How to go ski touring in Snowdonia

With winter just around the corner, and hopefully one full of snow and mountain adventures, I thought I would write an article about how to go ski touring in Snowdonia.

Ski touring at dawn in Snowdonia

Weather and Snow Conditions

First things first, you can and people do, get avalanched in Snowdonia so make sure you learn about snow before going skiing.  There is no avalanche forecast in Snowdonia either.  Below are various ways I build a picture of what the snow conditions may be like:

1. Looking at the weather forecast, has it snowed, is snow forecast, does the Met Office mountain weather forecast mention anything under Ground Conditions?
2. Read between the lines of the latest UKClimbing welsh winter conditions thread, are there any useful comments or photos of routes recently climbed
3. Scour Facebook groups such as Snowdonia winter climbing conditions, north wales skiing etc... for snow updates
4. Look at instagram photos taken recently on the peaks you are hoping to ski off
5. Look at various webcams, most usefully OVMRO webcams and the Snowdon Webcam.
6. Actually get out there and have a look - probably the most reliable method!

An avalanche in Snowdonia above Nant Peris Photo by Brian Wills

Psyched after a great day of skiing in Snowdonia, I took a chance and had a look, and there was more than enough snow to ski and enjoy

Another really useful too is the BMC Cwm Idwal winter conditions page which provides live temperature readings at various heights and depths of turf.

The BMC Cwm Idwal winter conditions page

Iona's snow seeking guidelines

Normally there is more skiable snow than there looks, particularly if there has been a good freeze thaw cycle

More snow than there looks, the view from the A5

The Carneddau tends to hold more snow than the Glyderau and Snowdon ranges

Looking towards the Northern Carneddau where there is often more snow than elsewhere

If it's been windy, has the snow been swept onto one side of the hills more than the other? - normally the case in Snowdonia but watch out for the avalanche conditions that come with this.

The spread of snow across Yr Elen and Carnedd Llewelyn, notice the lack of snow in some areas, particularly ridge lines, or the increase in snow in the gully between the two peaks.

You don't actually need that much snow to ski on, as when it's frozen the patches of grass between the snow ski quite well too!

Skiing the lines of snow between the grass, and the frozen grass too!

When you're out hiking in the summer look for slopes that are grassy underfoot as normally there is only enough snow to cover grass and not rocks and small boulders.

A variety of terrain in Snowdonia, some of which I had checked out in the summer months before hand

For the steep skiers amongst you have a look at a the winter climbing guidebooks for inspiration, grade one gullies can sometimes make great skiing.

The steeper lines here can provide great skiing in addition to climbing

Often conditions are better in the morning before it gets warmer, so go out and enjoy a dawn patrol

Setting a skin track before work in March

Stay safe and have fun

Keep smiling, it's not every day you get to ski in Snowdonia

IML Tree of the Month 3: Scots Pine

A Scots Pine above Loch Maree in Torridon

Sticking with the theme of coniferous trees, the third tree in my series is the Scots Pine.  One of only three conifers native to the UK and quite possibly my favourite tree (although I do love Cedar of Lebanons!)


Identification: 
Latin Name: Pinus Sylvestris

Height: up to 35m

Leaves: needle like, blue-green, slightly twisted, grow in pairs on short side shoots, 4-7cm long

Woodland Trust

Flowers: Monoecious. Male flowers are clusters of yellow anthers at the base of shoots.  Female flowers are small, red purple, globular and grow at the tips of new shoots.

Fruits: Female flowers develop into egg shaped cones after wind pollination.  They mature the following season, meaning there are always cones of different ages on each tree.  Mature cones are grey brown with a raised circular bump at the centre of each scale.  Normally these are in clusters of 2-4 and they point backwards along the stem.

https://treesforlife.org.uk/forest/species-profiles/scots-pine/

Bark: Scaly orange brown, particularly at the top, when young it can be more of a grey green colour, develops plates and fissures with age

Woodland Trust

Twigs and buds: Twigs are grey-brown and hairless

Age: lives to 300 years, tends to lose it's lower branches as it ages

Pinus Sylvestris http://www.conifers.org/pi/pi/s/sylvestris01.jpg

Uses: 

• Widely used in joinery and the construction industry.
• Used in the manufacture of telegraph poles, gate posts, fencing
• The tree can be tapped to make turpentine from its resin
• Dry cones can used as kindling
• Used for paper pulp

Fun Facts:

• It's the National Tree of Scotland
• One of the strongest softwoods available
• Groups of pines growing along old droveways helped travellers to find where they were going in changing weather
• A Scots pine in the forest of Muirward Wood, Perthshire, has the largest trunk in the UK.  It has a height of 31m and a girth of 6.09m
• Until around 8000 years ago Scots Pine made up most of the pine forests in the UK, particularly in Scotland and North England
• The most widely distributed conifer in the world, from sea level to 2400m
• Need a high level of light to germinate and so do not often regenerate under their own canopy but rather seedlings are found in open areas and clearings.

This website has lots of really good facts about the Scots Pine's relationship with other things.

Reflections on 2016 (yes that's not a typo), a photo summary

I know it is October 2017, but finally here is a photo summary of 2016!!!  If anything writing it now has provided much food for thought on just how incredible 2016 was despite its ups and downs.

January

As usual I split my time between the Alps and Snowdonia in January.  At the end of the month I went on the Eagle Ski Club Leader's Training week, where I learnt loads and got more psyched to go ski touring.

Skinning along the summer path in tricky conditions in the Monte Rosa ski area

February

This year I spent most of February teaching skiing, training in the mountains and preparing for my IML winter assessment.

A snowy Crib Goch - I got the first set of tracks on it in super conditions (ok, this was in January but I don't have any good photos from February!)

March

Becoming an International Mountain Leader was the highlight of the month.  But this was followed closely by some of the best ski touring I've had with powder skiing every day in the Queyras.

Never ending powder in the Queyras

April

My first April in Snowdonia in years, all alpine ski touring was sacrificed for some quality home time, work, mountaineering instructor practice and R+R before expedition time in May.

Having far too much fun scrambling in the rain on an Mountaineering Instructor workshop

May

Most of May was spent on a ski mountaineering expedition to Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada.

Above the icefall on Mount Logan, Canada

June

A month of work in the outdoors, but squeezing in enough time to complete my first ultra marathon, the V3K Ultra (including the Welsh 3000ers).

A foggy selfie while running across Crib Goch, at least I'm concentrating on my footwork rather than my smile!

July

Lots more work including an incredible week remotely supervising a D of E group traversing the Cairngorm National Park in Scotland.

A beautiful view at around 4am when I got up to bag a munro and get some phone signal

August

Most of August was spent preparing for my impending Mountaineering Instructor Award assessment in October.

Scrambling in the Glyderau with Tim and Tom

September

A month split between work and stressful preparations for my MIA assessment.

Time out from assessment preparations as we heading to Scotland on holiday, climbing was banned!

October

The highlight of the month was without doubt passing my MIA.  Four years of dedicated effort 

My new professional profile photo!?

November

Mostly a month of resting, and planning for next year.  I also joined the mountain and trekking panel on the RGS Explore weekend.

And I squeezed in a ski in the Carneddau

December

Rather than spending December in the Alps I had Christmas at home, put cancelled ski seasons behind me and thought about what the future held for me having just accepted a job at Plas Y Brenin.

Enjoying time in the mountains of Snowdonia.

September in Scotland

Wild camping in Fisherfield, what a view

This September Jim and I went on our annual trip to Scotland seeking classic mountain walks, adventures and good cake.

Our first view of the Fisherfield Munros

Our first stop was Kinlochleven where the Salomon Skyrunning weekend of races would be taking place.  Having previously raced and marshalled on the event, this year we would be spectating and using it as an excuse to get out into the hills, catch up with good friends and feel psyched to get fitter and faster.

On the way up Bidean Nan Bian to cheer the Salomon Skyline racers

By the end of the weekend it was time for us to seek our own solitude in the mountains and with a reasonable forecast we continued to head North towards Torridon and Fisherfield.

We even saw some sun in Kinlochewe!

One of our aims for this holiday was to try out Jim's new Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 tent (phew, a bit of a mouthful!), and spend some days exploring and wild camping in the Fisherfield, weather permitting.  Having arrived in Kinlochewe we decided to walk from there towards Lochan Fada via Gleann Bianasdail.

Walking alongside Loch Maree, Slioch in the background

A couple of hours later we had passed Slioch and were rewarded with our first views of the Fisherfield wilderness.  I was more than a little bit excited having owned an OS map to the area for nine years but never having been there.  

Filtering water on the walk in

Crossing a river in the Fisherfield wilderness

The beach by Lochan Fada made a beautiful lunch spot and from here we found a great little path that took us all the way up to Bealach Odhar following this small gorgelike stream of Allt na Creige Glaise.  Rather than drop down the other side to the tiny pool we set up camp here having found a water source and a flattish piece of ground.

Jim surveying his new Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 tent pitched where it's designed to be, in the wild

As the weather predicted, all good things come to an end and having watched it cloud over the evening before we awoke to rain and light winds.  Erring on the side of caution we changed our plan. This area of Scotland commits you to at least one river crossing even in dry weather spells and the prospect of getting out after a couple of rainy days wasn't appealing.

On Beinn Tarsuinn in the mizzle (misty drizzle)

Not wanting to leave without bagging at least one Munro, we headed for Beinn Tarsuinn.  It was short blast up following a vague path that seemed to regularly disappear.  From here we followed our journey back down the the col and out to Lochan Fada.

We completed our journey in Dynafit trail running shoes, fast and light!

To add more interest to our journey we headed out along Gleann na Muice along fabulous singletrack and 4x4 tracks to Kinlochewe.  (one to return on by mountain bike when I'm a bit more skilled)

The Whistle Stop Cafe in Kinlochewe is a must for food and drink and we refuelled here before heading south to the Cairngorms in search of better weather.

Scots Pine trees in the Cairngorms

Unfortunately for us the weather remained variable.  I completed an ambition to run the Cairngorm 4000ers but in 50mph winds and heavy rain, which was resilience building (needless to say I don't have any photos).  And we both went on some local walks in the forest to various cafes.

Walking in Glenmore avoiding the 60mph winds in the mountains

Our last stop in Aviemore before heading home was to Backcountry Scotland.  This was a chance to say a big thank you to someone for having the nerve to import such unique and incredible equipment from around the world; most notably our Hyperlite Mountain Gear Tent (handmade in Maine, USA), but also an opportunity to chat gear, expeditions, and look at the best packrafts and bike packing kit on the market.  Needless to say we were both rather excited.

Winning at life on holiday

All too soon it was time to return home having had some adventures but more importantly psyched for many more in the future.

Trail running in the Carneddau

The main 'problem' with running in Snowdonia is that there are so many hills!  In fact I think it is nearly impossible to run for 30-60 mins without climbing more than 100m.  Of course you could run along the coastline, which is not as undulating as it is in other parts of Wales, and is often sunny, but then you miss out on beautiful rugged trails and heathland.

Incredible views across Northern Snowdonia

The second 'problem' is whether I or you, as a mere mortal, can actually run up these hills, or whether we have to resort to power walking.  Either way, you can rest assured that it won't take much to get the heart rate going if you go for a fast walking pace.  (And I have to admit that I frequently walk when going for a run).

Smiling selfies are a must when running in such good weather in Snowdonia!

One of my favourite places to run in Snowdonia is the Carneddau.  Many folk will have seen Pen yr Ole Wen towering over them as they drive down the A5, practiced navigation on Crimpiau, or visited Aber Falls but there are some incredible trail running routes to be found as well.  Below is a photo journal and brief description of two of my favourites.


Number 1: The Eastern Carneddau

Eastern Carneddau trail run

From Capel Curig (park behind Pinnacle Cafe), up Crimpiau and along the tops of Craig Wen and Creigiau Gleision to Llyn Cowlyd Resevoir and back.  For extra miles and less road at the end follow the leet west to the steep tarmac road and the old A5 (dashed red line on the map above).

Pleasantly runnable terrain heading to the peak on the RHS

perfect single track to end the day with

Number 2: The Southern Carneddau

Southern Carneddau trail running circuit (with variations)

The Southern Carneddau circuit is a classic walk with some gentle grade 1 scrambling, but also makes a fantastic long run.  The initial ascent up Pen yr Ole Wen is a good power walk (head up the southern ridge to really feel the heartache!).  This is followed by pleasantly undulating route finding along the tops, where you can go as far as you like before heading back along the leet and old A5.

Incredible ridge running towards Pen yr Helgi Du - a bit more exciting in the snow

The running is more technical than the Eastern Carneddau, but it is drier (when dry!), and has a more mountainous feel.

Looking back towards Carnedd Llewelyn

I have yet to combine the Eastern and Southern Carneddau into one long run but when the snow melts this Spring it will be top of my list of outings.

Fantastic views towards the busier Glyderau mountains