News

This blog has moved

2010-04-28T13:45:00.001+01:00

This blog is now located at http://berwynevans.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://berwynevans.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

ML Training

2010-04-04T19:23:00.002+01:00

I was working on the first day of a Mountain Leader Training Course today for Blue Peris. We were out in the Crimpiau area working on navigation as we had to stay low level because of the wintry conditions. The snow level is at about 300 - 500m and it looked good for winter climbing as the freezing level was at about 500m. It was a nice sunny day today and we covered everything we needed to cover - it would have been nice to have had some cloud and rain thought just to make it feel more like an ML course!!!

Night Navigation

2010-03-30T09:02:00.003+01:00

I was joined by Debbie and Mike, last night, for an evening of Night Navigation in preparation for their Mountain Leader assessment. Not only was it very wet under foot but it was raining for most of the evening (with periods of heavy rain) which was good for spotting any weaknesses in our gear. I was wearing the Spitz jacket and the Argon Pants by Haglofs last night and they worked perfectly. I'm looking forward to trying out the new Haglofs Ratio Jacket and how it deals with the Snowdonia weather

A misty day on Y Garn (947m)

2010-03-26T14:49:00.004Z

Not much of a view to be had today. The weather forecast was for sunny spells and showers but I struggled to notice the gaps in the showers and it was more or less constant rain all the way up. The nicest part of the day was the lack of people. These is still quite a lot of snow still up there but its very wet.

Dinorwig Slate Quarries

2010-03-22T21:55:00.001Z

Managed to dodge the heavy showers today.

Climbing Wall Leading Award - Leicester

2010-03-18T09:38:00.003Z

I had a mega early start yesterday to travel to the Tower Climbing Wall in Leicester to take part in a workshop for providers of a new award called the Climbing Wall Leading Award. We looked at issues such as movement development, belaying and learning to fall off! The workshop was well attended with some lively discussion. A big thank you goes to Bryn Williams (Developement Officer for the Mountain Leader Training Wales) for the lift.

I'm running a NICAS Induction tonight at the Beacon Climbing Centre.

Carnedd y Filiast (821m)

2010-03-16T17:05:00.003Z

A clear afternoon with fantastic views over the Carneddau and Glyderau. Plenty of snow still around (as you can see from the photo's) with the freezing level was up at about 900m today but the snow was quite soft were it had experiencing the full force of the sun.

A morning in the mist!

2010-03-15T13:23:00.003Z

I had a quick jaunt up Moel Eilio (726m) this morning with the dog but, as you can see from the photo, there were no views to be had. There was a breeze on the summit which made it feel cold but the freezing level was up at about 1000m today so not that cold compared to the last few months.

I have the BBC coming round this afternoon to discuss the planned height survey of Tryfan (in June) and its possible demotion from the 3,000' club. We'll see, I wouldn't be surprised if the height went up. Up until the 80's Tryfan was 3,010' but is now 3,002' so I would be amazed if the height went down even more. It's only a number at the end of the day and it doesn't detract from the fact that it's an iconic mountain steeped in mountaineering history.

Snowdon

2010-03-09T16:11:00.003Z

The weather was so good I couldn't resist a day out on Snowdon. As soon as I dropped my youngest at Primary School I was off for a bit of soloing on Clogwyn y Garnedd and the conditions didn't disappoint - it was a stunning day. I climbed Great Gully II/III (230m) which was in Alpine condition and well worth doing as well as Right Hand Trinity which was a bit lean today which merited a grade top end III or even IV (150m) this was due to it being bashed about by many parties and the crux was passing the huge chockstone on the right on mixed ground. It was well worth it though.

SPA Training Course

2010-03-07T21:50:00.003Z

Well, what glorious weather we're having. The weather couldn't have been better to run a Single Pitch Award Training courses this weekend. I was working for Plas y Brenin with 4 students who were really keen to consolidate/learn and contribute to the course but, unfortunately, they had to put up with my croaky voice due to a bit of a cold.

We went to Lion Rock (Fachen) on Saturday and the Upper Tier of Pant Ifan (Tremadog) today. The photo was taken today l to r - Pete C, Matt, Pete M and Chris.

All is not lost!

2010-02-25T17:29:00.004Z

There is still hope that the winter will stay with us. Yesterday the temperature at home was a tropical 13.5 and a lot of the snow had disappeared but we have enough to carry us over a mild spell I hope. With that in mind and a freezing level of 1000m we ventured on to Snowdon to see what was available. Not a lot as it happened but not far off as there was lots of snow still around and all it will take is a drop in temperature and the snow should get transformed to perfect neve. Unfortunately it wasn't quite right today with very soft snow making the going tough and that was just getting to the bottom of the routes on Clogwyn y Garnedd so we decided to cut our losses and just go for the top of Snowdon for a look around but unfortunately the visibility was very poor from about 700m.

There were also signs of avalanches all along the PYG track below Crib Goch (see above photo)which may have been triggered by the sun and warm weather yesterday. The snow pack was wet down to the grass which wasn't frozen until about 900m but there was still quite a lot of ice still around.

The forecast is for the freezing level to drop to 800m tomorrow but with gales of 50mph above 500m so I think it may be a cragging day tomorrow.

Half term duties

2010-02-17T09:55:00.005Z

We had a lovely walk from Betws y Coed to Llyn Elsi and then down Sarn Helen (the old Roman road) with some spectacular views of the Carneddau with a good covering of snow. The photo was taken by my other son Garmon on his phone.

Winter Skills Course - Scotland

2010-02-13T12:34:00.002Z

I've just returned home from running a winter skills course up in the Cairngorms. The course went well with almost perfect conditions which was loads of snow and zero visibility for most of the week. The group were keen to learn and enthusiastic throughout. The course consisted of an over night stay in a snow hole which was very difficult to dig as the snow pack had recently thawed and then refrozen to create a hard thick layer. We did what we could and used a lot of blocks to build out - it was hard work but I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Two contrasting Days - Hampton School

2010-01-16T14:12:00.002Z

Well, what a difference a day makes. Thursday was a beautiful cold crisp day but due to the conditions on the high mountains we stayed low and walked from Betws y Coed to Penmachno. We covered navigation skills and finished off at about 7 p.m. in the pub in Penmachno.

Friday was horrendous - full on thaw and strong winds. I decided that a shorter walk was in order so we travelled from Capel Curig to Ty Hyll via Llyn Crafnant and Llyn Geirionnydd.

Winter conditions are still good!

2010-01-11T09:32:00.007Z

We had a day out in Cwm Idwal Sunday and climbed The Devil's Kitchen and South Gully. Both were in fantastic condition although the Kitchen was very steep and would warrant grade V in my view. We were expecting loads of people but if fact it wasn't too bad as most climbers were on routes such as Central route, Devil's Pasture, The Screen. The Devils Pipes had quite a few ascents but looked a bit thin.

The picture above is of Steve on pitch 4 of South Gully (IV).

Check out loads more photos on my Flicker page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8727868@N06/

Cwm Idwal

2010-01-04T21:56:00.005Z

I was climbing with Rich today who had travelled all the way from Bristol to take advantage of the fantastic winter condition we have at the moment. It was relatively quiet today with most people spread across a good selection of routes. Afon Ifan (Idwal Stream) II/III, South Gully IV, Central Route III, Chicane Gully III, The Ramp II, The Screen III/IV, The Devils Pasture III and The Devils Cellar IV were all in condition and climbed today. We climbed The Devils Cellar IV (with the direct start V) and Central Route III both of which were in fantastic condition.

The photo is of Rich on the direct start of The Devils Cellar (V).

New Route on Tryfan (?)

2010-01-03T20:38:00.006Z

Went out with Steve today to have a look at Tryfan. I must say the most difficult part of the day was the condition of the snow - it was very much one step up and 2 or 3 steps down. The snow was very unconsolidated with no base. We think we managed to squeeze a new route between Green Gully and Deffing out the Ben which was about grade 5 up to the point were we had to retreat due to a lack of time (the condition of the snow was really time consuming) but it looked like we would have finished up Green Gully anyway. I think we'll wait for better conditions before returning. A good day out though.

Crib Lem

2010-01-02T14:17:00.003Z

I was surprised how little ice there was around today. We had an early start this morning but by the time we got to the bottom of the Black Ladders Andy wasn't feeling very well so we changed plans and went for Crib Lem via David instead. By the time we got to the start of the ridge Andy was suffering badly so we decided that the strong wind and spindrift wouldn't help matters so we decided to head for home.

There were loads of people out today but I guess most of them would be aiming at the mixed routes or just going for a walk. It wasn't freezing that hard up high and as we descended we encountered rain.

2009-12-31T18:51:00.002Z

I'm almost free from my family commitments so I'm hoping that the conditions remain long enough for me to have some fun in the white stuff!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i bawb.

Hwyl

Berwyn

13/12/09 Yr Elan

2009-12-14T09:43:00.003Z

I had the smaller group today and we decided to go up Yr Elan (962m). We covered navigation and some confidence roping in descent. It wasn't so windy today compared to yesterday but it was still a lovely day with a fair bit of wind chill. The photo is of the group with the summit of Yr Elan in the background.

12/12/09 D of E Staff Training

2009-12-14T08:46:00.003Z

I was working with a group from London this weekend who ran the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in various schools and organisations around the Richmond area.

I went up Carnedd Dafydd (1044m) from Gerlan with a group of 7 and looked at group management and navigation whilst George took a small group of 4 up Crib Lem to look at security on steep ground and rope work.

Although it was dry the conditions were testing as the wind chill was calculated as about -27 degrees C. The ground was frozen from about 800m and the snow patches were solid.

A busy week at the Beacon

2009-11-20T20:33:00.002Z

Had a busy week at the Beacon this week it would have been even busier if it wasn't for the atrocious weather over the last couple of weeks. 'How could the weather effect an indoor climbing wall' I hear you say, well simple - you have to get there in the first place. I had a Climbing Wall Assessment scheduled to take place on Wednesday but the candidates, who were all from the same centre failed to negotiate the floods so they have had to postpone the assessment until Monday. The remainder of the week was spent running an in house staff training course at the local leisure centre climbing wall and in the evening I was running a NICAS induction course for local instructors. I did manage to run a CWA assessment yesterday even though the weather was grim everyone turned up for the course and they all passed. We were running another CWA assessment today but Leo (our new centre manager) was directing that one so that I could have a day off to shovel 2 tonnes of gravel - joy! Nice day today but looks like it's going to be wet again over the weekend. Still no sign of winter down here.

Climbing Wall Award Training Course

2009-10-20T10:36:00.002+01:00

I ran a CWA training course over the weekend for 5 candidates at the Beacon Climbing Centre. We covered subjects such as warming up, games, group management and belaying techniques we also covered leading and everyone took part in the Abseil and Top Rope Module on the Sunday afternoon.

The Lake District.

2009-10-17T20:41:00.016+01:00

I've just returned from the Lake District after 5 days of working with shop staff from all over the UK promoting Haglofs products. The work was generally guiding and instructing individuals on the crags and mountains of the Lake District and giving them an adventurous day out as well as trying out some Haglofs products. I was working with James Thacker and the boys from G2 from Aviemore all week. We had a great time and the weather was on our side for most of the week.

The week worked out like this:

Day 1: Dow Crag (Giant's Crawl - pic5)
Day 2: Raven Crag (Middlefell Buttress - pic4)
Day 3: Old Man of Coniston (navigation and rope work day - pic3)
Day 4: Raven Crag (Middlefell Butttress and Holly-tree Traverse - pic2)
Day 5: Pavey Ark (Crescent Climb - pic1)

ML Assessment at Plas y Brenin

2009-10-04T20:50:00.002+01:00

I had a couple of days working at Plas y Brenin this weekend. The weather was very changeable with high winds and heavy showers on the first day. Today was a lot better with only the occasional shower but it certainly felt cold on the top of Glyder Fawr with excellent views by the time we reached the top. The first day was spent looking at navigation skills in Cwm Dyli and the ridge leading up to Lliwedd (this is the bit that most Snowdon Horseshoers miss and is the true start/end). Today was a mountain day looking at group management on difficult terrain on Seniors Ridge with a descent down Y Gribin.