Snowdon winter climbing

Crag/Peak: Clogwyn y Garnedd/Yr Wyddfa
Routes: Right-Hand Trinity (wIII 3,3,2,2:led p.1,3), End Gully (wI/II:des)
This had to be squeezed into a few hours before work: not an easy task, as Clogwyn y Garnedd is one of the longest walk-ins in Wales and I wasn't especially fresh after a 17 mile run yesterday. But conditions, which had looked good when gazing at the Carneddau from our cold rock climbing session on Friday, seemed likely to be better still today: at least in terms of high crags dependent on consolidated snow. After a 6am start, Mick and I plodded up the Pyg track towards Snowdon, quite a lot of water ice around and, as expected, good consolidated neve above Glaslyn and a great view of the face, which always looks pseudo-Alpine in these conditions. Neither of us had done Right-Hand Trinity, although we'd both done Central and Left, so it seemed an obvious choice. It's a classic winter line, a well-defined gully, which leaves the top right-hand corner of the Spider snowfield to snake right across the face. We soloed up the tedious lower slopes to the Spider, enjoying steeper ice on the left where possible, then continued soloing up steeper neve to the entrance to the main gully - a fairly tight slot at this point. I led the first pitch, which was excellent and absorbing, far more interesting and tricky than it looks from below. The gully went up to a short, turfy wall which was quite thin and surprisingly technical. I moved up right on the turf, then swung back left above a wide crack. An easier section then led to excellent steeper climbing on perfect neve as the gully tightens again to a narrow slot. Above, easier ground and a good thread lead to a lovely sheltered cave belay as mist enveloped the face: a great 40m pitch. The cave protected me from the spindrift funnelling down the gully as Mick led up the very thin rock slab above the cave. This involved a bit of thought and some absorbing mixed climbing up iced runnels: hard in these lean conditions. Above, easy slopes led to another narrowing and more fine climbing to the belay. This gave me a long easy pitch up superb neve, before Mick led through up a variant finish: taking the steeper left hand line up perfect frozen turf to an icy finish up the mild cornice. A great route, comparable to Eastern Gully on the Ladders as a stress-free, strait-forward yet continuously interesting winter line. We ambled down the tourist path for a bit, rather windy with poor viz, but decided to vary the descent by taking End Gully to the base of the face. This is short but allows more advantage to be taken of the good neve: nice downclimbing, then a short traverse to a steeper section, before contouring round to the bottom of the zigzags. A real shame we didn't have time for Cave Gully, but I had to get to work, so after a quick bite we yomped down the Pyg track back for an exceptionally early finish.

Longer run

A much-needed longer run. Although I never follow a schedule I am uncomfortably aware that I'm well behind with the marathon training, as ever, so I was pleased just to feel reasonably comfortable for this plod from HK-Bretton-Chester-Eccleston-Pulford-Dod-LK-HK. Just under two hours, 16-17 miles. We then drove up to Penbarras and had a splendid walk up a frozen Moel Famau with easily chilled bubbly on the summit to celebrate Dave's 40th.

Castle Inn climbing

Crag: Castle Inn Quarry, Llysfaen
Routes: Alone With the Moon (f5:sec), Lili Marlene (f5+:sec), Ice Cream and Candy Floss (f5:led), New Route 1 (f4:led), New Route 2 (f3:sec), Comeback Kid (f4:sec), Easypeasy (f3:down), Happy Return (f4+:led), Route 1 (f5:sec), Ffrind (f4:led), Taid (f4:sec), Nain (f4:sec), Wilderness Wall (f5:led), Butterfly Blues (f4:sec), Birthday Boy (f5:sec), Inspiration (f4:sec), Smartie (f5+:led), Appenzeller (f5+:sec)
As the temperature didn't rise above -1C all day, and we could see the snow gully lines on Carnedd Llywellyn in perfect condition from the crag, this was arguably not the most sensible choice of outing. However, time was very limited, as always - far too limited for winter climbing: so we made the most of the couple of hours we had at our disposal by concentrating on the new easy sports climbs that have been developed on the little crags surrounding the main face at Castle Inn. I've been climbing here for over 20 years now, so it's nice to see some of the pressure removed from the main crag - which is a bit battered in places now. Having said that, the other crags are very short and while that was ideal in today's subzero temperatures, the routes are not exactly classics! Mick and I moved as quickly as we could from left to right, doing all the new stuff to increase mileage. The wall at the far left  runs to nice thin cracks with some good climbing, especially my f5 lead up the right-hand crack in a snow flurry. We did two tiny routes on a rough, juggy wall, then the arete left of Indian Summer. Another isolated arete gives Happy Return, a pleasant Severe with a novelty crag top belay. After my 20th (or so!) ascent of Route 1, seconding Mick on the main crag, we continued moving right and I led the pleasantly juggy Ffrind up blocky rock with horizontal breaks, and polished off the other routes on this wall. Further right again, Wilderness Wall is one of the better additions: a nice rough slab of white limestone which gives delicate climbing, as do the other routes here: after another snow flurry we had a brief glimpse of the sun on these routes! Finally, at the far end of the crag two slightly harder routes go at 5+. After 18 climbs, I restored the circulation in my hands and drove to Cadole via St Asaph to join the crew running up Moel Famau: the first time in weeks that it's been dry underfoot, as the ground was frozen solid throughout.

Dyserth climbing

Crag: Dyserth Waterfall Crag
Routes: Suleiman the Insignificant (f5:led), Diamonds and Pearls (f5:sec), Custard Corner (f5:led), Magnificent Rita (f5:led), Windsor Wall (f6b:sec), Men of Dinorwic Slate (f5:sec), Rhubarb Wall (f6a+:sec), North Wales Guidebook Wars (f5+:sec)
Crag: Dyserth Castle Slab
Routes: Jason and the Aga Nuts (f5:led), Leo Saw us Rex (f4:sec), Tegengle (f6a:led), Purple Ladies versus Godzilla (f6a+:sec)
I've always known there was climbing to be had at Dyserth, having lived there in the past and having scratched around in various dusty quarries many years ago. However, these little crags have now been given a full sports climbing makeover and it was very pleasant indeed to spend a short sunny winter's day sampling them with Mick. It was chilly, to say the least, as we arrived at the delightfully situated Waterfall crag. The cold, combined with fatigue after yesterday's race and Mick's recent flu, curtailed our plans somewhat, so I kicked off by leading an easy line left of the crag before nipping up the slightly harder arete. Mick backed off Custard Corner so I led through: seemed a tad undergraded and not that great. The obvious steep crack taken by Magnificent Rita was far better: a nice steep VS with good, positive holds. Windsor Wall was an eliminate up crisp little edges and positive pockets to the left: nice, technical climbing but a tad overgraded perhaps. Mick led the longer groove further right, in a lovely position just above the river, as the sun finally hit the face. Nice line, as is Rhubarb Wall which breaks out to the steep hanging slab above the overhangs. Finished with the steeper arete line, then headed back to the car to drive round to Castle Slab which lies above the Prestatyn walkway: another nice position, neatly contrasting with the steeper Waterfall crag with views out to sea. Great friction and nice technical moves on these routes, which all seem a bit generously graded! A bitter easterly wind was mitigated by the sunshine and the delicate climbing was very pleasant. Tegengle, in particular, gave a satisfying longer lead of 20m or so, with a couple of short, technical sequences. More like 5+, though, as was the less appealing line to its right. Finished with a short jog to Meliden and back.

Wrexham half marathon

Race: Wrexham (Village Bakery) half marathon/North Wales Championships
Time/Position: 1:17:48 (15th from 455 [2nd V40])
There was to be no repeat of last year's drama, when some prankster decided to switch the signs at the nine mile point and thereby ruin the race for the first 40 runners. And there was no repeat of the snow-related cancellation of 2011. Instead, conditions were fairly benign today - apart, that is, from a distressing headwind from the tenth mile to the finish. After feeling reasonably comfortable at target 5:50 pace, I ended up precisely one minute slower than the time I was aiming for. Presumably, however, we were actually benefitting from a tailwind up to the 10 mile point, as I went through in 58:42, within target time and only just outside my 10 mile PB. After this I really struggled as the headwind kicked in, and the last mile was fairly unpleasant as a result: no doubt also an illustration that I hadn't trained hard enough on the longer runs. Just about managed to record a narrow PB, by half a minute, and did have the consolation of first V40 in the North Wales Championships.

Collie Classic 'time trial'

An experimental timed running of our classic Friday night route up Moel Famau in what happened to be the most awful conditions of melting slush and associated thick, cloying mud. Virtually every stride was aquatic, which made for slow progress. A few die-hards turned up for the 'just for fun' time trial, which was intended to act as a partial novelty replacement for the much missed 'dash in the dark' series, which haven't taken place this year. A few of us have already recorded times in training for the 'classic route' which heads from the Collie down the leat and up to the main Cilcain path before plumetting down the steep descent to the fields back to Loggerheads and back up to Cadole. My own pb is 58m but I was well outside this today with 61.50.

Rhug Cross Country

Race: North Wales XC Championships, Rhug (11k)
Time/Position: 43:55 (6th from 34 [2nd V40])
The going was soft to very soft at this re-scheduled championship race, some explanation perhaps for the fact that my time was over two minutes down on last year. That said, I was lucky to be competing at all as I was otherwise engaged on the original date and it was only the snow-related cancellation that made it possible for me to run. Not many others did, however, and it was a small group that set off on the shorter laps before heading out for three (or was it four?) long and hilly laps of the Rhug estate. In places, this was a real quagmire with knee deep mud, and pretty draining. By the last lap it was obvious that I lacked the strength to get up into fifth place, and I had a reasonable gap, so I eased off a little: mindful of the need to continue to push the mileage tomorrow and next week as I prepare for the longer stuff. Rhug is a great location for the championships and a nice challenge in these conditions: we (me, Jeff, Paul) managed to win first Veteran's team as well, which was a bonus.

Anglesey Border League

Race: Ty Croes 5m (Border League race 5)
Time/Position: 27:58 (12th from 202 [3rd V40])
Although this is pushing it a bit for a 'border' location, it was a cracking venue for a race and a great addition to the existing league fixtures. I don't know the first thing about motorsport, but the Ty Croes race track seemed remarkably professional, with a wonderful slick surface that might have been designed for fast running (it presumably was designed for fast driving). After the first short lap, we embarked on two longer laps of the full circuit, which were surprisingly hilly, with great views out over the sea and Llyn: a bit like those you get when climbing at Rhoscolyn. The wind wasn't too bad, just a stiff breeze really, despite the exposed position, and I concentrated on moving up between small groups where possible. I seemed to have timed the race just right, as I moved into tenth place on the final corner then began to pull away into the teeth of the wind. Or so I thought. Actually, the two lads I'd gone past suddenly sprinted back in the last 50m, and with them went the chance of a top ten finish (which I've never managed in 40 BL races!) Really enjoyed the race, though, well worth the drive out.

Idwal ice climbing

Crag: Cwm Idwal
Routes: The Ramp (wIII/II 2,3,1:led p.1,3), The Curtain (wIV 4:sec)
Despite the prolonged cold snap, the ice routes in Idwal were the only realistic option today. There's been no freeze-thaw, so the snow remains soft and unconsolidated and any designs on more unusual routes (ie. those I haven't done before) had to remain unrealised. Prevailing conditions were pretty dire, too, but it was the last opportunity to get out before a rapid thaw sets in. Mick and I left Ogwen Cottage in persistent rain and low cloud, prospects grim. A fair amount of soft snow led for slow progress up to the crag, where we found the Ramp - unusually - free of crowds. I thought it would make a good warm-up, as I haven't swung an axe in anger for almost two years (unless you count the rapid dash up Corno Nero last July). I led up the left-hand variant start, steep powder leading to good ice which took screws, then more good climbing to regain the normal route higher up. Sadly, strong winds had blown a large volume of powder on to the route - and clouds of spindrift funnelled down the gully intermittently. It made this easy route better and a little harder than when I have done it in the past, however, as it was not hacked out. Mick led the steeper second in hard conditions of driving wind and spindrift, very atmospheric, which got worse as we turned the corner. We topped out in clouds of windblown powder snow, which combined with driving falling snow to make for a challenging and unpleasant descent! Cold and wet, we retrieved the sacs, warmed up, and decided to top-rope the more technical Curtain before finishing. This takes a beautiful chandelier of ice above the Twll Du path, and was well formed with good ice build-up. With my archaic strap-on crampons and straight axes the route was at my technical limit: a steep start leads to a ledge, then a sort of ice-tube between two huge stalactites leads to the top. This section was much steeper than similarly graded ice pitches I've done in the past - the classic grade IV South Gully for instance - and I fluffed the final pull-up. Still, it made for a good workout and it certainly warmed me up. A soggy and windy walk-out led to a wet Ogwen. I then drove to Cadole via St Asaph and attempted the normal Friday run up Famau in steady snow. Drifts near the fingerpost were draining, so I adapted a different 7 mile circuit before retiring for a pint. An hour or two later, an extraordinary blizzard hit the Welsh border, but (very) luckily I was at home in front of the fire by then.

Hope Mountain Run

Thick snow falling at first light, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get out into it for a longish jog from home to the top of Waun y Llyn and along the ridge. The snow wasn't really forecast, at least not an unrelentingly heavy dump like this, but I love running in falling snow so thoroughly enjoyed the outing. As I ran up to the top of Waun y Llyn, all the trees were draped with snow, which became very deep on top. The mist was down, unsurprisingly, and I experienced near white-out conditions along the ridge - a hazardous mixture of soft snow on top of a layer of ice! It was quite hard to locate the paths under all the snow, but I managed it, and did a little traverse before heading back home via Hope. The snow fell even more heavily on my return.

Twin Piers 10k

Race: Twin Piers 10k (Llandudno-Colwyn Bay)
Time/Position: 36:35 (6th from 275 [2nd V40])
What a difference a year makes! Whereas a strong tailwind propelled me and presumably many others to PBs in 2012, this year a bitter easterly headwind made life rather uncomfortable. I ended up with a very slow time, 2.5 minutes down on last year, but finished higher up the field (6th compared to 11th last year). I always enjoy this point-to-point race, though, having done it maybe five times: and did a reasonable job of pacing it in difficult conditions. In many ways it was a miracle the event went ahead, as all of Wales was under a blanket of snow except this little green coastal fringe! I deliberately held back along the prom and up the Little Orme, before picking up a few places through the housing estate and into the worst of the headwind at Rhos prom. Kate soldiered on to finish in around an hour.

Birkenhead Border League

Race: Birkenhead Park 5.5m (Border League race 4)
Time/Position: 31:10 (14th from 295 [3rd V40])
After my unfortunate fall in race three at Christleton, my main aim this time was merely to stay upright. I quite like this four-lap course, though, as you can judge your effort quite precisely and I enjoy the twists and turns and gentle climb back to the finish. The park itself is very nice, too, the inspiration for New York's Central Park no less. I was well off the pace initially, but eked out limited energy supplies and pushed it a bit on the third lap to gain a few places. As with a few other recent races, my time and position was the same (as in, exactly the same, to the second) as it was on my last outing on this course in 2011.

Pot Hole climbing

Crag: Pot Hole Quarry
Routes: Murren (HS 4b:TR), The Watzmann (VS 4b:TR), Unaided (VS 4b:TR), Major (HVS 5a:TR), Vetta (E1 5a:TR), The Dog (HVS 5b:TR)
So very mild at present that it seemed worthwhile getting out for a couple of hours exercise to keep the climbing ticking over. Unsurprisingly, I've lost a lot of forearm strength over recent months, so this was a good reminder to do something about it! Vic and Mick were already at the crag when I arrived mid-afternoon. I've been climbing here for at least 22 years, and the routes are so horribly polished now that top-roping seems excusable. Nipped up and down a few of the VSs, and enjoyed the crisp footwork on Major before beginning to lose strength alarmingly quickly on old favourite Vetta. Lunged my way clumsily to the top before doing the same on The Dog: all a bit discouraging. Just a short run today after the full Famau run with headtorches last night. Will try for a brisk 10-11 miler tomorrow to get the holiday fortnight mileage up as close as I can to Peter's magic 100 mile target.

Llandegla biking

MTB Route: Llandegla Blue Circuit
Distance/Climb: 12k/200m
After our disastrous last attempt at this loop in October, when M suffered a major mechanical failure, I was keen to take him back at some point this holiday. Despite a bit of drizzle and a lot of mist, this was a far more successful outing. Festive treats helped M's morale on the long climb out of the woods, and he then really enjoyed the smooth singletrack descents of True Blue et al. Muddy and heavy going in place, unsurprisingly, but he seemed a little quicker than last time. After a drink in the cafe, I dropped M off at home, and picked up E for a walk up Moel Famau. More mist, but again a very pleasant outing with festive snacks on top. A brisk 10k outing later on completed an enjoyable tripartite day.

Jubilee Plunge

Race: Jubilee Plunge downhill fell race (2.2m, -1361ft)
Time/Position: 12:33 (13th from 75 [3rd V40])
Possibly unique, in that it starts at the top of Moel Famau and finishes well over a thousand feet below in Llangynhafal, this race was a lot of fun: the perfect festive event. Jez and I made it a bit longer by parking in Cilcain, running up to the ridge and along OD to the summit, then enduring the cold wind and squally showers until race originator Martin set us all off. A very strong field shot off towards the north before plummeting down towards the Vale of Clwyd to join the very steep final grassy descent of the Llangynhafal Loop race. I never descend particularly quickly, and today was no exception, but I thoroughly enjoyed the race despite this serious impediment! The field packed very tightly, with just a few seconds separating each runner, and although I gained on those ahead when the race flattens out on the fields near the village, I still didn't gain much. After a couple of excellent pints of Facers at the always convivial Golden Lion, we ran back on to the ridge in the gathering gloom of a December dusk, stumbling back to Cilcain in the dark without headtorches.

Round the Walls race

Race: Chester Round the Walls (5k)
Time/Position: 17:58 (17th from 425 [1st V40])
Another weather-related shortening of this famous and long-running (40+ years) local event. But, unlike two years ago, at least the walls themselves were included today: it was the waterlogged Roodee that had to be cut out. It all made for a very efficient outing, driving across from St Asaph in the morning, cutting it fine to do the race, leaving the whole afternoon for eating and drinking. The race itself was really enjoyable, round the back of the Roodee, along the Dee path, before getting on to the Walls at Lower Bridge Street. Pace obviously high from the off, so I tried to keep pace with Adair and a few others past the Clock Tower and Cathedral. I made up a bit of ground on the gentle climb up the narrowest section of the walls to Northgate, then took a couple of runners just after the final steep steps back to the racecourse. The race attracts runners from all over the country, so I was surprised (and fortunate) to find that I was first V40 when the results came out.

Aran loop

Peaks: Aran Benllyn, Erw y Ddafad Ddu, Aran Fawddwy, Drosgl
A very enjoyable Christmas Eve outing for Peter and I, despite the fact that our designs on a midwinter Rhinog traverse were thwarted by bad weather. We left Llanuwchllyn early morning, in rather grim conditions of low cloud and drizzle. But the conditions didn't get any worse, and we jogged slowly up to the top of the first rise before entering the always boggy gentler sections on the lower ridge. This is wet in mid-summer, so today was obviously a tad squelchy after weeks of near-constant rain. Neither of us felt especially good, so we maintained a very gentle pace to the top of the steep climb towards Benllyn. This peak is avoided by the race route, so we stuck to the top of the ridge today, taking in a misty Benllyn, then the broad summit of Ddafad Ddu before enjoying the rocky terrain up to the trig on Fawddwy. A quick bite of cake, then we continued down the ridge before breaking off to the east for superb running along to Drosgl. Poor viz throughout, but good fun. There followed a slightly illicit traverse under the eastern crags of the Aran ridge, with a climb up from Llaethnant to lonely Creiglyn Dyfi, one of Snowdonia's finest lakes, before another short and boggy climb through a little col to gain a superb descent down Cwm Llwydd and Cwm Croes to Talardd and the road to Llanuwchllyn. Perhaps 14-15 miles, around three hours of gentle running, so we even managed a pint in the Eagles before midday.

London run

I always enjoy the opportunity to take in a bit of urban running when staying in Chingford, so set myself a target of seeing how far I could get in 35 mins: by way of half marathon training. It's always a very interesting run, through multi-ethnic Walthamstow and down to Leyton. I got to Leyton tube station before turning around to run back: 10-11 miles at a decent pace.

Llanberis slate climbing

Crag: Llanberis Slate
Routes: First Stop (f5:led), Septuagenarian (f6a:sec), Jagged Face (f4:led), Big Easy (f4:sec)
Tim back in the country for the first time in a few years, so a good opportunity to do a route or two with my original climbing partner! We had no real plans, very little gear, and only a few hours at our disposal. But the day turned out to be a tiny sunny weather window in a wet week, so we abandoned plans for a short walk in Idwal and headed to Bus Stop to do a few short climbs together. Very nice to climb together again for the first time in well over a decade, especially as the sun came out on the overgraded 6a. We followed up with a walk to Twll Mawr, then a limping 10k fartlek session, as my wounds from Sunday's unfortunate and painful fall in the Border League start to heal.

Anglesey run

Arrived back from Singapore yesterday, and left for a family weekend in Henllys after just a few hours at home, so I was still a little jet-lagged when I set off on my favourite circuit in the dark at 7am. A woodcock enlivened the long climb over to Sling, the misty dank conditions a considerable contrast to my last run on Thursday along a sunny and spectacular Singapore waterfront in temperatures of 32C! Through Llanddona then up to the superb minor road above the sea towards Glan yr Afon and Llanfaes. Most of the snow stripped from Eryri, although the forecast for next week looks favourable for winter climbing (no chance of me getting out though!).