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Posts Tagged Cwm Cneifion

Epic fail?

Feb 12

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 4 Comments

I seem to have racked up errors this weekend. Here are the lessons I've learned:

  1. Check race details before setting off. I drove to Llandegla on Friday night, only to find that the second Dash in the Dark had been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
  2. Ensure adequate nutrition. No milk at all in my parents' house meant that breakfast of cereal and/or porridge was off. I replaced these with a Cadbury's Caramel egg from a petrol station.
  3. Don't jump on your equipment. A boot / buckle / floor interface resulted in pieces of broken rucksack plastic all over the car park before I even set off.
  4. You can tie yourself into your rucksack if the waist strap buckle is broken. But it's hard to get back out again. Very hard.
  5. Weather forecasts can be wrong. This weekend, for example, where cold temperatures and lots of snow will in fact turn out to be boggy and very warm.
  6. Website 'location' features aren't necessarily evil. It turns out a friend was in Cwm Idwal at the same time as me this morning, but neither of us realised. Maybe some advertising beforehand wouldn't have been a bad idea.
Corner Gully, Cwm Cneifion. This was one of the more complete gully lines. © Haydn Williams 2012

Corner Gully, Cwm Cneifion. This was one of the more complete gully lines. © Haydn Williams 2012

Nevertheless, I had a nice wander up to Cwm Cneifion even if there wasn't anything climbable and so I had to retrace my steps back to the car. Welsh Winter remains elusive this year, but there's time yet (ever the optimist!).

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Well I névé!

Feb 6

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

I needed a break from house-breaking last week, so snuck off for some winter action in North Wales on Sunday and Monday. I ended up coming back early to do more house things, but had no real objections after an excellent day on Sunday.

Another early start from Chester, and another cruddy petrol station quiche for lunch because I forgot my sandwiches! We abandoned my car halfway up the Nant Ffrancon due to slow (and sometimes sideways) progress in the snow. The truck made light work of it all, and we soon found ourselves heading up to Cneifion.

Climbers below Clogwyn Du. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Climbers below Clogwyn Du. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

With snow pretty much everywhere, we had a good choice of routes. All the gullies down to Cneifion Arete were full, but we kept going up to the top end of the cwm. I fancied a Grade II, having not led anything at that grade since Sargeant's Gully with Chris a year ago. I'd also had my eye on Hidden Gully for a while, as it gets two stars and is described as a "hidden gem". On arrival, three teams were on Clogwyn Du and one set off up Hidden Gully ahead of us. We traversed across to the gully from Easy Route on great neve, which continued all the way up. Despite a continuous flow of spindrift, there was good climbing with a couple of short steep steps.

I was proper cold at this point.

I was proper cold at this point.

We roped up at the narrowing bit, and I led most of the way up. I got a couple of nuts in, but all the cracks needed clearing, and the rock was pretty rimed up. The climbing itself was pretty secure because the snow was so good, so it wasn't too much of an issue. I belayed just below the summit, and James took the lead for the last little pitch on reasonably steep snow.

Belay camaraderie is a remedy for being chilly. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010.

Belay camaraderie is a remedy for being chilly. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010.

James leading the top of Hidden Gully. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

James leading the top of Hidden Gully. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

The weather on the top was a bit breezy with poor visibility, so we descended Easy Route in the interests of speed. The plan was then to head lower and play on some of the easy gullies near Cneifion Arete. Tower Slabs had piqued my interest on a number of occasions, but at II/III I figured I had shied away from it with my natural sense of caution. With Hidden Gully proving so much fun, I got carried away and suggested we play around soloing the water ice at the bottom of Tower Slabs, possibly climbing as high as the snow terrace before heading back down. The first 5 metres or so really gave me the willies, I think as I'd not climbed proper ice for twelve months, but I soon got into the swing of things. On reaching the terrace the descent looked dodgy and we found ourselves on lovely neve. After a brief discussion we decided to carry on up; thus followed miles of perfect snow! Great placements first time with axes and crampons, a steep but not terrifying gradient, and a brilliant situation when the cloud occasionally cleared.

Wicked snow on Tower Slabs. Copyright James Devine 2010

Wicked snow on Tower Slabs. Copyright James Devine 2010

Once on top, we came down Easy Route again and back to the car. So, another step towards my aim of leading III by the end of the season (despite a distinct lack of days out) and it ended up being an accidental solo! There's a big thaw on now, but still snow in the high gullies and freezing levels predicted to be 200m – 300m for the next few days – maybe there'll be some more action again soon.

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Cneifion contrasts

Dec 23

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

Up to Cwm Cneifion again today, following reports of good climbing conditions after a dump of snow earlier in the week. James was mad keen for a taste of winter climbing after last year's foray up Parsley Fern Gully, and I fancied leading something more involved than a snow plod (although I still say you can't beat a good plod at times).

We had a rather leisurely start and got to the upper section of the Cwm at 10:30. There were already teams on Easy Route (I), Hidden Gully (II) and spread across Clogwyn Ddu (crazy hard). I fancied Tower Gully (I/II 2), a line which goes up the side of Maybe Tower Rib (Grade 3 scramble). On arrival, it looked a bit steeper and more hairy than I'd anticipated, but the internet had informed me that it was all fine, with nice neve in the upper half and simple ice steps throughout (albeit three of them instead of the one mentioned in the guide book).

Tower Gully (I/II 2) goes straight up the middle. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Tower Gully (I/II 2) goes straight up the middle. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

The internet lied. The entire route was alternating sections of good ice and horrible knee-deep graupel which gave way under the slightest bit of pressure. None of the climbing was particularly difficult, but the penalty for failure was high and the chances of a slip also reasonable under such dodgy snow conditions. Nevertheless, it was a useful exercise in pushing myself; there was a distinct lack of gear placements in the gully walls so each pitch got a single ice screw protecting the steep step and that was about it! I'm not normally very good at getting anywhere above gear, so was pleased with my performance today.

Start of the second pitch - leaving horrid snow and getting onto nicer ice. Photo by James Devine. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Start of the second pitch - leaving horrid snow and getting onto nicer ice. Photo by James Devine. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Right from arriving in the cwm we noticed people on some seriously hard looking routes over on Clogwyn Ddu – turns out we were watching a clean ascent of Cracking Up (IX, 9), the hardest winter route in Wales. On the way out we also saw Rich Cross and Ian Parnell on Travesty (VIII, 8), and another party got up the oft-lauded El Mancho (VI, 7).

James at the top of Tower Gully. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

James at the top of Tower Gully. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

On topping out, we were treated to views over much snow inland, and out to the Isle of Man and Ireland in the opposite direction. The weather held out all day, and we had a very leisurely walk off down Devil's Kitchen, which entailed walking very slowly and messing about an awful lot. Coming down the Kitchen we met a lady who'd been on South Gully (IV 5) and The Screen (IV 4). There were actually loads of teams heading into Idwal this morning, even though most of the ice routes actually looked a little thin. I think the whole area needs a good thaw and re-freeze to get the snow into condition (and preferably more snow too!), and a longer cold spell before the popular ice routes get into the kind of nick where they can withstand large numbers of holiday ascents!

The Glyder plateau in atmospheric afternoon light. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

The Glyder plateau in atmospheric afternoon light. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

So a hard day on a grade I/II, while those at the other end of the experience / talent scale had a marginally harder day on the other side of the cwm. It certainly gives us something to aim for…

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