After last month's failed effort in bad weather (see previous post), I'd been watching the weather forecast for signs of better weather in Snowdonia, but they weren't coming. Snow, rain, ice, high winds, sub-zero temperatures and every combination of them - not just unpleasant weather for tackling the peaks, but also dangerous. Meanwhile, I've been nursing a groin injury and had to pause training, watching those critical weeks, that should comprise my peak training, ticking away. With my groin still feeling stiff and an unsettled forecast, I determined that, with four weeks until the event, it was the last chance. Even with the need for healing time, I wasn't happy to arrive at the start line without having visited the tricky parts of the course that I will be covering at night; I have also realised that avoiding navigational mistakes will gain me far more time than any last minute training, and this could be critical for staying within the cutoffs.
The Plan
The last minute plan was taking shape: of the 60-miles intended last time, tackle the latter 30 miles on the Saturday; start at Capel Curig and, with a minor extension, finish near Pen-y-Pass, on the bus route to get back to the car. On the Sunday, either hike the 10-ish miles between Tal-y-Braich and Capel Curig, or possibly face my demons, start at Llyn Ogwen and tackle the gnarly peaks of Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewelyn and Pen Yr Helgi Du again too.
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| Planned Saturday route: 30 miles |
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| Planned Sunday route: 18 miles |
Saturday
I wasn't feeling fresh for the start; whilst supposedly resting from running, I hadn't been getting adequate sleep on any given night; my body really wasn't feeling ready for running. But I relied on the previous training and set out with a fairly heavy pack, armed with plenty of cold weather gear. I didn't get far up the steady climb from the north side of Moel Siabod before the headwind became fierce, accompanied by moderate rain. I soon met another runner who told me he'd abandoned near the summit because he could barely move forward. I took his comments seriously, but decided to proceed until I felt it unsafe to continue.
Progress was really slow and tough. I eventually reached the trig point; there was a slight trough in the wind, but when I climbed up to the trig marker I could barely stand. The rain was coming in hard. I figured it was worth assessing the descent off to the east, but I was struggling to find it; there was a steep gully that looked dangerous, and I struggled to believe that could be the route. I searched around the rocks and tried to tally it with the GPS plot on my watch. It was an awkward bit of clambering down, given the wet rocks, gusty winds, and my injured groin. I was feeling less confident because of these factors, recent falls, the dangerously bad conditions of the last recce and the risk of being injured in such conditions. Thankfully, the wind eased as I scrambled down, and the incline started to ease. The rain was still coming down, and the ground was sodden from weeks of on/off rain.
After the technical drop from Moel Siabod, it was a long, tedious descent to Dolwyddelan, following forest fire trails. It had taken me nearly 3 hours to cover just 10km, which confirmed the impact of both the terrain and the weather, but I was moving well now. After a refuel, I crossed the village and picked up a steady trail back into the hills. A lamb appeared at my feet and let me stroke it, which was a nice distraction from the miserable weather that had now set in. The pace was slow as the trail turned boggier, and emerging onto the flatter top section of Y Ro Wen put me in the firing line of the now very strong winds. I was enduring rain firing straight in my face, and questioning my life choices.
The bogs went on for a long time and I was soaked through, and starting to get cold. Eventually, I reached the edge of a quarry, which I knew meant I was approaching Blaneau Ffestiniog. I realised that given my slow pace, doing the full 30 miles would take much longer than I'd intended and I'd likely miss the last bus, leaving myself with extra miles to cover, potentially in the dark; I was also going to struggle to get warm again. Once I found shelter in the town, I consulted Google for travel options, and decided to abandon. That left me with a 2 hour train-bus combo, but with some shopping time in Betws-y-Coed. As I sat on the train, I saw blue skies and sunshine appearing; the people enjoying a lovely afternoon out in the town must have wondered why I was walking around in a big jacket and wooly hat, shivering away. I later found myself sat drinking a beer, looking up at the sun shining on the summit of Moel Siabod and feeling a bit frustrated with the weather menu.
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| Ascending Moel Siabod, looking over Capel Curig |
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| Moel Siabod summit |
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| Below Moel Siabod |
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| A new friend |
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| Disused quarry at Blaneau Ffestiniog |
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| Moel Siabod later that day |
Sunday
I formed a new plan for Sunday: ditch the earlier part of the route from Tal-y-Braich to Capel Curig, which should be straightforward on race day; instead, drive back to Blaneau Ffestiniog and follow the route until the summit of Moel Meirch, where I would get eyes on the descent down to Llyn Gwynant. This would let me tackle the challenging peaks of Moelwyn Mawr and Cnicht, the first of which I'll likely be doing in the dark on race day. I could then head back and shortcut the route back to the quarry to descend to Llyn Cwmorthin. I would hike it, partly to lessen risk of damage to my groin, and partly because I wanted a day with dry feet, and my new hiking boots would provide that.
It was a dry but cold day, with hints of sunshine, but the wind kept something in reserve for the high points. The quarry section was long, and whilst interesting for taking photos, made for dull walking. Tracking above Llyn Stwlan reservoir gave the first navigational challenge, as the path kind of disappeared; it was useful to have the chance to figure out the right way to do it. Moelwn Mawr was a fun and tricky ascent with scrambling required; dropping off the other side was a different sort of challenge - one for the knees and grip as it was straight down the grassy slopes. After Croesor, I did a purposeful ascent of Cnicht, which was steep and rocky but straightforward until the last scramble, where the wind came to greet me. I got a bit bored doing the long grassy section to Moel Meirch, especially as I had to return the same way, but I was pleased to get a view from the summit and visually join up with the next section of the race, even though I wouldn't follow it all the way for this recce.
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| Revised Sunday hiking route |
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| Llyn Cwmorthin |
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Cwmorthin quarry
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| Approaching the summit of Moelwyn Mawr |
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| View from Moelwyn Mawr summit |
Review
Mission success: my body held up well, I made a few mistakes with navigation that I now won't make on race day, I learned where the gnarly bits are for the night sections and I got to put my kit to the test in bad conditions again. I feel like my fitness has dropped off a bit, but it is hard to tell when starting tired. My confidence for race day is lower than it might have been, due to missed training, but higher now I feel my body is repairing and I know the majority of the course, including all the hardest bits. It still feels like the challenge of a lifetime - it doesn't seem possible to string together all the huge climbs and descents, the huge distance, and run, hike and scramble for what is likely to be nearly 48 hours. As ever, I'll give it my best shot. Some sunshine on race day wouldn't hurt either.
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