Sunday, January 12, 2014

There may be snow on the hills

Driving up the A5 towards the mountains of Snowdonia it was difficult to see whether there was snow on the tops or not. We could see a dusting on some of the higher slopes but anything higher was cloaked in low cloud.

As we scrambled our way up on to the cold and gloomy heights of Pen yr Ole Wen, the ground became littered with snow granules like polystyrene. It wasn't worth hanging around on this inhospitable summit so we headed north east along the ridge towards Carnedd Dafydd.

Just as we arrived we were treated to a few breaks in the cloud giving us teasing glimpses of blue sky and brief 'peek-a boo' from Anglesey. During our lunch break the cloud broke almost completely leaving us in dazzling sunshine with the peaks of Snowdonia revealing themselves one by one.

In spite of the warming sun it was too chilly to stop for long so we headed east for the next peak on the ridge. Carnedd Llewelyn is inhabited by a lone raven that has developed a liking for hill walkers' snacks, especially chocolate biscuits.

Once satisfied, the raven allowed us to leave. We quickly descended along the ridge that leads to a short scramble up Pen yr Helgi Du. From this last peak we cruised down the gentle grassy slopes to the A5 and back to the car with 'Llewelyn the mighty' bathed in the last of the days wintry sunshine.

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