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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| Clogwyn Y Garnedd in great condition with Central Trinity going up the middle of the face. Taken from the Snowdon Miners track. |
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.
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| Looking toward the summit of Snowdon from just above the crux step. |
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| Looking back down the gully from just above the crux boulder on Central Trinity |
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.
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| Experimenting with my iPhone pano feature to see if it works vertically. |
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.
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