Last night we walked up the hill behind The Cottage to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, which were rumoured to be making an appearance. I’ve seen them before in Cornwall of all places, but most spectacularly in Arctic Sweden. Last night there was a glow above the horizon, but only those with a long exposure camera got a real display. It was still nice to be out on a calm starry night. By morning there was a ‘warning’ in the skies!

I set out early(ish!), to get up into the snow, before warmer temperatures, strong winds and wet weather arrived. The light in the Ogwen Valley was beautiful as I drove up towards Ogwen Cottage.

And as the sun rose higher, the skies turned a fantastic dark blue. It all looked spectacular but somewhat ominous…

The sunshine felt warm like a Spring morning as I made my way up to the snowline.

There wasn’t a great deal of snow in the gully that I wanted to climb, but there was just enough to pick my way up, passing lots of interesting ice features along the way. I was great to be out on a still and quiet morning. By 9am I was at the summit of Broad Gully, tucking into a second breakfast as the clouds rolled in and the wind began to blow.

Given the whiteout conditions, I was about to walk down the ridge from the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen, back to the car, but a burst of sunlight, convinced me to continue upwards to the summit of Carnedd Dayffd.

The sun came and went as I navigated in and out of the mist to the summit cairn. We spend a lot of time looking up at this peak from The Cottage, but it’s not one we visit often. It was nice to reacquaint myself with the terrain and bit of the view.

Further munching of cheese sandwiches and supping of hot drinks in the solitude of the summit was a delight. The views came and went. I was well wrapped up in multiple jackets so able to not need to rush. A Broken spectre almost appeared, but the sunlight proved not quite strong enough.

I continued along the cliff tops of the Black Ladders, then descended back into Cwm Lloer.

I was back at The Cottage in time for morning coffee with Clare, sat in the laneways at The Cottage, in full sunshine! Bliss! As the rain hadn’t quite arrived, after a quick shower, we nipped over for a climb in the slate quarries during Clare’s lunch break! Quality!

The wind arrived first and the rains turned up a little later in the afternoon. I was happy to move indoors after an energetic start to the day – a winter climb, two 3000ft peaks and a couple of rock climbs!

Cwm Lloer:

• Board Gully, Grade 1***

Bus Stop Quarry:

• Equinox, VS (4c)**
• Jagged Face, 4a