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.