Ski Jimski - Fog Blog 2 (the sequel)

Cross Country Skiing in the Clwydian Hills.

On a misson to get out on our Cross Country Skis at least once this year, My friend Chris and I headed for the hills in search for adventure. My friend Maurice lives near Mold and he informed me that there was 6-9 inches and that he was having difficulty digging his car out!

Initially, the going was tough in the deep snow drifts. There's a single track road under here somwhere beneath my feet.


Its amazing to see that the Gorse is flowering in spite of, and in contrast to the freezing gloom. By this time the going was getting a little easier. Our ski technique was begining to tshow signs of improvement too.

Climbing over stiles proved to be quite a challenge....................

............. but the whole procedure was executed with grace, (pride remained intact for the most part) honestly!



Skiing in deep snow through the woods is simply idillic, but once we were out on the moors navigation proved to be quite a challenge.


On the final push for the summit of Foel Fenlli our technique was called into question as we did our best to make our way through the gorse and heather. Ooops! .............. I'm actually perfectly in control.



Chris on the summit, in the centre of the hillfort of Foel Fenlli. It was far too chilly to up there for long and there was absoloutley no chance of a view so we hurried back down. As we zig-zagged our way back down, we were hoping to avoid colliding with the snowboarders we had met on the way up. We could hear them calling to each other nearby. Every now and then we would see one appear through the gloom.

Time for a rest and a Brew! We found a neat little shelered spot between the wood and a large snowdrift. Perfect!


The final stages of the descent had its moments! The track we had struggled up at the beginning had been neatly smoothed by tractor traffic, creating a rough piste. I was quite surprised as I gathered speed at an alarming and uncontrolled rate. Fortunately, the snow on either side of the track provided soft crashlandings! Thanks to Chris Bolton for the Photos.