On Top Of The World

So much for downloading photos and posting as soon as I returned home. Apologies for not replying to your lovely comments but the last few days have been full on. Volunteering, catching up with family and friends. General life. Phew. Finally I've had a few minutes to plug my camera to my laptop and download over 300 photos. Where to start indeed.

It could have been all the wonderful gardens visited. Perhaps the interiors of a few wonderful NT properties. A little bit of wildlife. So much this May has been truly photogenic. In consideration I will have to start with Snowdon as it's not every day you climb a mountain.

My better half has already had the pleasure. Some twenty years ago he took a school group of 40 teenagers to the top. Persuading and cajoling some of them took willpower in its own right. So persuading his wife that she could climb to the top, was a walk in the park in comparison.

The decision on which route to take was mulled. Several said the Pyg track was the way to go. Shorter than the regular tourist Llanberis path but steeper in parts. In the end we headed for the Llanberis track, not minding the extra distance, allowing six hours for our ascent and descent.

Just as well I'd done a little background reading because the first part of the track on a proper road was painfully steep. The day was perfect. A little light cloud but crystal visibility and a cooling breeze. I needed that breeze within a very short while. After a quick interrogation I discovered that it wasn't all as steep. Just as well.

You are soon above the tree line with only the odd sheep for company and the chugging of the mountain railway as it travels up and down to the summit. On occasion I looked on enviously when I was taking panting breaths, but knew the sense of satisfaction once the top was reached. My youngest had bought me a telescopic walking stick and it had its inaugural use . What a difference it made, especially on the descent, when vertigo has a tendency to set in. 

Once the half way house was reached we had only taken just over the hour. It is about six miles to the top. A heady height of 1085 meters. Now the real slog began. First a set of stone steps and scree that relentlessly rose above us. It ended by going under a bridge used by the train . All shapes and sizes had joined us on the climb up. Snatches of conversations from Liverpudlian lads, couples and many German young men. A very cosmopolitan mix. I felt quite fit compared to many, who were stopping regularly for lungfuls of air.

Turning the corner from the bridge yet another challenge lay ahead. This time just a steep scree slope entitled the Killer hill, particularly in the snow. Fortunately no snow and my walking stick was put to use, hauling me up and keeping me steady. I muttered darkly about how much further and was told only around the corner. Famous last words. Yes the summit was in sight, but many steps to go.

One good thing about climbing a mountain is the need to stop and admire the views. Not to catch your breath of course, just the views. They certainly didn't disappoint. Views back towards the Menai straits and Caernarfon. In the other direction, all the little lakes fed by mountain streams.

The last slog up the steps to the peak was killing, but everything was put into perspective when a man started running down with an eight foot pole on his shoulder. At least I hadn't hoiked that up a mountain. We had the good fortune to have the summit platform to ourselves for a few minutes for the obligatory photos, in an exceedingly stiff breeze. What a view.

After a delicious and much needed pasty from the cafe it was downhill all the way. It took us two hours forty on the way up and a similar time down. Surprisingly, you had to be more careful on the way down although less exhausting. Only going down did you realised the magnitude of the slope that had recently been climbed.

Needless to say we were glad to cast off the boots and sink into a warm bath at the end of the day. Certainly a good way to tone up for this Sunday's 10K in aid of Cancer Relief.

I'll be back soon with more Welsh instalments. Do let me know if you have scaled a mountain peak.

Barbara xxx