Ogwen Alpinism - Welsh Winter Climbing in Hidden Gully (Gd II)

Teamed up with a couple of friends to do our first winter climb of the season today! It's been cold up high for a few days, so we went up to the highest cwm in Ogwen to see if there was enough snow and ice for climbing. It felt relatively optimistic as we drove through the sleet and rain in the valley at the un-alpine start of just after 9am. 

Sleet and snow was coming down hard as we hiked up past Cwm Idwal, up the side of the slabs and up into the Nameless Cwm.

Then the showers passed and the clarity of the air was breathtaking. In the distance, we could clearly see the mountains on the Isle of Man.

As we sweated our way uphill, various showers passed through with some stunning light falling on the showers.

In the Nameless Cwm, it was like arriving in another world. There was a good dusting of snow swirling about, but the ground was not frozen underneath it. We opted for the highest route available, to get the coldest climbable conditions. The wind chill was quite fantastic and as it was pelting us with spindrift; we put goggles on from the start! As well as protecting from the cold and exfoliating hail, they had the added bonus of giving the world a rose-tinting!

We climbed the route in two roped pitches. Aled got us established in the gully, then I opted for the slightly more sporting 'Right Hand' finish, which had a few bulges and chockstones to hook our way over. I was in my element.

The snow wasn't really consolidated enough, but we had a great time climbing the route.

When we topped out, the clouds had lifted quite high and we got great views over to Snowdon and the sea beyond. The wind remained brutally cold with double figures negative windchill.

Rusty had picked up a 'passenger' along the way and after taking him up the 'Left Hand' branch at the top of the gully, he soon rejoined us.



We opted to descend via the Gribin Ridge.

Fabulous views abound.

The ridge is actually given a winter grade of II, but was a straight forward way down. We stuck to the crest for maximum interest, then dispensed with crampons at the 'football field' flat area.

You've got to love a bit of Ogwen Alpinism - You can have a lie-in, meet your mates, drive up the valley, climb a winter route and be back for coffee at The Cottage fireside by mid-afternoon!