Winter conditions, Glyderau

Went for a family walk up Moel Gyw from Llanarmon on Easter Monday, but thick mud, freezing wind and sleet made this impossible. Instead, I trotted up to the summit on my own, only to realise that full winter conditions had finally arrived in Snowdonia: obvious thick cover, the first all winter. So next day I headed off before 7am, and walked up into Cwm Bual via the awkward stream valley. Good thick cover in the cwm itself, which became excellent as I moved towards Esgair Gully. I've been curious about this deep, twisting grade I gully for years and was able to satisfy that curiosity in good snow conditions. Plodded up the slower slopes and entered the gully itself, ice smears adding to the powerdul atmosphere. Easy snow climbing, rather deep in places, leads via various twists and turns to the top section after which I downclimbed back to Cwm Bual, wanting a day on the tops. Contoured up to a spur which led to the plateau - waist-deep drifts and a bitter wind. Ploughed on to the summit of Foel Goch then across to Y Garn in a near white-out. Quite heavy snow, so paced down to Bananda Ridge. Dropped out of the wind, very deep snow at the top of the ridge, but a delightful descent back to Nant Ffrancon and drizzle. Managed a good intervals session in the evening, surprisingly - consistent 3:21 pace.