Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A memorable outing, breaking trail through deep, unconsolidated snow under a blue sky. It was a route forced on us by our late arrival after the parkrun, meaning we couldn't find anywhere to park to do something ridgy and sporty in Ogwen, so had to start in Capel, which was a shame although not remotely surprising. I didn't want to go up Gallt yr Ogof, as we did the lengthy slog up this just before Christmas. Siabod didn't inspire, so Peter and I headed off to Pen Llithrig which was a perfect gleaming white pyramid from Capel. We had this to ourselves but this had the (anticipated and inevitable) effect of meaning we had to break trail from half way up after following two sets of footprints initially. These disappeared where the hill steepens, rendering the rest like a remote Himalayan ascent! The snow was deep and untravelled: I have done this kind of thing before, and it is notoriously exhausting. We moved towards one of the vague ribs on this side, hoping for shallower cover, and this was interesting for a bit. We also had some windblown solid neve at times, which was glorious relief from the sometimes thigh or waist-deep trudging. But we worked well as a team and eventually gained the summit after a unprecedentedly slow ascent! Stunning views from one of the park's best viewpoints. The unusual volume of snow made everything really exceptional, very fortunate after the spectacular festive outings: the last three outings have all given some of the best Welsh mountain views I have had in 40 years, an incredible sequence really. Llewellyn looked stunning, as did Tryfan, plastered in snow. We ate lunch in the sunshine, although the wind was keen. The descent was far easier, although with little real glissading, meaning we had time for a recovery pint in the Albion.
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