The Club Away Dinner is a must-attend meet! As well as the usual outdoor activities we celebrate with a meal in a hotel or restaurant. This year saw us enjoy some fabulous welsh cooking at Y Bistro in Llanberis. Their lamb was superb (high compliments from a Kiwi!), and, for me, was followed by a suitably sweet and sticky chocolate roulade. A coach to and from our hut ensured it was a merry and lively evening all around.

Eating, drinking and being merry!

It is a great weekend to reflect on all the activities we have been involved with over the years. Especially as many of the older members come along.

Needless to say, fewer outdoor sports were undertaken this weekend (read about the mountain biking trip below). On Saturday we did manage to go:

• Walking/Scrambling on the Snowdon Horseshoe (5 people)
• Mountain Biking from the Hut - Snowdon Ranger - Bwlch Cwm Crwynog - Bwlch Maesgwm - Ty n-y-mynydd - Hut (5 people)
• 3 oldies John, Pat, and Helen, climbed Cwm Silyn after replacing a tyre in Caernavon (blow out on M40).
• The famous five also ascended Cwn Silyn, two taking a more adventurous route up a gully to get to the top.

and on Sunday (a later start and earlier finish!):

• Walking from Nant Peris - Cwm Dudodyn - Foel Goch - Y Garn - Cwm Padrig back to Nant Peris (5 people)
• Climbing at Tremadog (2 people)
• John, Pat, Helen, & Colin climbed Y Garn II and the next one then down to forest and back to car. Pat and John had a bit of an epic crossing the forest after a dispute about paths.
• Walking from Rhyd-Ddu - Nantlle ridge - return via Cwm Pennant back to Rhyd-Ddu (6 people)
• Walking from Aber falls - up over Cras - Moel Wnion - Gyrn - Bera Bach - Bera Mawr - Aber falls (4 people)

Mountain Biking on Saturday

Denise, Iain, Nigel, Rob and Simon left the hut at about 10.30am.

The first mile and a half was mainly fast downhill on the smooth grey stuff to Waunfawr. A pleasant, mostly level cycle, passing newly completed stretches of the new Welsh Highland Railway, led to Betws Garmon. Here the mountains started to close in; the steep green flanks of Moel Eilio on the left contrasting with the dark craggy bulk of Mynydd Mawr on the right.

At the Snowdon Ranger hostel, the easy road riding ended and we turned left uphill, and commenced a long zig-zagging ascent. In general the gradient was reasonable, and the ground not too rough, but it was relentless and the frequent sharp bends provided good excuses for frequent rests.

The angle eased, and a gentle ascent, with a few short descents took us to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog, and a fine view of Cwm Clogwyn. Beyond this point the path narrowed and started to zig-zag steeply, so we turned tail and whizzed back down for about a mile, lumpy sections and angled slate steps unseating a few unwary riders! A steep, grassy, lung-bursting ascent then gained Bwlch Maesgwm.

The descent from the Bwlch was superb, fast singletrack, fairly smooth to begin with, but rougher lower down. It was a shame it didn't go on for twice as long! An undulating traverse on varied tracks above Llanberis brought us to the penultimate ascent - a steep grassy track which levels out higher up, and has expansive views of the Dinorwig quarries. A fast blast on tarmac, and a final short ascent back to the hut completed a classic ride.

Some statistics : 16 Miles, 650 metres ascent, 2 Punctures, At least 2 'over the handlebar' trips.

And an addendum by Iain...

P.S. The back of my left shoulder also aches and down my right side where I slid down the track and I lost skin off my right knee and scratched my left knee and -----------------, and -------, and ----. I will not complain again about going uphill in the Chilterns. It seemed to me that I pushed as much as I cycled uphill although the bike does come in handy as I can hang over it when I can't push any more. The downhill was good but it was shorter downhill than uphill - this seems to be one of the consequences of mountain biking, a change in your perception of reality.

Walkers enjoying a Sunday lunch on Bwlch y Brecan

Last Updated: 13 Oct 2005	© Slough Mountaineering Group	contact us