Blue Skies and sunshine

I am heading off to Nepal on Friday and so have taken this week off to make final preparations and to rest a bit and eat a lot before I go. The weather here in North Wales has been stunning and so I have been out every afternoon doing some bouldering and dog walking, making the most of the crisp autumnal sunshine and colours. Now back to squeezing too much into a bag that is too small!

Cwm Idwal Scrambling

The weather forecast predicted very high winds today and the clouds were certainly scudding nicely over the top this morning. Simon and I decided to stay low and shelter from the South Easterlies by climbing North West Face Route & The Idwal Staircase (2), abseiling into the foot of Seniors Gully (1) which we then scrambled up and then up the Cneifion Arete (3). The plan worked well and we had a great day out with no rain and no wind to contend with. On the way home I helped out on a Rescue of a man stuck on Crib Goch. Another great day out.

East Ridge of Y Garn

I have been joined for two days by Simon who wanted to progress from grade 1 scrambling onto grade 2 and 3 ground. We decided to head up the East Ridge of Y Garn (2) and spent the morning basking in the sunshine as we scrambled up this lovely route. The scrambling gets ever more interesting as you gain height and the colours in the views were stunning. We topped out and enjoyed the summit panorama before descending to tea at the cafe.

Bastow Gully Buttress, Tryfan

Today Jim, Ian and I headed up Tryfan via Bastow Gully Buttress (2/3). The guys lead the route for themselves with me alongside and we then scrambled up the North Ridge to the summit and descended the West Face. It was great to see the culmination of the last few days work as the boys lead the route safely and efficiently and as a self contained unit. We even managed to stay dry today and enjoyed some lovely views in the autumnal sunshine.

Idwal Slabs

10 minutes later!!

For the second day of our advanced scrambling learn to lead course Ian and I were joined by Jim who is on my mentor scheme. We wanted to look at placing gear and building belays and so went to the Idwal Slabs and climbed Ordinary Route. The guys lead two pitches each for themselves with me alongside before the heavens opened and the Slabs turned into a waterfall! I lead us to the top of the route and then the guys took over for the scramble off and down. Glad of a hot shower tonight!

Advanced Scrambling - learning to lead

I have been joined for 3 days by repeat client Ian for an advanced scrambling learn to lead course. Today we were also joined by repeat client Andy who wanted to do his first grade 2/3 scramble. We parked in the Llanberis Pass and scrambled up the Clogwyn Y Person Arete. We took the grade 3 line throughout with me leading the first half and then soloing alongside Ian as he lead the upper half. We then made our way across Crib Y Ddysgyl (1) and down the Cwm Glas Ridge (1). Following the recent pattern it was wet this morning and brighter this afternoon but a good breeze has given the short term effect of sun burn!

Cwm Idwal Scrambling

Mark, David, Albert and I headed up Seniors Gully today. It was pretty wet this morning and the guys wanted to do some more grade 1 scrambling and look at emergency use of the rope. We looked at how to use the rope to protect a second in ascent and descent and how to abseil using a rope only. It brightened up as the day went on so that we appreciated some lovely afternoon sunshine.

Private Guiding - Tryfan

I have been joined for the weekend by repeat client Mark who has brought his Dad (David) and his Dads friend (Albert) for a weekends introduction to scrambling here in Snowdonia. It has been a very pleasant day today with the wind staying under control and no rain at all. This time of year often brings crisp skies and we had some lovely views set off by the gorgeous autumnal light. We scrambled up Little & North Gullies on Tryfan and descended its North Ridge, along the way we looked at some movement coaching, risk assessments and controls on steep ground and some coping mechanisms for dealing with exposure. It was not too busy and we had a very enjoyable day out.