Wednesday 17 February 2010

What a day, what a forecast, bring it on for the weekend warriors

Anyway in the meantime a report which came in Monday ENJOY !!

Ex Tenebris Lux ( Out Of Darkness, Light ).

Baggy,

I was rather pleased to hear about your recent sabbatical to the " Gold
Coast " of Tremadog. It seems that you have now reached an emotional
and spiritual crossroads. On one side lies the Gateway to Shangri-La ;
on the other, a long and slippery road leads to the " Caverna Desparium
".

A brief history lesson may help you find the strength to fight through
this affliction.

The Protogenos Nyx had a habit of conjuring up a dark veil of mist from
the Underworld which would obscure the shining blue light of Aither.
Fortunately, her daughter Hemera was quite adept at dispersing the
mist, and once again the earth would be bathed in glorious, golden
light.

So Baggy, which one of the above ladies would you prefer to hang out
with ? I certainly know which one I'd prefer to buy a drink for !

Amazing what you can remember from repeats of Xena, Warrior Princess !

Now that you have returned to the true path, it felt only right and
proper to reciprocate the returned compliment, by going back out again.


Daemones Tenebraun ( Demons of Darkness )

The physio department ay Ysbyty Gwynedd have suggested it would be
beneficial to strengthen my left knee, so a quick jaunt up Y Garn,
seemed just the ticket ; besides, the intro in the guide referring to
" a mountain for reflective old age " hit a chord !

The snow runnels were bullet hard, in fact, it's probably the most
squeaky and pristine snow I've been on all century !

Following the initial slope of Banana, Gully,then branching left onto
and following ( what I presume was ) CD Buttress, led past a tricky,
well positioned final step to the summit and sunshine.

Surprising myself in how long the route hadn't taken, and the fact
that it was a grand day, another idea took hold. Clogwyn Du didn't
look that far away ( remind me to get my eyes tested !

Anyhow to cut a very long walk, short, I did eventually make it to the
rim of the Cwm, but not before being spotted by the PYB Winter
Skills course. Damit, I'll have to tweak that disguise even more !

By now I was resembling living proof of life after death ( a fact
noticed
by " Big Guns " Jim, who seemed a bit worried when I didn't answer
him ). Sorry Jim and Matt, but my knee was by this point trembling,
and I was having to concentrate quite hard to avoid becoming a
" Downhill Racer " ! Made it down though, then nipped up Hidden
Gully for old times sake, and rather fine it was too.

Pillar Chimney looked well iced, however L.H. Chimney looked a
touch thin at the start ( well iced on the top half though ) ; and with
that, my tally has now hit 4 routes. Can't remember the last time I
did that many routes in a single winter ! Unfortunately, I've just
seen the latest meteo, and no sign of spring arriving just yet.

Mind you, the very next day, Helen Barnard and myself did find a
blip in Winter and climbed a few sunny routes at Craig y Forwen.
In fact, it was almost too warm, but thankfully I'd packed my vest
which almost matches the Mediterranean Azure of the sky.

It's not too long now till the Spring Equinox Baggy, so hopefully
the attraction of this winter lark ( which is still a lot of faff ),
will
be short lived.

Till later

AL

Today has been a stunner, the snow which has fallen over recent days has truly put most crags above 600 back on the map and with cold temps over the next few days, bring it on.

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