No Sicilian sunshine here today, but the change of surroundings was still a welcome one. The views around here felt familiar in a comforting, 'welcome home' kind of way. There's no sign of any winter conditions in the mountains of Snowdonia, but the wind chill only had the temperatures hovering in the low single figures. Going lightweight, we hiked out for rest air, exercise and headspace.
After a few days of travel and visiting friends and family, it was good to get out and stretch our legs. Ten days of back to back sport climbing keeps your fingers strong, but we've not done much in the way of aerobic exercise, so setting off uphill from Ogwen Cottage soon got our legs and hearts working straight away. There was a kind of pleasure in the pain of pushing our way uphill.
Up on the summit, we huddled into our down jackets, with our backs to the wind and drank hot drinks from the flask. James and Daniel had provided us with some decent chocolate summit snacks for Christmas too! Thanks chaps!
Nothing in the way of views today, but we didn't really mind. It was the exercise that we craved more. It helps to know our way around these peaks though when the mist is down! (we did have a map and compass just in case).
Once out of the clouds, the sun did try it's best to come out as we descended into Cwm Idwal. We were back at The Cottage in time for lunch and despite the athletic start to the day, felt energized by our efforts. It felt like a nice homecoming...
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