| Unless you jetted off to sunny climes, you can't have failed to notice that between Christmas and the New Year it got a tad chilly and there was white stuff laying all over the country. So me, Erol and Erol's mate Peter set off early on Saturday morning and headed off towards North Wales to get a bit of ice climbing in. 10 o'clock in the morning, just coming down into Betws-y-Coed, the temperature dips to -9.5ºC. "Great" we think, "Loadsa ice". Stop off at Cotswold so Erol can fork out £50 on a new pair of Gore-Tex gloves to replace the pair he's lost, then off to the Pen-y-Pass. That's where things started to go awry. The plan was Right Hand Trinity on the east face of Snowdon, but despite the rest of the country being bathed in sunshine, the Llanberis pass was totally clagged in. The real killer though was the full car park and lay-by's, so off to Ogwen and the sun we go. Next problem was figuring out how to strap Pete's crampons on, a bit like a Christmas puzzle really, keep on trying for 10 minutes until the crampons are fixed and the straps do up tight, but its much better to do this here by the car than half way up a hill. | |||
| Off we trudge up towards the Idwal Slabs. Everywhere was white, even Lyn Ogwen was frozen and covered in snow which makes a change from its more usual black and forbidding appearance. Ice smears were everywhere but the real jewel was the Devil's Appendix, a giant chandelier hanging down from the cliffs to the right of the Devil's Kitchen. It wasn't quite complete though, there was a small gap between the first and second pitches, but at a grade VI it was way past our capabilities. Anyway, we get to the slabs and find that the climb we wanted wasn't really in condition - thin, rotten ice, so set off for the Idwal Stream. After heading off in completely the wrong direction for 10 minutes (my fault I'm afraid), we see the stream packed with climbers and even more queuing at the bottom. Forget it, it'll be dark before we even start. So, head back to the right hand side of the slabs to make up some routes. Peter clears off on his own to mess about in some gullies leaving me and Erol to gear up to do a mixed climb. I lead off up the slabs, clearing snow as I go; teetering on front points on tiny flakes with the axes either hooked on flakes or torqued in a rather narrow crack, it looks and sounds dodgy but is surprisingly secure. No gear placements. Up a bit more, then I see where I can get a No 1 nut in. Climb up to it but the placement is loose. At this point discretion becomes the better part of valour and I traverse off. Pack up the ropes and then plough up this supposedly easy looking gully. Erol goes first and is soon floundering in waist deep powder. Get to the top where we meet Peter and decide to have a go at an obvious snow filled gully on the upper cliffs. It doesn't look that hard so we solo it. From half way up and looking back down the perspective changes and it suddenly seems like the north face of the Eiger, but anyway, the climbing's not that hard and we carry on. It's two days later when I get the guide book out and find out we went up Twisting Gully a grade III. If we'd known that at the start we wouldn't even have attempted it - sometimes it pays not to use a guide book. Time's now getting on so look out over Ogwen Valley and the setting sun, then bum slide most of the way down to the base of the slabs, great fun. |
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| The bunk house was out in the sticks at the West end of Lyn Padarn, Peter said it was half an hour to the pub but one hour was more accurate, and it hurt all the way on a twisted ankle. Many pints later in the Llanberis Heights, the anaesthetic's still not worked so rather than walk back I order a taxi. £3, that's all. Next time I'm taking the taxi there as well. | |||
| Next morning we set off at eight for the Pen-y-Pass and are out on the Miner's track well before nine. Its murky and windy but we can see Snowdon way off in the distance. It gets murkier and windier, the clag descends and snow drifts cover the path. On we go, heading up to the cwm where the Pyg and Miner's track join. We teeter up a frozen scree slope then decide it'll be a bit wiser to put crampons on. Off we go again, following Peter upwards. It gets a bit steeper and the ice is completely rotten. We solo a short pitch on very dodgy holds, my gloves get completely soaked in icy water. Off with the pack at the top and ferret around inside for a fresh pair of gloves. Instant relief. At this point, neither me nor Erol is very happy about the climb, its just plain dangerous. In the breaks between the snow flurries we can make out the line of the Pyg track not far above, which means the cwm isn't that far away. Off we go again, its still steep but the ice is a little better and its also a bit easier now I've got my second axe out as well. We come out by some sign posts "danger mine workings" and can just make out one mine shaft partially covered by a snow drift. The weather is absolutely appalling now, in the flurries visibility is about 10 feet and its hard to stand up in the wind. Fat chance of finding any route, let alone going up it, so we set off down, into the wind. Peter hasn't got any goggles, but all mine do is stop the pain, can't see through them for ice on the outside and fog on the inside. It’s a case of staggering from one cairn to the next. Fortunately, the wind drops off pretty quickly as we descend, enough so that we can get a couple of bum slides in and have a bit of a laugh. |
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| So, that was it for the day/weekend/year. Popped down to Pete's Eats to get some food and see a severe weather warning pinned up "70+ mph wind on tops". Waddled out of Pete's feeling rather full, round a couple of gear shops, then trundled back home. It rained all the way but it’s the first time I've ever done 80 mph on the M6 through Birmingham at 6 o'clock on a Sunday evening, you'd think it was New Year's eve or something. Anyway, get back home, shower, change, and down the pub for the party. | |||
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