Thursday, February 02, 2012

Climbing in the sunshine






I have been out with my friend Huw today, we both had a day off and wanted to make the most of the snow by going out to play. We headed up into Cwm Cneifion and climbed Golden Girl Ali (IV, 5). This is a "Baggy" route and turned out to be a cracker, well worth the stars in his guidebook. The main pitch was physical and interesting and gained whoops of delight from both of us, a mixed route that follows a line of corners and cracks through some off balance ground but still provides opportunities for good gear. After topping out we dropped down onto the main face of Glyder Fach and climbed another "Baggy" route, Lilas Chocolate Feast (III/IV, 4) which did not have much ice on and so felt at the top of the grade.

There were teams climbing Clogwyn Left Hand (which looked thin), and Cleft Gully on Clogwyn Du. On the way down we checked out Cwm Idwal and spoke to people who had climbed The Ramp and The Idwal Stream and reported climbable ice. We also met folk who had climbed Tower Gully & Hidden Gully in Cwm Cneifion and Arch Gully on Glyder Fach.

It was a stunning day, no wind, blue skies and temperatures well below freezing all day - fantastic. Photos curtesy of Huw as I forgot my camera! 

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