The first weekend trip of exam term is traditionally a small one; the preserve of postgrads, third- and fourth-year engineers and one or two others who've got their priorities right despite exams looming! This year, 15 club members stayed in the cosy cottage of Tan-yr-Wyddfa, owned by the Oread M. C. and sitting right at the western foot of Snowdon in the village of Rhyd Ddu. We were blessed with blue skies, sunshine and a stiff breeze to blow away the cobwebs (or keep us awake, in some cases!) A couple of parties ascended Snowdon, while others made the most of being slightly off the beaten track to explore the Nantlle Ridge, Moel Hebog and Beddgelert Forest. Undeterred by the guidebook description of 'suspect rock', another group scrambled up Sentries' Ridge on Mynydd Mawr. The trip was also notable for being the first this year not to involve an epic journey - here's hoping that trend continues!
Participants
Tom Ashton, Amy Bonsor, Valerie Brandt, Dave Farrow, Emma Fleetwood, Bethan Gudgeon, Caroline Hepburn, Joe Hobbs, Jon Matthews, Ian Patrick, Alex Pericleous, Trine Puggaard Petersen, Christian Scheppach, Jo Smith, Simon Williams.
Walk Reports
Nantlle Ridge take two, faff day take two (BG)
Jo, Dave, Christian, Caroline, Alex, Jon, Joe, Emma, Ian & Bethan decided to walk/scramble the Mynydds, with a lot of faffing and stopping!
- Layer & car faff; waterproof-sock faff
- Wind faff (& Layers)
- Disposable camera faff (x15)
- Nibbles faff (lots)
- Scrambling and climbing faff
- Sleep faff
- Descent wait faff
- Caterpillar faff
- Barbed wire faff
- Politics (& philosophy) faff
Sentries' Ridge (JH)
Bethan, Joe & Alex: Rhyd Ddu-Sentries' Ridge-Mynydd Mawr-Nant y Betws-Rhyd Ddu
The 'excellent scrambling on suspect rock' turned out to be exciting and not as loose as suggested in the scrambling guide. No rocks were dislodged apart from one rock Bethan dropped on Joe. After Mynydd Mawr, we descended to Nant y Betws and returned along the shore of Llyn Cwellyn (paddling and wading en route) and the pub (to buy an ice cream).
Moel Hebog (AB)
Dave, Jo, Jon, Emma, Ian, Amy, Simon: Moel Lefn-Moel Hebog-Beddgelert Forest-bunkhouse
Half of us did the route anticlockwise and half of us did it clockwise (mainly by turning in circles at the top of Moel Hebog!) Not too many 'faffs' - "it was mainly sleeping and walking" (Jon) - but Jon, Amy and Emma weren't allowed to stay on the top of Moel Hebog and continue sleeping!
Notable Quotes
- Emma: "We are such old men!"
- Dave: "Joe and Amy are in the kitchen; they're washing Amy"
- Caroline: "Joe, are there club washing up gloves?" Jo (angrily): "I don't know, don't ask me, ask the Safety Officer!" Caroline: "I was asking the Safety Officer!"
- Emma: "That doesn't say 'machine'; there's no 'S' in it!"
Photos
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