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? :)