Kate, Archie and I made the must of the settled weather, sailing and motoring from Beaumaris to Penmon and back. It was chilly but beautiful! 

 With a deteriorating forecast (!), Allan and I nipped up Idwal Buttress and the Cneifion Arete. We got down before the apocalypse 😀

I have been joined for two days of private guiding by Allan who has been out with us a couple of times before and wanted some scrambling mileage - making the most of some annual leave that needed using up before Christmas. We weren't given the best of forecasts today but some careful planning and some local knowledge meant that we were able to get some safe mileage despite the wind and the rain. We kicked off with Tryfan Bach (3) to take us unto Bastow Buttress (2) and then the sheltered side of the North Ridge (1) to the summit. We then descended Little & North Gullies (1) before ascending Nor Nor Gully (1-2) and then descending the lower section of the North Ridge (1). Ducking and diving and still smiling - ace :-)

Well that’s more like it 😀 A crisp, sunny day with snow on the tops today. Tom, Joe and I headed up the East Ridge of Y Garn looking at how to use the rope to protect grade 2&3 scrambles. I lead a couple of the steeper pitches but handed over to them for most of the route, climbing alongside the leader so that I could offer advice. There’s a lot to think about on this type of terrain and in some ways the use of the rope is more complex than simply going rock climbing but we had lots of great discussion and of course lots of learning in context. We finished the day by looking at how we manage an abseil descent in a multi pitch context. A great and contrasting couple of days - thanks very much both. 

I’ve been out with Tom and Joe today for day one of an advanced scrambling course. The weather was sub-optimal but surprisingly the rock was still grippy and the boys enthusiasm saw us through. We climbed Idwal Buttress and the Cneifion Arete. Good effort boys 😀