Friday 6 April 2012

Big Climbing Snowdonia Day - 02/04/2012

Me and Andros on the way up Glyder Fawr
Had a really good big day out with Andros and Em, trying to get some appropriate training in for the CCC (Courmayer-Champex-Chamonix) race later in the summer.

We set out from Pen y Pass, climbing Glyder Fach and then dropping down via the Devil's Kitchen to Ogwen Cottage for a cup of tea.

Andros on the summit rocks of Glyder Fawr
Looking down from the north west face of Glyder Fawr to the Devil's Kitchen
Em and Andros at the tricky stream crossing under Idwal Slabs
The second leg took us back over the Glyders via Cwm Tryfan and the Miners' Track to the Pen y Gwryd  Hotel. Unfortunately I left my camera several hundred feet up the hill and only realised just short of the hotel, so I had to run back for it.

After a quick cuppa (slower for Em and Andros, they weren't collecting their scattered equipment), we headed down the pretty path along Nantgwynant, past the lake. The sting in the tail was the massive (ok, massive for England and Wales) ascent of the Watkin path. I was flagging at the bottom and we stopped for a final feed, before I trudged the whole thing in one big slow heave. Em and Andros stopped to gear up half way but beat me to the top by a few minutes. For some reason I was just in grind mode.

Running along above Llyn Gwynant
I snapped out of it at the top of Snowdon and descended well, mostly using the remnants of the old (i.e. prior to the most recent improvements) path - this is much more runnable than the hideous slippery stone of the new track. At the bottom by Llyn Llydaw Andros shot off, and I jogged back with Em who was by now feeling a bit sore in the calves after her half marathon the previous day...

First view of Llyn Llydaw on the way down from Snowdon
22.9 miles, 7,750' in 7:34. A fairly good result for a day off!

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