Between the continuous arrival of new storms, I made the most of a combination of recent snowfall, a respectable weather forecast, and available friends to make a very sociable winter ascent of a classic Snowdonia winter climb.
I got a lift with Rusty, Tarquin and Lou and we met Dewi at Ogwen Cottage and walked in as a team of five. Chatting as we went, the walk up to Bwlch Tyfan passed quickly and easily.
At the col, the wind was blowing strong and cold, so we tucked behind the wall to get what shelter we could while we got geared up with helmets and crampons.
The climb starts off with an imposing gully, which gives great climbing.
From the top of the gully, the ridge continues and we followed the crest as the views opened up around us. It was windy the whole way up, but every now and then the valley would light up thanks to a break in the clouds.
The rocks were all rimed up with frosty feathers.
I had to wear my goggles for the upper sections as snow and graupel were blowing around at speed and stinging my eyeballs when I couldn't get them to shut quickly enough. We progressed upwards as a team, picking out the most exciting way up we could.
Eventually, things flattened off and we crossed the summit of Glyder Fach, the Cantilever stone and the 'Castle of the Winds'.
To get back down, we followed the Grbin Ridge, past a few other ascending teams.
A unanimous decision was made to head directly to the cafe, after reaching the van, where we got established on the sofas and Tarquin ordered a round of tea and cakes for us all. A fitting (and sociable) finish to an excellent day in the Ogwen Alpine region.
