Duke of Edinburgh's Award Assessing

I've been assessing a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition this weekend. I'm a big fan of the scheme, and having personally completed all three awards, can really feel for the teams that I assess. Assessing an unaccompanied group in the mountains has its challenges, but generally, if the training has been successful, they are good fun. Until they don't show up at a check point; then things start to get interesting. Luckily for me, I had some good navigatiors within the teams this weekend, who were also all fit, able and willing to take on the challenges of expedition life. The teams started over near Llyn Crafnant. It's a really nice, remote area, up a steep winding road, which I have since found out is barely suitable for a long wheel base minibus!

All was well as they navigated over to Capel Curig and then along the Owgen Valley to Gwern Gof Isaf Farm, where the 'weather' arrived! The rain was torrential and the wind was strong enough to blow pots and pans off the stoves! 

Thankfully, they'd got their tents up just before the worst downpours, but they really had to work had to stay motivated to cook dinner sheltering under the trees. As soon as darkness fell, everyone retreated to their tents to get into dry clothes and sit the storm out. As I left them to struggle out of sopping jackets and into very damp tents, I did feel a little bit bad, dressed in the new Rab kit that I've been given to test! I was super toasty and bone dry - the water literally ran off the materials! But not too bad.... I've been in their (wet) boots years ago and it's all good learning! 

The storm passed through during the night and in the morning we had good views of the mountains....

Until a big shower passed by! The rainbow was a real beauty though. 

Things soon brightened back up and it was a good afternoon for the guys to be hiking. Nice and warm, with a breeze at their backs. Between checkpoints, I went to have a look at work that has started on a hydro scheme on the Ogwen River.

After the group had finished and cleared up, and as it was now a beautiful hot afternoon, I was hoping to spend the evening rock climbing, but another weather front moved in faster than I could get home, and by the time I'd got to The Cottage to get my kit, it was pouring down again, April showers style! Got inside and got the fire lit instead!