One of my sons has started to express an interest in hill waking. I suspect that it has more to do with a fascination with winter mountaineering and the thought of spending a night in a snow hole but, when I offered to take him out into Snowdonia, he jumped at the chance. So, relieved [...]

In recent weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time hill walking on my own in Scotland in preparation for my Winter Mountain Leader assessment at the end of this month. It’s great practice to be on your own as all the decisions, good or bad, are down to you alone and you enjoy (or not) [...]

I’ve spent the last two days with Vince doing a hill walking course, although this was far from normal. Vince originally contacted me back in September asking about potential dates for a 2 day hill walking course and we agreed on a mutually convenient time. Although I then advertised these dates, no one else expressed [...]

I’ve been walking in the hills for a fair few years now, but must admit that today’s visit to Cadair Idris was a first for me. I’ve spoken to numerous people that have assured me what a wonderful mountain it is and have looked forward to getting there myself. I’ve even done various bits of [...]

Another Monday, another mountain day! Today, Adam and I headed back to the Carneddau where, last week, we had enjoyed an unexpected epic in the snow. Although snow could still be seen on the peaks of Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn, the winter conditions we had found seven days ago were long gone. In fact, [...]

After my solo day in the Carneddau last week, it didn’t take much to persuade me to head back into the mountains. This time I had the company of Adam, who is looking to get in additional mountain days for his log book and his Mountain Leader assessment which he is hoping to complete in [...]

It’s not very often these days that I get the opportunity to head out into the mountains purely for my own enjoyment, rather than in a work context. I had hoped to get in a full on mountain day but, after doing a spot of shopping in Betws-y-Coed for some new climbing kit, I hadn’t [...]

Today was one of those days that you get to spend a relatively relaxed day, with a great bunch of people, in glorious weather in a fantastic setting. You might say I enjoyed myself! Last year, I was asked to jointly lead a trip to Cwm Idwall with one of Ellesmere College’s Geography teachers. The [...]

I must admit that I tend not to head to Snowdon very often. It’s a beautiful mountain with lots of variety in terms of walks and scrambles, but it can be a bit of a motorway. Elsewhere in the Snowdonia National Park, you can often walk all day without seeing another soul, but this is [...]

This weekend involved a trip to North Wales with cadets from Oswestry School CCF. Taking advantage of accommodation at Capel Curig Training Camp put us right on the doorstep of some fantastic terrain in which to enjoy a couple of days’ hill walking, introducing many of the cadets to this kind of environment for the [...]