Mountain Lifestyle: Clogwyn Cyrau - Spring Sun Rock Climbing

It felt like an alpine Spring morning today in North Wales, with a crisp cold feel to it, but warmth in the sunshine. There was a hard frost at The Cottage and another dusting of snow in the hills, so choice of venue was going to be critical. A short drive through an arctic Ogwen Valley and we arrived to the sunshine in the forests above Betws-y-Coed.

At the crag, we found that some of our friends had also come to the same conclusions with the weather and were already there climbing their first route. So as well as sunshine, shelter and good rock to climb, we also had an unexpected bonus social connection, which added to the enjoyment of the day.

From the top of the cliffs, there was a great view down to the town below.

We climbed several routes, with some good chat and food in between.

The views from the cliff face really did have an alpine feel, with the distant mountains white topped by snow.

One of our crag companions, had fixed an abseil rope, so we even had the luxury of an easy way back down the the bottom of the cliff rather than having to walk back down!