Bit different to our recent Greek sunrises this morning! I had to get the snow socks onto the car tyres to escape the snow covered Coed y Parc in the pre-sun rise gloom. The Ogwen Valley was already pretty full with abandoned cars on the road side, by by avoiding the iced up car parks, I was able to safely pull off the main road and with a little extra walking was soon up in the mountains and enjoying the first rays of the days sunshine…

It took half an hour to get up to the wall that marks the boundary into Cwm Lloer. By this point I’d already met over ten people! I’d thought I might be by my self, but then remembered it was Saturday morning.

I passed a team of climbers who were putting in a good track in the snow and had to bulldoze the final 500m to the base of the climb. I had hoped to climb Broad Gully (a little further on), but the snow was too unconsolidated to feel either easy or safe!

Ascending the pristine snow was fun, although sometimes so deep, I had to stay to the sides.

The wind was whipping spindrift snow around the air and it poured constantaly down the gully as I climbed. On the ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen, I had a good view of Tryfan.

Walking conditions were tough with the airborne snow – I put on my goggles for the descent and bum slid all the way back down the gully I’d climbed! Fantastic fun and much easier on the knees than walking off!

Once, I’d dusted myself off, it was a quick walk back down to the valley…

After lunch at The Cottage, Clare and I went over to Anglesey to the beach.

We set out for the west coast, but quickly changed our minds as we could see the snow filled storm clouds approaching – we turned off the A55 and headed east to Moelfre, where the sun was still shining.

Climb:

Hour Glass Gully, Grade I – Cwm Lloer