It’s been a rather wild week of weather around here, with the needle dropping off the barometer as the latest storm passed by. Not great for leading groups in the mountains!

Although, once the rain had passed, I did take one small group up a hill to experience first hand what a 70mph wind feels like! It certainly blew the cobwebs away and undid a few hairdos!

Today has been much more pleasant for some gentle hiking. There has been a slight dusting of fresh snow up high, but the main change was the reduction in wind speed. Added to that was sunshine and blue skies, which made for a very scenic day.

I’ve been with a small team of international students, and we stopped regularly for photos and videos, even on the drive to the start of the hike at Llyn Dinas.

A short steep uphill from the lake got us out of the cold shade and into the warmth of the sun, which felt lovely. The air clarity was superb after the nights snow and rain so we could see for miles.

On the summit, above the Col, we scrambled to the highest point and had lunch looking out at this panorama.

As we dropped down into Cwm Bychan, the pace slowed considerably and it soon became clear that our planned circular walk was going to been too far. As we neared Nantmor, I left my assistant leader to accompany the group on the final kilometre, while I retraced our steps back up and over the Col to get the minibus.

I was then able to drive around to the Nantmor car park and just had time to walk up and meet them by the stream.

Tonight is the second night of this residential, and all being well I’ll be down at Fort Martin by tomorrow night.