Saturday 19 November 2016

Snowy Scrambling on Tryfan



Although it had been a crazy long day up in the Lake District yesterday, it was worth the late night to get back to Ogwen this morning and find some fresh snow on the hills and some enthusiastic students who were eager to get out and about in it! The picture above shows the pointed shadow of Tryfan as we began our ascent from Ogwen Cottage. The temperature was hovering just above freezing, but needless to say, I was plenty warm enough in my new Rab Waterproof Trousers!

 

After initially wanting to climb a gully on the East face, we changed plans for a shorter scramble up on the West side instead as we weren't quite sure on how icy it would be. As it turned out, we would have been fine either way, as the snow was soft. but our choice meant that we could enjoy the sunshine as we climbed!

 

We followed a good scrambling route and even used the rope to protect a few bits and teach some skills. This next photo was taken standing on top of Adam (or Eve?) at the summit - you can still see the shadow in the valley. It looked a long was down and a bit too icy for jumping across to the other rock today!


On our way down we had to stop to rescue a couple (and their dog!) who had got slightly lost and ended up in a gully they couldn't climb out of. We used our rope to give them some assistance, then hoisted the poor dog and pointed them in the right direction, before continuing our descent. It was a wonderful day to be out in the hills.



And in case you're wondering, yes, I'll admit, I was a little bit tired by the time I got back to The Cottage this evening!

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