Ogwen Valley & the missing 3000's Part 2
Location - Snowdonia National Park
Height - Carnedd LLewelyn (3491 ft)
Time - 5 hrs approx
Distance - Approx 5 miles
Conditions - Rain, wind, mist, cold !
Walking with - DK
Sunday
27th June - Day 3 and our final day in the mountains for a few weeks at
least. Today's task was simple, find Yr Elen. We'd previously trekked
across the Carneddau taking in Pen Yr Ole Wen and Carnedd Dafydd and
LLewelyn with the purpose of tagging Yr Elen on to the end but sadly on
that occasion by the time we'd reached LLewelyn it was a total white out
and we were knee deep in snow at some points, couldnt see 2 ft in front
of us and had to navigate ourselves off the mountain. Yr Elen was well
hidden and on that occasion we never even saw the mountain far less set
foot on it.
So today was different. We'd tackle
Carnedd LLewelyn (3491 ft) up the water board road and the zig zag path
(our previous occasions descent) and once on the summit head over to Yr
Elen. I was looking forward to this as 1. It would be another 3000
ticked off our list and 2. It was annoying having missed it the first
time.
The weather was not being kind to us at all. We
knew there would be some rain in the day but the sun was supposed to
come out at some point. Choosing to park in the campsite car park
........ anyone for a meat pie???....... the water board road lay ahead
of us.
We
knew the route, retracing our steps on a previous walk and with some
steely grit got out of the car, hoods up, gaiters on and started to make
our way up the path. 4 km of path. We'd forgotten how long it
actually was and the last time we were coming down not going up. It
really did get the lactic acid flowing and seemed never ending in
leading us to the base of the zig zag path up the side of the mountain.
The one saving grace of that horrid path was that one look over your
shoulder and the beautiful Tryfan was in your view. Did I mention that
Tryfan is my favouritist of all favourite mountains.......hmmmmm!
The
flanks of Pen y helgi du to our right we finally got off the tarmac and
onto the grassy surface of the hill. The respite was short as we soon
gained the rocky path and started our ascent which would take us to the
impass between Pen y helgi du and Carnedd Llewelyn.
The
path was tough. Like any mountain ascent its steep, rocky and in some
places you had to step up some rather large rocks. With the mornings
rain the rocks were slippy so extra caution had to be taken as one small
slip could mean trouble.
Waiting
for mountain legs to kick in we had a few stops to take pictures of the
lake behind us emerging from the cloud and to take on some sugar that
boosted energy levels. More zig zagging and climbing up through the
rocks and we were at the gully where a right hand turn would take you up
Pen y helgi du and left to Carnedd Llewelyn where we knew a nice bit of
rocky scramble awaited us.
Scramble
or no scramble the one thing that was noticiable was that the cloud
wasnt moving and still hanging very low and for the first time today we
actually wondered if after all this effort we'd get to Yr Elen. It was a
little unthinkable that here, on our second attempt, we'd be thwarted
again......surely not!
The rain was more persistant now
and it was cold. Wooly hats and gloves on and hoods firmly up and tied
against the rain and the wind and cameras firmly packed away. The
scramble was as fun ascending as it had been on the previous descent and
we then followed the clear path that would lead to the summit. Up and
through the rocks there was still no visiability ahead however I did
manage to emerge from the rocky section without my walking pole.
Gutted!!! It must have come loose from my pack and fallen. Hopefully
we can find it on the way back, fingers crossed! We met only 2 other
walkers who emerged from the misty path on their way down from the
summit and told us tales of a heavy hail storm that greeted them there.
Zero visibility, hail, wind......och it would all clear by the time we
got there, wouldnt it?
Onwards and upwards, the
mountain walking motto. The path was longer than I remembered and
although there was a flattish meadowy section the steep part soon was
upon us. Rain, mist, wind, slippy rocks all meant that our wits had to
be about us and concentrate on what we were doing. There was still time
for a chuckle or two but we mostly just kept pushing for the summit
trying to remember landmarks we'd seen previously.
It
was madness, the weather preventing any chance of seeing Yr Elen which
of course meant that we wouldnt be going there today and yet here we
were still pushing forward to the summit. There were a few moments in
that last 30 mins of steepness that I did think about abandoning all
hope and turning back but it would have been wrong to do that so close
to the summit.
At last the silly penguin on the rocks
came into sight. The wind made it difficult to talk and we found some
rocks for shelter quite quickly. I was starving and thirsty and needed
to fix my socks in my boots and was glad to get out of the wind to do
that. Feelings were a mixture of frustration at being here twice and
still not being able to tackle Elen.........our Ghost Mountain as we now
call it........Does it even exist? Who knows :).
Our
visit to the summit was brief mainly due to the weather and the fact we
were going no further. The descent was careful but brisk. The rain
had lightened somewhat but the visibility was still bad. The lower we
got the better it became and sure enough as we headed for the final
rocky section that would take us back to the top of the zig zag path the
cloud seemed to blow over in a moment and give us the views once
again.
It
really is a magical sight to have seen nothing but mist for hours in
front of you and then in an instant valleys and mountains and lakes open
up before your eyes. Another bit of magic was my walking pole, lying
there between some rocks waiting to be collected. So all is not lost
and it was fastened again to my pack.
Down
the rocky scramble we went, choosing the left hand path this time which
seemed easier but still as exciting. Further down the path and we were
at the top of the zig zag path again. Last time we were here I was
begging passing strangers for ibuprofen as my knee was just about done
by this point. The zig zag path killed it and it took us several hours
to navigate our way down the last time because I simply couldnt use my
leg. It was so painful and remembering that time was sobering. This
time however I had no pain. The physio work and excersises I've been
doing must be working because I simply skipped down through the rocks
and couldnt have been more elated. I did over do things a bit with the "
Ask me how much pain I'm in" question which I probably asked about 50
times. I soon shut up when the answer was a grumble and didnt dare ask
again hehe!
Before
long we were at the bottom and back on the water board road which would
take us back down to the main road and back to the car at the
campsite. It was again the road that never ends and the main road never
seemed to get any closer no matter how far or how fast we walked. Our
attention was drawn to a noise that is unfortunately very familiar in
the valley and that is the noise of the rescue helicopter hovering as
ever over Tryfan which stood proudly ahead of us..........I might have
mentioned before that Tryfan is my most favourite mountain ever (cue
grumble grumble!) however it is a dangerous place to be and more often
than not its to this mountain that the rescue teams are regularly
called. Pictures taken of the event and we headed on finally down to
the road.
A
good day's walk, involving some adverse weather and hard and steep
climbs however we still have not seen our now elusive mountain Yr Elen.
Its a box that must be ticked if we're to conquer ALL of the 3000's but
how long will it take us to "bag" it. I have visions of us years from
now having trekked up Carnedd Llewelyn multiple times and still not
having set eyes on the wee ghostie!
