Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Back out on Dartmoor with my usual students and this week I was assessing them for the Bronze NNAS award.

Refusing to have come all the way to the East Highlands and not get out in the snow, Mark, Paul and I walking into Corrie an t'Sneachda just for a quick look around. Having walked in against some harsh but manageable wind, whilst Mark and I had a play in the snow, Paul decided to head off home. Only 45 minutes later we decided to walk out and the video above shows what we had to contend with. Navigation was required but it was so windy, walking on a compass bearing took a lot of effort. Unfortunately I failed to catch Mark's 20ft slide on ice on camera as I was too busy trying to stay upright myself.

 The 7a Pyramid Andy On the second day of the advanced climbing coaching workshops run by John Kettle we built on yesterday's techniques and even looked as basic such as standing, breathing and walking which all affect climbing performance.

On Friday I took a group of Bronze D of E students for a 5km navigation walk around Wembury in the rain before I jumped into my car for the long migration north to Aviemore. Although forecasts were for snow, blizzards, road closures and ice, Mark and I went anyway as we are tough mountaineers looking for adventure. Adventure came in the guise of blizzards, M6 closures, deep snow drifts and general unpleasant driving conditions leading to a 15hr journey. All I can say is that I am glad I have AWD on my car. On arrival at Glenmore Lodge at 9:01am for the AMI CPD weekend it was straight into a day of climbing coaching by John Kettle , which to be honest was better than something where I would be allowed to sit down and fall alseep.

Back out on the moor today with students looking at more navigation techniques. Amazing day, cold, clear and icy. Unfortunately the snow is melting and may well be gone by early next week unless we get some more. Anyone care to explain to me why I have had more snow since Sunday down here than in my 8 days in Scotland the week before? Is it climate change or just irony? Anyway, back up north tomorrow night.

I was out with students on Dartmoor today in some snowy (and wet) conditions. It was quite warm and the snow was thawing throughout the day. We had a bimble round looking for cairns, huts, walls countour features. Sorry no pics today, camera stayed in bag in the dry

Back out on the Mendip Hills this week with Bridgwater College students and what a difference. Last week was a light dusting but this week was substantial snow giving a good covering and more importantly, all the mud was frozen meaning clean shoes for a change. About 12km done today and a snowman to finish.

A lovely day on the moor with the 35mile Ten Tors team for some snow and fitness training. It was just below zero and there was still plenty of ice about. 16km done today which was good given the conditions.

The road to the bunkhouse  More deep drifts After a long day at the Outdoor Adventure show yesterday with some Plymouth College students, today I needed to get to our Bunkhouse on Dartmoor but needed to abandon the Landrover some 2km away and walk in through some pretty deep snow drifts.

So after a long drive back from Scotland on Saturday and a nice 13km walk round the Quantock Hills with my Mum, I was back out today with Bridgwater College Public Services students for a spot of Orienteering around The Mendips.

click above for a full size panoramic Today we head out into Corie and Lochain to look at more short oping and then teaching climbing in series and parrallel. We climbed The Couloir (I) and this saw a lot of traffic during the day. On arrival at the top I had great views accross the plateau.

On Day 1 of the MIC Refresher we headed in Corie an T'Sneachda to look at Short Roping and pitching on snow. For some reason my camera has decided to go blue today.

  Today I woke up and looked out of the window, NO RAIN. I went outside to the car and felt A CHILL IN THE AIR. I started the car and the dash said 5 DEGREES. Hmmm. However as I drove up the ski road, the ice warning light came on and it showed 3 DEGREES. It was at this point I realised winter had come back. A quick blast into Corrie an T'Sneachda and I eventually found some snow at the bottom of Mess of Potage. Axe in hand,  I fell through the crust a few times but then it firmed up. Crampons on and a solo up Jacob's Ladder (I) took me onto a windy and scoured plateau. The cloud was down so I was unable to see the extent of snow cover but it was bare on the corrie rim. A jog round to Windy Col and I dropped back into the lull of Sneachda down some consolidated snow and a boulder field before wandering out for lunch at the ski lodge.

Sunday was back in the classroom though did start with a very nice sun rise over Glemore Lodge. Monday was a wash out with rising temperatures and rain, but finally this morning I managed to get a couple of runs on the Cairngorms slopes before the rain came in and made this slushy. There are rumours of a freeze over the next 24hrs so fingers crossed.

So I was inside a classroom this morning looking out at the snow slowly disappearing and the afternoon was spent outside doing First Aid scenarios still looking at the snow disappearing. This evening I went for a great 8km run round Loch Morlich in proper darkness, no light pollution at all which makes a change from Central Park in Plymouth

So I have been very inactive for the last month due to an injury. However, the New Year is here and I have just arrived in Aviemore for a week of CPD based stuff. The next 2 days are BASP First Aid Requal days then I should be out and about in the mountains both skiing and climbing if the snow is still here by then.