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Day 33
Creigau Gleision turned out to be an awkward hill. I would find a splendid track but then
it would just peter out or turn in completely the wrong direction. Various knobbly tops,
draped in trackless heather, lie between Capel Curig and the highest summit. However
although it seemed a struggle it took only two hours instead of the three suggested by the
book and it was a simple continuation to the north top.
I filled the water bottle on the way
down to the dam and brewed up in the lee of the wall. The morning had started
exceptionally clear which is often the sign of a break after a spell of good weather but it soon
turned hazy again and the strong cold wind persisted, now from the north-east. I tuned in to
the weather forecast and heard Michael Fish warn of an increasing risk of thunderstorms.
Almost immediately there was a loud bang and a rumble but I concluded that it was only an
aeroplane. Although the cold wind was unpleasant it seemed to be holding off the bad
weather which was creeping up from the south.
I felt very reluctant to leave my suntrap by the dam and embark on the ascent of the
slippery witch, Pen Llithwrig-y-wrâch, which I remembered as a hard slog from every
direction. Despite yesterday's easy day I was accumulating exhaustion both mental and
physical and had written in my log 'five weeks will be enough!'.
I did not linger on the summit of the witch. I was glad to be done with her and rushed
on to a much nicer hill, Pen yr Helgi Du. I felt a fleeting moment of regret that I could not
leave this mountain by its delectable south ridge, one of the most delightful descents
imaginable, on beautiful, soft, easily graded grass with fantastic views of Tryfan and the
Ogwen valley all the way down. Often I had finished a hard day in the Carneddau with the
sharp little scramble onto this summit from the west, a tiny bit of extra effort for so great an
extra reward. Today I continued gingerly down that scramble and it was no surprise that as
I climbed up the other side of the col over the rocky ridge of Craig yr Ysfa, now on the most
popular circuit in these hills, I started meeting crowds of people.
I skirted south of the highest summit to join the ridge to Pen yr Ole Wen via Carnedd
Dafydd. When I had written this out and back route into my plan I had done so with none
of the misgivings associated with some of the more obscure diversions. This justifiably
popular ridge was one which was worth doing twice. I had not envisaged the fierce north-
east wind which made it difficult to stand and threatened a dreadful struggle on the return
journey. By keeping down on the south side of the ridge both the worst of the wind and the
bouldery summit of Carnedd Dafydd were evaded. As I swept up to the flat summit plateau
of Pen yr Ole Wen it was approaching 5pm and a feel of evening was already in the sky.
Tryfan and the Glyders looked only a stroll away, quite clear now with their ridges sharply
illuminated by the sinking sun. I did not walk over to the cairn on the southern edge of this
plateau from which one can fully appreciate the 'end of the world' nature of this peak as the
ridge steepens and falls to the shores of Llyn Ogwen making the crossing to the Glyders very
far from a gentle stroll.
As the sun dropped so did the wind, at least sufficiently to make the return over
Carnedd Dafydd exhilarating rather than agonising. Although this long ridge is nowhere
narrow its high altitude and steep northern crags give it a pleasantly airy feel. Once again I
skirted Carnedd Llewellyn, this time to the west, to take in Yr Elen. The ridge out to this
little top is the narrowest in the Carneddau and the wind was still strong enough to make it
awkward. The top itself is triangular and I was not sure which corner was the true summit
so crawled up to each in turn poking just a head over the eastern cliffs for a glimpse of the
tiny corrie lake Ffynnon Caseg. The gale sweeping up the crags beat into my face so that I
could hardly open my eyes to enjoy this dramatic prospect.
As I returned along the ridge, trying to keep on the western side to avoid being blown
off, I met several people in trainers and shorts and guessed that they were probably doing
the three-thousanders from south to north. They must have had a hard day with this strong
north-east wind so it was no surprise that they looked completely exhausted and merely
grunted in response to my cheery greeting. The diversion to this outlier is a bit of a sting in
the tail for those attempting the three-thousanders in a single day but for me, bagging the
two-thousanders, it was a very minor added effort.
These hardy folk would no doubt continue and finish in the dusk but I was now
thinking about camping. If I continued onto Carnedd Llewellyn and out towards Craig
Eigau I would be heading unprotected straight into the easterly gale. It was obviously
essential to set up camp in the lee of the highest summit but looking down the western slopes
they swept unbroken to the valley 1500 feet below. As I had traversed towards Yr Elen I
had found a tiny trickle of water, enough to slowly fill the bottles, but I had seen no flat
spots below. There were little crags on the slopes higher up however so I decided to traverse
back at higher level in the hope of finding a flattish tent-sized spot beside one of them.
I did find a site, a quite magnificent one, remarkably flat and comfortable. I fixed all the
extra guys for although I was in the shelter of the summit cone of the second highest
mountain in Wales it was by no means wind free. I gazed out of the door at the long ridge
sweeping round to Carnedd Dafydd and to the sea far westwards over which I expected to
enjoy a spectacular sunset However instead I saw something even more spectacular. Mist
started to pour across the summit and it swept down above the tent and into the valley
below. The sensation was like that of sitting behind a waterfall and watching the world
through a veil of spray but here I was sitting behind a veil of cloud. Gradually the valley
filled with mist and it rose until it lapped at my door and finally engulfed the tent
completely.
next day
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