Tryfan by the South Ridge

Wonderful conditions for mountain walking today! Blue skies, virtually no wind and a cool air temperature meant that we were never too hot and sweaty as we made our way up from Ogwen Cottage. We climbed up to Cwm Bochllwyd and the onto the South Ridge, which is the right hand skyline in the photo below:

I was leading a team of students of a variety of ages, which actually worked very well as the older students all had a younger one to 'keep a eye on' or help out when the going got tough.

This meant that I was only needed for navigation and safetly, rather than motivation! Which made for a very pleasant day out indeed! It was quite busy on the summit and we got a spectacular fly-by from a paraglider who skimmed over the top rocks of Adam and Eve; missing them by just a few metres!

Some students were content with hauling themselves onto Adam or Eve for a photo but some of the older students made the jump between the two rocks. The best photo was looking back down the valley from where we'd come from though.

Back down by the lake, via the steep west face we sat about in the sun feeling pleased with our efforts. It's not rained in ages here and the ground is quite dry, but a few students still went deep into the marshy areas above the car park! This is the view of Pen yr Ole Wen from the car park.

By the time I'd got back to The Cottage, the sunlight was well gone from the garden, so Clare and I drove the two minutes up to the top of the hill and enjoyed a picnic in the last of the light! There was a real autumnal feel, but the views were fantastic and the light of the setting sun was making the mountainsides glow.

What a great finish to an October weekend...