h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well I'm back from training in Snowdonia, though the weather was fantastically terrible so another few days would have been great. On the Saturday I was scrambling on a ridge with some unpronounceable name in gale force winds and hail. There were times when we found ourselves flattened onto the rock unable to move and most the time I had no choice but to crawl because it was too windy to stand up. It was great fun, especially when the hail cleared and we could see a reasonable distance. Apparently the objective was to realize that scrambling in gale force winds is not a good idea.

Then weather on Sunday was even worse apart from the early morning. Unfortunately those few hours of sunshine were spent at a Mountain Rescue base for a tour and a talk, though it was very interesting. After leaving to scale another unpronounceable mountain it started to hail again. We made it to the summit but by this point it was snowing and the winds were very strong. The trouble with that ridge was that there were no rocks to cling onto when another gust came across. Consequently we'd walk a few minutes and then have to duck down onto the ground to avoid being blown too far. It was in principle good fun but it was a very long way down and if you didn't duck in time you got blown over. Because of the snow and ice, being blown over meant sliding as well, which generally isn't a good idea when there's a drop of several hundred meters on either side, especially whenyou can't see where exactly the drop is due to poor visibility. Reluctantly we turned around, scrambled back down and practiced navigation.

It was quite late when we got back to the hostel but after dinner we were out again to practice navigating in the dark. Unsurprisingly this is very hard. It took a long time to get the hang of it so by the time we were heading back it was very late. Going back we took a wrong turn and ended up scrambling . I didn't like the scramble part at all, I like to be able to see where I'm going.

On Monday the wind had died down and it hailed less. Half the time was spent practicing navigation again while the other half was spent learning emergency rope techniques. At first I didn't like the idea of abseiling off rocks with no harness but it was great fun with a bit of practice. It was another occasion where I was very pleased that I'm not afraid of heights.

Monday night was described as 'mega recreation' on our sheets. Somewhat intrigued, we got on the mini bus speculating where we were going. This turned out to be Bangor, and we were somewhat disappointed when we were lead to a Wetherspoons. Fortunately, that was just the beginning of a pub-crawl, which finished in 'Time', a nightclub. It was the best night out I've had in a very long time. The music was cheesy but it was classic stuff and when 'Gonna be (500 miles)' was played we were perhaps a little over enthusiastic and I'll be interested to see how the pictures come out.

On Tuesday we were all very tired and quite a few people were also nursing a hangover . My knees had decided I'd bashed them against too many rocks and I was finding it very hard just to go up and down the stairs. However, we went on a scramble up Tryfan. It was brilliant, I was very pleased to discover that my knees hurt less with some exercise and with the clear weather it was a great climb. Near the top the snow was quite thick and I was leading the scramble at that point. I had to clear off the snow to try and work out where to he rocks were, covering the rest of the group in the process . At the top snow and hail had been blasted onto the rock in such a fashion that it looked like feathers.

There is some sort of bizarre tradition in Ramsoc to perform some sort of stunt at the summit of Tryfan. At the top there are two columns like rocks, Adam and Eve, about 2m tall. Last year the stunt was to jump from one to the other, which is certainly something I would want to do . This year however we put up a tent on top of the rocks and got the ramble sec in it. Other ramblers expressed some curiosity at why we were holding on to a tent between two rocks in strong winds with the ramble sec's face peering out rather tensely from one side. Now the pictures from that one will be very interesting.

I've a horrible feeling I've just written an essay . In the words of a friend 'I feel like I've lived several weeks in the last few days'

Sounds as if you've spent a very exciting time
I've never tried to climb rocks when I was your age, which is perhaps due to the fact that there were no rocks where I lived .
Climbed many trees though when I was a child

Well there aren't any rocks were I live but there are plenty of places that do.

I still climb trees

the last time I climbed a tree was to look whether it was safe enough for my boys to climb it and pick some cherries
Now they weigh more than me, so they'll be the first to climb next time

Ooooh cherries The campus has many cherry trees but the squirrels it them all . There's a birch tree in the garden back in Hemel which I tend to climb to read a book.

No trees like that round here anymore, they've all been felled to make space for new houses

, hope there aren't any rivers near by.

Not so very near, why ?

Well, trees intercept run-off where as concrete speeds it up. If you replace trees with urban development then water takes much less time to reach the river. Concequently the river has less time to carry the water away and it is far more prone to flooding.

Ah, Snowdonia! I love that place! I was up there a couple of years ago at this time of year, facing blizzards, gales and truly hideous weather conditions. We climbed Tryfan in one of said blizzards, and it was as terrifying as it was exhilerating, and the ice was exactly as you described it - though we'd had preferred if it wasn't coating the same rocks we were clinging to for dear life. 'Twas a huge relief when we reached the top - and here's the photo to prove we made it: http://robsplaypen.cust.nearlyfreespeech.net/gallery/yeytop.jpg (I'm the chap in the middle).

The next day our egos were a bit inflated and we tried to climb Snowdon. But part way along the Pyg Track I and a friend nearly came to grief when a gust of wind literally blew us off the path and halfway down the mountain, so after some consideration we decided to turn back.

As another friend suggested elswhere this week, there's something hugely edifying about pitting oneself against the extremes of weather; you know that eventually you'll lose (though hopefully not lethally), but in the meantime... Wow .

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

Ooh, that's the summit of Tryfan alright. It wasn't snowing when we were at the top, but it looked much the same. Some stupid people had taken a group of school children up there in hired battered equipment. Sure they weren't scrambling up the gulleys as we were but it was very icey at the top.

Went part way along the Pyg track on the Saturday, but then went down between the lakes and up the other side and along the ridge. I did get somewhat battered but nothing worse than cuts and bruises. I love being out in storms. There's always a risk involved but it's definitely worth it.

we used to go outdoors during storms and watch the water rise, never cared what it would mean if the house had been flooded,our parent's probably worried more

House in Hemel is half way up a hill so flooding was never really a problem. The River Gade is more of a stream anyway.

In that photo above, the chap lurking in the background (in a light-coloured jacket) wasn't part of our group although we sort of adopted him (or rather, he sort of adopted us). He'd come up from London for the day, on his own, specifically to climb Tryfan. He wasn't going to be deterred by a bit of weather either despite the fact that he'd never been up it before and had next to no scrambling experience. Unlike our, ahem, highly experienced group .

I don't suppose you could be a bit more specific as to exactly which unpronounceable mountains you climbed?

Sounds like you had a great time. Reminds me of being gripped onto at the top of another unpronounceable Welsh mountain by several members of the Sixth for Rugby team.

I know what you mean about exhilarating weather, I was on the Isle of Wight over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed being battered about by the gales whilst ‘walking’ (more correctly staggering) along various cliff paths.

I could if I had a map handy. One was opposite Tryfan (the one where we had to use bearings to avoid accidently walking off the edge due to the snow) and the other we started along the Pyg track from Pen-y-Pass then dropped down between the lakes and scrambled up the other side and along the ridge. I left the map back in Nottingham so can't be any more specific before I've raided the bookshelves here for some old dusty copy.

Cliffs and ridges, two of the best places to be in strong winds.

Even after several years hiking in the company of a bona-fide welshman, some of those place names still give me pause for thought.

*examines map*

Hmm, I think I've correctly identified Y Lliwedd ridge from your description, but "opposite Tryfan"? There are far too many unpronounceable mountains that fit that description, especially if one looks at the Carneddau range. Oh well.

Ooh, just looking at the map's making my feet twitch!

All thouse contour lines and crags

We nicknamed the mountain 'Celine Dion' if that helps, as that was close to what our feeble efforts to pronounce it resulted in.

*Examines map again*

*ignores twitchy feet*

Hmm, there's a Cefn Ysgolion Duon, conveniently opposite Tryfan across the Ogwen Valley and which comes with some nasty looking cliffs. Could it be that? Incidentally, the name Ysgolion Duon means "Black ladder" (according to the handy OS guide to Welsh place names; I don't profess to know any Welsh off by heart).

Well, it was opposite the Ogwen vally so that's probably it.

Now my feet have gone all itchy again