It came, it lasted, it blew all of us away and boy has it gone quick. The rapid transformation of winter wonderland has no doubt left us all wondering what we are all going to do. Lets just focus and train for the next spell alongside taking the memories away.
I am sure many of us have recently ticked routes that we have spent many years dreaming of and looking at in the guide/cold climbs. It might have been Idwal Stream ( which one day had over 50 climbers on the route all at the same time !!!) or some harder route. If you are one of these ? then I am sure you found the experience very fulfilling.
I for one, manged to tick the route which has been at the top of my list and has eluded me for years.
The route was Central Icefall Direct.
I got the opportunity last Tuesday, full details and pictures click on this link
This route was a coupe for Mick Fowler who claimed the first ascent many years ago. It was climbed last Sunday for the first time since the mid 90's ( I may be wrong here ) and received quite a few ascents upto Thursday, even a night ascent !!
In view of the current weather Tim Jepson summed it up
Tim was with his PGCE group from Bangor University today in Cwm Idwal and he witnessed the rapidity and completeness of the thaw brought about by today's high temperatures. By 9.00am the cwm was full of knee-deep slush and brown streams. What had been magnificent, climbable 'cascades de glace' only 15 hours earlier had become 'cascades d'eau' rushing down to the sea, and the snow was being stripped from the hillsides as they stood and watched. The product of four weeks of cold weather gone in one morning of warm wind and rain.
Do not despair, stay keep tuned to the blog as I have more details of routes, new, rare and first winter ascents over the last 4 weeks. alongside the Big Interview
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