Evening in the Snow – Plynlimon Easter 2013

I know everyone is enjoying the balmy heat and sunshine of May – yes I know the weather is crap but we can all dream – but I’d like to take you back to a time of cold, frost and snow that was still dominating over Easter. After my Scottish adventures it was time for family time down at my parents caravan in Wales. The power of mobile broadband meant that I could “work at home” from the caravan on the Friday while the kids enjoyed a day on the beach. At 4pm I’d done my day in front of the laptop and it was time for a stroll. It had clouded up during the day but it was still bright so I headed up into the mountains just inland to climb Plynlimon. You can get the car up to 1000 feet and it’s a relatively short walk so it’s ideal for a late afternoon start.

My progress to my planned start point at Maesnant Farm was abruptly halted by a huge bank of snow drifted across the road. I may be could have ploughed through it, but this is not a spot to get stuck so I just left the car on the grass verge and headed off on foot

No access for cars!

The sky was beginning to clear again and the low angle of sun was creating some superb vista’s and light effects on the reservoir and the snow. Great thing about a late walk is you get the mountains all to yourself and this was the case today as I saw not a soul from start to finish

Maesnant road

Nant-y-Moch from the Maesnant road

Looking towards the coast from the Maesnant stream

The common route of ascent to the summit is from the south on the A44 but on my previous visit a couple of years back I discovered an unmarked path leading from the road-head along the Maesnant stream all the way to the summit. It’s a superb little path enlivened by some little waterfalls at the bottom and the broad valley higher up as it approaches the summit.

Plynlimon

I fairly romped up the path, picking out the soft snow and ice where I could find it and savouring the expanding views over the coastal hills to Cardigan Bay beyond. I had my skis with me in the car and there was almost enough snow to tour right to the summit. A few days earlier and the conditions would have been perfect but today there were enough gaps and it was too late to be messing about on skis. Having said that the steep west face that was holding a superb bank of snow would have made for an awesome descent. Another day

Across to Pen Cerrig Tewion

Stunning light on the snow

As I approached the summit the snow cover was pretty full and it was just sensational to be up on the summit at 6pm, alone and with the crunch of icy snow underfoot

Approaching the summit

The views all around were majestic

More stunning effects

Summit ridge

Northwest to the austere moorlands that hold the sources of the Wye and Severn

South from the summit

Southwest towards Pembrokeshire

Across Nant-y-Moch to Cardigan Bay

I settled in out of the wind for a brew and savoured the scene. 2 hours earlier I’d been stuck in the caravan working and now I was on a sunny, snow covered mountain with a full 360 degree panorama to call my own. The setting sun was creating a myriad of images and the effects on the snow were magical. I took time out for a couple of smug phone calls to GM and TBF, the latter was instructed to get my tea ready for 8pm – bless her!

Handsome fellow…

North to Cadair Idris

Light was fading fast and it was pretty cold so I had to reluctantly head down. I took a last lingering look at the west face and imagined myself skiing down it although from the top it looked pretty steep. Happy with my imagination I strode down

Across the west face

The sun starts to set

Golden Light

The sky was pretty clear by now so the views just got better. The mountains turned deep reddish brown and the low sunlight reflecting of the lake was magnificent

Nameless Lakes

Y-Garn

Setting Sun

With such a short walk I was able to linger every few hundred strides and take it all in. All too soon the car beckoned and I was back at my transport home (via a very deep snow-hole and a pulled calf muscle for my trouble). I sat and watched the sun set behind the mountains and drove home to my tea – sausages, mash and onion gravy – just the thing to finish off a cracking evening stroll

Time to go home

Enjoy the slideshow with a slice of blues