Tryfan; Rain, Snow, 40KPH Winds: Done.

After working abroad for 6 months, on a site I couldn’t leave, while being surrounded by beautiful mountains, one of the first things I wanted to do when I got home was… …head out into mountains of course!

I had been keeping in touch with someone I met during training for the role, and as he seemed interested in that kind of thing too I invited him hill walking in North Wales. The plan was that I would organise something, but in the end I had to beg his help, as my return journey suffered delay after delay, and I didn’t get back in time to make any arrangements for the date we had picked.

All was good though, and Adam picked a route to take in Tryfan and the Glyderau, got the relevant OS map, and even booked accommodation in nearby Betws-y-Coed.

Driving from my house in Coventry to North Wales, we discussed the plan and got to know each other better. It could be awkward to spend a whole weekend with someone you’ve hardly met, but luckily everything went smoothly.

The next day, we got off to a bit of a late start, and then compounded things by going for a cream tea before the walking too! We did however pick up some local info about the conditions in the mountains: still some snow on the ground, and strong winds at the top.

Eventually parking up on the A5 by Llyn Ogwen, we started up the footpath towards the North Ridge.

Beyond the Canon Stone, the snow was appearing underfoot.

In some places it was deeper than others, and as we continued upwards the mist rolled in, the wind picked up, and the icy drizzle came down.

Scrambling up in the poor visibility, I was still having a great time. We passed many other walkers who decided that it wasn’t for them any more on this day – either the snow, the wind, or the scrambling was not suiting them. I respected their decisions to take it more slowly, or to turn back altogether when they became too uncomfortable with the conditions. I found it exhilarating to be out though: I had good enough gear to still be comfortable, my fitness was good and I was finding it easy to keep up a good pace, and my love of rock climbing meant that I was able to take the scrambles all in my stride.

The summit

By the time we reached the summit, it was cold and so windy, up to 40kph. Although you could find shelter amongst the boulders at the summit, I had been on my knees for some of the more exposed parts leading up there as the wind was threatening to knock me off balance. Despite being disappointing, it was an easy decision to miss out on the Leap of Faith on the Adam and Eve boulders at the top due to this wind – I didn’t see anybody else try it either!

Summit photo

We didn’t stop for long as it was so cold when you were no longer moving. A quick bit of hot drink from a flask, a summit photo, and a brief chat about the rest of our route, and we were off.

Although we had planned to continue our walk to take in the Glyders as well, we decided the conditions weren’t great for that any more. We had left a bit late and the light started to fade while we were in the fog, so navigation would be difficult at best, dangerous at worst.

Instead therefore, we headed south west off the summit to a col, then on towards a small lake, Llyn Bochlwyd. Mostly it was thick with fog, but occasionally gaps would appear and you could get a brief glimpse at a bit of a view before the grey curtains closed in again. 

Despite cutting short the walk, we were in good spirits and we made the most of the views when they appeared, and talked and laughed the rest of the time. 

I was glad of my Goretex jacket, as the rest of me was soaked through thanks to the fine, driving drizzley rain. 

The wet was a problem that was only compounded a short time later. We were walking down a grassy slope with water running over the entire surface. Adam jumped over a little stream that had formed, onto a higher bank beyond, and I tried that too but didn’t quite make it… landing in the boggy wet grass I immediately sank up to my ankles, while my forward momentum had other ideas and forced me to face plant into the bank I had been aiming for! Thank goodness it was a soft grassy bank, and not rocks! 

It took me a while to stop giggling about that one, and I guess it was good to end on a funny note!

So we had to miss out on parts of our plans because the conditions weren’t suitable, and I made a prat out of myself at the end, but any day in the mountains is a good day :)