| Any previously uploaded images for this page appear here. Click/Tap an image to see it full size, with a caption : |
|---|
In April, Dan and I went back to Snowdonia again:
We climbed Tryfan - 917M, 3008ft...and in July, Helen and I went there again!
We started up Tryfan at 09:30, via the made-up path that led from the car parking area next to the lake. Within about 20 minutes we reached the bottom of the north-east face - offering a wealth of ways up - all of which were a good scramble. Up we went. Several times we found ourselves near the 'edge', well above the road. We stopped to take photos and compile our 'scare mum' climb video. At one point, Tim stalled the climb for about 5 minutes trying to find a way round a jutting rock - Dan had negotiated this easily and video'ed the whole slow process until Tim managed to find a way up past this obstruction. Shortly after, we arrived at a deep gully. Stopping here briefly we found a way up using a fallen rock which straddled the gully and was balanced precariously. Then we arrived at 'The Cannon'- a rock which juts out from the face of the mountain over a precipitous drop. Dan had mentioned this rock before and wanted to try walking out to the end of it. This task takes a bit of nerve, (as I would estimate there is a drop of several hundred feet straight down), but we both managed it and stood for the obligatory photos. Another hundred or so metres up, we reached the small summit of Tryfan and the 'Adam and Eve' rocks. When we got to the rocks, some three hours after starting up, it began to snow lightly. This made the rocks wet and everyone used this as an excuse not to climb on top of them and make the required jump between the two. After a very brief lunch, We climbed down the west face of Tryfan towards a path which lead back to the road. We lost the path somewhere and finished up sliding down grassy, muddy slopes towards the road some 1/4 mile from where we had parked. All in all, we had been on Tryfan for 6 hours. A good days climbing and good fun. We got back to Llanberis and headed for Petes Eats. We both had huge cups of tea and a cake.
| Height climbed | Distance walked | Time to ascend | Time on peak | Time to descend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 917m (3008ft) | 3 miles | 3 Hrs | 10 Mins | 3 Hrs |
The day started with a cloudless sky, which was encouraging as we had planned our Snowdon climb for today as the weather was supposed to be better than on Friday. We set off up the Llanberis Pass soon after 9am. It was only 4 degrees C though. This did not bode well for the temperature when at the top of Snowdon. Things did not go well from the start. We headed for Pen-y-Pass to start our walk up, and found that the car park was already full. We had to go back down the Llanberis pass nearly a mile and a half to the next possible car parking area, and walk back up the road. This took us about 30 minutes. On arriving back at Pen-y-Pass, we started up the Miners Track looking for a right turn to take us on a path round Llyn Llydaw and up to the Pyg Track. There was no sign of this path so we went further up the Miners Track than we intended - away from Crib Goch - where we wanted to be. By this time the clouds had gathered and were quite low. It was also windy and cold. We trudged on up, passing the abandoned mine buildings by the lake, and took a short cut from the Miners Track up to the Pyg Track to get us on the summit route. This was quite easy. Once on the Pyg Track, we carried on up to about the 800 metre point, at which time the cloud cover came down and we were faced with zero visibility. This fact, combined with the fact that it was increasingly cold and Tim had no gloves, we decided to turn back down. Although cloud cover did come and go, the summit ridge and summit itself was never visible. We took the Pyg Track right back down to Pen-y-Pass. On the way, we found the turn off up to Crib Goch, that we had intended to take on the way up. There were plenty of people on Crib Goch, despite poor visibility and the wind. Oh well, never mind. Once back at Pen-y-Pass, we trudged back down the road to the car. Back in Llanberis, it was time for another Petes Eats giant tea, and cake each. By this time it was raining hard. It continued to rain overnight.
| Height | Height reached | Distance walked | Time to ascend | Time on peak | Time to descend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1085m (3559ft) | 800m (2600ft) | 5 miles | 2.5 Hrs | - | 2.5 Hrs |
As it was raining quite hard in the morning and the forecast was for rain throughout the day, we decided to abandon our stay in Llanberis and head back home. On the way past Pen-Y-Gwryd, we noticed new snow on the Glyders and, at this time, the summit of Snowdon was visible and cloud free. This was just to annoy us. However, on the way south, it rained heavily all the way and the cloud cover was total. Never mind. Maybe next time we can try Crib Goch - we know where to go now!
We got to the top! More text coming soon.
| Height climbed | Distance walked | Time to ascend | Time on peak | Time to descend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 917m (3008ft) | 4 miles | 4.5 Hrs | 30 Mins | 2.5 Hrs |
It started to rain quite hard at about 08:15, and it did not look like letting up. After waiting for about two hours, in our room, we decided to give up on a climb, and instead went to Cearnarvon and Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - just for fun, to take some pictures of the longest place name in the UK. It poured, all day. We had a nice time at Petes Eats though.
We did not have time to get to the top. More text coming soon.
See the Wales 2004 photo galleries HERE
