UKC

On Thin Ice - Snowdonia Conditions

© withey
The last few days have seen blue skies and a hard freeze in Snowdonia. Routes have been climbed in thin conditions. The weather is set to change on Saturday, so for those keen enough, a few last-minute adventures might just be grabbed on Friday.

Conditions are perilously thin, but reports are coming in of clean top-rope ascents of both Central Icefall Direct (VI) and Cascade (V) in the Llanberis Pass and of reasonable conditions over in the Ogwen Valley, high in Nameless Cwm. Left Hand Branch (IV) on Clogwynn Ddu has been climbed with thin conditions initially, but excellent ice on the upper pitches.

Weather forecasts indicate a substantial rise in temperatures over the weekend, the blues skies are set to be replaced with driving rain, just in time for Christmas. What better present than a quick Welsh winter route?

More Reports and photo's on the Forum Thread


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18 Dec, 2007
believe me its not in nick, we tried today, to thin and brittle
19 Dec, 2007
went up today, no difference on the photos. In Ogwen - Tower gully and the area around it is in very good nick grades 1-2. Idwal Stream is a goer but not fat and fully formed. No other ice in Ogwen that we have seen over last few days, which is climbable. Streaks in Idwal but nothing to climb. Not sure about Sergents
19 Dec, 2007
Anyone been up to black ladders? Cheers, Ed
19 Dec, 2007
Walked around the top of them on Sunday, the turf was frozen solid at all levels, but no ice or snow on them at all that I could see. There was hard neve in Ffynon Llyfant under the top of Llewelyn, but only on easy slopes within 100m or so of the top.
19 Dec, 2007
forget ladders
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