With such incredible weather frequenting Snowdonia, we decided that we ought to take advantage of some of it, while it lasts! Anticipating a busy National Park, we opted for one of the closest mountains to The Cottage and one of the more esoteric climbing areas. And just to be sure, we got up and out early to make sure we could park, but more importantly, so we could beat the heat! We set off up from the Nant Ffrancon, towards the Atlantic Slabs on the eastern side of Carnedd y Filiast.

We’ve climbed the route plenty of times, so it there was no stress with finding the right place to climb. It was nice to have the place to ourselves in the relative cool of the morning. Seeing the local views was like seeing an old friend again.

We swung leads, we me setting off first and then Clare taking over after the first 35m. There’s not always loads of gear, but there’s enough and the friction is amazing.

As we got higher, some cool clouds started to form…

And on the final pitches, it looked for a moment like it might cloud over!

But the blue sky won over and by the time we reached the top of the climbing, we were getting roasted. There is some further scrambling to the top of the peak, but we decided to head down from here…

We downed our water, ate some snacks and began the descent down to red slab and then back to the wall that we’d climbed up by.

By the time we reached the car in the valley, nearly four hours had passed and the unusual heat levels made things feel much harder than you’d expect.

A few minutes drive in a hot car, got us to the perfect place to cool off – the river!

And then back to The Cottage for a late lunch and the final bits of unpacking!…