Winter Walking - February 2023
North Wales 3rd - 5th February 2023
Safe to say the CMC Winter Walking trip was once again a very successful weekend packed with climbing and a small amount of walking.
With all the group arriving by breakfast on Friday (despite some cutting it finer than others) the first day saw the group split with Danny, Lee and Richard heading up Snowdon and the rest, choosing to stay drier at Holyhead Mountain.
After a speedy approach to the crag the teams wasted no time in splitting off, keen to bag their first trad routes of the year. This resulted in Josh and Brad tackling Pleasant Surpise HS and Tension VS, and Challum, Imogen and Jamie seeking out some fresh challenges on The Sump D and Stairs S, pushing grades where possible.
On the wetter and windier summit of Snowdon, Danny and Lee had a full introduction to all the wonders of Wales in winter. Not deterred they found refuge in the pub with the rest of the club and recharged for the coming days’ activities.
Saturday morning was set to be the wettest of the weekend, so with this in mind the group took a slow start to the morning and headed towards the slate quarries for a walk and hope to climb in the afternoon. This patience was pleasantly rewarded and a number of the group were able to get a round of climbs on the slate at Bus Stop Quarry before heading home.
This gave a great opportunity for everyone to practise their anchor making skills as well as some first sport leads for Danny and Jamie. While Josh took the opportunity of an empty quarry to get on the trad routes Equinox VS and Soltice HVS he had previously been rained off of.
On the final day of the trip we awoke to a beautiful day of clear blue skies. Determined to make the most of our time and the trip, Challum led a number of the group to Little Tyrfan for a crash course in learning to lead and building anchors, which was once again a great success. Whilst just down the road, Tom, Brad, Josh and Imogen headed up Hope VD and Faith VD on Idwal slabs for some multi pitch practice and plenty of posing for the tourists. A scramble out via Direct Start to Senior’s Ridge followed by a round of ice creams at Idwal Cottage made for a satisfying end to a great weekend.
All together another very successful CMC trip and a great start to the 2023 year.