from the strongest gusts of wind.

It almost appeared as if there was some sunshine in the Ogwen Valley but it had certainly disappeared by the time I got there.  Replaced by heavy rain and a howling wind.  It was just past this point that I was blown off my feet by a particularly strong gust.  Time for coffee and cake in Capel Curig.

Daily Picture - 48

A really entertaining day on the Glyder's in North Wales.  We went up from the Pen Y Gwryd, which was a first.  Didn't see another person until we reached the main ridge.  Glyder Fawr first and then headed along to Glyder Fach, the far summit.  A lot of the snow had been blown off the summit ridge leaving behind large areas of ice, so crampons were the order of the day, up high.

Daily Picture - 47

The amazing thing today was that there were 2 cars in the car park at Capel Curig and both contained members of the Jersey Canoe Club.  It was quite a surprise to see Andre whilst we were lacing up our boots.

We headed out from Capel Curig to the east and ended up having a superb mountain day.  Large areas of terrain with barely discernible footpaths, craggy summits requiring short scrambling sections as we selected our own route, frequent blasts of icy precipitation, 3 summits over 2000 feet and not another person in sight.
On a half term day in February we found complete solitude, close to the Ogwen Valley, with views which offered a totally different perspective of Tryfan.

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An absolutely stunning day in Snowdonia.  Nicky on the final slopes of Moel Hebog, with the village of Beddgelert below.  We had great views across to Snowdon, with its summit slopes covered in snow, as well as many of the other major mountains of North Wales.

A few days in the mountains

Last week we managed to spend a few days wandering around the mountains of Snowdonia, making a really pleasant change from being out on the sea, off Jersey.  I lived in North Wales for a few years towards the end of the 1970's, working in a number of outdoor centres and spending every available day meandering around the hills, from Cader Idris in the south to the Carneddau in the north.

We passed a relaxing day heading up Cnicht from the Gwynant Valley, with views stretching from the coast off Porthmadog to the crags on the south side of the Glyders.

Our second day involved a rising traverse from Cwm Idwal to the summit of Foel Goch, a mountain I have largely ignored in the past, followed by a reasonably steep climb to the snowy summit of Y Garn.  In retrospect snowy is too generous a term, it was more like closely compacted ice pellets.  Lunch sheltering in the lee of the summit cairn was as cold a meal break I can remember for years.  It wasn't a place to sit and savour the gastronomic delights purchased in Capel Curig.  As we headed down via the Devil's Kitchen I couldn't help but remember a bitterly cold January day in 1979 when all of the streams were frozen and we had a really memorable day ice climbing.

For the final day, there was only one real option, Tryfan by Heather Terrace.  I have lost count the number of times I have reached the summit of Tryfan, it must be in excess of 50 times, but each time it just re-inforces my belief that Tryfan is the finest mountain to be found almost anywhere.

Reading the walking magazines one gains an impression that British mountains are so crowded that it is almost impossible to find space for your feet.  In these 3 days we saw 4 people and only one was close enough to speak to.  So the moral of the story is if you want the hills to yourself then midweek in December is a good starting point.

 Moel Siabod from the car park at Tyn y Coed.  Lovely start to the day but not the best conditions for practicing navigation.

 Pete below the final slopes of Cnicht.  It must be one of the best little mountains anywhere.

 A perfect reflection in Llyn Gwynant.

 Heading up the final slopes of Y Garn, a bit slippy underfoot.

 The route from earlier in the day.  We followed a sloping route to the summit of Foel Goch.

 A picture from an earlier decade.  Cwm Idwal in January 1979.