[Leica] Hiking Cwm Idwal

[photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)]

Sounds bracing :-)

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/

YNWA









On Dec 20, 2013, at 1:07 AM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote:

> Here are the pictures that I promised related to our hike up Cwn Idwal. 
> First a couple of disclaimers. The hike was 14 years ago when we lived in 
> Menai Bridge, Wales. While not exactly fit, my wife and I were in better 
> shape then than we are now. Second, it was not a photographic expedition. 
> My only camera was a beat up Rollei 35 that had lived at the bottom of my 
> gadget bag for years.
> 
> 
> We followed a gentle path that promised an easy ramble around a 
> classically formed glacial bowl named Cwm Idwal.?
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Larry+at+start+of+hike.jpg.html
> 
> 
> My wife, Maggie climbing over a stile.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Maggie+on+stile.jpg.html
> 
> 
> At the center of the Cwm a small lake, Llyn Iwal, sat in a valley carved 
> out by the retreating ice. The only settlement near by is Idwal Cottage, a 
> hamlet so small it isn't even on the map.? Here is a general view of the 
> area.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Hiking+Snowdonia.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Another and more picturesque view.I did not take this picture (although I 
> wish I did) but cribbed it from a tourist brochure.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Llyn+Idwal+and+Idwal+Slab.jpg.html
> 
> 
> The path became just a series of rocks that had to be stepped on precisely 
> to avoid the muddy plots between them. The upward slope turned into a 
> rocky staircase. In about half an hour of hard breathing we were up to the 
> base of the Idwal Slab.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Idwal+Slab.jpg.html
> 
> 
> The Slab was a sheer rock wall about 1000 feet high. At the base a bevy of 
> climbers were laying out rope, checking equipment and organizing all of 
> the esoterica necessary for flouting the laws of gravity. A couple of 
> young men came over to us armed with a video camera. They were gathering 
> material to promote the joys of climbing in the Welsh Alps. I guess they 
> decided if geezers such as we could make it this far then anyone could. 
> Where does the trail go from here? The cameramen pointed up the rock face 
> but then took pity on us and suggested a more gradually sloping route to 
> the top. Ahead was the jointed cleft of Twill Du which splits the peak 
> into two points. In Welsh this means Devil's Kitchen.
> 
> 
> The route turned into a series of rock scrambles that took us above the 
> tree line. The warming weather was melting the snow which soaked the rocks 
> and ran into the channel between the twin peaks. We found ourselves 
> fording shallow streams of melt water. These eventually combined into a 
> narrow but very high waterfall breaking the trail into two parts. The gap 
> was too far to jump although there is a local tradition that says jumping 
> the gap brings good luck. That must be the case since missing the jump 
> certainly brings bad luck. After a series of wet, slippery stumbling 
> attempts we crossed the gap a few hundred yards upstream then found our 
> way back to the minimal trail.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Twill+du.jpg.html
> 
> 
> A steep climb later we stood below the peak. As promised, the view was 
> magnificent. Llyn Idwal, a long way below, reflected the gray cliffs but 
> ripples in the water suggested that a wind was rising and it might be 
> prudent to descend.
> 
> 
> The downhill trek was physically harder than the uphill part. We nodded to 
> other hikers coming up the path secure in the knowledge that we had 
> completed, albeit inadvertently, one of the more demanding passages in 
> Snowdonia. By the time we reached the car we decided it was time for a 
> cuppa tea.?
> 
> 
> Larry Z
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>