Taking on the Red Ridge

It's not often that we get blessed with weather quite as fantastic as now, and it's been pretty grotty since I got home, so I thought I should make the best of it. While I was hanging around on Idwal Slabs yesterday, being a guinea pig on an MIA assessment, I thought I really should get back on Crib Goch. After all, it's been at least 2 years since I graced her with my presence. So, over dinner with my good friend Jo, it was decided. I would drive to Cwm y Glo, drop my car off, get a lift with her husband Dave to the pass and then disappear off up the mountain, ringing later to get a lift back with Jo - isn't it nice having friends with nothing better to do :)

What a glorious morning it was. The car park at Pen y Pass was heaving already at 8.20am so I didn't waste any time and made a quick dash up the Pyg Track. Overtaking one couple I found myself with no one in front. Excellent. I hate having people in my photos! Unless they are specifically of people of course...

I made quick time up the face only stopping briefly when I managed to drop the sun shade from my camera. As it bounced back down the way I had come I decided it wasn't worth it and continued on, not wanting anyone to overtake me. Not yet anyway.I arrived at the start of the ridge at about 9.30am and had to stop and take stock. I had forgotten just how beautiful the winding double ridge of Crib Goch and Crib y Ddysgl were. Especially with Snowdon in the background just shrouded in a candy floss of cloud. Magnificent.

So off I trundled. Oh how I wish I wasn't quite so clumsy. I would love to be able to nimbly pick my way along the ridge in a dainty fashion but it is never to be. I trip over my own feet far too many times to be careless on a knife edge ridge like Crib Goch. I wanted to make it through this gorgeous day rather than lose my life following a clumsy fall! Slowly did it, finally allowing the gentleman that had been slowly catching up to me to overtake (once I had taken the important photos that was). At 11.00 I reached the summit of Garnedd Ugain after keeping strictly to the ridge line of Crib y Ddysgl and sat down to take in the view. Snowdon was covered in people already - I had seen the train go up a couple of times full to bursting - so I made the conscious decision to give it a miss. It will always be there and it's not like I've never been there before...It was a toss-up between the Pyg or the Miners Track for the descent but I went with the Pyg thinking it would be more gradual and therefore better for my knees. I don't think my knees are agreeing having done it :0 Back at the carpark for 12.35 which made my morning jaunt a total of 4 hours and 10 minutes. Now I have set myself the challenge of getting it done in under 4 hours. I'm not sure quite why and my knees are already protesting just at the thought of it. Still, what is a life without challenges? :)

Sea Kayaking, Anglesey

I have a love hate relationship with kayaking. It all started back in 2001 in New Zealand when I went on a four day sea kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound. What a beautiful place! The weather wasn't great, and the sand flies were horrendous, but just being there, with the dolphins, and no one else except us in our little sea kayaks was inspiring. So much so that I came back to the UK, applied to go to university to study Outdoor Education, left the life of London and the office and became an outdoor instructor! Obviously it didn't happen quite that quickly but, in a nutshell, that is the story of my big life/career change.

So the story began with a love for kayaking. Getting my Level 2 Coach and then working in centres teaching kids to go in a straight line soon brought upon the hate. It's a shame, but working at that level, your personal skills never improve and the repetition just wears you down. The time I had spare I focussed on other activities and poor old kayaking got left by the wayside. The only time I gave it any focus was when I went to Chile in 2004 with Raleigh International and assisted leading a group round the Chilean Archipilaego for 17 days. Since then, I can probably count my days in a sea kayak on one hand.
Last year I decided that this had to change. Kayaking on rivers doesn't appeal to me all that much, mainly because I lose the feeling in my ankles and feet and, more so, because I invariably end up swimming. So, back to the sea. This is where the love started and, therefore, this is where it should be rekindled.

It always pays to have friends who are better than you at what you do, that way you can use them to help you :) A fine example is my friend James, owner of Adventure Elements in North Wales. He is an excellent sea kayaker and is an aspirant Level 5 Coach. This means that he needs long term students to mentor and coach and that's where I step in.
So, after a few sessions out on the water earlier in the year I found myself signed up for the 4 Star Leader's Award. Training, may I add! Having been away for over 2 months over the summer, I was a little nervous stepping into my kayak in Bull Bay on Anglesey on Saturday. Especially with the force 4 winds blowing offshore the way they were. The trip had been planned that we would be paddling to Cemaes Bay with the ebb tide the whole way, despite going into wind, so it shouldn't be too tough. No one bloody mentioned the effects of the back eddies though!! I was knackered. Not only paddling against the wind, but also against the flow of the water! Still, I didn't fall out and I didn't get wet. In fact, I found the whole day very enjoyable and really quite manageable. Maybe I wasn't as rubbish as I thought...

And then came Sunday. Off we headed to Treaddur Bay where the winds were blowing a force 5, maybe 6, onshore and there was a good 4ft swell rolling in. My stomach was doing flips before I even got on the water! Heading out of the bay wasn't too bad. Paddling into wind is hard work but you are very supported. It was when we turned right out of the bay and were suddenly broadside to the wind and the swell. Oh my goodness!! James then asked me if I'd like to lead a leg, at which point I let him know that my confidence in my own ability was pretty poor so being responsible for others was possibly not a good idea :0

I managed to keep it together and get through the worst, avoiding all the rocks and keeping myself upright to the lagoon we were headed to. Phew. Pete asked me if I wanted to lead back. Feeling much more confident, I agreed. Actually, I don't think I did that bad a job. My communication to the group was good. I identified the hazards well. I kept between the group and the danger. Nearly went in twice but that's by the by ;)Rescue time. We knew it was going to be a wet day so I came dressed for the occasion. Wet suit under my not-really-so-dry trousers and gimp hat to keep my little ears warm. I volunteered to go swimming first. Jimbo did an efficient rescue and I was back in my boat in no time. The water wasn't actually that cold. Thankfully! Then it was my turn to effect a rescue. In Jimbo went, over I went to rescue him, in I went. Hmmm, that wasn't the plan. I got a little over cocky, reached out for the boat, just as a wave came and moved it out of my way. Once you're leaning that far over, there's not really a lot you can do. So poor old James had to rescue us both!! I did it a little better the next time.

So, a four star leader I will not be any time soon, but my love for sea kayaking has been rekindled. I now need someone to give me lots of money so that I can go and buy a Romany Surf from Nigel Dennis. Hmmmmmmmmmm.