Y Garn from Rhyd - Ddu
Waking up this morning and getting out of bed was hard work. Particularly when I looked outside to see murky grey clouds low over the Snowdonian sky line.
However over breakfast Jess and I decided to man up enough to go out and scramble/walk the Nantlle Ridge. A classic welsh ridge line.
The Nantlle ridge comprises 6 mountain summits joining Rhyd - Ddu to Talysarn.
The summits are:
Y Garn 634m
Mynydd Drws y coed 695m
Trum y Ddysgl 710m
Mynydd Tal y Mignedd 655m
Craig Cwm Silyn 734m
Garnedd Goch 701m
The East - West Traverse took us 4h 8min.
We dropped Jess's car off at the finish point and drove to the car park at Rhyd - Ddu. We took a moment to gear up in the drizzle and I instantly regretted brining my light weight waterproofs for what looked set to be a day of constant drizzle and low cloud.
However over breakfast Jess and I decided to man up enough to go out and scramble/walk the Nantlle Ridge. A classic welsh ridge line.
The Nantlle ridge comprises 6 mountain summits joining Rhyd - Ddu to Talysarn.
The summits are:
Y Garn 634m
Mynydd Drws y coed 695m
Trum y Ddysgl 710m
Mynydd Tal y Mignedd 655m
Craig Cwm Silyn 734m
Garnedd Goch 701m
The East - West Traverse took us 4h 8min.
We dropped Jess's car off at the finish point and drove to the car park at Rhyd - Ddu. We took a moment to gear up in the drizzle and I instantly regretted brining my light weight waterproofs for what looked set to be a day of constant drizzle and low cloud.
Me looking strapping (photo by Jess Bradshaw)
After an hours slog up the steep sides of Y Garn we made it to our first summit and the true start of the ridge. It was a hard start to the day and I have got to be honest, I felt very unfit. But we got to the top in the end.
By this point the cloud was well in and the rain was starting to lash down. After taking the obligatory summit photo we decided to press on and not waste time doing silly things like eating or putting on gloves. At this point the first of many scrambling sections began and we were temporarily distracted from the rain by the climbing.
However a short while later we decided that maybe a pair of gloves might not go amiss so we had a little break and layered up. Which proved a problem for Jess who had to try and force wet hands into tight gloves.
The rest of the ridge came and went in a blur of cloud, scramble sections and fleeting views of the stunning surroundings we were traversing. The ridge is quite fantastic. To the east it drops away in a long slope that looks like you could rolly polly down it (it would be very fast though) but to the West the mountain just stops in a cliff face falling away hundreds of feet.
By this point the cloud was well in and the rain was starting to lash down. After taking the obligatory summit photo we decided to press on and not waste time doing silly things like eating or putting on gloves. At this point the first of many scrambling sections began and we were temporarily distracted from the rain by the climbing.
However a short while later we decided that maybe a pair of gloves might not go amiss so we had a little break and layered up. Which proved a problem for Jess who had to try and force wet hands into tight gloves.
The rest of the ridge came and went in a blur of cloud, scramble sections and fleeting views of the stunning surroundings we were traversing. The ridge is quite fantastic. To the east it drops away in a long slope that looks like you could rolly polly down it (it would be very fast though) but to the West the mountain just stops in a cliff face falling away hundreds of feet.
Jess on the summit of Y Garn with Mynydd Drws-y-coed
We carried on over the summits and along the ridge line with some more scrambling and a fantastic causeway before a long decent back to the car. The final obstacle was a very boggy field that we stumbled our way through before reaching the safety of the car.
Despite being soaked to the skin it was a very enjoyable day. Hopefully next time I might even get some proper views from the tops!
Despite being soaked to the skin it was a very enjoyable day. Hopefully next time I might even get some proper views from the tops!
The causeway between Trum y Ddysgl and Mynydd Tal y Mignedd (photo Jess Bradshaw)