Well it's been a year since my last blog post on here, mostly because I haven't been doing any running events or challenges due to the long drawn out and very unwelcome covid disruption, and mainly with me dealing with the passing of my Dad last year when I was in Wales training for an actual Welsh 3000's challenge of my own.
I did have the great pleasure of going on a coaching weekend and running poles workshop back in March in Betws y Coed with Focused performance and staying at the luxurious Royal Oak hotel for two nights.
The weather on that weekend was excellent, and I had a great time with some great fellow runners, many of which I already knew, and the forest trails around there are excellent for trail running, hiking, walking or even biking. I highly recommend staying in the area.
Sadly, the weather was never going to be so kind for our Welsh 3000's weekend!
The day of departure....
Luckily for me, I know the event organizer and owner of the coaching company Focused Performance, Geoff.
Being the all round sound and helpful guy he is, he gives me lifts to and from the events as I don't drive and otherwise would not be able to attend.
As this event started mid-morning, we were going to be travelling to the area the night before and staying overnight locally with a few others. There was a train strike, so Geoff very helpfully came and picked me up as I couldn't do the usual routine of getting a train to near him with my bags etc.
The journey there as per usual was a relaxing one, mostly filled with a catch-up of what's been happening in recent months, and chats about the current event and what was the best plan of action as Geoff would often take on feedback or suggestions I made.
I've had a fair bit of experience in this particular area of Snowdonia, as I completed the GB Ultras 50 mile ultra there back in 2018 and had spent a lot of time doing recces there. I had also done a lot of the Welsh 3000's route solo too at speed.
In 2019, I also spent a week there going up Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa by a different route every day for seven days as a fundraiser for the local Mountain rescue organization
No one had had as much experience of the Welsh 3000's though as Geoff, who had won the race seven years in a run within the local mountaineering club.
It was me that asked Geoff to put on the Welsh 3000's in the first place, knowing his history with it, as I wanted to learn the route and thought it would be a popular idea for some of the other regulars to try.
I'd had some experience on the route myself with solo attempts of the various sections last year as I've already mentioned, and of course last year's Welsh 3000's event which ended up with us missing the Snowdon massif inc Crib Goch, due to unsafe weather for a group expedition up there.
Geoff, as you would expect, puts the safety and satisfaction of his guests first always and an unsafe Crib Goch ascent and descent of Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa last year was never going to be an option.
This year's event was now over three days instead of last year's two days, so we had a little more scope for time on each section.
This time round we had a mountain leader, Simon who was well known by Geoff, who was going to lead us across Crib Goch as a group to keep us all safe.
Simon was already there waiting for us as we arrived at our overnight accommodation on Thursday evening. I think Heather, one of the run leaders, was already there too, my memory is struggling after a long weekend.
Once we had stuck all our gear in the accommodation, we walked down to the local pub for an evening meal and a few relaxing pints, and to meet up with some other guests who had also come down on the Thursday night.
I had limited choices on the food menu being a vegan, I think there was only one choice, which is the norm for vegans. We are often treated more as an annoyance than a prospective customer. I had the vegan curry with rice, nan bread and a poppadom. It was fairly decent.
It was good to spend some time with other guests and have a good chat, especially with people I knew, and also with new guests who I would get the chance to chat to as the weekend progressed. One thing you notice with Focused Performance's guests is they are always friendly and usually always become friends by the end of the event.
After a few post meal drinks, it was back to our accommodation and to a waiting Izzie, another guest who had been sat waiting in the accommodation car park for us. We had missed her text message telling us she was waiting, and wasn't sure she was definitely in the right place and knocking on the locals doors, definitely wasn't an option!
Day one - Mountain range number one - The Snowdon Massif!
Friday morning was officially day one of the event and the morning we would all be meeting up together as a group of fellow guests. I was looking forward to seeing people I knew again, and new guests.
I'd had a fairly decent sleep and managed my usually coffee, with peanut butter on toast as my first breakfast! later it was round two and more of the same just before we left.
The first hour of the morning was mostly getting our stuff together, ready for the trip to the meeting up point in Nant Peris, this is the most important choice of the day usually as you need more than you think in the mountains.
Kit selection was vital as in the background we had all been monitoring the really crap weather forecast for this weekend, and this morning's forecast was the better out of the three days. But still worrying.
I've got a decent amount of kit, but I usually dress for trail running or speed hiking through the mountains as I can keep moving throughout, and I can layer up when I stop for a rest stop for food etc or while at a summit.
This time I actually chose to dress for a hike as we weren't running, and chose a slightly sturdier hybrid Hoka One One Arkali boot, which is a combination of trail shoe and climbing boot with ankle support also. I hadn't used them much in the past, but knew they were reliable for that terrain, and I wanted all the grip for Crib Goch.
Plenty of waterproofs was also going to be the requirement of the day today, top bottom and gloves and a spare top too if you had one. You can't mess around in the mountains, especially on a wet day, and I think many were about to learn a lot about waterproofs today and about how well they can work, but also how they can fail and what can be the issues with them.
I'll leave you a link here to a very useful article/blog by a guy on waterproofs. I learnt a lot from reading this, and agree with it 100%, which is rare when opinions of waterproofs is concerned:
https://ajc-joggingon.blogspot.com/2020/11/my-waterproof-jacket-still-leaks.html
10am was to be our meeting up time at Nant Peris park and ride, a very useful place to park when visiting the Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa area for climbs of Snowdon. I think it was £5 for the day, and £2 for the bus that drops you off, in our case at Pen y Pass.
Pen y Pass has its own small car park, which you have to pre-book to guarantee a place. It's not cheap, but for a car with multiple occupants it can be worth it for the Pyg Track, Miners track, Lliwedd ascent or Crib Goch ascents of the Snowdon massif.
We arrived shortly after 10am due to delayed service of the breakfasts in the local pub, and as far as I recall we were all there and pretty much ready to go.
After lots of hellos, checking our bags, toilet visits etc we had a pre start brief from Simon the mountain leader, who wanted to get important information across and get a feel for the group, and who had what experience.
Reassurances were given throughout that due to the weather, we would check at multiple times that everyone was happy to proceed up to Crib Goch itself as the weather was not good at all and as we couldn't see the summit in its mist we knew it was going to be difficult conditions.
The main concern for me was the very high winds and the likelihood it was going to get wet at some point on Crib Goch ridge itself. The forecast wind was 25mph on the summit, which made it just about safe for an ascent along the ridge itself. But that is me thinking of how I would get on and only being responsible for myself.
One of the things that came up in the brief, and always a major concern for me, is a lack of appreciation or preparedness for what may or may not lay ahead. By this, I mean what we put in our kit bags or backpacks for the day ahead.
We don't seem to prepare for what may happen in a worse case scenario, usually because we have never encountered it. We've all seen the flip-flop f*ckwits going up Snowdon!
Personally, I would kit check every person and if they haven't got the kit, then they aren't coming along! Is that harsh? To some, yes, but other people's choices can lead to the detriment or demise of others in a group. It's very hard to do this on paid events though.
I've lost track of how many times on challenges and events someone has said they don't need extra layers or waterproofs because they get too hot. If you have an accident then you are stuck on that mountain, your body temperature will plummet due to the lack of movement and eventually hypothermia can start to set in, and not just you, but those around you. It's very common in Ultra marathons, even with very good runners.
But we are not individuals while on a mountain, we are a group and a team, we are all responsible for each other. If someone starts to have issues, or they become too cold or wet and then have issues, it can often put the whole group at risk due to the slowdown in pace or inability for the group to keep moving and generating heat. We need to know we can keep ourselves warm, and keep our fellow members warm also. Especially when a mountain rescue call out can take up to 4 hrs just to get to you.
So please carry a full kit, check your waterproofs actually still are waterproof, and carry extra kit if you have it, as often we need to lend stuff to others who are suffering in bad conditions. I've often ended up wearing everything in my pack, and still been a little cold or wet, and that was me fully prepared!
Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent here, but the importance of this will become relevant later.
Once briefed and ready to go, it was off to Pen y Pass on the Sherpa bus, an excellent service and well recommended. It only took about 10 minutes max and we were there and we all alighted the bus with excitement, well I was, even though I knew what lay ahead.
The start of our first climb to Crib Goch...
We started our ascent once the next round of loo breaks had finished, and we took the Pyg track which would take us too the turn off point for the start of the Crib Goch route.
The start of the Pyg track can be deceptively difficult to start, as you aren't warmed up and the boulder steps can be quite a task if you aren't going very slow.
Izzie and I set off at the front at what appeared to be a decent pace for the group with Simon the ML a little further back and Geoff near the back. We stopped every now and then for a breather, photos and for the group to regather.
Eventually Simon asked us to slow the pace down a little at the front as he felt psychologically it can be a bit disheartening seeing others off at the front. we weren't far ahead to be fair, and could be seen easily as we were still on the low levels of the Pyg track.
Personally I don't like going too slow at the front as I feel it actively slows the entire group down too much on easy sections, and I like to be near the front so I can stop and take pictures of the scenery and the other group members as they come up the track, and I get a breather. I only ever do this when I know exactly where I am and with team leaders or run leaders blessing.
Once we got to the turn off for the Crib Goch track we all regrouped, had a breather and a bit of a snack and put on some layers as it was going to get cold and very windy, and very likely splatterings of rain.
Once you start up the route there aren't that many chances to seek a little shelter from strong winds subject to which way they are blowing, so it's best to start to layer up now, even if you get warm, as you are going to slow as this ascent progresses, and you stop more often.
It was getting increasingly windy and Simon on multiple occasions asked that we were all ok, and confident to go on in the weather. He also said we will assess as we go, and that if at any point anyone needed to turn round and go back there would only be a few chances to do that.
To be honest, if you hadn't been up there before you wouldn't know what was coming. We couldn't see anything, it was just very very windy. I honestly think if most knew what was ahead they would have dropped and tried to go back. Thankfully several members had been up before, so this increased the odds of us all sticking together and getting up there in one piece as one group.
It did start to rain a few times on the climb up the East face and the wind got worse at times, but only on small sections, the East face itself helped to shelter us a little from the SSW winds.
I personally had never been up Crib Goch via the East face as I crossed it from the South last time on a clear day and went down via the North (red ridge) ridge and on a fast hike for speed.
Our ascent on this day was a slow one as it's a really steep climb and scramble for most of it with hands and feet in use at almost all times, especially in those winds. We were instructed multiple times to always have three points of contact, and not to trust any rock as a singular point of contact to hang on.
After several stops and concentrating on those struggling to reach good quality hand and foot holds along the way due to shorter legs and arms the group was making good progress overall. The only problem was the worry we would need to turn back if Simon found it too windy and risky on the actual Crib Goch ridge and summit.
I honestly thought once there we would have been forced back down, but the descent the way we came thankfully was off putting enough, as those who pondered going down verbally, mentioned they wouldn't want to go down the way we came.
As we were now about to top out onto the ridge it was all or nothing thankfully, and that kept us all together. The group did exceptionally well as it was a difficult climb up due to having to hold on at all times due to the poor weather. I'm exceptionally proud at how well everyone did to be fair, as a lot were novices in Snowdonia and it's mountains, and they were taking on one of it's hardest ridges and ascents, and in poor weather.
We finally reached the top of the ridge, and boy was it windy. This ultimately slowed us all right down. Not much chance of simply walking and picking our way along the safe side of the ridge line to the Crib Goch summit and beyond.
From this point all I could hear was Geoff shouting 'Three points of contact at all times', 'don't trust the rock holds unless you have tested it' and 'Low and slow, just how Heston boils an egg!' I was getting to the stage were I knew I was going to hear that in my sleep all weekend!
We reached the summit finally, which was a lot further along than I remember, but only because of our slow approach with hand holds all along the ridge. It was the safe method as it was very windy, we had no view as it was limited visibility and it kept trying to rain, so the rocks were always a little wet.
We had all done well to get to this point, but we still had all of the rest of the ridge to get along to the first set of pinnacles, and with a lot of stops to get us all along safely it was becoming a challenge not to lose too much warmth. I was well wrapped and layered up, but my waterproof gloves had given up by this point, I personally was worried about others who didn't look particularly warm, but I had no knowledge of how well they personally deal with the cold and windy elements.
We finally got along the ridge to the pinnacles and the little drop down before the first set before you have to take on the exposed route around the rock face of the pinnacle. I'd never done this bit of the route before from this direction, and to be honest it looked way worse being wet, and the drop down below wasn't giving me any confidence either, I knew exactly how far the fall was, but the others couldn't see it as it was so misty. Good job it was.
Everyone one got around with pretty much no issues, as Geoff said earlier, all the confidence and capabilities we had learned along the way of the climb up and the ridge, had now prepared for this section and we were all perfectly capable of negotiating it safely.
Half way down the pinnacle is a little sheltered bit, so we stopped for a bit of food and a clothes check to add, remove or change layers etc for warmth. I stuck all my remaining layers on and almost lost my waterproof to the mountain gusts after putting it on the floor briefly.
At this point I was thankfully starting to feel a little warmer after getting off the cold and exposed ridge, but the rain was getting a little more persistent and it was still misty, so that in itself meant we were always in moisture and wet.
We finally came off the pinnacle and effectively off Crib Goch and were now on the open but small flat section which would start to lead us onto the next set of pinnacles and eventually Garnedd Ugain and what was supposed to be summit number two.....
We proceeded on along the ridge and headed towards Garnedd Ugain, which from here would bring us slowly up to the next set of pinnacles. Somehow as we proceeded into the clag and mist we branched of slightly to the left along a path. This path went alongside the ridge line above and would eventually drop below the pinnacles.
Unfortunately as this path proceeded it started to drop down too low and effectively we were now moving slowly down while the ridge above us was infact rising above us to the summit of Garnedd Ugain. Sadly this meant we weren't going to get back up to to summit number two as we had gone too far along the wrong path.
Eventually the Pyg track came into view below, so the decision was made to drop down to there and proceed upwards from there. Once on the Pyg track we had the infamous zig zags to contend with. They are an instant energy zapper and even I was feeling it here. Thankfully we stopped for a snack break before we moved on further once we got to the top of the zig zags.
Once we moved on we quickly reached the top of the Pyg track where it meets the Llanberis path to the summit. As we had lost so much time, the conversation was had about whether to actually go up to Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa summit and indeed Garnedd Ugain which we could also access from this point.
As we were tired, wet and no doubt a bit cold the group decision was made to make the descent instead as the two missed summits would add at least an hour onto the groups already extended day. I felt this was a shame as it meant we completely failed the objective of the day which was to complete the three summits required to actually do the first section of the Welsh 3000's, but I kept silent as I didn't want others to feel bad, pressured or get colder if we continued on so I went with the group decision.
I could have gone on alone, but I'd already done the two missing summits before on my own on other days in the past and I needed to learn the unique descent Geoff was going to teach us that drops us down off the side of Snowdon and the Llanberis path and directly into Nant Peris and our cars.
This unique descent is a race descent from the Welsh 3000's speed challenge and is usually known as the 610 contour descent. It took us maybe half an hour to reach the top of this descent spot, and we then stopped for a food break as the descent would be slow and slippy.
The views down to this point were great out over towards Llanberis and occasionally we could see over towards the mountains of the next valley and the Rangers and Rhyd Ddu paths up/down Snowdon.
It's always a good feeling to finally be descending down from the mountain into warmer temperatures so I can see why the decision to miss out the other two summits was made, and by this point I was now happy of the choice.
Once we'd eaten it was time to descend down the infamous 610 contour route, one of which apparently there are many options subject to how lost you get on the way down, and how much of it you want to spend on your arse!
We widdled our way down slowly (plenty of other widdle stops too) and tried our best to stay upright. The top section isn't to bad, you could see a slightly worn route, but this slowly disappeared, but you could figure out your way down easily enough. We were still following Simon anyway, so I'm not sure how much people were concentrating on the actual route.
I have noticed this before on recce runs with other people leading, often as we don't have to concentrate on where we are going and inevitably chatting along the way our brains don't register the route entirely. I think it is important for our sakes we try and take in the actual route where possible.
I recommend when stopped for a breather take in the surroundings, what is near you, where you have just descended and where you are about to go. Take pictures along the way when stopped, so when you go over them afterward your brain takes it all in. If possible if you have a map, draw the route on the map or carry a GPS tracking device that is recording your route in its entirety.
We carried on our descent and at several points the group seemed to decide that sliding down the mountainside on your arse was the best option. I had poles so I was using them to stay upright instead as the preferred option, a bit drier and I didn't want sheep sh*t all over my pants!
We stopped several times, so photos were taken by me as per usual for my memories, I'm not sure how many I can squeeze into this blog to be fair, so you may not see too many. I do always keep them on my personal Facebook page and sometimes on my 'Plant based Gru' Facebook page.
Geoff also did a Facebook live at one point on the descent as we approached the bottom, and almost slipped on his arse while live, most likely because he was actually checking out his hair in selfie mode! You can check that video out on the @focusedperformance Facebook page.
Eventually we final hit rock bottom i.e. almost ground level, and a few commented on how weird it actually felt to now be walking on flat ground. Personally I felt like kissing the ground after a very long day!
A few congratulations were thrown around as we had now realised how tough a challenge we had actually taken on and come out triumphant without any meltdowns, group dramas or accidents along the way!
A few group photos were taken and one was supposed to be a 'jumpshot' of the group jumping in the air in celebration, but let's face it we were tired and our timing sucks. Somehow though Geoff seemed to accomplish major air time which seemed to span several frames of pictures, at one point we thought he had learned to levitate!
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Next it was into the cars, back home for showers and dry clothes and for a nice staff cooked and served meal to replenish our carbs for the next day followed by a few relaxing drinks in the various lounges of the accommodation. A few went to the pub later but it was too late for me, and most decided to wisely chill out for a bit and then go to bed ready for a long day ahead the next day....
Strava record of Day one : https://www.strava.com/activities/7362677393
Day two - Mountain range two - The Glyderau range
So day two was here which was Saturday and the weather forecasts were pretty abysmal, especially the wind forecast for the summits which was 45+ mph at points. This was an issue, but some of today's hike would be on wide ridges and on fairly easy followable routes on the ground itself at times, except maybe Glyder Fawr to Glyder Fach if it was misty.
The other issue which was the concern to most as far as comfort goes, was the forecast rain and sun throughout the day, but with certain hours showing heavy rain. It was also going to be cold on the tops, especially with wind chill forecast at 0C.
It would only take one prolonged hour of rain to ruin a good day in the mountains, but we were there to take on the 3000's route and all it entails, so we had to give it a go.
We had our breakfast and coffees etc as provided and served by our ever friendly Focused Performance crew and the weather was definitely the topic of conversation, especially after our extended period up Crib Goch the day before.
I think a lot worried it was more of the same for today, but Crib Goch was the worst section of the 3000's route as it's so exposed and there is so much scrambling. That's not the case on the rest of the route though. I've done the next section several times before so am confident in the area, but my main gripe is when I can't see anything while up on the Glyders for example, so no views and no photo opportunities.
Last year it was a fog fest on the Glyders and we had no views at all, so you couldn't really enjoy it. This year the forecast was worse and we definitely would not get any views, so no rewards for the effort involved.
We got our gear together and jumped in the cars and it was time to set off back to the Nant Peris park and ride car park. It's a decent sized car park with toilet facilities and the bus stop for example, but as it was Saturday morning it was already really busy by 9/10am.
Once all parked up we kitted up with whatever we were going to start walking/hiking in, especially poles as they would be ideal pretty much from the first mile onward. We had our group picture taken by Sarah one of the other run/team leaders who wasn't going up the mountains as she was more support and car support for emergencies and pick ups etc.
We set off along the road through the village of Nant Peris past the Valnol Arms, a fairly well known pub to those familiar with the 3000's route, and we also passed the local Llanberis mountain rescue organisation base, which had their much needed Land Rovers outside.
A right turn at the chapel and we were off on the start of route which begins on tarmac as it weaves it way up the start of the climb and towards the public footpath we would follow.
Some nice views can be had as you approach the footpath (see pics supplied) and there seemed to be plenty of smiles on this pleasant approach, especially as the weather down here was decent, and at present we could see the top of Elidir Fawr clearly and free of cloud.
I had my fingers crossed this would be the case once up there, but in the opposite direction behind us I could also see Crib Goch and Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa enveloped in a nasty dark cloud.
We got to the footpath and started on up the mountainside following what was now a grassy, partially muddy and often rocky path, which eventually led onto a more suitable gravel/rocky path.
A little further on and we started going around to the right along the hillside next to us and alongside the stream that flows out of the mountains ahead. A little further up is the footbridge that took us onto the path up Elidir Fawr itself.
Once at the footbridge we paused for a little break, a snack maybe and putting on a layer or two as you could feel the temperature change and we got a few specks of rain. Once we started up the mountainside from here there was not going to be any shelter from this point on, even in the stone circular shelter at the top.
It was a hard slog, this particular mountain ascent is apparently the longest continuous climb in North wales, as it consistently goes up at a steep grade without any level points in between. When I've done this before I've challenged myself to just do 500ft of climb at a time and have a breather. It's not called a b*stard climb for nothing!
There is a stone wall first at one point then two sets of wire fences, so we went up as an extended group, spread out subject to our pace and waited at each fence to regather the group and rest a little.
The impending rain clouds were clearly visible on the adjacent mountainsides and you could see the rainfall dropping from them into the valleys below, and they were heading our way. It was also extremely windy at this point, which was why we were already fairly well covered up.
Jack, Izzie and myself were mostly at the front keeping a steady pace and being rewarded by longer breaks at the stop points at the fence lines etc, and occasionally Geoff would be there too.
The rain finally started to hit us as we were maybe three quarters of the way up, you can slowly see the clouds coming in on the pictures below I got before just before the final push. Those of us at the front choose to put on our waterproof trousers as they were vital not only to keep our legs dry, but any bottoms we had on, that would be vital on keeping us warm at the top. They are also vital to keep down the wind chill.
It really started to come down now and the wind was really cold and the rain was icy and stinging the ears when it hit at times. The last picture above is the last I took pre summit as it got so bad, and once the rain hit I couldn't get any pictures.
The visibility was also starting to disappear. Geoff had now passed us and gone ahead towards the top to ensure he could see us up the final bit without us wandering off the wrong way.
I realised at this point that even when we reach the top, the stone shelter at the top is not really going to stop the descending rain from making us cold and wet, and we would be waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. The longer rest is not always a bonus, as in this case it meant we spent less time moving, and thus not generating heat.
We made our way up the final rocky section with a little bit of small bouldering in the straightest fastest line possible and we hit the top and straight into the shelter of sorts.
No views up here, just cold, damp, windy and miserable. The first thing I did was lean myself up against one of the stoney walls to keep the wind off, but sadly the rain from above was still hitting me. Next was food time, I had been looking forward to a flapjack at the top for the last 20 minutes.
I didn't bring one on this particular day, but I highly recommend a small flask with a hot drink in, for this particular moment in time , or an emergency when you desperately need help getting warm.
Slowly but surely we all started to appear at the top and the shelter, and everyone was looking exceptionally damp, wet and cold. One of us had already headed back down the mountain earlier on due to knee issues and hopefully missed the weather we were now getting at the top. This is one of the reasons there was a support car parked up still at Nant Peris with two team leaders in.
A few other people not from our group started to appear in the shelter too after being caught in the weather, and they all equally looked cold and wet. Some who Geoff actually knew had already been on Crib Goch hours earlier and described the absolutely dire conditions up there. This kind of gave us confirmation of what was likely to come further on into our route if we were unlucky.
Geoff was now checking everyone was ok, and making sure we were wrapping up as much as possible, and had to get his 4 person bothie out to help try and keep a few people warm. This is where I realised the difference between doing things on your own, a small group or as a bigger group. It's extremely hard to keep people warm and comfortable when they have or have not been moving as fast as each other in the last 10 minutes and whether they are generating enough heat to stay warm.
If I was on my own, I would shelter for 5 minutes, snack and then move on to the next point but only if I had a safe route and wasn't going further into danger. But in a larger group you can't do this as you have to wait and regather the troops as such, give them rest time and then consider their safety from that point on.
I think this was what was now becoming Geoff's main consideration, he had to keep the group safe and warm and away from danger. He was faced with an increasingly cold and wet group and the weather wasn't letting up. At this point the option of returning back down the mountain was being considered.
The option was going back down or continuing onto the next mountain Y Garn which didn't have any shelter. The problem was at this point you couldn't see the next mountain, and depending how fast people would get to that mountain there was no way of knowing how everyone would cope.
I was already considering my options and whether to break from the group if they all went back down, and Geoff did ask if I wanting to go on alone as he knew I knew the way and can keep myself safe. I looked across and couldn't see the mountains I was heading for and at that point was thinking, if I'm not going to be able to get any views I don't fancy several more hours of wet and miserable weather.
We kept scanning the surrounding clouds looking for breaks in the cloud to give us a clue as to whether there would be a break in the weather, but the likelihood was that half and hour later another bad weather front would hit.
One member of the group had already decided sensibly they were going to go back down, before the discussion had even started, as she knew she was too cold and too wet. I applaud that decision, as it takes balls to recognise when you have had enough, and the likelihood you could put yourself in more danger and discomfort by continuing.
As the group decision rapidly became 'balls to this!' we are going back down, I started to see little breaks in the rain and cloud. This gave me hope and eventually I could see the next target and mountain Y Garn. So I took Geoff up on his offer for me to carry on to Y Garn and drop down through Devils kitchen to Ogwen where he would pick me up later.
As the group gathered itself ready for the descent Izzie, another guest decided she would like to go on as well and I think as Geoff knew she had a decent pace that she would be safe enough with me as I knew the route well even in bad weather.
Geoff asked several times 'do you want me to come with you?' but I said it's up to you, you don't need to. I was conscious he would not be where he was needed the most, with the main group.
Once he knew I was happy and Izzie was happy to carry on, we parted ways just as the mountainside literally cleared for a period and signs of little sunny breaks became more visible, but still intertwined with rain clouds. The photos don't do justice to the intermittent conditions, as I only took pictures at sunny points.
The main group went on their own venture back down the mountainside to the support cars, and I believe had a few adventures along the way, but all safe with Geoff and leaders.
Meanwhile Izzie and I carried on. I was looking forward to moving on around the ridge towards Y Garn knowing it has some great views, but whether we would get them was another thing, it was still exceptionally windy, and we got hit multiple times by icy rain or hail along the way.
I took pictures as we went everytime the sun came out. So when you see the pictures, don't just think, well the weather looked fine, what was the fuss about lol. I didn't take any in the crap weather earlier.
The hike round towards Y Garn is a nice one and a popular one, and there were people still on the route, many who had been in our shelter earlier, but we were rapidly overtaking them ensuring we could warm up.
Most of the paths had become visible streams due to all the rain, but there was plenty of room to avoid the water, I had waterproof socks on anyway.
I managed to get a picture of Elidir Fawr from the spot on the path we where now at, and we had dropped a lot of altitude, this meant we were going to have to climb back up again as we approached Y Garn.
It was still windy, but in general it was still fairly pleasant, we still kept full waterproofs on though as it was still cold, and the chance of another icy hail shower was never far away.
Y Garn itself is a fairly steep climb, but gravelly so grip is easy enough, but it's a slog and the lactic acid builds up in the legs if you don't pause. I pushed on and stopped regularly to ensure Izzie was ok, which she was. As she was a lot younger than me, infact half as young and a bit of change, I'd expect her to be alright.
The slog entailed a few false summits, so Izzie got a few 'we are nearly there' shouts that may have been a little misleading lol.
The views were becoming rapidly more and more superb, with views of Pen yr Ole Wen on the opposite side of the valley above Ogwen which was our finishing point, we could see the sea, also Anglesey in the distance and we could see the summit of Tryfan quite clearly. The Glyders however were still covered in intimidating cloud.
I did briefly consider taking the Glyders and Tryfan on now the weather was better, but there was no way I was taking Izzie over them just incase the weather went to **** again.
Just before we got to top of Y Garn I chatted to an old bloke who was walking down, it was a nice chat, we discussed the views and the weather, all the usual stuff when up a mountain, along with the usual comments about ill prepared city folk in their trainers or flip flops etc lol.
By the time we said goodbye and climbed the last 50ft to the summit we missed the damn sun, so bang went my summit pictures.
We had a brief rest and snack break, Izzie chatted to the two ladies sat there with their dog and then we moved on to the delightful descent of Y Garn down to the lake below it.
Geoff had given us a team radio/walkie talkie and had checked on us several times, and we confirmed we were going to descend down through Devils kitchen down to Llyn Idwal and onto the pick up point at the cafe at Ogwen.
Geoff had said that everyone hadn't made it back down to the support cars yet so it wouldn't be within the hour, but that wasn't an issue as we still needed to get down which would take roughly an hour anyway, and we wanted a coffee or drink at the bottom anyway in the cafe.
We descended down through Devils kitchen after getting rid of the waterproofs as we were now sheltered from the cold wind, and the sun was almost out.
Devils kitchen was chokka with people as it is a very popular route, especially to get to Y Garn or the Glyders, and as it was sheltered no one would be aware of the conditions earlier on the summits, or currently on the Glyders.
It later turned out from information from someone else who Geoff knew and we'd seen on the route and was attempting the 3000's, that the weather at that time on the Glyders had indeed been really bad, and they dropped out of the challenge further on at Pen yr Ole Wen. So I'd made the right decision not to risk someone else's safety by taking them on.
As we descended Devils kitchen I remarked about how often on the Snowdon 50 mile ultra I'd done in the area, that a lot of people started to go the wrong way around the lake at the bottom approaching Llyn Idwal and had to go back on themselves to go the right way as it was a race route that had to be followed.
I let Izzie lead the route down Devils kitchen as I don't think she had been before and it's good to find your own way down as your mind takes it in better when you are making your own choices and decisions and not merely following someone else's heels.
We both ended up veering off to the path on the right ourselves, as the rocky descent is full of boulders and it's very easy to just follow someone else in error. I didn't even notice myself until we'd gone way past the other route.
As a general walk route it doesn't matter which way you go round the lake, so I was happy to try out some of the other route, and then we reverted back to the other route, the pictures are better from that side anyway.
The rain had started to make little guest appearances by this point, so we were conscious of that, questioning each other whether it was time to layer up again. Team work makes the dream work as they say! It could well be one of many of Geoff's Geoff''isms!
We finally got around the lake after a few pats and strokes of passing dogs as it's clearly a popular dog walk area. And by now Geoff was at the pick up point and asking us what drink we wanted. Thankfully I knew an often missed shortcut just as the rain started again that misses off at least half a miles worth of path, it's through a gulley cut out in the rock and it came right out next to the cafe and a smiling Geoff with coffee's in hand!
We had a nice relaxing drive back and a feeling of accomplishment. I'd never really led another guest on a route as a pair, and I enjoyed the opportunity. It was great to see someone else enjoy the area and the views and indeed the challenge itself. I thank Izzie for that chance, and I hope she enjoyed our time on the mountains.
As we had effectively finished our day earlier than expected some of the guests had started doing their own thing once back at base or on their way to base, including pub visits for chips and a pint etc. Seeing a picture of same said chips and a pint gave Geoff the idea that indeed that's what we should do as we got back. So Geoff took Izzie and I to the pub for a well earned alcoholic vodka raspberry slushie cocktail!
The rest of the day entailed everyone trying to dry their clothes in the drying room, another fab dose of food from the Focused Performance team (mostly Heather I think) and then a bit of chill time as it was still too early for the pub.
After a bit of chill time most decided we were now going to the pub, but the weather had other ideas as every 3-5 minutes it lashed it down. The pub was 5 minutes away by foot, it wasn't a chance anyone was willing to take after already spending a day wet.
Eventually we lined up at the door waiting for a suitable gap, using our new found skill of watching for breaks in the clouds and determining their wind speed and time of arrival and then gauging if we can hit the next shelter (the pub) before the next deluge.
No matter how many drinks and how much cheer we could muster, the thought of what the forecast for the next day would bring was ever on our thoughts. The forecast was the worst of all, what else could Wales throw at us this weekend?....Whatever it brought we had adapted our new avoid the rain strategy, we were going to out run it!..
Strava record of Day two : https://www.strava.com/activities/7366254137
To be continued...
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