Snowdon Summit area on 7th March 2010. In the zero visibility of my 22nd Feb walk up here, I'd made
certain of keeping away from the edge of the summit ridge for fear of getting onto a cornice.
Snowdon Summit area on 7th March 2010. In the zero visibility of my 22nd Feb walk up here, I'd made
certain of keeping away from the edge of the summit ridge for fear of getting onto a cornice.
Looking at the conditions today, that 22nd Feb decision was clearly a wise one to have made!
A massive cornice.
Cornices where the ends must have broken away and fallen into Cwm Glaslyn.
Near the top of the PYG track.
Thinking back to Feb 22nd when I had such dreadful problems finding the summit ridge track in zero visibility, it all became clear now! Very deep drifted snow had obliterated that track, covering many of the rocks that mark the path to the top.
I headed on down the summit ridge to get a closer view of the cornices on Snowdon.
Looking over Crib Goch into the Glyders from the Summit Ridge.
Snow encrusted rocks.
Someone else took another photo of me. Ice axe and crampons essential in these conditions,
with a sheen of ice on top of hard packed snow.
Crib Goch.
Only seagulls had walked onto this massive cornice.
Amazing snow scenes.
A frozen and snow covered Glaslyn several hundred feet below me.
Glaslyn and Llyn Llydaw.
More ice covered rocks.
Impossible to see where the summit ridge ended and the snow started in some places!
The wonderful feeling of being in such an amazing place gave me the strength to climb up to the top of Garnedd Ugain.
A great view of Snowdon as I climbed slowly up to the top of Garnedd Ugain.
Y Lliwedd
Crib Goch.
The last part of the exposed track from Crib Goch to Garnedd Ugain.
Still a wonderfully clear view. Here down to Llanberis and way beyond.
Snowdon and beyond as I reluctantly headed down Garnedd Ugain.
This wonderful day continued.
Top end of the PYG track. Much better defined than when I'd come up it just after heavy snowfall on Feb 20th.
And with the cornices either side I'd climbed though on that date now gone.
I was slowly making my way down, knowing I would eventually have to leave.
Ice and snow everywhere!
Wall to wall sunshine just added to the spectacle.
I sat on the slope down to the Rangers Path for lunch. Securing my rucksac with my ice axe, and myself
with my crampon heels dug into the ice.
Then it was time to go, heading back down the Rangers Path.
One last close up view of the Bwlch Main ridge I'd climbed over a good few hours earlier.
I was very tired descending. And with the prospect of a road walk from the Rangers Station back to Rhyd Ddu still to go. But that mattered not at all after a quite amazing ten hour day on Snowdon in such superlative winter conditions.