We took the Watkin path up which is one of the less crowded paths. It take you past a number of blasted ruins and the site of a more popular political rally. The climb was slow and steady and certainly kept me warm on the way up, however the final peak continued to loom. The sense of perspective is oddly distorted at the bottom of the valley and gets progressively more dominating as you approach the final peak. It was wreathed in a cloudy top which also hid a lot of scree shifting underfoot. The final assault involved a scramble up a fairly steep slope with lots of shifting scale. There were a number of times I attached myself to the nearest solid looking rock while I caught my breath. There was the occasional burst of vertigo when I looked into the distance. However I soon learnt to stop doing that and concentrate on the task at hand and continue upwards. Thanks to the cloud obscuring our progress the sudden appearance of the cafe looming out of the mist was a welcome surprise. The steps to the final peak where a lot easier to negotiate.

The top was still covered in snow which made coming down the other side a little treacherous. However it was also a lot busier as most people seem to be using the non-scrambling (and also train friendly) route. Although we headed down this side of the mountain we quickly split from the main thoroughfare and descended the Pyg track. The initial bit of the track involved controlled sliding through the snow whilst trying not to think about how narrow the path was. However past the worst of it and we made rapid progress back down the other side of the mountain. The track splits up halfway down and we stuck to the more scenic Pyg track ignoring the flatter and easier Miners track. However it’s evident the track has been fairly heavily hammered in previous seasons. There were a lot of sacks of stones for re-doing the path. This made the going fairly heavy and quite hard on the knees thanks to some big steps. By the time we arrived at the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel we were appreciative of the local Welsh ale waiting for us.

Special mention must go to the hotel. It has shared bathroom facilities including one of most amazing Victorian baths I’ve ever seen. Although it scored points for being so incredibly big (at 7 feet long you could lie in it) it also had some fancy brass-work controlling the multiple delivery options. I shall see if I can actually get the video I have uploaded somewhere.

EDIT TO ADD: There, my first YouTube upload.

The walking element of the weekend included climbing a snow covered Kinder Scout. Unlike previous years I wasn’t failed by poor fitting shoes or a particularly steep ascent so enjoyed the fresh air all the more. I can’t help feeling the large amount of walking I do around Cambridge is essentially useless as a preparation for anything with slopes. Snowden is currently the next beast to conqueror although schedules are starting to fill up.

The journey home did start with a mini-Volkswagen adventure. The road we had followed on the way looked clear the way back. Indeed most of the rolling hills were carefully navigated by following the clear black tire tracks. Unfortunately the final climb up the highest local hillock had a few un-thawed regions which led to a lose of grip before cresting the hill. A vaguely concerning controlled skid backwards as gravity re-asserted itself over momentum eventually rested the car across the whole road. Luckily the road was used by locals with slightly more appropriate 4x4s. In the end we were unable to tow the car up the hill so I tenderly reversed it to the bottom of the hill before a final 3 point turn to take us back the way we came. The locals where very nice about helping but I’m not sure if they were exchanging looks with each other judging the silly southerner in his impractical car. There are signs in the Peaks that instruct you to follow the damn diversion signs and ignore what the Sat-Nav tells you to do, I suspect I fell into the same admonished category.

There is something wrong with my right ankle, specifically how it fits into my rather fine walking boots. If I don’t carefully place the tongue on the right and secure it tightly it tends to migrate across and rub rather painfully on the mutant prominence on the left. Any advice on better solutions gratefully received.

We both suffered a little the next day due to blisters and muscles unused to the walk. However Fliss’ foot gave a lot of pain last night making it hard for her to sleep. She trundled off to the Doctor this morning who’s diagnosis was either a very odd form of gout or the blister had gotten infected and gone to the bone. She is now waiting in A&E for drip fed antibiotics for her foot. Who would of thought a blister could cause so much trouble!

EDIT TO ADD: Damn these blisters, it looks like an overnight stay in the hospital for Fliss. Time to charge the iPod.