Foel Goch Explorations

All plans for a morning of office-based activity went out the window when we awoke to find the skies unexpectedly clear. The wind had even dropped and for the first time in what feels like a while, all was calm outside. It only took a few minutes to drive up the valley. Stepping out of the van, the silent calm was energizing. It felt like I was the only person in the National Park.

As I stood there, taking in the view, the sun rose up from behind Tryfan bathing me in a warming light. Having had days of southerly gales, the temperature was already pleasantly warm, but the feeling of sun on my face was magic.

With just my shadow for company, I set off straight uphill, on an area of hillside that is devoid of paths. It's an area that I drive past frequently, but visit rarely; it felt like a whole new area to be explored.

A half-baked plan was to make an ascent of the big ridge of Yr Esgair. It's a much-eyed objective, but rarely ascended due to loose rock and generally being very overgrown. On reaching the base of the steepening, it was clear that a ropeless ascent would be foolhardy as a slip would have extremely serious consequences.

Instead, I descended down the dank, dark gully to the north, which I have considered as a good winter climbing area in the past. It had a full stream flowing down it and was festooned with bright green slippy mossy grass, making it an exciting challenge. I suspect that it may have been the first descent!

Leaving Yr Esgair and the gully, I traversed into the upper reaches of Cwm Baul, below the north face and then onto the summit of Foel Goch at an altitude of 831m. The skyline of the ridge was perfectly silhouetted out on the hillside below.

Looking down from the top of the ridge, I got a good view of where I'd been before opting out of the final steep section. The clarity of the air was remarkable and everything seemed crystal clear.

I pulled on my duvet, located a sunny rock and enjoyed some food and drink while surveying the vista. It's always great to share moments like this with a partner, but today I was quite happy enjoying the quiet solitude.

Eventually, I broke from my meditative state and began the descent. I chose the ridge to the south of Cwm Perfedd, which gave a sunny, scenic way down. I arrived back at the van 2 hours and 21 minutes from leaving it, feeling shattered and energized all at once. It had been a fine start to the day...