This was a popular and vibrant trip, returning to the ULMC’s Caseg Fraith Hut, ideally located at the foot of Tryfan, the Glyderau and the Carneddau; Snowdon and a whole host of other hills are only a short drive away. Most people scrambled (at various grades – whether intentionally or not!) during at least one of the days, which the decidedly-less-inclement weather than of late superbly permitted, and no fewer than three groups walked the southern Carneddau horseshoe. Others made the most of the bunkhouse’s outstanding location and chose to explore areas further afield: one group completed the Snowdon Horseshoe on Saturday; one did a bagging expedition (comprising two walks) on the northern Carneddau; and a couple of people headed to Blaenau Ffestiniog to walk the entire mining-dominated skyline on Sunday. This trip also played host to a valuable navigation-based course for eight trip participants, run (by Mike Laing from Snowdonia Climbing) thanks to generous BMC funding to develop CUHWC’s members’ hillwalking skills. There was also CUHWC’s normal singing fix, complemented by a generous supply of mulled wine throughout the evening. Do peruse the photos listed below – some of them are fabulous, brilliantly highlighting how a weekend of good weather can make trips even more memorable.
Participants
Matthew Graham, Andrew Williamson, Tom Ashton, Elena Yudovina, Paul Cook, Tom Wright, Michael Fordham, Lewis Herbert, Niina Hooper, Jon Peatman, Andrena Ball, Aileen Cameron, Bethan Gudgeon, Christie Nel, Laura Burrows, Jessica Walsh, Becky Howard, David Young, Ian Cooper, Dave Mackenzie, Peter Kirkwood, Christopher Arran, Eleri Cousins, James Ritchie, Lucy Stone, Emma Bulmer, Charlotte Cardus, Vicky Ward, Mark Jackson, Madeleine Yates, Kirsty Brown, Joe Hobbs, Peter Sims, Greg Chadwick, Andres Villar, Breanndan O Conchuir, Thomas Hall, Joshua Bough, Phil Brown & David Pettit.
Walk Reports
Not the most successful weekend on Tryfan (MF)
It's been an interesting weekend on Tryfan. On Saturday, I joined Elena’s group which aimed to do the classic round up Tryfan’s North Ridge, over Bristly Ridge and the Glyders, down the Devil’s Kitchen. All went well to begin with and we made good, fast progress up to the Cannon. Shortly after this, Elena slipped and fell, cutting her head in several places. Several snacks and a crepe bandage later and Elena, to quote one group member, looked like a cross between an Egyptian Mummy and P. Diddy (whoever that is!). Joe and I walked down with Elena to drive her to Bangor A&E. Unfortunately, there was no key available for the bunkhouse, so I had to break in through the bedroom window. I then couldn’t find the minibus key, which had been “safely” placed in a cutlery drawer. Anyway, a thankfully short trip to the hospital later and we were back enjoying food and singing in the bunkhouse. The next day I joined Peter to ascend Tryfan again, this time by Little and North Gullies. The blue skies sadly clouded as we ascended Heather Terrace and we unfortunately missed the start of Little Gully. We pressed on as the climb became gradually harder, requiring some tricky moves on some steps and a couple of airy traverses. We eventually met Joe, Kirsty and Bethan who were more successfully following the route of their Grade-2/3 scramble. Still, we reached the summit uninjured (except for a few scrapes and bruises), the only near miss being Mark’s rucksack, which started sliding down the mountain until it was fortunately stopped. After Tryfan, we continued over Bristly Ridge to a glorious summit of Glyder Fach, ultimately ending a pleasant day back at the bunkhouse.
Snapshots (MJ)
... David Pettit deftly driving up steep lanes at the back of the Carneddau, while certain members of the club were still in bed...
... Slipping on a rock somewhere near Foel-fras and smashing my lunchbox to smithereens...
... Still seas and sunset skies from the last summit in Snowdonia...
... Hearing from a cold Joe outside the dark bunkhouse that Elena was in hospital...
... Becky saving us all a long, cold wait by vaulting in through the bunkhouse window...
... Turbo Mulling Agent - and Turbo Fire-starting Agent (not the same thing)...
... Not realising for several minutes that talking to Bethan & Kirsty was a bit weird with them being in the shower...
... Joe taking things a bit too far by leaping onto the table and reading out Sunday's weather forecast, before launching into the Lumberjack Song...
... Dreaming of falling off Glyder Fach and deciding this was a sensible reason to go scrambling instead of bagging in the morning...
... Joe and Bethan's group(s) turning up and informing us that we were on completely the wrong scramble (see MF's report above), only for it to transpire that they were off route too...
... Joe and Andrena trying to outdo each other by jumping back and forth between Adam and Eve...
... Amazing scrambling on Bristly Ridge - and Kirsty getting her foot stuck in a crack in full view of the rest of the group...
... Sunbathing on a slab...
... Jumping on the Cantilever...
... Everyone with the know-how basically running for the minibus that wasn't freezing cold...
... Attempting to educate the entire minibus on the meaning of the word 'clodpoll'...
... Watching Ice Age 3 at the takeaway - and Paul having a frank exchange of views with the owner about their pizza-production timescale...
Notable quotes
- Andrena: Maybe Paul will just do it to Greg quietly in the front [of the minibus]
- Michael: I didn't know your legs could do that Kirsty
- Mark: Duet - Paul with his mouth, me with my right hand
Photos
- David Pettit
- Mark Jackson
- Andrew Williamson
- Christie Nel
- Peter Kirkwood
- Dave Mackenzie
- Joshua Bough
- Tom Wright
- Michael Fordham
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