Wet camping trip in between droughts

We were starting to take the drought for granted. In the weekend, Neil suggested he take two days off and we go on a little camping adventure. I had already taken the week off as I was desperately trying to use my annual leave of the academic year just gone by. We didn't even check the forecast until we were committed. It was actually quite cloudy! And there was even a chance of rain. We decided to go anyway. It had been a long, long time since our first trip with a tent. 

I wanted to take Neil to Llyn Glas, on the flanks of yr Wyddfa, where I had camped on my own a few years before. It was the most beautiful place I had done that. 

We decided to park in Rhyd Ddu, and walk up a public footpath that crosses the slate quarry there, and then veer off to the right on a gravel track. That goes into the general direction of the Ranger path, but in order to end up in the valley I wanted to go to you have to turn right before you get there. 

We walked up in light rain and drizzle. I was trying to keep my socks dry. I wasn't in my clunkiest boots as I was trying to keep my feet comfortable. The path was gorgeous! I don't think I had done it before. And the most spectacular bit was going through the quarry. In there we also met a bunch of friendly DofE kids, who interviewed us for their project. And we walked through a cattle herd. 

Path under the clouds

I failed to take any pictures that do the quarry justice

When we go to the gravel track, navigation was less easy than normal because visibility was quite rubbish. And we kept following it for a bit too long. We had walked all the way to Llyn Ffynnon y Gwas. So be it! And I suggested we might want to actually camp there, as the higher valley would be in the cloud, by the look of things. But we didn't really see an obvious camping spot. We decided to go to my initial destination after all. 

By then my phone was almost empty. I found out later it had been taking about 100 pictures of the inside of my trouser pocket. So frustrating.

It was less sheltered in the little cwm with Llyn Glas and Llyn Coch than I had hoped. I did show Neil the spot where I had stayed the previous time. He acknowledged it was beautiful, but there was not enough space for a bigger tent. 

In the end we decided to head down the hill again. We were just looking for shelter. And in the end we found a spot on a little river island at the bottom of the slope into the cwm. It was sheltered enough! Obviously, there was plenty of water. By that time I was hungry. We pitched the tent and I sat down to cook spaghetti. Neil put on his long trousers. I didn't expect him to wear these at all, the entire month.

My tent with in the background the ridge with Ranger Path on it

After dinner I had a quick wash. I wanted to put on trousers as well. And dry socks. My attempts at keeping the original pair dry had failed spectacularly! Neil thought it was too cold for a bath. And after my bath we boiled some water for coffee and tea. And we had brought the last two beers of the team prize of the breakwater race. We drank them. 

Our spot had beautiful little carnivorous plants 

It started raining a bit, so we went indoors. We were both actually quite tired. When the rain stopped we went out to brush our teeth, have a last leak and then call it a day.

I slept alright, but I had to go to the loo in the middle of the night. I had been drinking too close to bedtime. Neil never noticed, but he spent other parts of the night awake.  

When we woke up, the weather was pretty much the same. I woke up first, and went out to boil water for coffee and breakfast. After breakfast we packed up. We decided to follow the fence nearby (the only explicit sign of human activity in the far surroundings) back to the gravel road. That showed us some new terrain, and some of it was quite pretty, but also, it wasn't very well travelled, and some bits were a bit trying, with soggy and/or very uneven ground. But we got to the gravel road. 

On our way back

From there it was straightforward to get back to the car. We both were keen to get out of our soaking socks and into our crocs. 

Back on the gravel track, heading for the quarry

Leaving the quarry

It was a bit weird to have such a damp camping trip in the month that probably will turn out to be the driest one in Wales on record. Bad timing! But given that the drought is expected to return, maybe we could do another one this summer? One that is dry? And that has excellent visibility? Stay tuned! 

Duallt station with Miles

It had been about a year since I had last been on a little adventure with Miles. I was hoping that we could use the summer for another one. And Miles could fit me in.

On a sunny day we met at the café in Tanygrisiau and first had a nice cup of coffee or tea. While we were doing that we discussed what we might do next. Miles had an idea: the Ffestiniog railway comes past, and it famously has an altered route. The cafe is between the railway and the reservoir, and originally, the railway went over what is now the reservoir bottom. In order to gain enough height to make it to this higher route, a loop had to be added. This was largely done by volunteers. Near this rather amazing loop by Duallt station there is a viewpoint. Miles had never been, and suggested we visit it. I thought it was a wonderful idea.

We walked in the hot afternoon to the public footpath, which starts on asphalt, but soon we could veer off and walk on a cute little path. I had done some of that before, but by the time we go to the other side of the reservoir I was in unknown territory. It was beautiful! It was also noteworthy that there, you wouldn't be able to tell we were in a drought. Everything was lush and green! I suppose the mythical bad-weather status of Blaenau has its advantages. 

The reservoir 

Near the reservoir. What drought? 

It looks like this viewpoint is not very widely visited. We only bumped into two other walkers on the way there. And after a while we got to Duallt station. This is basically in the middle of the loop. And it is where you come off the through-route to get to the viewpoint.

Reaching the loop (and the station)

Ghost station

View on where the railway crosses itself

The viewpoint is nice, but I thought the station was more atmospheric. It looks like it is waiting for something. There is a little building on the platform, and a bigger one next to the track. There were some sheep having siesta there. That was it! Nothing stirred. Strange place. And the loop is quite something.

After we had seen both, and I had had a sandwich, we kept going for a bit; that allowed us to make the loop a bit bigger and not just walk the same route on the way back. It was still a very silent and beautiful landscape.

Slate plaque marking the viewpoint 

Viewpoint selfie

We could also catch up. Things had been going on with jobs and kids and partners and parents and pets and houses and cars and whatnot. And we do sometimes send each other a voice message update, but talking in person is different.

When we got back to the lake we walked back around the other side of it. And that brought us back to the car. Time to say goodbye again! It had been really good to catch up. Hopefully another adventure next year! 

Anniversary hike and swim

 In July last year I went on the first date with a guy called Neil. Two dates later he made his rather muted debut on the blog. And I suppose the rest is history. And now it is July again. I thought it would be good too do something to commemorate the anniversary of that first date. It has been in the middle of a heatwave, and we had gone for a walk, with a little swim in a lake to cool down. 

Last year, the lake in question had been Geirionnydd, but I prefer my lakes a bit less busy and polluted. I suggested  Cwm Lloer this time. Neil was up for it. And because of where it is, we could take the bus in. So Neil came to me first, and then we went to the bus stop together.

It was quite nice walking weather. Warm, but not scorching! And we walked quite leisurely up in the direction of the lake, along the stream. I was trying my hybrid shoes as hiking shoes. I was wondering if that would be more comfortable on my feet, while still being sturdy enough. 

By a stile Neil suggested we have a little break. He was a bit warm. I was up for that! We didn't intend a huge walk, so we had all the time in the world. And after a while, a lad appeared, and decided to have a little break there too. He was from Wolverhampton, and had fairly recently started to explore North Wales. We had a really nice chat.

Then we went on. Not a lot later, we came to the lake. There was one small cluster of people already there, but that wasn't very surprising. On a day like that! And the lake is big enough to accommodate two small clusters of people, and still give everyone a sense of privacy.

Lake selfie

It is such a gorgeous area! You look right at the cliff of Pen yr Ole Wen. It is quite quiet. We put our bags down and decided to go for a swim first. And the other cluster of people was so far away, and there was no sign of any additional people, that I went in the nip. Neil was too British for that. It was lovely!

Our view (pic doesn’t do it justice)

We had our lunch there too. We took our time. And when we finally got onto our feet again we hadn’t decided yet we would do after reaching the summit of Prn yr Ole Wen. We would see.

When we go to the summit I figured I preferred to go straight down to the road, and catch the bus back, rather than walk all the way back home. I just didn't expect water to materialise anytime soon. And I didn't have a lot left. Neil was fine with that, so we accepted the descent. 

The top of the descent 

It is quite a steep descent, and some of it has a lot of loose rock. That is a bit trying, but the shoes did a fine job. I did wonder if the main issue here was that I was wearing them out a bit quickly. Might be worth it though, if it is better for my feet.

When we were right by a steep cliff I suddenly spotted a bag. A bag? There was no accompanying person anywhere in sight. We called out, but no one materialised. Sometimes finding a bag in the mountains is really bad news. It might mean that someone has come to a sticky end. But this was absolutely not a dangerous part of the route. What would have happened? 

We decided to leave it there, but make a note of its location, and take a picture. We could notify Mountain Rescue.

We continued our way down, and got to the road without issues. We still had a bit of time before the bus would come, so we checked if there was a water station by the visitor centre. There wasn't, but there was a National Trust warden's office there, with the door open. Neil stomped inside, and asked the person in there, a young man called Rhys, if they perhaps knew anything about someone missing a bag. Strangely enough, the answer was yes! 

We heard the whole story. A bloke had been in the mountains, and put his back down at some point. Unfortunately, it wasn't stable, and it started rolling, and fallen down a cliff. He had been looking for it, but never found it. That was a problem, as apparently, his wallet, phone and car keys had been in there. It turned out that he had had to have his car towed home. And that was quite some distance away. Rhys had his contact details. 

Where we had found the bag it wasn't conspicuous, simply because it was muted green, but it was on the main path. We wondered if someone else had found it and put it in a more obvious location. I suppose everybody is hesitant to remove a bag just in case the owner is coming back for it. But now we knew that the owner had gone home. We could safely remove it.

I thought it would be silly to leave it on the mountain knowing what we knew, so I created a quick plan. What if one of us would take the bus home, and the other one would go and retrieve the bag. We could bring the bag back to the National Trust office, and the person who had gone home by bus could pick the other one up by car. The bus only goes every two hours, and we didn't want to wait that long. And with Neil blocking me in, it had to be him who went home. He was OK with that. 

Rhys offered me some water, but he only had it in a water cooler, and that gave me a massive brain freeze. Neil let me drink some of his leftover water. That would have to do. I gave him my bag, as I didn't want to carry two of them, and went back up the hill.

It only took me some 25 minutes to get back to the bag. And a similar amount of time to come back down. When I came back to the road, Neil was already waiting for me. When he had got back with his car, he could see a little dot descending the mountain, and had come to welcome me. With a full bottle of water in his hand! He knows me a bit. This water wasn't brain freeze temperature.

We brought the bag back, had an additional little chat with Rhys, and then went home. I hope the owner of the bag is glad it has been retrieved. He might have some more adventures with it now. But I think he will be more selective where he puts it down.

I could tell I had done that last bit of the adventure with not enough water, but it has been worth it. Even if the bag never finds it way back to the owner, at least it is not confusing people in the mountains anymore. And if it would stay there for too long, it would become litter and that is not good either.

It hadn't panned out as I had expected, but it had been a worthy anniversary walk! Onward, to the next year with Neil!

Marshalling Siabod again

After having marshalled the Moel Siabod race last year, I was quite happy to do it again. And when the organisation sprung back into the action, I saw that they had put me one marshalling point higher up the hill this year. And the weather forecast was fine.

When I arrived I saw that I was the only returning marshal. Not a good sign! And one marshal had pulled out, so we were all moved up a post. But the new faces looked lovely, and after the briefing we set off, with our hi viz vests, radios, cow bells, and clipboards with lists. We had a nice chat along the way.  

It is quite a walk to the top, where a lady called Julie was stationed: almost 5km, and 700m ascent. I was only some 500m away, and 60m lower. We dropped off the ladies on the lower stations along the way. They had views! By the time we came to my station, we were in clouds, although they periodically lifted. And the race had already started. 

I made sure to quickly go to the loo before the first runner would arrive. And I hadn't had lunch yet, and it was past 2 pm, so that was urgent too. I managed two sandwiches, and then I heard on the radios that the first runners had already reached the previous checkpoint. Time to put the lunchbox away and get my clipboard ready!

At my station

Sometimes the cloud lifted and there was a view

We were expected to have made a list of all race numbers, which could only be done when registration closed, and then tick off all these numbers on both the way up and down. Last year it had been fairly straightforward; there was a little lull between the runners coming up and coming down, and they had to climb over a style, which gave me the opportunity to note their numbers down. This time it was different. It started fairly easy when the runners were only coming up, although there was no style, and after many hundreds of metres of ascent, quite a lot of them were quite bent over, which obscured their number. The wind wasn't helping; this pulled on my list. But it was quite doable.

It was when the runners were also coming back down it got hectic. You have to look both ways, and the ones descending were moving really fast. Sometimes it rained, which didn't help, obviously. At some point they were coming from both ways and one of my pens stopped working. I was glad I had brought two! But sometimes I just frantically jotted the numbers in the open space of the paper, putting the tick marks where they belonged only when I had a little breathing space. 

In the marshal instructions we were asked to report back to HQ every time 10 more runners had passed us, but that was just not feasible.

Things got calmer when all runners had come up. Now I only had to look in one direction! And then the last runner came down. My job was done! I drank a bit more as I was thirsty, and then decided to start making my way down, collecting route markers along the way. I figured Julie would overtake me soon enough. Practically everybody is faster than me on the descent. And she of course could have set off before me.

By one route marker that actually helped at an ambiguity along the way I stopped. I didn't want to remove this flag before Julie would have caught up with me. But then she phoned me. She was lost! There was heavy fog at the summit, and she didn't know in which direction to descend. So I said I would come to get her.

I made my way back up. And after a while, I saw a figure in the fog. It was her! She was descending in exactly the right direction. Excellent. So now we could together make our way down to checkpoint 5. The marshal there was waiting for us. And so was the one at checkpoint 4. That was kind. And we walked back to HQ all together.

It turned out that Julie was a gardener, and I have struggled to find someone to help me with my garden. I asked her if she had any suggestions, given that she probably had lots of connections. She said she did. Maybe something will come of this! Watch this space.

When we got back to HQ there was only James there, the organiser. That was great, as that meant he had managed to do the presentation not too long after the race. Last year that had gone quite wrong, and hardly any winner had still been around to receive their prize. So we could just hand in our hi viz vests and radios and suchlike and head home. I think it was a successful race! And I am happy to come back next year. That will be an anniversary edition! 

Siabod with Kate - again

I hadn't seen Kate in a while, except during lunch at work. It was time we’d get out together. And one Saturday we were both available. Kate suggested Siabod. We didn’t want to make it a long walk given that it would rain in the afternoon. And Bryn, her Labrador, is getting too old to come with us, so he would be alone while we were out. 

We met up at Pont Cyfyng, and headed in Siabod’s general direction. It didn't take long before we took our jackets off because we were getting warm. And then it didn't take long for us to put them back on because it was starting to rain. 

Along the way we passed a commercial group, headed by Richard aka Rusty; it was fun to see him again. And there were some other walkers as well. The weather wasn't great, but it was a weekend, so we didn't expect to have the hill to ourselves.

Early on

We decided go along the east, past the lake, and then to do the route to the summit through the gully. We struggled to remember and when we had done it before. My memory is rubbish! But as soon as we were properly in the gully it all came back to me. We had both done this once before, together, but quite a long time ago. Checking my blog showed that that had been in lockdown.

 

Quarry lake along the way

We'd done the same hill together since, in the evening. And confusingly, I've also done it with the other Kate. I really wanted to go visit her after she moved to England, but I must admit it hasn't happened yet!

While we were in the gulley, it was mainly misty and drizzly, but not properly raining. And when we popped out we had lunch in the wind shelter at the top. There were two marshals of UTMB there too; there were several races going on. My track mate Louise was doing the 100 miler! She is tough. 

 

Kate in the gully

 

Summit selfie

After lunch we headed down. And the rain got worse. We both wondered if we should have put on our waterproof trousers while we were in the wind shelter. A bit late now!

When we got down things improved a bit. For quite a while, we could even see the lake in the valley! But by the time we got To Cafe Siabod (its new iteration) we were both quite soggy. Our jackets had held, but we had soaking trousers, socks, shoes, and gloves. And I had a soggy hat as I wasn't using my hood.

On the way down

We ordered the hot chocolate with all the bells and whistles that they offer. And we inhaled them quite quickly. That made us feel better! And then we trudged back to the cars.

A bit of a soggy get-together but really nice anyway! Soon again, hopefully…

Cnicht with Mike

I thought I would be spending quite some of the bank holiday weekend with Neil, but he had other plans. Fortunately, some miraculous succour came falling out of the sky: Mike, from Cornwall. He was one of the guys who was always on the most interesting underground trips in the southwest, when I lived there (like this one). He comes up quite regularly. Generally, he is with his friend Darryll, another mine explorer, but this time he was alone.

On Saturday night we had dinner together, in my garden. We had plenty to catch up on! I see him about once a year. And I suggested a particular walk. He agreed with that. So he showed up again the next morning and we got into my little car.  

My plan has been to park up in Blaen Nantmor. The road there is so tiny it seems the best idea to go there by little Corsa. From there we could walk in the general direction of Cnicht, and over the summit, if we felt like it. And then back via Llyn yr Adar and Llyn Llagi. 

I started out in trousers and with several layers on above the waist. The forecast has been a bit cold. Reality was different! In no time I changed into shorts and a vest. It was a glorious day, and there was nobody else. And the landscape is gorgeous. I also like the little lake that doesn’t have a name on the OS map there, so we had coffee and cake there. 

How it started

Coffee break lake in the distance 

Cnicht coming into view

We did go for Cnicht. That meant meeting other people, but that is OK. We had lunch at the summit. More people were that way inclined. But as soon as we came down on the other side, all other people vanished again. The warmth temporarily did too, so the multiple layers came back. 

Summit selfie

It was lovely and quiet by the lakes. And sunny and warm again by the second lake. We happily trundled back to the car. Almost all of the route had been new to Mike! He had been coming to Wales since he was a child. Finally he has done Cnicht and some of its hinterland. And it was great to see him again. I hope he keeps visiting for years to come! 

Llyn yr Adar

Almost back

Birthday Neil

Neil had his birthday! And he likes hiking. So that is what we had planned. With the intention of dining out afterwards. And he came up with the idea of walking a generous loop around Cwm Eigiau. Sounded good!

The evening before we had been for dinner at Susan and Dean’s place. That had been lovely! But we got home quite late. It hit midnight before we had managed to get to bed. So I could congratulate him as soon as his birthday officially started! 

The next morning we were up quite early for our hike. We were a bit groggy! We’re too old to cope well with late nights. But I presented him with a birthday cake, part of which we then packed for our hike. We had breakfast and got our bags ready, and were off. 

5 candles for 55 years

There was plenty of parking space. And it was cloudy but lovely. I like the place. It is at the end of a tiny road with several gates on. It feels very remote. 

Cwm Eigiau

I had brought a lot of water as we would spend a lot of time on the ridge. Neil was a bit worried about the share weight of my backpack, and volunteered to carry one flask for me. That was kind! I wondered if that would mean I could finally keep up with him. 

We headed into the valley, and had a little look at one of the small slate quarries there. I hadn't been to this one before! And it looked like indeed; this time I could actually keep up with Neil. That is unusual. He is a bit of a Duracell bunny. I am hardly terribly unfit, but he tends to run ahead like a gazelle.

Small quarry

Beyond the quarry we headed up the ridge, where we had a cake break. Then we continued our way to the summit of Pen Llithrig y Wrach. The views were lovely! And from there we did the down-and-back-up to Pen yr Helgi Du. By then we were hungry again, and sat down for lunch. We could see a few climbers in the cleft! 

Pen Llithrig y Wrach

Next up was Carnedd Llewelyn. And from there we soon left the path. We intended to bushwhack in between reservoirs below us (Dulyn and Melynllyn). Level with these we could pick the path back up.

Summit selfie

The off-piste bit was gorgeous! I should go there more often. And take more pictures. We sat on a rock for more lunch. We had made sure to not eat everything the first time around.

We got down without difficulties. It’s a rather birthday-ish path; we had used it to for Kate's 40th and my 50th! On my birthday, the weather was so rubbish we didn't get far. Today we didn't have that problem. But we were almost there now. Just a trudge back to the car.

When we got back to mine we first had a shower and a hot drink. And I gave him my present. Then we trudged to the pizza van by the cheese shop. We didn't linger; not because we were so hungry, but because we were scared we otherwise would fall asleep! We were both very tired. We blamed it on the late night the day before. And Neil’s cat howling us awake at 6 am. And Neil blamed some on the extra weight from the flask.

The pizza man got wind of it being Neil’s birthday and gave him a very good brownie for free. That was kind. We had it all at a picnic table right by the pizza van.

We agreed it had been a good birthday! He is lucky with a spring date. Much better chance of nice hiking weather. Let's hope that this is the first of a lot of adventurous together in his 56th year! 

Carneddau horseshoe

Neil is doing an epic hike in spring, and wants to get himself ready for it. Some good long hikes are in order. And I had suggested the Carneddau horseshoe. I am in that general area quite a lot, but I hadn't done the full horseshoe in years! And it's a walk you can just do from my front door. He thought it was a good idea.

The forecast was partially cloudy during the day, and rain in the later afternoon. Good enough. 

When we started walking up the ridge towards Carnedd Dafydd it was indeed cloudy, and I feared a bit we would end up with our face in the clouds. To a certain extent, that was true. Sometimes it lifted a little bit and you got some of the amazing views. And it also got quite windy. I know that wouldn't be getting any less until we would come down on the other side!

On Mynydd Du, with Carnedd Dafydd in the cloud in the distance 

Scaling Carnedd Dafydd

We reached the summit of Carnedd Dafydd quite abruptly. And by that point it was time for coffee and a snack. And a leak. I struggled to stay upright when I was heading for a rock to crouch behind. I wasn't sure if this ridge walk would really work in these conditions. But we would give it a go. You can always descend the flank of the hill if you want to bail. 

After coffee we went on, and it was ok. We were fully out of the cloud now, and the views were amazing. There were still some snow remnants. 

Hike selfie

Snow above the Black Ladders

Sunny views

When we got to the wind shelter on Carnedd Gwenllian  we sat down for lunch. It was snug in the shelter, and outside the wind was howling. We were joined by a fell runner. 

After lunch we continued our way. It was still very blowy! I sometimes had to stand still and brace myself so as to not be blown over. But the views were still great! They got a bit gloomier over time when the weather turned. But we could just leg it home now. And we did.

Clouds come in

In the end we had done 21 km and 1150 m of ascent, in some 7 hours. Not bad! And peanuts in comparison to his epic hike, but well, Im sure it helped a bit! 

Small post-race hike

Neil had proposed a hike on the day after the race. We hadn’t decided on where to go. But it looked like the mainland would be cloudy, but the coast sunny. So we didn’t head for the mountains. I had my archeological book in mind, and wondered if Neil had seen Din Lligwy. He said he hadn’t! So that could be a goal. 

We drove there in the sunshine, and walked over the hoarfrost to the chapel and the remains of the village. That rocked his memory; he had been there before! But it’s a lovely site. 

Din Lligwy

The chapel in the sunny distance

We were actually both feeling a bit low in energy. Me probably because hanging around in the cold by the finish line the day before had done me no good. Neil wasn’t quite sure about why he was a bit sluggish. So we were ok with no big hike!

We walked to the coastal path and followed that south. It was beautiful and sunny! But still cold. The sand of Traeth Llugwy was frozen. We came past something I thought was an old quarry. And I figured it was the same stratigraphic level as Bishop’s Quarry on the Orme. Later we saw some beautiful sandstones underneath the limestones. Some good channels there! 

The suspected quarry

And the suspected channels

 

Further on we had a chat with some people at the Coastwatch post. They spoke of a seal on a nearby beach. We hoped it was ok. And we sat on a rock for lunch. It was so relaxed Neil even dozed off a bit. 

When we got to the next beach, we saw a chap with binoculars. We should have recognised that for what it was: a Coastwatch man we had seen at their post, checking on the seal, but he had to tell us that. Oops. The seal seemed fine! Just dozing in the sun. 

Go full page view for the seal

From there we just walked back to the car. Enough excitement for a day! And only when we were back at my place did it become clear just how under the weather we were. I was glad we hadn’t tried anything strenuous! 

Into the snow

Neil was over at my place after our dinner at Chris’. And he suggested that we tag on a hike the day after. And it happened to have snowed the day before, and more at night. The world was quite white! We wanted to see that a bit more close up. He suggested yr Elen. That sounded fine with me! I suggested going up over the nose, and coming down over the ridge. And that sounded fine with him.

We made sure to pack warm clothes and walking poles. And then we set off. The road was a bit slippery in places. And the first thing we did after coming of the road was walking past Susan and Dean's old house. And then we walked through the fields in the direction of our goal. There is a stretcher there is no official pass, and as far as I have been able to judge no actual pass either. You just have to make your way through a field with a lot of rush. I suppose the snow help us not sinking too deep into the swampy bits this area is a bit infamous for. Relatively dry we reached the foot of the hill.

Yr Elen on the horizon, and a tiny horse closer by

To get to the top of Yr Elen you need to negotiate two ascents and two relatively flat bits. The first sentence was fine. Towards the top of it we came across two young lads who were coming the other way. They said it was a bit brutal higher up! But quite doable. And we were noticing that we were indeed getting into stronger winds. We both decided to wear double gloves. 

After the first ascent 

After the second ascent and a coffee break in the shelter of some rocks, we were really buffeted by the wind like there was no tomorrow, and I wasn't sure if we should go all the way up. There isn't much room for error in these conditions! But Neil suggested we at least get to the bottom of the last ascent and make a decision there. And we decided go for it.

There is a path there, but in the snow we didn't see it. We just improvised our way up. The snow was getting icy but not in a particularly slippery way, so the going was not so bad. And then before I knew it we were at the top! The views were amazing. We took some pictures. And then we were ready to start the descent. We were getting peckish, but didn't want to stop for food in such an exposed place.

Neil stomping over the icy horizon

Close-up of the ice formations 

Neil om the summit

The way on

Summit selfie

View towards Elidir Fawr

The ridge was quite doable! It is a bit like a stegosaurus back, and you always have something to hold onto. But that wasn't even necessary very often. We descended quite fast, and without problems, and passed a family group coming the other way. And not much later we stopped for lunch. 

We could just follow the family’s footsteps! That was convenient. And when we walked into the main valley we came across more people coming the other way; I suspected they were a father-daughter team. We told them what to expect. They were ready for anything, with a rope and crampons and whatnot. They would be fine! 

Looking over a stream in the direction of the village 

Not much further now

From there it is a rather uneventful walk back to the village. It had been a great day! What views. I’m glad we persisted.