Kloe Fowler - Welsh 3000s Aug 2024
Saturday 3rd August 2024
The plan was straightforward. Our team of four (Jamie, Brad, Hannah and Kloe) would start at 03:00 at Pen-y-Pass, make our way across the Snowdon range, across the Glyderau and finally make our way up to Pen Yr Ole Wen, across the Carneddau and onto our last peak, Foel Fras.
Having deposited Jamie's car in a carpark in the middle-of-nowhere at the far side of the Carneddau, we all turned in at 19:30, feeling quite disappointed that we couldn't join in with the chatter and laughter that was radiating from the Chamois-Cleveland meet happening outside in the sunshine.
02:00 - Brad turns the lights on in an effort to avoid multiple alarms disturbing the sleeping hut. The forecast had been perfect up until a couple of days before we were due to set off on our challenge, yet, in typical Welsh fashion, as we pulled into the Pen Y Pass carpark we were greeted by a light yet persistent spattering of rain. With headtorches donned and fresh legs, we made it up to the start of Crib Goch in no time at all. "Is this the extreme route?" a group of lads called out to us. "We're looking for the Miners path!" Having directed the group onto their correct path, we continued on. Shrouded in misty darkness, we made our way to the first of our fifteen summits - as you're probably aware, there's nothing quite as character-building as clinging to cold, wet rock at 03:30 in the morning.
Hannah broke trail for us as we made our way across Garnedd Ugain and up to Snowdon. From there, we proceeded to kiss goodbye to our hard-earned 1085m ascent and made our way down into Nant Peris. The weather was showing marginal signs of improvement by this time. We then made our way up to Elidir Fawr via the somewhat uninspiring and relentless route from Nant Peris.
Our spirits lifted at the top of Elidir Fawr. We plodded on, conversation continuing to ebb and flow with the gradient of the ground. We reached Ogwen Cottage at around 14:30 and took the opportunity to refuel on Jamie's homemade chocolate chip banana bread, sandwiches and Coca-Cola. We dare not crack out the Jelly Babies just yet.
With sore legs and a reluctant acknowledgement of the fact that we still had many, many miles to cover, we waited out a brief downpour before making our way up to Pen Yr Ole Wen via the steep but direct route immediately opposite the cottage. The heather was in full bloom, the sun made a welcome appearance and the scramble sections gave us a welcome opportunity to use all four limbs.
Topping out at Pen Yr Ole Wen left us feeling optimistic. We'd completed the majority of the elevation required and we now had around ten more miles of relatively flat ground to cover.
Still, our legs were becoming significantly heavier as we progressed through the summits on the Carneddau. I use the term 'summits' loosely here as there comes a time along the 3000s route where the summits are little more than hills, slightly more elevated than the rest, with a few large rocks coupled together. It was time to introduce the Jelly Babies.
Mercifully, we were treated to a glorious sunset as we reached the final sections of the Carneddau - the conglomerations of larger rocks began to look evermore spectacular set against an orange sky. We reached Foel Fras at around 20:00. We'd completed 25 miles and 3,500 metres of elevation in 16 hours.
The following day we made our way to the beach to enjoy a well-earned rest day. Predictably, no sooner had our towels hit the sand, we were sound asleep in the blazing sunshine. For most of us, this proved to be our biggest mistake. We're back in Essex now, but you can likely see us from where you are now, thanks to our "extreme " tanlines.