I'm going back to 2005 to post reports of walks in North Wales over the August Bank Holiday:
Saturday 27th August 2005
I was back in Snowdonia for the Bank Holiday weekend and I wanted to practice my scrambling skills in preparation for a trip to Ireland in a couple of weeks, so what better place than the north face of Tryfan and the Bristly Ridge. I set off early but due to my incompetence and the traffic on the A55 (I don't think I'll use that road again) I didn't reach the foot of Tryfan until almost noon. So I was not a happy bunny even before I had started my walk, and finding that I'd left the inner soles for my boots at home also failed to lighten my mood. I set off through the Gwern Gof Uchaf campsite to head up to the start of the north face of Tryfan. I had climbed up this by fabulous route only a couple of months before and I had just as much fun scrambling up now as I had before, especially towards the end as the scrambling became more technical and I was able to sail past other people also climbing up. 
The summit was packed with people, many of them attempting to leap between the two summit rocks, known as Adam and Eve. I joined them and found it ridiculously easy, much easier than it had been a couple of months before in high winds. After lunch I descended to Bwlch Tryfan and curiously found the descent just as much fun as the ascent had been. Once at the col I began the sole reason for doing this walk: the Bristly Ridge. I made my way straight towards Glyder Fach over the high, narrow, razor edged ridge with scrambling that wasn't too difficult so long as I picked my route correctly, which was often my problem. Several times I would begin a climb and think better of it, or I would achieve a very difficult climb only to find a much easier ascent on the other side. The biggest problems I encountered were large dips in the course of the ridge that required a tricky descent before another steep climb. This was a tricky, challenging ascent, but thoroughly satisfying as a result, so it was with a great sense of achievement when I eventually gained the summit of Glyder Fach.
The summit was packed with people, many of them attempting to leap between the two summit rocks, known as Adam and Eve. I joined them and found it ridiculously easy, much easier than it had been a couple of months before in high winds. After lunch I descended to Bwlch Tryfan and curiously found the descent just as much fun as the ascent had been. Once at the col I began the sole reason for doing this walk: the Bristly Ridge. I made my way straight towards Glyder Fach over the high, narrow, razor edged ridge with scrambling that wasn't too difficult so long as I picked my route correctly, which was often my problem. Several times I would begin a climb and think better of it, or I would achieve a very difficult climb only to find a much easier ascent on the other side. The biggest problems I encountered were large dips in the course of the ridge that required a tricky descent before another steep climb. This was a tricky, challenging ascent, but thoroughly satisfying as a result, so it was with a great sense of achievement when I eventually gained the summit of Glyder Fach. Once at the top I was a little deflated; maybe it was the anti-climax after all that effort, or maybe I was exhausted after the intense concentration of the climb, but I'd been at the top of Glyder Fach quite recently, admittedly not in as good weather, so the summit held no interest for me. Therefore I immediately began the descent to Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder where, last time, I made a big navigational error in the mist. In good weather now I could see just how easy it was to do, indeed the couple ahead of me seemed to make the same error but, due to the clear conditions, quickly realised their mistake and corrected themselves. I ascended to the top of the Y Gribin ridge and began the descent of this ridge that I'd never walked along before. Eschewing the footpath over the screes, I kept to the top of the ridge scrambling over the rocks before joining the footpath down to Llyn Bochlwyd. I don't think I was really able to enjoy the descent or the stunning views of Nant Ffrancon as much as I would normally because of the strange mood I was in after the morning's madness (it also didn't help that I was desperate to use a toilet!). It is amazing how such little things can cloud your enjoyment of what should have been a fantastically enjoyable walk. I had originally planned on climbing Pen yr Ole Wen when I reached Idwal Cottage, but with the advancing clock (and the fact that I couldn't be bothered) I decided to walk down the A5 back to the car. This was a good, challenging walk, albeit short, but I wish I had been in a better mood for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment