The Gambler... In the clouds or above them?..

Clouds coming and going above Llyn Idwal

Some times the gamble pays off; sometimes it doesn't - but it's usually always worth a try. I set off into Cwm Idwal this afternoon with the vague inclination that the thick clouds that were capping the mountains, might be inclined to break up a bit later in the day and give some good sunset views. Leaving the sunshine of The Cottage garden and driving up into the dark and shadowy Ogwen Valley seemed a bit of a gamble, but I was feeling lucky!

Y Garn making an appearance as the clouds descend

I'd packed a small back with helmet and rock boots, but with no fixed plans. On reaching Llyn Idwal, I noticed that Cneifion Arete was beginning to appear out of the mist, so decided to head up to climb it. By the time I'd reached the base, it was back in the mist, but as I started to climb, the mist kindly began to drop down into the cwm, leaving me climbing up into blue skies above a layer of cloud! Fantastic! From the top of the arete, I raced up the remainder of the Gribin ridge, where I was rewarded with a brokenspectre! The rainbow was only faint as, by now the sun was low in the sky, but with Tryfan sticking up out of the clouds, it really was a special moment.

Brokenspectre in front of Tryfan

A happy guy

Tryfan and Glyder Fach

Snowdon and Ogwen

And if that wasn't enough, I then carried on to summit Glyder Fawr where the views over towards Snowdon and the setting sun were mind bending. There was a huge mass of cloud over to the south, but the summits were all clear. Carrying onwards, I descended a bit, but then in order to stay in the evening light a little longer, carried on up to Y Garn, where I stayed until the sunset faded away. From there it was straight down the ridge. I got my head torch out for the last part and to help navigate through Tin Can Alley and was soon back to the van. Unbelievable views, with the mountains to myself - I saw only two other people once I left the Idwal path!

Sunset behind Snowdon

Tryfan Brokenspectre

In rolls the clouds

Y Garn, with the Nant Ffrancon full of cloud

Descending Glyder Fawr

Y Garn

Last light....where's my headtorch!?

A misty waterfall

All in all a fantastic day! A total of 975m of ascent and descent. A 135m rock climb. Two major summits. A brokenspectre (a rarely seen mountain phenomena). All in 2 hours and 46 minutes car to car! - Oh, and did I mention that I went surfing first thing this morning!

A good place to wash the sleep from your eyes