Trinity Face & Cwm Cneifion report

I was out yesterday in beautiful sunshine on Snowdon. Plenty of people out on the Pyg Track which is extremely treacherous the higher you go with compacted snow & ice.
I went onto the Trinity Face where low down the snow was great neve, but the higher on the face I went the poorer snow conditions were. Did Left Hand Trinity, which began very promisingly with good ice & fairly solid snow, but as you got higher, the poorer it became. A stunning day though, which felt very warm in the sun.
Sorry no photos as I forgot to put the battery back in my camera after charging it!

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My mate Carl was today out in Cwm Cneifion and emailed me the following info & pics:

'Hey Andy,
Pictures as promised. Tower Slabs were nice on the first pitch, great chewy ice. Then good neve until about two thirds the way up, then crust ontop sugary snow. Dropped down Easy gully which is stepped but solid. Up Hidden Gully, good snow, stepped, but good fun. Left Hand looked like it might go but a team did back off it. Ice in the Kitchen but nothing looked climbable. Beautiful, still, sunny day.
Cheers,
Carl'

Keeping up with current climbing conditions

I'm a bit out the loop at the moment but am aware that plenty of routes have been climbed over the last couple of days despite thin conditions which is great news.
Had this email from James Kelly last night:

'Hi Andy

Two of my climbing partners Andy Wilson and Simon Logan were on Idwall stream today said it was a bit thin, very wet all day most of the other routes looked thin for example the ramp. Hope this helps anyone heading down.

Regards
James Kelly'
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One of the best ways to keep up to date is the UKC Snowdonia Conditions thread which is updated daily with on the ground reports.
Also the UKC Winter Conditions logbook page to see what winter routes climbers have added to their logbooks.

If anyone has any reports later today or tomorrow please could you email me as I'm looking to head out myself over the next couple of days and would be grateful to know whats what.

Cwm Cneifion & Idwal

I managed to get a free afternoon yesterday (Thurs) & was at Ogwen carpark for 1.30pm. My objective was to head up into Cwm Cneifion to have a look at Tower Slabs, Tower Gully & Hidden Gully, although I was aware that reports were saying that snow was still unconsolidated due to continued cold temps & no freese/thaw conditions. When I got into the lower cwm it was fairly apparent that the snow was not going to be in good condition in the higher gullies, & I suspected Tower Slabs would be very poor. So opting for Senior's Ridge instead I headed up in poor snow which was fairly hard going at times. Crampons were essential due to sections of ice, and one axe was sufficient. When high up on the ridge I could see across the cwm & although there is some ice on the lower section of Tower Slabs, it has not yet formed properly. I came back down via the Devil's Kitchen path which was very icy, and had a look at the Idwal ice routes. I am aware that there was a couple of ascents of The Ramp & Idwal Stream yesterday, but from what I saw these are still a fair way off being 'in' condition. The Screen looked at best 50% formed, as did The Ramp & South Gully. I would say that Idwal Stream looked closest to being 'in'. Bear in mind that this was on Thursday & ice should be building daily.
It was a beautiful day to be out, and I am just disappointed it is my only oppurtunity to do so until at least next week.

Report from Matt Cooke

Matt Cooke from North East Wales Mountaineering Club emailed me yesterday with info regarding his day (Sat) in Upper Cwm Glas area where he & his mate soloed The Ramp & Sinister Gully on Clogwyn y Ddysgl:

'Hi Andy,
Conditions were shite! Thin (1/2 inch) crust over 6inches of grouple, turf not frozen either, and the small amounts of ice were very poorly bonded to the rock.
It was also surprisingly warm, even at the summit. Topping out you get the most amazing view across the whole of the trinity faces and the down into the cwm below, and the snow just made it beautiful!
Weather was stunning too, so calm, no wind whatsoever, clear enough to make out the isle of man, as well as seeing right across the clwydians, and across to cadir idris from the top.'
(Photos below from Matt)
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However bear in mind that was Saturday, and there has been more snow since. Conditions are looking hopeful for this week, with some freeze-thaw cycles there may be good climbing to be had.

Are we in for a good spell?

Snow in the mountains with more forecast, along with some very low temps on their way. Is this the start of a period of winter climbing activity in N.Wales? Lets hope so.
More info to follow...

Cornice alert on Parsley Fern!

Spotted this awesome amount of snow at the top of Parsley Fern gully yesterday!!

Still nothing

No snow or ice & no prospects of any anytime soon. Snowdonia seems to have forgotten we are in mid-winter I'm afraid.

Y Garn

Going winter climbing has become a bit of a tradition on Christmas Eve the last few years, so despite the lack of winter conditions around at the moment I thought I would at least go for a walk this morning. There is still some snow high up, particulary on NE faces. I had a wander up to Cwm Clyd as this is where the most snow cover appeared to be to have a look if any of the easy gullies (A,B or C) were vaguely anything like in condition (I was 99% sure they wouldn't be) I did go up A Gully which was the only one which had snow cover (albiet a thin strip!) from bottom to top, but snow conditions were mainly crappy. Better from around 800m or so, but not worth it really. No crampons were worn & I used one axe as a walking aid before anyone moans at me about turf damage! :-)

So here's hoping the new year will bring some freezing weather & snow!
Have a very Merry Christmas.

Y Gribin & Cwm Cneifion

Headed out early this morning down to Ogwen. When I pulled up in the car park at 6.30am it was 11 degrees which did not bode well. Really low cloud cover (from Ogwen cottage!) and drizzle. I headed up Y Gribin ridge with Holly the Collie, snow cover started from the 'football pitch' area but was wet & sporadic. I thought that higher up on the ridge the snow would be more consolidated but was wrong, snow was wet, turf was unfrozen & any ice whch had been forming was melting fast. Even on the Glyder Plateau the ground was saturated & very little snow.
Looks like winter has deserted us now here in N.Wales with no forecasts to suggest things will change anytime soon I'm afraid.

Pic 1: Clogwyn Du & Easy Gully area stripped bare
Pic 2: Tower Gully/slabs area same story
Pic 3: Holly the Collie at least had fun in the snow

To blog or not to blog...

....that has been the question for me the last couple of weeks.
And after several emails from winter enthusiasts requesting info on conditions & asking if I was going to blog, I have decided to blog!

So winter has kind of kicked off in the mountains of Snowdonia, then seems to be fizzling out again as I type. Last weekend saw lots of ascents of easy mixed routes/ridges etc & a few gullies being done, and a few hard 'itchy & scratchy' mixed lines. There is still a decent amount of snow around higher up, but its quite warm up there just now & a freeze is needed to consolidate but is not forecast unfortunately.

As usual keep your eye on the forecasts, MWIS, Met Office, Snowforecast.com etc & the conditions blogs like:

Mark 'Baggy' Richards
Rob Johnson MIC - www.expeditionguide.com
Huw Gilbert Mountaineering

Also this years Snowdonia Conditions thread on UKC is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

And if high grade 'itchy & scratchy' madness is your thing:
Dave Garry's blog
Greg Boswell's blog
plus many more along those lines if you dig around.

Please feel free to email me at any conditions reports you have (with pics if possible) & I promise to include them on this blog.

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Right so its 4.42am and I have a free morning, so I'm off to do the 130 mile round trip down to Ogwen. Will post back on here tonight with conditions reports (read wet melting snow & no ice I suspect but hey ho)

Close

Its getting closer folks, not long now. Talk on UKC is all about winter.
Watch this space.......

See you next winter

I won't be posting again on here until next winter. I started this as a winter climbing blog & that is how I'm going to keep it.

Til Nov/Dec then.........

Still not climbing, but having a great 'summer' day in the mountains

I am still not able to climb due to a shoulder injury, but there is still plenty of great times to be had on foot in the mountains. Today Davey & I headed into the Carneddau for a mountain walk comprising of Pen yr Ole Wen 978 m (3,209 ft), Carnedd Daffyd 1,045 m (3,428 ft) and Carnedd Llewellyn 1,064 m (3,491 ft).
I was in shorts & t-shirt all day & managed to get sunburnt in MARCH!!
A thoroughly enjoyable day. Still can't wait to get climbing again though.

Walking in the Clwyds

I have a physio assessment on my constantly dislocating right shoulder this afternoon, but managed to grab a couple of hours walking up in the Clwyds this morning. Couldn't resist due to the gorgeous early spring weather we are having.
Right, off to the hospital now... see if they'll let me go climbing on Monday.

'Conquering Hero'

Today I have been out riding in the Llantysilio Mountains near Llangollen. I decided to do the 'Conquering Hero' ride as described in NE Wales Bikefax guidebook. The ride starts from the 14th century Welsh drover's watering hole 'The Sun Inn' and in part follows ancient drover's routes through the hills.
It is only 13.7km long but has a respectable height gain of over 600m. To be honest I found this route a real slog, one of those rides which only ever seems to go uphill and never down! Personally I think it would be better done in reverse.