Pen yr Ole Wen

Peak: Pen yr Olau Wen
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A ferocious northerly made life very hard this morning, along with drifting and unconsolidated snow. There was no prospect of climbing, although all the peaks were clear first thing and conditions looked good for a long walk round the Carneddau ridges. The reality was somewhat different - a familiar feeling, as Steve and I trudged up the East ridge, some very deep snow drifts in places. Tiring progress, although it was at least relatively sheltered until we emerged on the plateau towards the summit. This got even worse as we made our way across the ridge to Dafydd - the wind and windchill as bad as I have known it in 32 years. Not necessarily the worst, but as bad! Onward progress was impossible as we were getting blown off our feet in the wrong (southerly) direction. So the only option (communicated by pre-arranged hand gestures!) was a direct descent down to Ogwen cottage, which at least made for a nice little traverse. I rarely use this route, as it's a notorious slog in ascent, but it is quick - even in these unconsolidated conditions with frequent waist-deep drifts. Back to the car via the lake.