Trouble in Snowdonia

Day 1.  Walked up to Snowdon from Llanberis, then took the Pyg/Miners' path down to Glaslyn and made camp.

Llanberis.

Snowdon.

Crampons on.

Snowdon summit.

Y Lliwedd on left.

Descending the Pyg/Miners tracks down to Glaslyn was pretty treacherous.  Crampons and ice axe a must.

Snowdon from below.

Light fading...time to set up camp.

Glaslyn.

Day 2.  Awesome sunny weather today. Fantastic scenery. Heading towards Carnedd Moel Siabod.



Morning brew with a view.

Light from the sunrise hitting the Northeastern flank of Snowdon.

Following the Miners Track down to Llyn Llydaw.

A glorious day.

Britannia Mine Works Ruin.

The causeway below Crib Goch.

Llyn Teyrn with Carnedd Moel Siabod in the background.

Ruins.

Pen-y-pass.

Time for brew.

The Glyders with Llyn Cwmffynnon in the mid ground.

View from Moel Berfedd towards Carnedd Moel Siabod.

Looking back to Snowdon.
 

Camped out at Cefnycerrig.  Y Foel Goch on the other side of the valley.

Day 3.  Went up Carnedd Moel Siabod this morning.  Winds were now picking up.  On the way back down I was blown over and lost my nalgene bottle over a cliff.  The slog down into the valley, then up, to the mountains on the other side...was harsh.

And then it all went Pete Tong....

A beautiful sunrise.

If only you knew what was coming bro!

High winds forecast.

Nearly there..

Trig point at Carnedd Moel Siabod.

Winds getting savage..



View of the Dolwyddelan valley.

My next target was to get across the Dyffryn Mymbyr valley and up onto the Glyder Range at Y Foel Goch.  After a harsh slog I finally reached the summit and this is where Pete reared his ugly head.

Stone windbreak at the summit of Y Foel Goch.

On the approach to Y Foel Goch, from the Southeast, I didn't find any sheltered spots to pitch my tarp tent. So I figured I could find somewhere to the West of the peak. It was starting to get dark so time was getting to be a concern.

But to the West I found only exposed plateau, where conditions were now becoming artic. Wind speeds were in excess of 60mph....I doubted my tarp tent would survive.  After a fruitless search for shelter and a route down the steep slopes, out of the wind to the north, darkness fell....and I was in trouble.

My first thought was to use the stone wall circle wind break (pictured above when I first passed it), back at the top of Y Foel Goch, and bivvy out the night. Retracing the path back to the summit proved tricky in the snow and dark.  At the wind break I wrapped up in my sleeping bag and bivvy bag.  It was uncomfortable as hell and my feet were starting to get cold.  I could feel the down bag getting damp from condensation and wet clothing, and ideally I needed to blow up my insulated mat for comfort and insulation...but that process would expose the bag to more precipitation. 

This was now becoming a full on survival situation.  I couldn't be absolutely sure that I wouldn't wake up dead, so I decided the best thing to do was get back down into the valley and the road.
But instead of heading down East I got disorientated and started descending the steeper ground to the North.  After a way I came to sheer cliff and realised my mistake.  Trying to get back up proved a nightmare as I was confronted with sheer cliff on numerous occasions.  The danger of becoming stuck, unable to go up, unable to go down was becoming very real.  I was starting to panic.  With the aid of my powerful torch though, giving me a little more visibility, I managed to find my way back up Y Foel Goch.

Back at the stone circle I decided to follow the path East but quickly became lost.  Following a path in snow and darkness is hard...all I had to go on was half snow-filled footprints.  I managed to find it again and followed it a little way only to lose it again.  At this point I started to despair, conditions were savage.  I started to pull my phone out to contact mountain rescue, but suddenly started to rally myself (sweary shouting).

I headed South to try and pick up the path again but just couldn't find it...even though GPS said I was right on it. The dangers of going down steep terrain blindly was still fresh in my mind, but I was determined to get off this mountain myself. So down I went. At least I was going the right direction this time.

And I made it....I got down to the road at 11pm....five hours after the situation began. The relief was palpable....I had been lucky.  I flagged down a car and gave him £50 for a ride back to my car in Llanberis.  I then put some dry clothes on, and drove home to Kent....adventure aborted.