Its white but is it right ?

Wednesday morning took quite a few locals by surprise. There was actually snow on the hills and down to about 500ms.

Thursday was a cold day with a few more winter showers.

Friday morning the snow had risen up to hill to approx 700ms. It  did not seem as cold as Thursday, due to the wind not being as strong, but we were having sleet at sea level.

In terms of conditions, one has to remember this is snow on top of what I think is un frozen ground. The temps before the snow arrived were not cold enough to freeze the turf.

Mind you the L - Term forecast is looking very good into next week, so is this the next mini phase of winter madness. Looks like Pete H was in the know , due to his comment on the last post.

The only routes that may be in condition over the weekend, in my mind,  will be mixed routes, that need to be white and do not rely on turf.  Maybe I am proved wrong. The one down side to all this is that I am unable to get out this weekend.

This is a good time to highlight the new and recent White Guide to Winter Climbing in North Wales follow the link for all the details. The guide is free from V12 or free download from the link

The guide is a combination of work from Dr Barbara Jones (BMC Volunteer and previously Upland Ecologist for CCW), Elfyn Jones (BMC Access & Conservation Officer), Joe Roberts (BMC volunteer and CCW Access Policy Officer) with input from Simon Panton and North Wales winter activist Mark “Baggy” Richards. To be fair Barbara was the one of the key people to kick start this guide. However, with input from CCW and the BMC this is a great example of how organisations and climbers can work together.