Having been surprised on my birthday in January with a fantastic GoPro Hero camera I’ve been avidly collecting lots of footage. Trial and error finally got me some great clips of a family day out up the Llanberis Path on Snowdon in February.
Some amateur editing and a fantastic soundtrack of Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) has resulted in my first lengthy post to YouTube: http://youtu.be/nSxkeGatVuQ
Enjoy and please feedback any comments positive or negative!
It seemed wrong to visit Snowdonia without at least attempting an assault on Snowdon. We needed to be realistic given the time of year and we would be walking with George (5) and Eliza (1).
The weather was to be dry but cold on Wednesday and dry on Friday so we planned to have two attempts on each of these days. On Friday we would be joined by my father-in-law Mal Tabb and he would bring the wealth of experience that comes with being a Mountain Leader.
It would be dry so the kids were in down. Eliza in her Spotty Otter Chillibug and George in his Spotty Otter Patrol Jacket and Trousers. The mountain weather forecast in Joe Brown was checked the night before and indicated freezing point at ground level and the snow line at 400m. A cold day.
I am aware of 10 routes up Snowdon. Only a few are suitable for kids and we traded distance for a less steep ascent. The Llanberis Path was our chosen route and would provide good views of the Snowdon Mountain Railway along the way. The path is well marked on OS Map OL17.
It is not well advertised but the Mountain Railway, the Summit Cafe and Halfway House Cafe are all closed in the winter until about Easter.
In our case Base Camp was the lovely cottage we were staying in on Ty Du Road. A quick stop in the village to pick up some snacks for the kids and we were on our way.
George had a reluctant start but once he found his resolve it was miraculous. The first few kilometres out of the village were much steeper than they appeared on the OS map. The key to keeping the kids going was regular snack stops. Every 30 minutes they would get a few sweets and hourly we would get Eliza out for a short potter around which also helped to give my shoulders a rest.
We had a brief stop for lunch between Halfway House and Clogwyn Station. Only stopping for 20 minutes we all started really feeling the cold and estimated it was around –5oC. By the time we reached the fork in the path to begin the ascent up to Clogwyn the snow was getting deep and Eliza was upset. We decided to turn back. A few hundred metres down the path and Eliza fell asleep in the back carrier and stayed that way until Llanberis was back in sight.
The views were superb and I got plenty of footage with my head mounted GoPro, I will share the end result when I have finished the editing.
12.5km, 600m of ascent and 5 hours of walking made it an epic expedition especially for George. He was very proud of himself.
We had a great dinner at Pete’s Eats as a reward to the kids for being fantastic and to allow us all to refuel. Generous portions of chilli, spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and chocolate tiffin were exactly what we needed.
For a long time George has used Muddy Puddles waterproof sallopettes. When he outgrew this range we decided to get him a full Spotty Otter Patrol suit. It is fleece lined and fully waterproof making sure he stays warm and dry. They are also very rugged and able to cope with the abuse inflicted by an active 5 year old. The adjustable waist and ankle cuffs make sure they are a good fit and able to effectively reduce gaps between kit. Both the trousers and jacket are highly recommended.
Runkeeper: http://runkeeper.com/user/mcinsley/activity/148810765
Llanberis Path Information: http://shawtrekking.com/snowdon-footpaths/llanberis-path/
So far so good with Windows 8. I’m starting to find my way around it and just spent some time rearranging my tiles. Now using Microsoft Windows Live Writer to compose blog posts offline and it’s actually very good. It is especially useful since I only get an intermittent Wi-Fi signal on the train. Using my iPhone as a hotspot also works well but likely hammers my data consumption.
We all spent a week in Snowdonia. The next few posts cover our exploits from a fantastic base in Llanberis.
The weather was forecast to be heavy rain all day and for once it was right. The kids did us proud and we all got had a fantastic day. There were snowy mountains, sleet, amazing waterfalls and some personal bests for all of us!
Meticulous planning the night before was greatly helped by one of our guide books (All-Terrain Pushchair Walks Snowdonia). The plan was to combine two walks for Nic and the kids whilst I ran them. This would make sure we both got our training needs. The route would take us from the lower car park up the River Aber to Aber Falls (Rhaeadr Fawr) and back. Walking up the road to the upper car park we would then take us along Afon Anafon to the Llyn Anafon reservoir.
OS Map OL17 covers the route.
The kids are on best form in the morning so we get all kit ready the night before. Eliza is in the Little Life back carrier and therefore needs plenty of layers to keep her warm. Depending on conditions she will wear up to 8 layers on top and bottom and then either her Spotty Otter Chillibug down suit or Muddy Puddles waterproof suit. Its really important that she also gets multiple layers on hands and feet.
George and Eliza were both in high spirits from the minute we set foot in Llanberis. This morning was no exception! George was definitely in the right mood for an epic day. We all got ready together in the lower car park and set off up to Aber Falls.
I ran up to the falls and met Nic and the kids on the way back. They were doing well. Eliza had a huge grin and George came running up to me. I let them know how amazing Aber Falls was and set off back down to the road. It was a real slog up to the second car park, never has a mile of road appeared so innocent on an OS Map but been so brutal in real life once the wind and rain was howling!
A few navigation mistakes on the second leg nearly had me on the summit of Foel Ganol. Finally putting my faith in the OS Map, I quickly corrected and got back on the right track using Pylons as a landmark. Even at 300m altitude the weather conditions worsened with driving sleet and high winds so I decided to turn back.
I met Nic and the kids heading up the road to the second car park. I was amazed they had made it so far and all were still very happy. George was very determined and seemed to have masses of energy. We had a quick chat about the weather conditions and decided I would run back up to Aber Falls again and then bring the car up to meet them. It would be perfect timing for lunch which was much anticipated by us all!
Nic had some more distance to cover to make sure her training was up to scratch. George fully refuelled himself at lunch and we set of up to Aber Falls again all together. I love running but it is so satisfying to see how much the kids enjoy the outdoors. George finished up back at the car having done a heroic 14km with >500m of ascent and kept going for nearly 4 hours.
Walk: http://runkeeper.com/user/725844528/activity/148162876
Run: http://runkeeper.com/user/mcinsley/activity/148152167
Nic bought me a Montane LightSpeed H2O for Christmas after much searching as they are no longer available. A few retailers still have them in stock.
It is an ultra light (<100g) waterproof jacket compressible to the size of a tennis ball. I was kept dry for the full 4 hours in the face of heavy rain and sleet. The only criticism I have of the H2O is its breathability which could be better.
Those of you who know me will be delighted that I am now posting from my new Acer V5-171 Netbook running Windows 8. As an Apple convert I have to say that Windows 8 has impressed me so far. I’m sure it’ll blue-screen at some point…
