Describe bad weather predications for the weekend, the MMC Far North Welsh meet go off to a crackingly dry start.

On Saturday David Dees and Mark Winfield ignored the hoardes heading for the Pass and went to Tremadoc where it was sunny, warm and very quiet.  There they climbed Grim Wall (VS 4b,4c) and Balshazzar (HVS 4c,5a,4b), before a trip to Porthmadoc in a desperate search for camping gas to refuel camp Dither.  On their return to Tremadoc, they climbed Kestrel Cracks (HVS 4c, 5a) to finish off an excellent day.

That same day, Chuck climbed a very nice two pitch VS ( high in the grade ) called Noah’s Warning, with Wendy. Beatriz and Oscar also climbed at Dinas Cromlech. They started on a mostly scrambly V-Diff called Parchment Passage (they think). Oscar then had a go at leading Noah's Warning, eventually backing off where the climbing got easier but the rock turned quite bad when all of a sudden he pulled a big chunk of it off, dropping it a few inches away from Beatriz, his belayer. Then the comely foursome finished on Sabre Cut (Chuck leading and wishing he had more extra large cams, lots more). They got snowed on as the last person came up and then it rained heavily, which made the walk off quite worrying. At one point a hand rail had been constructed to avoid a possible 60m slip.

A fun if somewhat humbling day at a historic crag. As the rain swept in the next day, Oscar slunk off in order to prepare for the Ecrins and muttered to himself, “never say "people have been climbing here for decades and decades, there's no more loose rock"..!

The fine weather on Saturday also tempted Anna and Tony to climb Wrinkle V diff and afterwards they went for a walk.

A hard-hiking group made up of Paras, Philip, Ian, Beatriz, Debbie and Sarah decided to hit the Snowdon horseshoe route starting at Crib Goch, having kicked off at Pen-y-Pas. The bank holiday hordes all the way along the Crib gave way to Piccadilly Circus-like crowds and ensuing queues on the summit of Snowdon and a decision not to linger on that venerable mount, instead stopping for an quickie executive lunch at the bottom of Lliwedd. First timer Paras was highly impressed by the views, an enthusiasm which has furnished many of the mountainy photographs attached to this report. Calorie levels were subsequently replenished on tea and chips at the Pen-y-Pas café.

The alternative Saturday hike consisted of Catherine O’C, Michael, Brian and Barry. Led by the latter, they headed for the Watkins path along the Llyn Gwynant lake, managing a three hour diversion before joining this popular route up towards Snowdon. The delay was due in part thanks to the generosity of English heritage’s expert signage, pointing to a track heading west and away from the well-known path, itself purporting to be the route to Snowdon. This ‘alternative’ route afforded excellent views of the summit of Snowdon and surrounding hills and some sunny meadows in which to partake of a leisurely lunch on the nature’s best lawn.

At the Saturday night campfire the group huddled close together, pondering the whereabouts of Bea, Oscar, Chuck and Wendy. Deciding that a local troll must have dined on them, Barry ordered a search party to Pen-Y-Gwyryd Hotel. Meanwhile, that climbing party was comfortably ensconced in Llanberis and sauntered, or perhaps staggered, back to base camp at midnight.

Sunday brought rain and a bumper bout of faffing, as debate raged through the campsite concerning the virtue of a scramble on Tryfan when compared with a visit to the nearby heritage sites of Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon Castles. Instead, the group settled first upon the profligacy of spending an hour or two in the Cotswold outdoor store in Betws-y-Coed. Mark W, Tony and Anna drifted round the gear shops and tent fair and walked to a slate quarry to check out climbs before deciding to forsake the humid charms of Snowdonia for the spires and slate of an early return to London. Towards mid-afternoon, Catherine O’C, Paras and Barry decided that a scramble up to the base of the north ridge of Tryfan would be the most virtuous way to pass an incessantly rainy afternoon. Observing that the boulder field was getting ever slippier, it was decided that instead of continuing upwards towards the summit of Tryfan, a nicer walk was to be had around Cwm Idwal just down the road, so Catherine O’C and Paras left Barry to ponder his options in the car while they traipsed around the lake to seek the Everest climbers’ training ground of the Idwal slabs.

On the bank holiday Monday, Philip, Sarah, Ian, Beatriz, Brian, Debbie, Miriam and Baz drove to Rhydd Dhu and took a walk up Mynydd Mawr in brilliant sunshine but a stiff northerly breeze made the summit approach very chilly. Great views toward the Nantlle Ridge and a sun-soaked Snowdon summit with Anglesey in the background. Their trek ended in a quaint tea shop cum hotel where the now obligatory tea and scone were eaten by those who could stomach the saturated stuff.

Meanwhile, Chuck and Catherine O’C were ably lead up a multi pitch climb on mini-Tryfan called “The return of Never Never Land” (diff) by Wendy, while on an adjacent slab Paras and Michael gained some valuable leading experience. Eschewing the ubiquitous final group refreshment stop, they resorted instead to trading text messages on the merits of the M54/M6 route back to London versus the cross-country dual carriageways and byroads of Worcestershire. Final verdict: get yourself an experienced navigator if you want to avoid the motorways.

Loads more pictures available here

Catherine O'C