Welsh ice climbing

Who ever said winters are dull.

This recent cold weather is giving us some fantastic winter conditions in Snowdonia, with ice climbing routes now coming into good condition it was time for me to do my first Welsh ice route we head for Twll Du (Devils Kitchen).

Once in Cwm Idwal we chose our route had a quick brew then began our climb, i was so excited to be finally ice climbing in Snowdonia.

The route started off fairly easy so we just picked our way up, after 200mts we roped up as the next section was a grade 2 this section of the climb was awsome with my calves burning and heart pumping and the back drop into the Cwm was incredible.

After 3 pitches we put the rope away as we entered a gully then picked our way up finally topping out 3hrs later had a quick brew then i t was time to navigate our way down as the visability was down about 20mts.

All in all it was a fantastic winter day

Tryfan

The Joys of Snowdonia mid week, it's nice and quiet and the hills are pretty much empty.

Just been for a quick Scramble up Tryfan we met at Llyn Ogwen at 7.30am had a quick coffee then set off on what i would say is one of my favourite mountains in Snowdonia. Our Route of choice was the North Ridge, it was a bit windy and Visibility was quite poor above 750mts, Tryfan's North Ridge is a great Scramble as it has something for everyone what ever your experience.

The last of the snow is now disappearing so fingers crossed the forecast is accurate and we get some more good winter conditions soon.

Argentina

Reports from Nico our Argentine Guide in Salta the last ascents on Nevado de Cachi have gone really well with over 70% of the group topping out at a massive 6380Mt's.

The weather at times has been a little unpredictable which is nothing new to this part of the world, they had a few days of strong winds, and were even lucky enough to get some snow fall on our last summit day of 2008 which made the summit day sunrise something special.

Thanks to the help of the porters and the trusty mules on all the treks because without there hard work it would have been impossible.

Nevado de Cachi is a real gem of a mountain it's a tough old climb at 6380Mt's but the rewards are worth all the effort and for a trek no more technical than Kilimanjaro with more altitude and a lot more attitude with breathless views over the Andes in more ways than one this mountain just has to be on the tick list.

Plus after a long hard rewarding climb what better than enjoying a bit down hill mountain biking, wine tasting and some great Argentinian Steaks.

Scotland

With what looked like good winter conditions in January Adventurous Ewe headed to Scotland to make the most of the Snow and Ice before it all disappeared.

After a fairly long drive we had made it to Aviemore and the Cairngorms, Our first few days were spent running through a few winter skills such as Ice axe arrest, stopping around in crampons and a bit of navigation work.

We also had time for a bit of a Scramble in Corrie Sneachda which was challenging but great fun.

The weather was fairly kind, but we did have a few days when the wind was nearly blowing you off your feet but it wouldn't feel like the Cairngorms without the wind.

We then decided on a change of scenery and headed south towards Loch Laggan and climbed Corire Choille and explored some great grade 1 & 2 gullies.Conditions were now changing as the wind picked up and the wet weather arrived so we headed to Glencoe with our fingers crossed for good conditions but it wasn't to be all the snow was disappearing fast, we were finally beaten, all feeling pretty tired and sad to be leaving Scotland it was time to head home to Wales and start praying for more winter conditions.

Welsh Winter

We've had some fantastic days here in Snowdonia over December and into the new year, At times with plenty of Snow and clear blue skies.


The first day of 2009 was spent watching the sunrise from the top of Snowdon, what a great way it was to see in the New Year, it was then back down in time for a huge lunch and few beers.
We were blessed again with great weather for our first Snowdonia weekend of 2009.

Our first day was on Moel Siabod, it was a bit icy in patches which added to the fun plus the usual laughs crossing the bog and staying dry !! we slowly made our way to the ridge for our ascent, then it was a nice scramble up the ridge to the summit where we had fantastic views of the Snowdon Horseshoe. Were Jess And Pippa the two dogs enjoyed a well earnt rest and a biscuit or two.
The following day we spent on the Glyders starting off with Glyder Fach passing Devils Kitchen and finishing on Elidir Fawr, again we were rewarded with stunning views over Snowdonia before making our way down to Nant Peris and finally petes eats!!

We had fantastic weather all weekend and everyone was feeling pretty worn out at the end even Jess & Pippa.

Kilimanjaro In The Snow

All feeling a little anxious 22 of us met in Heathrow Airport ready to take on Kilimanjaro.

Finally arriving in Tanzania we were rewarded with a glimpse of Kilimanjaro which left most of the group speechless.

After sorting out all our porters,cooks and local Guides we started out for our 1st nights camp at 3100Mt's, today's route was to take us through the stunning rainforest then finally following the ridge line into camp.

After an early start with Veiws of Kibo we slowly made our way to the Shira Plateau 3850Mts arriving at camp in the mist, it's was a short day in distance but everyone was feeling the effects of altitude.

We woke the the next morning to incredible views over the maasai step and Mt Meru 4600Mts, today was to be a tough day as we planned to climb up to the Lava Tower 4600Mt's passing through Lava fields giving the mountain a luna feel, we then planned to drop back down into camp at the base of the Barranco Wall 3900mt passing Giant Lobelia which grows up to 3mt along the way.

Some members of the team were really feeling the altitude once we reached the 4000mt mark and descended down to camp early so save there energy for the following days, everyone who went up to the Lava Tower did so with relative ease we finally made camp at 16.30.The next day we made our way up the Barranco Wall everyone really loving this section on the mountain as it's more hands on stuff, After a 2hr climb we reached the top of the Barranco wall and again we were rewarded with stunning views for what went on for hundreds of miles.

loosing 2 members of the team today the going was getting tough but we made it to Barafu Camp in good time, everyone now had 7hrs rest and prepare their kit before we left for the summit at midnight.

Waking up a 23.00 for our summit ascent to find out it had been snowing was unbelievable then to look up and see millions of stars in the sky made you feel very lucky.

The last night ascent up to the summit doesn't get any easier physically it's a bloody hard climb the air is so thin you have to walk at a snails pace, mentally when you know what lies ahead it makes the night easier.

We lost a few more members of the group through the night due to altitude and exhaustion those who made it to Stella Point and the Uhuru peak were rewarded with a truly amazing sunrise over Africa.

With everyone back at a camp dead on their feet we had 2hrs rest before moving onto to our final nights camp and a good nights sleep.

Back in Moshi after a long hot shower it was time for a few of Kilimanjaro beers and to celebrate every one's success.

Maximum Respect.............

Snowdonia weekend

Everyone began to meet up in Capel Curig for what looked like the wettest weekend in wales on record, We started off with dry feet and high spirits the high spirits lasted all weekend but the dry feet lasted all of 5 minutes.

We headed for the summit of Moel Siabod climbing the southern ridge with plenty of options for a scramble and perfect training for the Barranco Wall on Kilimanjaro, halfway up the ridge we made a change of plan due to the weather conditions and headed down off the ridge.

So a new plan was in order so we headed for Llyn y Foel followed the outlet which was a absolute stunning walk, the river was thundering down along side our route as we headed for the shelter of the forest and finally returning back to the hostel and hot showers.

After a good nights sleep helped along by a few well earned beers everyone was ready for the next days walk, today was to prove to be much better as we had clear blue skies and perfect views of the Snowdon Horseshoe.