Today's objective was uncertain until I'd actually got a look at the mountains, as all the different weather forecasts were predicting slightly different conditions today! The west of the National Park was held under a big bank of clouds, but further east, there was blue sky and sunshine. We chose east.
The boundary of the cloudy weather seemed to be on top of the Glyders, so my team of scramblers and I chose to climb Bristly Ridge. The scramble is a steep one and required a lot of strategic spotting as well as a high level of confidence in the group. I had my rope at the ready, but in the end, we summited without needing to use it.
At the top of the ridge we stood and admired the cloud inversions around us
Every now and then, a bank of cloud would blow through and visibility would be reduced to about 10 metres and the temperature would plummet. Then, as quickly as it came, the mist would clear. Magic moments.
The final pinnacles on the ridge were the most spectacular as the cloud swirled all around us.
We located the famous 'Cantilever' stone on the summit plateau for a team photo, before pressing on to Y Gribin Ridge.
It was a shame we couldn't stay up there longer as it was a totally spectacular view.
As the mist rolled past us, every now and then we'd see a broken spectre rainbow.
We practically ran down the ridge. I pushed the team quite hard, as it was looking like we'd be late back to base, but they took on the challenge well and we returned the minibus with three full minutes to spare! We even stopped to check out the newts and frogs sporn on the dash down, which is every where at the moment.
It was a great day, topped off by a trip to the climbing wall with friends in the evening.
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