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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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Powdery powder

Jan 4

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

As the country slowly freezes, the mountains of the UK are floundering under a sea of unconsolidated powder snow. After a rather loose excursion up Tower Gully in Cwm Cneifion before christmas, James and I were back in the Glyderau on New Year's Day. There had been more snow over Christmas, so we (and everyone else) were staying clear of gullies. This meant ridges, and we chose to have a look at Y Gribin (II). Some bright spark decided it would be a good idea to approach from the Bochlwyd side of the ridge, on the basis that it had been wind-scoured for the past few days and caught morning sun, and therefore may have melted a little and consolidated a bit more than other places. How wrong that bright spark was.

Heading around Llyn Bochlwyd towards the False Gribin. Photo by James Devine. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Heading around Llyn Bochlwyd towards the False Gribin. Photo by James Devine. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

After wading through waist-deep powder we eventually made it up past the False Gribin and onto the ridge proper. The first bit of the route was nice and easy, but as the climbing got harder so it seemed to quickly become swamped under a sea of powder too. We followed the crest for a while, until I found myself stood at the top of a big slope of powder, poised to send it down onto some innocents on the path below. Not fancying incurring much collateral damage, we finally gave up and retreated back to the path. Turns out we weren't that far from the top anyway, but the remaining few metres of the path still weren't terribly solid. Once on the top, we plodded down Devil's Kitchen and into sheer chaos in Cwm Idwal.

James approaching the ridge from the football pitch. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

James approaching the ridge from the football pitch. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

The snow was rubbish for climbing, but perfect for making snowballs, sledging and playing around, which is what most of the population of North Wales seemed to be having great fun doing. I even saw one child who'd managed to climb halfway up the first pitch of Ordinary Route (Diff) on the slabs and bum slide back down again, it was so blanketed with snow! There were climbers all over the ice routes, which looked a bit fatter than the previous week. Unfortunately while a lot of people are having great fun on hard mixed routes (Black Ladders) and mid-grade ice (Idwal), we're somewhat limited by our lack of experience / 'bumbly' status and are desperately hoping for some freeze-thaw cycles to bring the snowy gullies into condition!

Snowdon massif and the coast from the top of the Glyers. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Snowdon massif and the coast from the top of the Glyers. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Anyway, whilst not a total success in that we didn't stick to the desired route all the way up, and it possibly wasn't the best route choice by me, it was a good day out and keeps us busy until the things we really want to do become climbable!

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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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You win some…

Dec 8

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

You win some, you lose some. I took a gamble last weekend with a trip to Snowdonia, and I definitely won.

After reports of good conditions the previous weekend, and exciting things being done throughout the week, I decided a lightning raid on North Wales was required in the hope of catching some early season snow. With everyone else busy due to financial / eco-warrior / christmas dinner commitments, this was to be a solo mission. Driving along the A55 at 06:00 on Saturday morning, the thermometer in the car read 9 degrees C, and my hopes of getting anything done were fading. I pulled in to Ogwen caff car park at 07:45; there were two cars already present, and I feel we all bonded as we sat there, looking gloomily past flailing windscreen wipers at the nearly-bare Glyderau. However, I hadn't driven all that way to go for a ramble, so I bunged the pointy things in my bag and ventured up to Cwm Cneifion anyway.

Climbers on Easy Route. You can see my footprints pretty much all the way up the route. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Climbers on Easy Route. You can see my footprints pretty much all the way up the route. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Mercifully there was still some snow left! Despite a major thaw most other places, the north-facing headwall of the upper cwm had retained some gully snow that was still climable. At the end of last year I had a look at Easy Route (I), but found it full of slush. This time it was perfectly doable, so do it I did. It lives up to its name, serving as a nice start to the new season. The top section gets a bit steeper and more interesting, and I was up on the plateau pretty quickly. With my desired route for the day dealt with, I pondered the most interesting way down. Y Gribin was still plastered in snow and ice, and looked a bit dicey, so I opted for Senior's Ridge. Plans soon changed when I decided to traverse from Senior's back into the upper cwm, and have a nosey at Corner Gully (I/II).

Repeating Easy Route. Do steps count as cheating? Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Repeating Easy Route. Do steps count as cheating? Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

As I reached my initial start point, I met another bloke who had his eye on the same route. He went up first while I demolished a bacon sandwich, and I then followed him, taking a slightly different line at the top. Like Easy Route, I was surprised at the quality of the snow; despite a couple of soft patches it seemed I'd managed to get away with two routes. On the plateau once again, we went our separate ways and I plodded down Senior's Ridge. It seems my recent gym and running regime has paid dividends, because – full of enthusiasm – I went back again and repeated Corner Gully! Heading down Senior's Ridge for the third time that day, I promised myself just one more route. I'd been eyeing-up a nice looking line in the corner towards Tower Rib, which the guide book later informed me was the top end of Tower Slab (II/III). While doing Corner Gully for the second time, I'd noticed a few bits of rock thawing away from the cliff and descending at speed, so aborted that plan and repeated Easy Route instead. By this point there had been a lot of melting everywhere, and I figured four laps was probably enough! Being a little sick of Senior's Ridge by this point, I descended over Glyder Fawr and past Devil's Kitchen. Going under Idwal slabs I saw a party of three backing off Ordinary Route, which brought back fond memories of last year's MPS trip.

Too much stuff for one person? Drying kit in the 'van. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Too much stuff for one person? Drying kit in the 'van. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

I spent the night in the caravan, drying things off and listening to the seventeen hours of non-stop rain which followed my descent from the Glyders. I had a leisurely start on Sunday, waiting for the rain to stop (which it did, eventually). Given a rather horrid forecast, gleefully summed up by Becs on the phone as "chilly, windy, soggy", I decided to head up Moel Siabod via Daear Ddu, the east ridge. I parked in Capel and walked the first bit to the top of the horrible tarmac track, at which point I started running. Despite a rather viscious but short-lived hailstorm, I made reasonable time to the ridge, which is a Grade 1 scramble. No matter how many times I do it, I just keep coming back to it; you can make it as easy or as hard as you like, and nowhere is it particularly scary. I had great fun picking an interesting line up the ridge, and then made it from the summit back to the car in just over half an hour. So, that was my first proper run over a mountain, and I think we can class it as a success.

Descending from Siabod - Capel, Llynau Mymbyr and the Carneddau in the background. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Descending from Siabod - Capel, Llynau Mymbyr and the Carneddau in the background. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

All in all, it seems I managed to wrestle a bit of snowy fun and a decent hill run from what could have been a very wet and generally dismal weekend. Roll on the rest of the season.

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It's All About the Aretes

Feb 10

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 6 Comments

Chris and I spent the weekend climbing a couple of classic ridges in Snowdonia, along with an icy gully for a bit of variety.

On Saturday we got a respectably early start, and were among the first of many parties to climb Sargeant's Gully, a grade II route that I backed off a few weeks ago with James. On reaching Cwm Glas we had a bit of a route-choice crisis, and after considering pretty much everything within view we decided on Clogwyn y Person Arete (II/III,***).

<strong>Chris on easier ground towards the top of Clogwyn y Person Arete.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Chris on easier ground towards the top of Clogwyn y Person Arete.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

After battling up the (allegedly easier) west gully through a horrible chimney, we got onto the ridge proper. While Chris led everything and I struggled with remarkable regularity over the first few pitches, we watched a quite ridiculous number of people going up Parsley Fern Gully. At one point I counted 12 people in the bottom half, with another three stood at the bottom! Anyway, the arete provided more than enough sport for the two of us. We joined the ridge on Crib y Ddysgyl and took the Pyg Track back down, complete with steep snow at the top of the zig-zags – I've since heard talk of a cornice forming on it at one point over the weekend!

After meeting some friends in the pub on Saturday night, we had another early start on Sunday morning, this time deciding to check out Cwm Cneifion.

<strong>Walking in to Cwm Cneifion.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Walking in to Cwm Cneifion.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Feeling a little tired, we opted for Cneifion Arete (III,***), and promptly ignored the guidebook, choosing a more difficult single pitch to start (maybe not entirely intentionally). After that we moved together for a bit as the ground eased, although higher up the climbing got harder again as we were forced back to the crest of the ridge. A little easier than Clogwyn y Person, I thought, in that the climbing was still sufficiently difficult to be challenging, but I didn't feel anywhere near as likely to fall off! Maybe I was just getting more confident in dealing with rocky stuff in crampons…

<strong>Fun ground on Cneifion Arete.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Fun ground on Cneifion Arete.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

An attack of apathy when faced with Y Gribin led to a hasty retreat to the car, with the threat of a boring weekend successfully staved off for another week. Photos on the gallery as usual.

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Fort William New Year

Jan 6

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

It appears that people in general have been lying to me for some time now about the "Scottish Winter" experience. No-one ever mentioned the blue skies, lack of wind, cold clear mornings…

Indeed, that's how the MPS New Year trip started, and how it continued for an entire week. On the first day I did a nice loop around Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag (photo below), which gave occasional views and was a good introduction to the general geography of the Ben Nevis area, since this was my first visit.

Towards the summit of Aonach Beag (Copyright Haydn Williams 2008)

Towards the summit of Aonach Beag
(Copyright Haydn Williams 2008)

On the second day, it was an early start to tackle North Gully (II) with Cat. After a dark and boring walk-in, the route was excellent; a lovely first pitch of nice ice, followed by amazing neve all the way to the top. This was via the best belay in the world, in the form of a very cosy and comfortable overhang / ledge / cave arrangement. Hard to explain, but very nice.

<strong>Best. Belay. Ever.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Best. Belay. Ever.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

On reaching the top, I was surprised to be greeted by Luke, with whom we'd done Central Trinity a couple of weeks before! Of all the gullies in all the world…

<strong>Easy snow at the top of North Gully.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Easy snow at the top of North Gully.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

With my Ben Nevis cherry popped, so to speak, we were treated to a great sunset on the way down, and met up with Chris and Hamish (Tower Scoop and Tower Ridge) and Pete and John (No. 2 Gully) for the walk off.

<strong>Hamish and Chris at the top of Tower Ridge.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Hamish and Chris at the top of Tower Ridge.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Anyway, the excitement proved too much for my knees, which steadfastly refused to even carry me down stairs the following day. After a whole day of sitting in the accommodation and twiddling my thumbs, with little improvement, I made the executive decision to head home; better that than risk another four days sat there on my own all day while everyone else was out having fun. I therefore came home the next day, four days early and with a damn sight less done than I would have liked. However, my gentle introduction of a route was ace, and I'll certainly be heading back for more!

<strong>Ben Nevis sunset.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Ben Nevis sunset.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2008

Photos are now online in my new gallery; click here to view.

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Welsh Winter

Dec 16

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

Friday saw another Snowdonia trip, in the company of Chris, Gareth and Luke. The plan was to find some snow given the excellent conditions over the last week. Things didn't start well, with torrential rain on the way through, but they certainly picked up over the course of the weekend.

Saturday morning found us having abandoned all ideas of snow, and setting off for a round of the Bochlwyd Horseshoe in the rain. The rain quickly turned to snow, and there also turned out to be a decent amount of snow higher up. Thus followed a snowy romp up the North Ridge of Tryfan, followed by Bristly Ridge, the Glyderau, and finally Y Garn. The descent down the East Ridge to Idwal was lovely and snowy, and a nice finish to the day.

Climbers high above Glaslyn on Left-Hand Trinity (II,*), Snowdon

Climbers high above Glaslyn on Left-Hand Trinity (II,*), Snowdon


On Sunday we decided to have a look at Trinity Face on Snowdon, and it turned into an excellent day. There was a reasonable amount of snow in the gullies, so the four of us went up Central Trinity (I/II, ***). This was my first proper graded snowy route, and it was very enjoyable. We topped out in glorious sunshine exceedingly close to the summit of Snowdon – a weird but very cool experience! Less cool was the way in which Grivel had assembled Chris' new crampons with a 'dissasemble when least expecting it' feature built in. On the way back down to the car we decided to keep it interesting and go over Crib y Ddysgyl and Crib Goch. Despite moving pretty slowly, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Team Mindsey head up Central Trinity (I/II,***), Clogwyn y Garnedd

Team Mindsey head up Central Trinity (I/II,***), Clogwyn y Garnedd


So in spite of having to live, as Chris so eloquently put it, on "the bare minimum" (including, but not limited to, pizza, brownies, ginger bread, spaghetti bolognese, scotch eggs, quiche (qwee-ch), bombay mix and flavoured water), we had an excellent weekend. Kudos to Luke for driving, to Chris for patiently waiting while I revelled in the joys of leading the second half of Central Trinity, and to Gareth for coordinating a truly stunning F1-style pitstop on the way home.

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Crianlarich Weekend

Nov 26

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

Last weekend saw a trip to Crianlarich with MPS, and after a gig on Thursday, an 8-hour drive on Friday night, and four-and-a-half hours sleep, I set off on Saturday morning for my first winter climbing experience. Hamish needed a second, and so kindly agreed to drag me up something; that 'something' turned out to be Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4) on Beinn an Dothaidh.

Hamish on the first pitch of Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4).

Hamish on the first pitch of Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4)

The first pitch was full of brittle ice, but after that it was solid turf all the way up. I had such an awesome time I forgot to pick up my belay device at the top of the penultimate pitch, so that's another weekend gone by where I've failed to keep hold of all my gear!

Hamish topping out on Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4).

Hamish topping out on Taxus Icefall Finish (IV, 4)

The forecast for Sunday was reasonably clear after a dump of snow, so I set out early to get some photos. Unfortunately Rannoch Moor remained cloudy and rainy for the next two hours, and the banana in the glove box was frozen, thus denying me any breakfast. Other people set off up various different hills, with varying degrees of success, and I think a fun time was had by all.

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The False Gribin

Mar 30

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

In amongst a very enjoyable stag weekend (congratulations J), I managed to find some time yesterday for a wander on the Glyders. I've come down Y Gribin often enough, but I fancied either a wander up the False Gribin, or at least a look at it to see what it was like when the forecast wasn't "mobility may be impossible on higher ground". Sure enough, when I got there it was too wet and windy to be any fun, so I wandered up a snow slope to the side of the main ridge.
View from the False Gribin.
Although there were a few gusts, it wasn't too bad until I reached the top of the ridge (see photo for the view back down towards Llyn Bochlwyd). The wind was absolutely hammering across the top, and mobility was indeed impossible! The plan had been to descend Y Gribin and meet the rest of the group in Cwm Idwal. However, I had to turn around, and went back down the way I'd come up; not quite what I had in mind, but a very fun couple of hours nonetheless. The snow was melting rapidly, so it looks like that's the end of another Snowdonia winter. Bring on the sunshine!

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Snow in the Lake District

Feb 4

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

Last weekend I was in the Lake District with James and RAMSOC. Saturday saw the two of us heading up Helvellyn via Swirral Edge (photo below, courtesy of James), then over Lower Man and Whiteside Bank. Saturday night was a great opportunity to catch up with people I haven't seen for a while, with a pub tea to boot. On Sunday, we joined one of the RAMSOC walks, which took us over Skiddaw in conditions that can only be described as "blustery"! All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend.Haydn at the top of Swirral Edge

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