Ogwen Trip Report, March 2014

This was the third and final joint meet with the MAM of the year, attended by 20 Stoats,Roger High, and a couple of old gits. It also marked the first trip run by the new committee. Thankfully, there were no epics.

Despite some minor dramas on the drive down the A5, all four cars eventually arrived at the Glan Dena hut more or less intact. As so often is the case with Ogwen, we were greeted by a healthy dose of rain, which unfortunately lasted for much of the weekend.

After waking up early on Saturday to make the most of the forecast dry spell, two groups headed to Little Tryfan and Milestone Buttress. Due the sudden onset of rain and sleet, the Milestone group were forced to abandon their climbs after the first pitch. The Little Tryfan group had a bit more luck, completing a whole climb before heading back to the hut. Meanwhile, Ross and Patrick had more luck at the fast-drying slate quarries, completing a number of sport routes.

After lunch, a large group of Stoats headed to Betws-y-Coed, visiting the local outdoor shop sand making plans for warmer days, while a number of the freshers elected to remain in the hut. The evening settled down to the usual Ogwen games. Ross and Henry in particular proved to be extremely dedicated to demonstrating their flexibility (not to mention, pain tolerance). This was followed by the now standard dip in Lynn Ogwen, attended by a healthy number of the (mainly newer) club members.

Sunday greeted us with more mixed and unpredictable weather, with dry spells intermittently broken up with fierce hail. While Nora and Adam got a taste of outdoor bouldering at RAC boulders with James, most of the group headed back to Little Tryfan and Milestone. Unfortunately, each group was only able to complete one climb before return ingto the hut due to the bad weather, which had left the rock “wetter than an otter’s pocket”. Despite the weather, there were a number of positives: Mike got his first experience of trad leading at Little Tryfan, while at the slate quarries Ross and Patrick completed an impressive redpoint of Heading the Shot (E5, 6b).

After safely arriving back to the hut and a top team effort to thoroughly clean the building,everyone headed back to Birmingham after a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, despite the weather.

Thanks to the new committee members who attended, and everyone else who helped out and came along!

Sam