To make the most of the arctic conditions, I took some students ice climbing today! It was scheduled as being the first training day of a rock climbing expedition group, but we all decided that the activity still had some transferable skills and we ought to make use of the experience. So instead of a comfy day in the climbing wall, we togged up with as many layers as possible and set off up into Cwm Idwal.

It was a much easier walk up the path than a few nights ago under cover of darkness! And it was great to be able to see the views and the ice falls that had formed in the back of the Cwm around the Devil’s Kitchen.

The area that we were heading too looked a bit thinner than I had been hoping for, but the short ice covered slab gave just enough ice to pick our way up. John rigged up a rope, while I got everyone geared up, then we all tentatively had a go at picking and hooking our way up the ice flow. Great fun! Even after years of snow and ice work, it’s still astonishing to find that you can stand up, supported by two little crampon teeth that are balanced at times on just a few millimetres of ice.

Higher up above us, climbers were tackling the bigger routes such as South Gully (which turned out not to be complete) and even the top of the Devil’s Appendix had a team on it – (the areas most famous ice climb and rarely formed).

We completed our day with a walk around the lake in our crampons, getting used to moving on the frozen terrain.

All in all, a fine day out and some super memories made for the students. After dark, I was contemplating another quick climb, but time got away from me and the approaching warm air and rain beat me to it! Winter is over now for a while as rain and extreme gales are approaching from the Atlantic!…