Solo in the Snow

It's been a full whiteout on the mountain tops for the past couple of days and plenty of snow has been put down in amongst the low cloud. Up on the summits, I needed my map and compass to be able to navigate safely from the summit. It's been a while since I had to do this for real - trusting the compass and my ability to pace a set distance, when all around is white. Having no definition between land and sky with no features to gauge any perspective, distance or slope angle is sensory deprivation that you don't get every day. Without even a footprint to follow or a rock sticking out of the snow to confirm which way was up, I had to stay alert - it was all rather exciting and it felt good to be using my skills. And a warm sense of satisfaction rose as the plateau cairn eventually came into view, only 10 meters away from me. Now I knew exactly where I was and had somewhere to take shelter from the ever-increasing wind. 

The needle on the barometer at The Cottage had dropped completely off the scale at somewhere around 965mb - Something it's only done a few times since we lived here. Although the storm had put down enough snow for it potentially being worthwhile exploring by ski, the low visibility put me off for now as I suspected that (as is often the case when skiing in Wales), there would be a lot more carrying than skiing.

So with my new Lowe Alpine bag (Uprise 30 and very much recommended!), packed up, I set off in search of adventure in 'the white room'.

The snow had made some beautiful drifts, which were accentuated along the banks of the mountain streams.

There were even snow arches! While crossing this stream, I stopped for a close up look.

I had several objectives in mind for the day, so that I could go for the one that suited the conditions best. Ideally, once I got into the higher cwm, I'd had had some snowshoes as at times I sank up to my thighs in drifts, if I misjudged my route choice. The gullies were filling up with really soft snow, so I had to stick to rockier ribs and ridges to be able to climb upward. 'Having a look' into one of my favorite routes, was like saying hello to an old friend that I'd not seen for a while. Each year it takes on a slightly different form, with the snow and ice creating different shapes and flutings. I decided to climb up - partly because I didn't fancy going back the same way and partly, for the adventure.

Halfway up, I was over the trickiest section, and to continue upwards was now the best course of action. I was in my element - until a gust of wind covered me in spindrift. 

Having topped out onto easier ground, the map, compass assisted me in locating the summit and then the shelter cairn. I've been using mapping software on my phone a lot over this last year, but the traditional map and compass win hands down when it comes to winter navigation as the last thing I wanted to do while stood bracing against the horizontal snow was unzip my coat, then take off my gloves to try and get my phone unlocked! About fifteen minutes into my descent, I broke through the base of the clouds and suddenly the valley and all it's familiar features revealed themselves.

Just before dusk, the skies cleared and we enjoyed a great sunset together.