Multi-pitch Climbing on Tryfan Bach

Early December is not exactly high season for the multi-pitch climbing instructor, but when the students are as psyched as they were this morning, I could hardly say no. Arriving in the Ogwen valley, this morning, it was nippy, but at least dry. Clouds were covering the top of Tryfan and a brisk wind was blowing through.

We quickly got ourselves up to the slabs and geared up. We did some teaching and gear placement on the lower area before going for a team ascent in three short pitches. We chose the easiest line we could, so that we could climb with our gloves on after a heavy hail shower passed over us.

Things got a bit busy on the belay at times and we all huddled in as a few more showers passed overhead. There's lots to learn while multi-pitch climbing and much to pay attention too - difficult as a student if you're also just trying to stay warm and alive on a Sunday morning!

At the end of the valley, a wall of hail was approaching fast and we sprinted to the top, arriving just in time to duck behind a huge boulder as the worst of the weather hit us. It was 2pm and we decided that we'd done pretty well for the day and retreated to the cafe to review the climb over a pot of hot tea. Our fingers tingled and swelled up as we held the hot cups. We soon warmed up with the warmth of the cafe and the buzz of an adventurous morning...