With the freezing level advertised at 750m, Rusty and I decided to nip up into Cwm Cneifion and grab a little bit of Welsh winter action before I fly south. It was no where near as cold as we'd expected, but we still managed to find some good sport in the Grade II 'Hidden Gully'. Despite the rising temperatures and considerable melt compared to yesterday, we pressed on optimistically into the gloom. As expected, the cwm still held a surprising amount of snow and there was a decent amount of ice on Clogwyn Du (albeit dripping) - the bulk of the cliffs were black.
We carefully picked our way up the Hidden Gully, taking the sporting right hand finish for maximum interest. The sun almost came out at the top and for a brief moment, and a brocken-spectre threatened to appear, but never quite shone through. We followed the Gribbin Ridge back down to Ogwen Cottage, which had soft snow covering its upper reaches. A great little blast around our local mountains and potentially the last climbing trip for the Cessner!...
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| Rusty on the Gribbin Ridge |
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| Cwm Cneifion, with Clogwyn Du looming out of the mist |
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| Team Jackets! |
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| Heading up Hidden Gully |
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| Rusty taking the right hand gully |
And if you're thinking of heading into the Welsh mountains this winter, remember to arm yourself with a copy of my
Snowdonia winter walking guidebook
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