A Day in the Mountains
Snowdon silhouette.
I awoke to a clear sky and frost on the ground, a nice change to the awful weather over the last 3 weeks.
The sun was still behind the mountains as I left the house heading towards their direction; I could see the whole of the Snowdon massif silhouetted in the now ever brightening sky. I got half way down the A55 until I had to pull over to capture the sun as it exploded from behind its stone curtain bathing the landscape in glorious soft golden light. The decision was made and I now headed to Llanberis to go for a short walk in the hills around Snowdon. I parked up and headed up towards Maes Gwm, a long valley with a narrow but not to steep path leading gently to the col between Moel Cynghorion and Foel Goch. The view from here was amazing, right across the nantlle ridge and up to the summit of Snowdon. I had only intended to take a short walk so was thinking about going back down the way I came but the mountains were looking too inviting. I headed on up Moel Cynghorion. Despite the bright sunshine the strong winds and low temperatures made the wind biting. As I rounded the summit I came across a small pond, frozen and glistening in the sunshine. The blue sky was beautifully reflected in the pond and I couldn't resist a few shots even though it was so cold.
I quickly packed up and headed down following the fence to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog on the Snowdon Ranger path. From here the path zig zags steeply up the scree and skirts across the top of the impressive cliff of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu and then on to Bwlch Glas where the path meets the railway line that snakes its way up from Llanberis. The view back down from where I had just ascended was stunning. I decided not to head up the final leg to the summit, I have been there so many times and I could see from here, the masses of people crowding the summit trig point. I felt, having spent most of the day enjoying the solitude of the mountain, I shouldn't enter the domain of the madding crowd. I took the decision to walk down the Pyg track to Pen Y Pass in an attempt to avoid the crowds. No such luck; even at around 1.30 in the afternoon there were a lot of people on their way up. As I descended the top of the zig zags I had to tread carefully, there was a lot of ice, not surprising in these the low temperatures. It still shocks me how people can be so reckless with there own safety whilst walking in the mountains. I passed a number of people with totally inadequate, or should I say, insane footwear; quite a few pairs of trainers and to my total amazement, a lady wearing a pair of bright silver wellington boots. Unbelievable!!! www.lonetreephotography.co.uk
by Dave Willis
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