Lucked out again today with the perfect combinations of weather, course, and group. I've been running part two of Mountain Training's 'Hill Skills' course, which is their introductory award aimed at giving students a taster of some of the skills that are required to travel safely in the hills. As well as technical skills and strategies, the aim is also to inspire and empower them to be able to explore themselves in the future. Thanks to the weather, the inspirational part of things was taken care of.
A thick bank of fog was flowing out of the Conwy valley and into Llandudno, so we adapted our plans, so as to walk along the hillsides above the cloud.
Usually, this inversion would only be on view for the early birds as they tend to burn off once the sun gets up. But today, the cold climatic conditions conspired to hold the mist in the valley for the entire day, giving us some stunning views.
Using the map, we could identify small hills and ridges that had become 'islands' in the sea of mist.
While the people of Conwy were held in the grip of a thick icy fog, we were basking in the sunshine on the hills above them!
From Sychnant Pass, we aimed loosely for the peak of Tal y Fan, via some navigational features, but to stay closer to the cloud phenomenon, we climbed the smaller peak of Craig Celynin (407m), which was also a new summit for me.
An all-round, fabulous day to be teaching in the mountains....
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