A Big Hill – Snowdon – Dougals Adventures

With our trip to South Wales complete, we had no plans – Right up until I had one of those lightbulb moments…

The mighty Tryfan, stood menacingly over our campsite in the Ogwen valley, little did we know how significant this mountain would become!

First of all, I’d like to say to anyone reading this, this was not one of my finest ideas ever. It turned out well… on the most part we came away fairly unscathed. Knowing what I know today, it was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. – But hey, how else do we learn.. right?

We’d been to North wales before, albeit only on trips with Melissa’s family, we knew the area fairly well and it seemed like a good place to stretch our wings a little further. We’d sampled some of the more rugged touristy attractions, such as the now hugely popular Zip World, with its abundance of activities. IT was time for a new challenge and something to tick off, I was stuck on what we might be able to do in late October.

But then I had my lightbulb moment.. LET’S CLIMB SNOWDON. After all, how hard can it be right? As it turned out, a lot harder than I could have possibly imagined. Now this is actually a real reflection on my mental headspace around this time, I was very much jumping from one thing to another in search of happiness and never really finding it, without going any deeper, I got humbled, BIG time.

There was a catch however, I wanted to do it the hardest way. Aside from Crib Goch, which at the time I knew was beyond me, it left the Watkin path. the truth is I wanted to nail this path, as I am a Watkins and it seemed just too fitting to tick this off as my first climb, it was almost like it was made for me. In a way, I guess it was made for me, but not in the way I initially foresaw.

The infamous Watkin awaited us!

I distinctly remember we were sat having Sunday lunch when the first glimmers of a plan were being set in motion, Melissa understandably and very sensibly hesitant of climbing the highest peak in Wales as our first mountain, coupled with doing it at the end of October and when I said it would be the hardest way up, I’m honestly not sure if she went quiet due to fear and apprehension or whether she thought id completely lost my mind – in truth she wasn’t wrong whatever she was thinking.

Even after reading all of the write-ups and reviews, assessing the weather and recommended climber ability, I remained headstrong regarding the path we would take, the time and day we would be taking it on and I wasn’t budging – not for anyone. I will stress again, this was an incredibly bad idea. The morning of the hike was upon us and the weather was awful, I chose to ignore the signs that the mountain gods didn’t want me on the mountain that day and pushed on, recklessly coaxing Melissa with me in my search for something I thought I might find at 1085m above sea level.

As we began to gain some real altitude, the weather conditions began to slightly improve, which was a huge and very welcome respite from the relentless wind and rain, which even felt like it was coming out of the floor at times. This became a great source of positive morale for us both, but we were still quite wet and quite cold. We really began to feel the atmosphere the mountain was emitting on the day and it was incredible, on one side undeniably beautiful, the other undeniably sinister. The veins of water marbling the ridge line and menacing low cloud forever obscuring the chance of seeing the summit from the path, it was breathtaking!

As we gained height, the path steepened until it began to disappear, the volume of water falling made the infamously steppy Watkin path into a waterfall, cascading down and some water finding its resting place among the sodden materials of our socks and boots… it certainly wasn’t like taking a paddle on a hot summers day – That’s for sure!

We finally met our first real challenge as we approached the final stages before the summit – Something neither of us had ever taken on before (which seems so funny to look back on now) A SCRAMBLE! I will be the first to say, this wasn’t the best way to be introduced to it and knowing what I know now, it would have been infinitely more fun in some better conditions. We made our way up through the steep rocky terrain, seemingly unending as we fought to get to the summit.

By this time we had met some other poor wet souls that had been led on the same path by their son, a fitness and adrenaline junkie, who had his eyes set on joining the military in the coming weeks and months, with this day marking his sixteenth birthday. In a way this was a great relief for us both, it’s amazing what sociable creatures we are, even the less sociable ones of us. We thrive when in contact with other human beings, especially during times of low morale.

We all worked as a team in order to get each other to the summit, that became the most important thing. This part of the journey is always the segment my mind sees most clearly, as I relaxed from the headspace I was consumed by for a while. I was so consumed by the thought of putting Melissa in danger, whilst utterly bewitched by the idea of ‘quitting’ or ‘giving up’ that I couldn’t bring myself to turn back. I will stress again, this was a really bad judgement on my part, but something I learned untold amounts from.

Nevertheless – We. Did. It.

THE SUMMIT OF SNOWDON

After we had taken our breath, re-energised and hydrated, we opted to take an easier route down the mountain and stomach paying for a taxi to get back to Dougal. We were all wet, hungry and a little fed up. The Llanberis track seemed the most straightforward and obvious choice – For me the Llanberis path was a quiet thought filled one. I pondered on the decisions I had made up to the point of the walk and realised that my naivety and headstrong attitude had stopped something that should have been enjoyed and cherished and instead made it very unenjoyable and a somewhat dangerous – This was something I was keen to address and pronto.

Now, it’s probably sounding very negative and depressing by this point, truth be told we did actually have a great day. The views, scenery and atmosphere were truly incredible and like nothing either of us had ever witnessed – We were just woefully unequipped and inexperienced for the task at hand, a single variable could have made or broke the day, such as the correct kit or the improvement in weather. We unfortunately had neither until we saw a glimmer of sunlight towards the end of the day, this almost came as a sign from the mountain gods… almost as if to say “We’ll let you off this time”.

After some quiet contemplation on how to avoid the very situation I was currently faced with, I began to smile and reflect on the actual achievement of the occasion, we’d just climbed a mountain! At the time, neither of us were very physically fit, certainly not mountain fit… but we dug deep and made it happen. I was immensely proud of Melissa and her endeavour to keep on pushing, regardless of the conditions and the physical exertion required.

We eventually made our way down into the town of Llanberis and managed to procure a lift by no other means than hitchhiking – with Melissa propped up in a cafe next to a log burner and a Labrador, I hopped into a stranger’s car bound for Dougal… I can only begin to imagine what was going through in her head at the time!

Before long, I was shooting up the hill to the cafe in my trusty Dougal, heater as hot as it would go and blowers deafening, we were ready to get back to our campsite and hit the pillow. The journey back was humbling and spirited, reflection and admiration that we’d both achieved something worth holding onto, but we both agreed on one thing – Next time we do it properly, in good conditions and have fun.

We didn’t know quite how good it could get…

Important lessons learnt

Timings DO NOT MATTER. – Allocating a given day and time during changeable weather conditions is VERY UNWISE.
Weather is the number one factor – Can you complete the climb safely if the weather deteriorates?
Being suitably prepared for the task at hand – This means in all forms, physically, mentally, experience and ability.
The right kit is invaluable – The wrong kit for a given day will only encumber you and make the day less enjoyable.
Climbing mountains is brilliant boost for your mental wellbeing – but not a cure.
The mountains will ALWAYS be there another day – The hills have stood for hundreds and thousands of years, they aren’t going anywhere!
Mountain guides are not to humiliate you! – It would be infinitely worse to have to be rescued and risk someone else’s life to save yours.
Having fun is without a doubt the most important thing on any mountain adventure, no matter the height or difficulty.
The hard work is worth it – Where safe to do so, pushing on, digging deep and achieving the end goal is almost always the best option!