I've been staying in Llanberis with a team of international students and today we made an ascent of Snowdon, in full winter conditions, with some stunning views.
We took up ropes and climbing gear to see if we could take a more 'adventurous' climb to the summit, but the snow conditions were not quite right, so we stuck to the regular route. Good training, apparently, taking a heavy rucksack full of rope and climbing equipment for a long walk!
Despite all the challenges of winter, we all made it to the summit.
After a misty summit photo, a few glimpses of the view appeared while we huddled in the lee of the frozen summit station.
You always see all sorts of people with varying levels of appropriate clothing (usually handbag & plimsolls), but on the way down today, we passed a man in a kilt! He was at least wearing sturdy boots!
Having climbed up from Pen y Pass, we descended down to Llanberis, to make a full traverse of the mountain.
Eight or so hours after setting off, and just before it was fully dark, we all stumbled into Steffan's Cafe above the village and were treated to front row seats by the fire, while he prepared us some hot chocolates.
Since my last visit (he's a local historian), he had dug out his family's Bible from 1798 - who used to live in The Cottage! His great great great (and some?) grandfather's name was written in the front. Amazing.
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