There was a Snowdonia trip back in May. Tim, John and myself arrived at Forest Holidays (Caernarfon), on Friday afternoon, hot on the heels of Marc. We attempted to check-in at the campsite, which initially perplexed the campsite staff, but after a thorough search on their system, our booking was found.

The campsite offered plenty of holiday homes, and a single designated camping field down by the river, where we pitched up all to ourselves. The midges descended almost immediately. We walked our tents across the field, optimistic of escaping the swarm. Our hopes were soon dashed as the swarm followed us, and we accepted our fate.

There was time left in the day to hit the rock and ease into the trip. We made the short trip to Tremadog (Craig y Gesail) to climb Bramble Buttress; Marc's first time climbing trad multipitch. 

Beddgelert was within walking distance of the campsite, and presented us with a fine choice of pubs to spend the evening.

We had good weather Saturday morning, so headed to Tremadog (Bwlch y Moch). The crag is on the roadside, with parking, which gave a very short walk-in (although the climbs are hidden behind the treeline). In pairs we climbed Christmas curry. At this point, Simon arrived on the trip, and we waved down at him from the climb. The next climbs included One Step in the Clouds. We then opted to relocate to Pant Ifan, a secluded, peaceful crag, where Simon set up some top-ropes on several VS climbs. We returned to the campsite to find the camping field was now completely full, and we had plenty of new neighbours, all enduring the midges. 

On Sunday morning we laid awake in our tents, listening to the relentless pitter patter of the rain. Our wet weather option was to scramble Milestone Continuation up Tryfan. Milestone Gully was a waterfall at this point, as we ascended. The rock was still grippy in the wet and we made it to Adam and Eve on the Tryfan summit. We roped up to scramble together for some of the later pitches. The pubs were very popular for food, and needed to be pre-booked. Fortunately, Marc had managed to secure us an eventing booking, so the descent from Tryfan had to be swift! 

The weather forecast continued to look bleak for Snowdonia, so we hit the road on Monday morning and stopped near Llangollen for some limestone sport climbing (Trevor Quarry). The weather was glorious and the crag was quiet. Castell Dinas Brân was so close to the crag that we had to visit before departing back home. Thanks Tim for organising; a great time was had by all.

In June the Club set off to Acton Field Campsite, Swanage, for a weekend of sea cliff trad climbing. The campsite had a glorious sea view, with the Isle of Wight on the horizon. The campsite itself had rolling hills, with enough flat areas to pitch up! On Saturday morning Vivek, Dave, Lucy, Martin and John walked from the campsite to the Cattle Troughs crag, carrying all their ropes and climbing gear with them! I opted to drive to the crag carpark situated at Durlston Country Park (home of the UK’s hilliest Parkrun, where I received a history lesson) It was the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings; an event that resonates with the residents of Swanage. We were encouraged to look across the sea and picture the ships filling the horizon. 

Reunited at Cattle Troughs, we all spent the day climbing at the Isis Area and Amphitheatre Ledge. There were metal stakes at the top of the cliffs to allow abseiling to the ledges below (several meters above the waterline). Between us we climbed some good routes, including Bunney’s Wall, before the slog back to the campsite. 

We wandered into Langton Matravers that evening for pub grub. 

On Sunday we all parked at Durlston and walked to Subliminal crag (Face/Stroof Area). The weather was glorious t-shirt weather at the campsite, but there was considerable windchill once we reached the cliff.  The rock felt much better at this crag. Climbs included Balcony, Stations Road, a great lead by Vivek on Joker, and many more. Thanks Vivek for organising, it was a great trip!

It was painful setting an alarm for a 3am departure, but thoughts that we’d soon be ice climbing in Rjukan made it possible to crawl out of bed. 

Simon, Tim, Ed and myself car shared to Heathrow, where everything went smoothly and we remembered to take a photo of where we’d parked the car. We were flying out of Terminal 2, and returning via Terminal 3. Thankfully, we found that the terminals are very close to each other, and connected by indoor travelators. The flight offered great views of Oslo, covered in snow, with people ice skating on the frozen fjord. The temperature was a shocking -12° when we landed! Here, we met up with Roddy, the last member of our party. The hire car company gave us a 2 tier upgrade, and our vehicles were kitted out with fancy features such as heated seats and heated steering wheel; just what we needed (once we’d discovered these features)!

The drive to Rjukan was scenic, icy, and entertaining with the many Moose Warning signs. The Tinnsja lake (at the opening of Rjukan Valley) was frozen over. We arrived at our cosy and authentic lodgings at Rjukan Hytteby. We were the end cottage in a traditionally colourful row. Ed, Tim and myself shared the mezzanine, and Simon and Roddy fought over the bunk beds. We agreed to take it in turns to cook each night, and celebrate by eating at the accommodation restaurant on the final night. Roddy cooked up a tasty stir fry on the first night; perfect after a long day of travelling. Simon spoiled us by providing cake and custard for pudding.

Climbing Day 1: Ozzimosis 

A perfect introduction to the winter wonderland. Parking was sparse, so it was an early start for us. It paid off as we were the first to arrive at the lay-by, and parked deep in snow. We started with waterice grade 2 climbs, as the crag begun to fill with more climbers arriving. The classic climb Ozzimosis was available, which Simon and Tim took the opportunity to lead, before heading down to the lower level of the crag for more climbs. Tim took on a route that seemed to last an entire rope length. Ed cooked up a tasty chilly with rice and tortilla chips. This hit the spot after a long day of climbing.

Climbing Day 2: Vemork Bridge and Upper Gorge 

A full day of snowfall. An early start again, for the big multipitch Vemorkbrufoss Ost (WI Grade 4), followed by Nedre Svingfoss. Well led by Simon and Tim.

There were good views of climbers on Sabotorfossen.

The climbs were approached over the frozen river at the bottom of the gorge. We could see some WWII history as Vemork power plant was the stage of the Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage. Our climbs in the gorge were far less perilous. We needed a hearty meal after a big day of climbing, and Tim cooked up a curry and naan feast (Ed had a carton of cream as a starter, which he mistakenly bought, and didn’t want to waste).

Climbing Day 3: Krokan

A cragging day at Krokan. The highlights being Bullen and Jomfrau, in another winter wonderland setting. The crag was busy and we were starting to recognise familiar faces from previous days. It was my turn to cook, and I circled it back to stir fry. It was Shrove Tuesday, so it would have been rude not to eat pancakes after a long day of cragging. Just what we needed.

Final Climbing Day: Fabrikkfossen

This was a big multipitch for the final day. The walk in started in an industrial estate, and quickly turned into a savage ascent on a steep snow path. We made good time, reaching the climb in roughly 30 mins. 7 pitches still laid ahead of us. We climbed in pairs: Simon and myself; Tim and Ed. Occasionally the cloud lifted to reveal glorious views of the valley, which we were now high enough to enjoy for the first time. After 4 pitches, the climb levelled off onto “lunchtime ledge”. This was covered in waist deep snow which was a fun battle to pass through (even more entertaining watching Ed tackle it after me). A long, straightforward, chilly series of abseils got us back to the approach path. Car-door to car-door: 8 hours. We’d understandably built up a big appetite. Thankfully, the local restaurant was serving the largest pizzas imaginable. Just what we needed. 

It was an early start the following morning to return to Oslo airport. The 2 cars soon separated, and then got caught in Oslo rush hour congestion. When we stopped near the airport for fuel, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked up and saw the other car was still with us after all. It was another opportunity to say farewell to Tim, who was staying an extra day in Oslo.

A big thank you goes to Simon for organising the trip, and everyone else for making it a top trip!

2024 has kicked off with our first meet of the year; a weekend Winter walking in Wales. The plan was to stomp around above the snowline, but the weather had other ideas. It was too warm for snow, with even some sunshine!

We stayed on the edge of Blaenau Ffestiniog, in a bright and spacious, newly renovated, chapel. It will be worth booking again for future trips. 

With the Moelwynion so local, we opted to set off hiking from the doorstep on Saturday morning. We headed along the Snowdonia Slate Trail to Llyn Cwmorthin, stopping to explore the ruins of abandoned quarry buildings. Martin made himself at home here. The trail then steepened and we headed up old quarry access ramps before cutting across bog to bag the summit of Foel Ddu. The wind was strong and didn’t let up as we progressed along the ridge to reach Moel-yr-hydd. From this point we could head downhill through the bog to the shelter of the Llyn Stwlan Reservoir, where we stopped for an overdue lunch. From the impressive damn, we took the access road down to Tanygrisiau, taking our time to scope out the climbing crags along the way, watching the climbers and listening to the jangle of trad gear. 

We’d worked up an appetite, and so ventured into town to scout out the dining options. There wasn’t huge choice, and we found the main hotel kitchen was closed. We opted for a Chinese Takeaway, where we managed to break the record for the longest time waiting for Chow Mein. It seemed the whole of Blaenau Ffestiniog arrived, ordered, was served and departed, while our order was forgotten.  The evening was topped off with some fiercely contested boardgames (at least, as much as our energy levels would allow). 

Arsh and Jennifer awoke early on Sunday morning, and completed their hike while the rest of us breakfasted. They then prepared themselves for the train journey home while Alice, Martin, Lucy and myself prepared for scrambling Moel Siabod and The Daear Ddu Ridge. We stopped at Betws-y-Coed, for emergency waterproof socks as Alice’s boots were still sodden from Saturday’s bogs. The weather was sunny with clear blue skies, and I got my first ever glimpse of Moel Siabod without it being shrouded in cloud. Typically, you could see the summit from the carpark, but not once we were standing atop of it. The weather had rolled in during the ascent, stealing our views and battering us with more wind. We were rewarded with a trig point at the summit, and I’m proud of how everyone stayed high-spirited on what was a drizzly, slippery, sapping descent. 

All that remained of the weekend was a damp drive home, full of anticipation of, A- would Martin’s car have a parking ticket on my road?, and B - Would Martin’s car even start again? After all, his car would have been in Snowdonia with us, had it not flagged an emergency engine fault on Friday night as we passed Cricklade, resulting in an abrupt U-turn and car swap in Swindon. Thankfully, everybody made it home safely, and all vehicles are happy and healthy. 

Here’s to the next SMC meet!