Tryfan, from the path upto Pen yr Ole Wen, not the best of weather for a mountain jaunt but 9 times out of ten this is what you get.
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
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You're not gonna tell me you did the south-west ridge of Pen Yr Ole Wen. Are you? Quite possibly the steepest ascent in all Wales.
Is that not the quickest route to the top ?
To be honest it was a tad steeper than we had expected and I was often on the edge of being scared , but it did have stairs for half the climb and it didnt start raining till we got near the top, well I say rain but it was really just the clouds.
The stone shelter on top of Pen yr Ole Wen I presume isnt a cairn, from there we walked in pea soup to a small cairn which could have been Carnedd Fach, but trying to go any further only resulted in us going in a complete circle back to Pen yr Ole Wen, that made me doubt myself completely we turned round and came back down, by a freestyle route of our own making.
Probably more dangerous than it sounds, it was a fantastic and surreal experience, one that i'm eager to repeat only with better weather, to which god do you sacrifice to get the good weather, I should have spotted your comment on Carnedd Fach but I only saw it today.
But would it look so mysterious without the mistiness? (But still miserable to have to walk through I'm sure).
Ha! Top Man. Just had a look at my notes and I notice I said not even a serious stonehead would make a special trip. Well, there's serious stoneheads and then there's Postie. Different league..
Only those who have been engulfed by mist at 3000+ feet can understand the extreme self doubt, primeval emotion etc that goes through your head. Akin to encountering pitch darkness in daylight. 'Scared' is good... means you value your life! And what better way to feel truly alive than calculated risks? Your route is usually described by mountain heads as 'brutal'.... as I recall there's quite a few false crests which really, really take the piss. Serious climb, but one I never wanted to repeat.
Assuming you go again, the route via Cwm Lloer might be a slightly less taxing bet - beautiful lake, too. Could even carry on across Dafydd and Llewleyn to come down via Pen yr Helgi Du (nice grassy descent). Sounds as if you've the fitness I now lack...... some walk indeed.
Peter Kay once said "It were that fine kind of rain that soaks you"
But once your accustomed to the fact that your going to be wet, its a very mysterious place, the blank whiteness could hide all sorts of things, at the very least an amazing view, or certain death.
I will almost certainly try again one day, the lake route sounds good but Ive a real passion for Tryfan and would dearly love to get up there just one more time, if the weather will let me.
Thigh muscles are really painful at the moment, does that mean i'm fit because I dont feel it.