I spent the recent Easter bank holiday weekend at home in Snowdonia. The forecast was great from before Friday to the following Tuesday, this, combined with some time off, gave me the perfect excuse to get out in the mountains every day.
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| Close to the summit of Tryfan just after sunrise |
On Friday I met up with Nicky and we aimed to have a relaxed and fun day out climbing on a relatively quiet crag. We headed to Clogwyn Y Clipiau in the Moelwyns, and despite the classic mountain crag forecast there were four other teams climbing. The routes, rock and view were great and we more than achieved our aim - even though we finished too late for an ice-cream at the nearby cafe!
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| Climbing in the Moelwyns, picture taken by Nicky |
Saturday morning soon arrived with alarm clocks ringing at 4am alerting us that it was time to get up for a pre-work walk. There was just enough time for a quick coffee and some freshly made bread for breakfast before driving to the Ogwen valley.
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| On the Bochlwyd path towards Tryfan |
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| The moon just poking out above the Glyders |
Togged up in lightweight trail running gear complete with headtorches and carbon walking poles we set off towards Tryfan. 90 minutes later we topped out having just missing the sun rise.
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| Morning light above the Glyderau |
We were treated to some incredible views and the summit completely to ourselves. On the way down we passed several parties just heading out and it looked set to be a great but busy day in the hills.
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| More incredible early morning views |
Monday brought the last good day of the forecast and I thought it was time for a long run in the hills.
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| The route I took, recorded by my runkeeper app |
I hadn't been into the Carneddau for a while and what better way to begin than an ascent of Pen Yr Ole Wen 'the hard way', straight up from Ogwen Cottage.
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| The 'beautifully loose' path up Pen Yr Ole Wen |
From here I ticked off Carnedd Dafydd, Yr Elen, Carnedd Llewelyn, Pen Y Helgi Du, Pen Llithrig Y Wrach, down to Llyn Cowlyd Reservoir, along the leet to the tarmac road and back down the old byway / A5 to Ogwen Cottage... phew!
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| Views towards Llyn Idwal |
It was epic, I only passed around five people on my way, there was a cool breeze blowing providing perfect temperatures, and in less than five hours I was back at my van knackered.
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| The view down the Ogwen valley from the path beside the leet |
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