Had the most incredible weekend with Jess in North Wales. We spent Saturday on Tryfan and Bristly Ridge and then Sunday on Snowdon.
Saturday was AWESOME!!!! We did the North Ridge of Tryfan, but started slightly further round than last time up a wee gully. It was quite a tricky start, but once we got over the first few moves, the going was a lot easier and the view North East was fantastic!
We then headed back round to the North and ended up on the usual route again past the Canon Stone. The sun came out that that point, which was fabulous and warmed us up like toast.
The views over the Glyders were pretty stunning too.
This was Jess's introduction to scrambling in the UK and she absolutely LOVED it. Of course, once you get to the top of Tryfan, the question is always going to be "to do Bristly Ridge, or not to do Bristly Ridge?"
Last time I was up with the Mal and the Gang, they'd pointed this out as a fantastic grade 1 scramble and Mal had shown us a starting point up a wee gully that wasn't in the books.
We couldn't resist and off we went.
Bristly Ridge is absolutely top banana. Sadly, the scrambling is not quite as long as Tryfan, but it's quite the treat as scrambling goes. There's a vid, which I'll post shortly.
By the time we got to the top, the weather had changed again and we were surrounded by cloud and drizzle. Couldn't resist this shot through...
The way back down was a good lesson in how to pack a rucksack properly for a day out. Jess's hands had become wet through her gloves and were starting to get quite painful. Luckily, I'd learned from George's advice and packed a couple of spare pairs, both of which came into use to save the day. We got down to the cafe at Llyn Ogwen in no time and wrapped our mitts round big, steamy cups of hot tea.
Next stop, PUB!!
Sunday's weather was very different - lots of low cloud, higher wind and low visibility. We'd decided to go up Snowdon, but the weather meant Crib Goch was out. We marched up the Pyg Track instead and, boy!, were we pleased with that decision.
The gusts were unreal as we came around the bend from Bwylch y Moch (first hill beyond Pen y Pass) and we could only see about 50 mtrs in front of us. Up we went. Despite the weather, there were loads of voices carrying up through the mist so it was still a busy route. We passed what seemed like 300 skool kids muttering varying degrees of enjoyment from the utterly excited to the down right miserable. Good to see them enjoying the hills though.
Here I am on the top trying to stay out of the horizontal hail.... Fat chance!
So, another great weekend in Wales. Definitely planning another return before long.
This is me in another 6 months....
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