Cwm Idwal and Cwm Cneifion 6/01/2011 by Mike Peacock

I had this email from Mike late this afternoon. Thanks Mike, looks like you had fun!
----------------------

Hi Andy and a happy 2011!

I managed to get out today. Me and Gareth Harvey wandered into a sorry (and sodden!) looking Cwm Idwal. The top of East Wall Gully looked reasonably complete so we headed through the rain to it. Despite the snow on the approach being quite soft conditions in the gully were very good although there were a couple of rocky steps halfway up.

Into Cwm Cneifion (and still with no sign of the cloud shifting) we went looking for some decent ice on Cneifion Stream and found a bit, but not much. We headed on to the back, past a nice collection of mini-igloos, but called it a day soon after as I'm still recovering from the excesses of Christmas! Typically as we walked out the cloud lifted. There were a few people on Easy Route and Tower Slabs, and it did snow quite heavily for a while.

Hope that's of use to people,

Mike

Thwarted again?

Wednesdays climbing was thwarted by illness, and it looks like tomorrows may be abandoned due to 'Constant whiteout for several hours' according to the MWIS forecast (Mountain Weather Information Service)
Damn it!

Sky outside my house 4.20pm today

Black Ladders info

Some Black Ladders info on Huw Gilbert's blog now.

Reports & pics from Misha

The following info is from Misha & is also on the UKC Welsh Winter Condition thread
A couple of his photos below too.

'Hidden Gully on Clogwyn Ddu in easy condition for the grade. Good neve most of the way up with little bits of ice towards the top.

From a distance, it didn't look like there was any ice on P1 of Clogwyn LH. However later spoke to a team who said they had gone up the approach gully to have a look and thought the ice was thin and required mixed climbing up the rock to the right. They didn't fancy that, so abbed into the start of the last pitch and found good ice there.

Pretty much all the routes in Cwm Cneifion up to III are doable but some are thin in places (see comments re the ice step in Tower Gully - I managed to pass it in descent but the ice was quite brittle, with largish chunks falling off). From a distance, Clogwyn RH looked like turf/mixed climbing towards the bottom but snow and a bit of ice higher up.

Parsley Fern LH has a bit of ice (II/III depending on the line chosen), which was reasonable but dinnerplating in places. However the ice section is pretty short, so I'd say you get more bang for your buck (or axe placements for your approach slog) on Tower Slabs in Cwm Cneifion.

I thought C Gully on Y Garn merited a III due to the bit of mixed climbing that's referred to in Andy's blog. Wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for a II.'
---------------------------
Pic 1: Parsley Fern LH & RH
Pic 2: Parsley Fern LH ice

Y Garn easy gullies today

I have been out for a few hours today (a bit later than expected, sorry Al!) on the gullies of Y Garn. I opted for the following combination: Up C Gully, down A Gully, up B Gully, then down Banana Gully. Snow conditions were good, certainly for at least the top 100m or so with plenty of frozen turf around.
Highlights of my day were on C & B gullies. C Gully provided good neve from where the gully narrows between the buttresses, with patches of decent ice. There was a couple of sections of bare ground where it steepens but frozen turf & ice made up for the lack of snow there. B Gully provided two interesting obstacles today. The first was the boulder at around a third of the way up, which is usually banked up with snow, maybe just leaving a slight steepening of the gully. Today though it was an 8 foot bare boulder blocking the way! It is possible to skirt around it to the right, but if you want to tackle it direct as I did it is good mixed fun. Get your left axe up as high as you can into the crack & lift your right foot up onto the small ledge which is aroung knee height. You can then push/pull up to standing & hook both your axes right over the top of the boulder out of view into frozen turf. Its then just a case of going for it. (It may also depend if you are a lanky tall git like me!). The next obstacle is the cornice directly at the top of B Gully. The snow towards the top of the gully becomes rock hard, and the angle increases sharply to an almost vertical 12 foot finish (that may be a slight exageration!), where front pointing is essential. Climb it direct & be rewarded with a lovely top out as you hook your axes over its lip, and pull yourself to safety. but DO NOT SLIP at this point, as you would go a long way!! Alternatively traverse right onto an easier angle for a safer exit.
It was cold on the tops today, around -5c, so with the low temperatures which are forecast for tonight, those gullies which depend on decent snow should be nice & hard tomorrow.

Cwm Cneifion today by Darren Hollins

Hi Andy,

Photos as promised from today's trip up "Nameless Gully" Cwm Cneifion.

Conditions up in the high Cwm were reasonable given the extensive thaw - But it has really taken it's toll on Devil's Kitchen - With no ice left on the key routes! There were a couple of climbers on "Cneifion Arête" but that was a rock climb today....2 others on "Tower Slabs" Which was in surprising condition, with a fair amount of solid ice on it! I opted for "The Nameless Gully" between the slabs & Easy Gully, as the top out on that one didn't have big wilting cornices hanging over it (Easy Gully looks dodgy with the cornice situation at the mo!). In terms of the snow condition, it could do with a good freeze - But towards the top of the gully it was just about acceptable.

Hope this helps

Darren.

------------------------

Pic 1: Clogwyn Ddu From Cwm Cneifion
Pic 2: Col Gully & Gully of the winds on Glyder Fach
Pic 3: Easy Gully Cornices!!
Pic 4: Easy Gully top out
Pic 5: Looking down Easy Gully
Pic 6: Nameless Gully Top out
Pic 7: Snowdon from the Glyders
Pic 8: Tower Gully top out

Darren Hollins reports on Idwal ice & NE Spur, Y Garn

Just had the following info from Darren Hollins. He was out & about around Idwal & then on the NE Spur of Y Garn yesterday (Tuesday 28th):

NE Spur, Y Garn: 'Due to the extensive thaw, most of the powder had gone from the lower sections & the main path up to Llyn Idwal was very slushy. Between 300 - 700 meters, the snow was quite soft & hard going! After about 700 meters or so it started to become reasonably hard neve in patches. Things were melting fast though & with today's temperatures being slightly warm again I'd be interested to see how they are (Beware there is a lot of loose rock on the "Castle of the Goats" Following the hard freeze & subsequent thaw!). I'm off to investigate Cwm Cneifion tomorrow!!'

'I've got some pictures from the Devils Kitchen taken yesterday as well - I'll mail them to you later, including a helicopter rescue of some guy with a pulled muscle I think!! Went for a look up there first, before traversing round to the NE spur. I went up to the base of the Ramp & Screen, it was like standing by a shower & my better judgment told me to move away before I got speared by a giant icicle!! Some guys were on "Central Route" on the Kitchen - not sure if they finished it or not though...Hope this helps.

Cheers

Darren'

-----------------

Thanks Darren, much appreciated!!

---------------------

Pic 1: South Gully - Devil's Pipes
Pic 2: The Screen & The Curtain
Pic 3: The Devil's Appendix
Pic 4: The Goat Path area

The Screen, Cwm Idwal (Devil's Kitchen)

Today Carl & I climbed The Screen. Ice a bit cruddy in parts, but still well worth it. Quite a few people out & about today. We saw 2 teams climb the Devil's Appendix, scary stuff. Will put pics & more info on tomorrow.

Pic 1: Carl on pitch 2 of The Screen
Pic 2: The Screen

More Idwal info from Carl

Hi Andy,

Dave , Neil and I walked into Idwal this morning in light snow and a definate warmer feel, with a light breeze. We had a look at the Screen which looked doable but it was thin and we thought gear maybe a little dubious. The Ramp looked good so we had go at that which had good ice where expected. Ice drips were freezing on our sacks so it was still well below freezing. Dave and Neil had to get back this afternoon, so we ran out of time to do anything else. Walked down past Devil's pastures which again looked thin but would go. There was a team on the Sting. Appendix looked complete, if not that fat! Met a party on way down that tried South Gully but said the ice was soft and wet on the first pitch. There was a team in Central Gully which looked to have good ice in the top pitch and also a team on the second pitch of South Gully. A few teams were tackling a snowy looking Idwal stream, it did look nice though. It was pretty busy as we left at about 1130. Looks cold maybe until Christmas Day so hopefull things get fatter through the week. Plenty to chose from tomorrow anyway! Didn't take many shots but have included one from the Ramp.

Cheers

Carl

Cwm Idwal today (Mon 20th Dec)

This morning Davey C & I had a very early start (5am) from up here in Deeside & were at Ogwen by 6.30. It was good to find the A5 nice & clear of snow, although parking at Ogwen takes a bit of effort. A trail through the snow had already been stomped down yesterday (albeit a bit meandering!) up to Idwal. We headed to The Ramp & The Screen area, which were out 2 planned routes of the morning. There is a very good build up of ice on both of these routes, as well as South Gully, Idwal Stream, Devil's Pasture & Coldhouse Crack. Another route I would like to climb is The Curtain, and although the ice is building, it didn't look substancial enough to climb.
There is no consolidation of snow at all, and trail breaking off the beaten track is very very hard going.
Davey had to be back in Ellesmere Port by lunchtime, so we were only able to climb The Ramp, but we had a very worthwhile morning. Just goes to show, quite often a 'suck it & see' attitude pays dividends in Wales in the winter.

Report from Joss (Clwyd Mountaineering Club)

Hi Andy
Four of us managed to get the car up to Ogwen on Saturday and after an overnight stay at Helyg we set off for Bristly Ridge yesterday.
We were the first to break trail through the powder and the walk in was tiring but not too bad.
The initial gully of the route was three foot deep in a steep bank of powder snow and took an hour to pitch. All the holds and protection had to be dug out and it was impossible to step up without finding and digging out an axe placement first. The hard work was definitely worth the effort and the ridge itself was superb, we moved together in 2 teams and the weather conditions cleared up to perfection. We summitted at sunset and walked down under a full moon. Later than planned, the powder snow added a lot of time to the day. A superb route. Some lads at the CC hut had done Icefall Gully on the Black Ladders on Saturday and were heading to do Passchendaele Direct on Sunday. They reported decent ice formation and wild powder snow conditions.
Cheers mate, hope the ankle is better.
Joss

A lot of snow!

Oh yes, a lot of snow!
The forecasts were right & a large amount of snow has fallen overnight & today in Snowdonia, with lots more due over the weekend.
I did have a plan with Carl to meet up & climb the Persons Arete, but due to the forecasts we cancelled those plans last night. I did still take a drive down the A55 this morning with the intention of heading up to Ogwen to see how things were looking. However I got no further than the A5/Bethesda turn off & had to turn around & come home due to the build up of snow. There was no way that my car was going to make the drive up to Ogwen! There were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the A55, and I can only imagine how much snow there must be on lesser roads. Llanberis had a foot of snow overnight!
Looks like there will be no real fun to be had in the mountains this weekend, unless your idea of fun is wading through knee to waist deep powder!

Tomorrow's weather (Fri 17th)

MWIS forecast for tomorrow says the following: 'Upland gales; sudden blizzards, whiteout Snowdon range. Lightning' Also predicts -7c temps with windchill of -23c.
www.mwis.org.uk
Worth taking note of if you are planning anything tomorrow.

Trinity Face, Snowdon

Just had an email from Huw Gilbert with some very interesting news on the Trinity Face gullies on Snowdon. See his blog here: Huw Gilbert Mountaineering blog