Tower Gully

After my recent success soloing Central Trinity on the Clogwyn Y Garnedd face of Snowdon the day before, and a clear but windy forecast for the weekend, I was keen to try and get out and keep the winter route snowball rolling as long as I could. With Jo tucked up in bed with the flu, Tadams, Tom and I made plans to meet at Ogwen Cottage at half 7 on Saturday morning with the idea of heading up to Cwn Cniefion and seeing what looked in nick.
 

I have to say, rolling out of bed at half 6 that morning was tough, but with my kit already packed I crawled into the car and made my way through the darkness of Snowdonia and into the Ogwen Valley. When I arrived, I was pleased to see an empty car park but for Toms Fiesta, meaning that we would have most groups behind us and hopefully the best pickings in terms of routes.
 

As we made our way up the path towards Cwm Idwal I walked of the stiffness of the previous days solo, and as the sun lit up the Cwm it was great to see both Idwal and Cniefion looking great with a decent covering of snow and ice. The previous weeks cold temperatures had frozen the Llyn and even though none of the major ice routes in Cwm Idwal were formed, if the cold temperatures continued on for another few days there could be definite potential. As we carried on, we passed through the kissing gate and then forked left up the valley towards Cwm Cniefion, always trying to keep a good pace to keep ahead of the crowds.

Once in the Cwm, we had a quick look around and with time our sides decided that if we climbed our first route swiftly, more than one route could be done whilst the ice remained solid in the early part of the day. With that thought in mind and with a quick look in the guidebook, Golden Girl Ali was our route of choice. Working up the left side of the Cwm and starting up the first pitch of Tower Gully, the route then snakes off up the left and up a buttress of rock with what looked like good mix climbing. At grade IV it would be our hardest climb of the winter so far, but all feeling confident we were soon racking up at the base of Tower Gully and looking forward to the climbing ahead.



Tom and Tom checking out what looks good in Cwm Cneifon.

Tadams quickly set off on the lead with Tom and I each tied into the end of one double rope, our thinking that once a belay was built, both the seconds could quickly follow the leader. The climbing was good and ice solid, with progress only being slowed by a few steeper ice steps that kept the climbing interesting and varied. However, as we gained height and true to the forecast the wind speed had picked up to a level where it was nearly impossible to communicate as we made our way up the pitch.

Tadams leading the first pitch of Tower Gully.

With the first pitch ending just before the crux of Tower Gully, Tadams built a belay and Tom and I quickly climbed up to meet him. At this point we took time to chat and dig out goggles from our rucksacks to protect our eyes from the ice and snow now flying at us a 50mph. With the start of Golden Girl Ali up to our left and following the line of the steep and exposed buttress, we took time to chat and weigh up our options.

After a few minutes of discussion, it was decided that going for the route would be slightly too much for us in the current conditions, and with the superb Tower Gully continuing above us we still had the chance to climb on brilliant ground on what is a classic route.

Feeling like we had made a sensible decision, Tadams again moved away from the belay and towards the crux of Tower Gully, a 6 foot section of off vertical ice that he climbing without a worry. From there the ground was easy and he continued quickly with only a few pauses to place gear. Once again I was on the move swiftly, with none of the moves feeling too hard or strenuous. As I was moving up each axe swing landed on good ice and each kick step was solid, and with the large Golden Girl Ali buttress hanging over the left hand side of the gully and the wind and snow buffeting us, it gave the route a 'real winter climbing' feel.

Once again the three of us met at the belay and took a minute to soak up the atmosphere and discuss our options. With the majority of Tower Gully now climbed and the ground starting to ease up in angle, Tom suggested we had a go a climbing the upper reaches of the buttress we intended to climb from the base. It seemed like a good idea and once again we kept moving to avoid getting too cold. Whilst it was only a short pitch, it provided fun mixed climbing as a nice contrast to the ice we had climbed on the previous two pitches. The line Tom chose had a mix of good hooks and foot placements and gave us a little insight into what climbing Golden Girl Ali would have been like from the start.

Tadams off exploring on the Goldern Girl Ali buttress. 

Once climbed, we each took our turn to pull up and over onto the top of the buttress, instantly being struck by the relentless wind that was battering the upper slopes of Glyder Fawr. Looking around we quickly found a boulder to shelter behind and made a dash for it before we could be blown off our feet. Now in the lee of the rock, we took our time to have a bite to eat, take a celebratory photo and discuss what to do next.

Topping out after climbing Tower Gully.

After a quarter of a hour or so, we decided the best plan of action would be to head back down into Cwm Cniefion and rather than take the grade I Easy Route towards the base of the Cwm, we would head for the top of Hidden Gully. We could then down climb, hoping that the sheltered nature of the gully would make for interesting and fairly comfortable descent. Luckily enough for us, once moving we didn’t meet anyone coming up the route and we made quickly progress towards the base of Clogwyn Du. Once there, Tadams and Tom had their sights set on climbing Cleft Gully, a grade V route following a line of weakness up the main crag and towards the summit of Glyder Fawr.

At this point, I decided that with winter routing plans already made for the following day, the route would be too much for me and I would leave them too it. So with a quick exchange, I lent the boys my ice screws and made my way towards Cwm Idwal and the lower slopes of the Glyders. Later on that day, Tadams and Tom dropped by my house to bring back my gear and have a chat about the route. From what they said Cleft Gully turned out to be a fantastic, sustained route on good quality, steep ice. Well done boys and a good days winter climbing had by all.

More North Wales winter...





Over the past few weeks we have been spoilt for choice in terms of winter conditions here in North Wales, and I have been trying to take advantage of every opportunity to get out and climb. First up, and with a couple of lieu hours to spare at work, I had the change to get away early on Friday and get a jump on the weekend crowds up in the mountains.

 

One of the winter routes I have most wanted to climb since moving up to Snowdonia is Central Trinity on Clogwyn Y Garnedd. Whilst not especially difficult, the climb could not be in a better setting with a top out on the summit of Snowdon, and with a three start rating it was sure to be a cracker.

 

So with all my kit in the car, I raced out of work and made my way to the Pen Y Gwryd hotel before setting off for what was a pretty sizeable solo walk in. From the Pen Y Pass car park I joined the Miners Track that skirts round the shores of Llyn Llydaw before stopping at the path junction with the Pyg Track to sort my gear and traverse over to the base of Clogwyn Y Garnedd.

Clogwyn Y Garnedd in great condition with Central Trinity going up the middle of the face. Taken from the Snowdon Miners track.
 

Traversing over, I quickly found trail of footsteps leading up to the base of the route and as my eyes followed them up the face, I could see they made they way up to the Spider, a snowfield feature in the middle of the face with eight arms leading off it, up Central Trinity and towards the summit. I have to say I gave a sigh of relief that I wasn't going to be breaking trail up the route, as I was this was going to be an afternoon ascent and it would make progress faster. So with time against me and my crampons already fitted, I set off up the base of the climb making the most of the hard-fought footsteps that would be leading my way.

After 100m of climbing and reaching the Spider, I quickly paused to get my other ice axe off my bag and look where the route went from here. Looking up and down the face of Clogwyn Y Garnedd, it was hard not to be impressed with the setting of the climb and with a steep rock wall to my right and a decent drop below me the atmosphere of the climb was fantastic. As I continued up and beyond the snowfield, it was a great sensation to be moving in the mountains quickly and confidently, with each step below my feet feeling solid and my axes holding well in the snow to give me balance.

A further ten minutes of climbing above the Spider is the crux of the route, this consists of a 4 foot overhanging boulder in a section of the climb that is flanked by a blank slab to the left and a rock wall to the right. Both options were too much for a solo attempt on a route like this, so a quick weigh of options meant that it would be the boulder that guarded my path to the rest of the route. Whilst not especially hard in isolation, the setting of the climb definitely has an impact on moments like this, and as I approached the boulder, I told myself I would take a minute, catch my breath and then climb on.

Once rested and standing in the recess below the boulder, I had a looked up and around the step to decide where would be best for my axes and feet to be placed. Being overhanging, two crucial crampon placements would be needed to push my body up and over the step and onto easier ground. Once found, I sunk my axes into the solid snow above the boulder and pushed up with my legs, focusing my weight over the front points of my crampons. A second later I was up and over the crux of Central Trinity.

Looking toward the summit of Snowdon from just above the crux step.
 

A few steps further on I took another moment to stop, look around and take photo's. Standing there above the boulder step and looking back down the gully was a great feeling, knowing that the major difficulty of the climb lay behind me and the going was easier towards the top. Having never really spent anytime soloing winter routes before, there was a great sense of freedom to climbing without the claustrophobia of a full rack, ropes, coils and all that climbing with others brings.



Looking back down the gully from just above the crux boulder on Central Trinity
 

With the crux dispatched and conscious that it was around 4pm and darkness only an hour away, I turned my attention back to the summit of Snowdon and the rest of the route. Making my way up the snowy gully and gaining altitude I noticed the temperature decreasing, my crampons and axe placements only feeling more solid as I climbed the remaining 200m of gully. With my legs pushing and my arms pulling I quickly travelled up the rest of the gully, the grounding levelling off as I reached the summit ridge of Snowdon.

Topping out was a great feeling and as I stepped onto the path I was greeted by a pair that had walked up the PyG track watching my progress as they made their way to the summit. We had a quick chat and exchanged pleasantries before we went our separate ways, me setting off to walk the final 50m to the summit and them descending towards Llanberis.

After a minute or two alone on the summit and with wind howling and the light fading I quickly descended the café steps and headed for the shelter of the PyG track, knowing that I was safe and knew the way down, I stopped to take play with my camera and take photos, and appreciate the setting and look up at the face that I had just climbed.

Experimenting with my iPhone pano feature to see if it works vertically.
 

Walking down the track towards the Pen Y Pass car park and reflecting on my first winter solo, all I could think how fun the climb had been and how that added sense of responsibility had seemed to make the climbing experience more rewarding and engrossing, the sense of consequence making you focus on the climbing in front of you and forget about your surroundings.

Once back at the car park, I celebrated the successful ascent with a brew and a chocolate bar before thumbing a lift down the hill and back to the comfort of my car. All in all, a fantastic route that was made all the better by being done solo. Lets hope for more of the same as the winter progresses.

First day of North Wales winter

Over the last few weeks the winter conditions here in North Wales have been fantastic, with regular snow and cold temperatures meaning that most routes have been in decent condition. With this in mind, I have been trying to get out as much as possible and so far I have managed to tick off a handful of brilliant North Wales classics.

First off was a trip up to the ever reliable Cwm Cneifon, with its vast array of routes spreading through the grade range from easy grade I's up to the baffling grade X on the face of Clogwn Du, there is something for everyone and with a fairly short walk in its a firm winter routing favourite. After a early start and walk up past Cwm Idwal into the Cwm with the two Tom's, we decided to get our winter season going with a ascent of Tower Slabs, a grade II/III on the left hand side of the Cwm.




Clogwyn Du looking good from Tower Slabs.

It really was great to be moving on snow and ice again after what must be at least two years away from winter climbing for me. At first I felt uneasy and tentative on my feet, with my crampons feeling very alien on the good quality ice. But with every pitch climbed I began to feel more at ease with moving with tools and it was a joy to be out on the ice.



Tom leading the crux pitch of Tower Slabs.



Tom and Tom looking psyched for winter climbing?

With the 3 pitches of Tower Slabs passing by quickly, we topped out as a group at mid-morning and were greeted by a fierce wind at the top of the crag. Looking around for shelter, we hunkered down behind a few boulders and had a drink, bite to eat and discussed our plans. With us all keen to do another route, we decided to descend back down into the Cwm and see what looked good and was free from traffic.

Looking around the Cwm we quickly settled on Hidden Gully, a grade II 3 star route at the left of Clogwyn Du. At only 120m long it wouldn't take long to climb and having built up some confidence on the previous route we all decided to solo the gully. As we walked to the base of the route, we joined the trail of footsteps that lead up to the narrowly cleft in the crag and worked our way up the base of the route.

The going was good and fast and before long we had made it to the crux of the route, a short vertical rock step that required two good axe placements and a good heave hoe up onto you feet. With this quickly despatched, we all continued on up and topped out onto a busy Cwm Cneifon rim.



A busy day at Cwm Cneifon.

With the wind still blowing strong, we quickly decided that descending via the Gribin and back towards Idwal would be the most interesting route down, providing shelter from the wind and bringing us right back to the car.

Once back down, it was time for the obligatory post routing bite to eat at the Moel Siabod Café and a chance to decide what was next on our ticklist. 

2014 in Pictures

Even thought I have only been writing this blog for a few months, my year has been filled with all types of trips and adventures that have created some great memories.

However, It didn't start out as planned, having to recover from a newly fractured leg that I broke whilst powder skiing in Japan. As a result, I spent the first few months on the new year recovering and doing a bit of office work at the Bowles Outdoor Centre where I worked. 

Bowles Rocks in the Spring sunshine.

However, my leg soon healed and the doctors said I was allow to start doing low impact exercises to strengthen the muscles and bone. So lots of cycling and swimming was in order.



Mountain biking on the South Downs Way provided an low impact sport for recovery.



Powerboat Training on Bewl Water to prepare for the NCS Challenge waves that I would be working on



Wild Camping in the Lake District. the first real test of my leg since breaking it in December 2013.



Looking out over Styhead Tarn.



Bivi-ing on Firle Beacon for the summer solstice



Back up in Harrogate for the Tour de France.



Paddling the Medway river with Jo.



Great spot for lunch on the River Medway.



Looking out of Crafnant Reservoir at the back of our house.



Climbing with friends on the Sub-cniefon Arete.



An early morning ascent of Snowdon via the Ryth Dhu path.



Wild swimming in a lake behind our house.



The cantilever.



Climbing Faith on Idwal Slabs with Jo.



Crib Goch in perfect sunshine with Jo and Guy.



Climbing Moel Siabod with Jo's family.



Our first winter day of the season and we headed up Y Garn.



Hanging our crampons out over the Ogwen Valley.



Dry Tooling in the newly developed Clogwyn Manod.




Boulding in St Ives with Jo on Christmas Eve.



I hope 2015 brings me more adventures in the mountains and I have set myself some pretty tough goals to aim for in the upcoming 12 months. I will try my best to keep this blog as up to date as possible with all my comings and goings from North Wales and thanks for reading.

Crampons and all....

After the excitement of getting our first winter walk of the season done last week, Jo and I were keen for more and with a clear forecast for Saturday, it was decided that another hill day was on the cards.

Up until now, Jo had never used crampons and axes and it was decided that a nice loop around Cwm Ogwen taking in the summit of Y Garn would be the perfect practice route whilst not proving too long or taking in much technical ground. After a hasty pack of the bags we were in the car and driving up towards the Ogwen Valley, taking every opportunity we could to peer through the cloud to try and get a sneak peak of snow covered summits.

 

Once at Ogwen Cottage, we quickly donned our packs and set off up the path towards Cwm Ogwen, the air feeling cold and our winter boots feeling clumsy on the approach to the lake. Once around the bend we were gifted by our first view of the hills and an amazing winter scene with the snow looking deep in places.  

 



Walking up to Cwm Idwal

We continued our way round towards the back of the Cwm, steadily gaining height whilst passing the ever popular Idwal slabs and crossing the fast flowing Idwal stream. Once we were a little higher, a quick check of the map told us that the snow line was at 550m, the snow making the going under foot a little trickier on the well-polished steps of the Devil Kitchen.

 



Great to be walking on snow.

Working our way up, we bumped into a couple of groups of people, everyone as excited as us to be out enjoying the winter conditions and making the most of the hills no matter what the season.

 

We quickly worked our way up to the top of the Devil’s Kitchen, and with the no more than a gentle breeze blowing, decided to have a warming slurp of soup and a sausage roll by the partially frozen Llyn y Cwm before continuing on towards Y Garn.

 



Heading towards Llyn y Cwm 

 



The first signs of ice on Llyn y Cwm

At this point, the summit of Y Garn wasn’t visible and it looked like more cloud was rolling in, meaning that navigation way going to become more of an issue. Having done my ML training in late September, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for me to practice some of the techniques I was taught during the week including pacing and timing of legs, and the accurate following of a bearing. From our location, a glance at the map told me that our next major feature was 450m away with 80m of climbing. A quick bit of mental maths using Naismith’s rule told us that it would take 15 minutes to get there.



Amazing early season conditions.



Walking our way up into the clouds of Y Garn

As we climbed towards the summit the ground became steeper and our spaced slowed, all the time concentrating on placing our feet well and we hadn’t put our crampons on yet. As we made it too our intended feature a quick glance at my watch told me that it had taken up 16 minutes to get there, not bad considering the slow going of the snow underfoot.
 
Now in complete cloud, we continued up towards the summit passing a couple of descending groups and focusing on our navigation with the visibility falling to around 50m in places. Once at the summit it was time for another swift glug of soup to wash down the rest of our sausage rolls, before putting out crampons on and heading towards the North East ridge before the cold could take effect.
 




Looking back towards the summit of Y Garn.

Once over the summit and on the lee side of the wind, we continued on towards the north East Ridge, staying aware that the strong wind over the previous few days along with all the fresh snow would prove a perfect recipe for cornices. At the top of the ridge, we could see all the way down the Ogwen Valley and before we set off down the ridge I gave Jo a quick reminder of how to keep her ice axe on her uphill side and how to arrest a fall if she were to slip.
 
On the ridge the going was good, with soft snow all the way down and a clear path of footsteps towards the lower slopes of Y Garn. It really was good to be moving well in the winter conditions and compared to the upper slopes of Moel Siabod last week the conditions have really improved.




Decending the sheltered North East ridge of  Y Garn.

Over the course of the day, with Jo having less winter experience that me, I found it really rewarding to be able to pass on pieces of knowledge that I have learned over my time in the hills. These could be little things such as teaching her how to put on crampons, to using rime ice to tell you which direction the wind has been blowing, but its definitely something I would like to do more of.





 

Once off the steeper slopes of Y Garn and where the snow was thinner, it was time to take our crampons off and head downs toward Iwdal to complete our loop. Even though our day was relatively short, there was a great feeling of accomplishment and luck that we had managed to get out in, enjoy and leave the hills safely on what was a fantastic winter day. I’m wishing for many more over the coming months and hopefully they will put me in good shape for my upcoming winter trip to Scotland.  




Pointing our crampons down the Ogwen Valley from the North East ridge of Y Garn

Winter is Coming in Snowdonia

Over the last few weeks in North Wales it has started to look and feel like winter is finally on its way, with the temperature regularly falling below zero and a thick layer of frost regularly coating my car windscreen.

 

Whilst most people hate the thought of winter, this change in seasoin always ties in with a sense of excitement between me and my friends that the hills and crags around Snowdonia will be soon coated in a thick layer of snow and ice, leaving perfect winter routes of all shapes and difficulty for us to have a go at.

Snowdonia looking wintery.
 

Walking up the grassy lower slopes

 

Last weekend Jo’s family come up to Wales for the first time and the with hills covered in there snowy coat, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get out, show them around and do my first winter walk of the year. We chose Moel Siabod, with its isolation from surround hills making it a perfect ‘out and back’ type mountain. With the wind blowing from the West, we chose to approach the summit from the grade 1 North East ridge, making the most of being in the lee of the wind and the more technical ground providing some excitement closer the summit.

 

After leaving the car, we crossed the bridge over the Afon Lugwy, roaring after days of persistent Welsh rain and headed towards the grassy lower slopes of Siabod. After a couple of weeks away from the mountains it was great the lungs and breath in the cold, clean air. As we continued upwards the fast moving clouds above treated us to an amazing range of light conditions, with parts of the mountain popping in and out of shadow and the snow on top looking inviting.  

 

Heading up the lower slopes of Moel Siabod.

As with lots of places in Snowdonia, half way up Siabod you get delt a fantastic dose Welsh history as you walk through what was a success slate mine, producing roofing tiles for the surrounding area and further afield in the early 20^th Century. What is left of this mines provides an amazing insight in the effort all the labours went too to get this natural resource from the slopes of so many mountains down to the valley below.

 

As we worked our way towards the base of the North East ridge, the forecast cloud began to roll in and before we knew it we were in a thick fog and with snow beneath our feet. This is one thing I love about being in the mountains and experiencing how the environment that your in can change in a moment. Fortunately, we had prepared well as a group and we donned our coats, hats and gloves before continuing up the ridge.

The whole family scrambling towards the summit.

Once we got going we made swift progress up the scramble and as we approached the summit the Westerly wind really picked up and made it a big different to the temperature. There was just enough time for obligatory summit photo before hunkering down in the nearby cairn for a quick sandwich and flask of tea.

Classic summit photo at the trig point.

With the temperature so low we didn't hang around summit and quickly made our way towards the path running down the North West slopes of the mountain and the wood that surrounds Plas y Brenin. All that was left to do to round off a great day with the family was tuck into a cuppa and a scone in the PyB bar before heading home to rest our tired legs.