You don’t have to travel far or be away for long to get a dose of adventure here in the UK. Last week I headed up to North Wales for a weekend in the hills, spending 2 days scrambling and walking in Snowdonia.
To make the most of the short December days, we rose early on Saturday to a pink sunrise, later giving way to blue skies all day. We headed out to Craig Y Bera where we did a Grade 2 scramble up Sentries Ridge, taking a direct line up the pinnacled buttress. We gained some incredible views from the summit of Mynydd Mawr which we had all to ourselves. At the summit we were surprised to see a Mountain Rescue helicopter winching a hillwalker off the top of Snowdon – a reminder to stay safe out in the hills and donate to Mountain Rescue where possible as a thank you for the brilliant work this voluntary organisation do!
Saturday night drew in with mulled wine and a winter stew, cosying up inside the Chamois mountaineering hut and catching up on the events of the day. Sunday morning came around quickly, bringing another day of beautiful weather and another scramble. This time it was a Grade 3 route up Atlantic Ridge. A little frosty to start, we soon gained enough height to be up in the warm sun before reaching the summit of Carnedd y Filiast. We eventually dropped back down into Ogwen and hitched a lift back to the car where we headed to Llanberis for an obligatory cuppa and veggie breakfast in Pete’s Eats to re-fuel before the journey home.
All in all, it was a cracking two days in the hills and a nice reminder what adventures are to be had here in Wales.