Carneddau loop

Peaks: Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewellyn

Area: Carneddau, Eryri

Another familiar outing, but with an interesting twist for the last day in April in that it started snowing just as I began the Llech Ddu spur and by the top of Llewellyn the landscape was entirely covered and the day became rather hostile. I set off from Gerlan, as usual on this loop, jogging up the lane that crosses the Llafar and Caseg streams. As with yesterday evening, the ground was still pretty dry in Cwm Llafar, usually a very boggy locale, although the weather was clearly on the turn with clouds scudding in from the north. The upper reaches of Cwm Llafar are some of the most dramatic in Eryri with the walls of Llech Ddu and Ysgolion Duon hemming the cwm in. In fact, all the high cwms of the Carneddau are some of my favourite parts of Snowdonia. I ploughed up the steep side valley below Llech Ddu then doubled back along the nicely exposed path that leads to the base of the Llech Ddu/Crib Lem spur, one of the best easy scrambles in Wales, albeit a little short. For position and isolation, though, it is unmatched. The snow was fairly light at first, and I took a direct line up the spur and thoroughly enjoyed it despite cold hands - only the 4th or 5th time I've done it. I didn't hang around, getting from the bottom of the scramble to the summit of Dafydd in 19.59. The snow was sticking on Dafydd and the mist was down, so I pelted along the familiar ridge to Llewellyn, reaching the top in 25 minutes. The weather had really closed in by now and it was very cold. The snow was of the dense variety making nav quite tricky, even though I had run from Llewellyn to Yr Elen just a couple of weeks ago. I ended up dropping down the very steep western slopes to Cwm Caseg in thick mist and diabolically slippery snow covered scree (particularly in old fell running shoes). I took my time, necessarily picking my way down, and eventually confirmed my location as the vague outline of Llyn Caseg began to show at the base of the cwm. This is one of the remotest spots in Snowdonia (another of my favourite places). Many years ago I came up here for some solo ascents of the snow gullies. It's a long way back to Bethesda, so I jogged at sustainable pace gently downhill, just enjoying the surroundings as the weather began to clear. By the time I reached the lower valley, the sun was out, the skylarks were singing, and the weather was warm: an extraordinary contrast. I popped out by the car in Gerlan completing a full loop with no retraced steps, so from an aesthetic perspective actually an improvement on the familar old Carneddau race route. Later that day, a five mile Collie jog in warm evening sunshine was a nice way to warm the bones.