Bethesda Blog
An occasional commentary on events in and around North Wales
The views experessed here are not necessarily those
of the Scout Association, Greater London South West, or the moderators
of the web site. Sometimes, I'm not even sure I believe in them myself.
Nevertheless, no offence is intended to anyone on any grounds, so I hope
none will be taken.
| 25th February |
Saturday gave us one of those wonderfully clear crisp winter's
days, spoiled only by the wind whcih made it difficult to keep on
your feet on the tops. equally unfortunately, the snow looked much
better than it wes underfoot, so when we ascended Banana Gully on
the north face of Y Garn, we found a couple of inches of unconsolidated
snow overlying unconsolidated scree. Not a happy combination.
Tryfan from Cwm Clyd
|
North face of Y Garn (Banana Gully roughly follows the shaddow
line on the right)
Spindrift and eroded footprints near the summit of Y Garn
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| 19th February |
An eventful day.
The morning was spent at the climbing wall at Indefatigable
(the Joint Forces Mountain Trainting Centre) with the Scout
Network who were staying at the base.
Checking knots and systems
|
We had not finished
lunch before there was a callout for a climber who had fallen
on 'Superdirect' route on the Milestone Buttress, and suffered
head injuries, in spite of wearing a helmet.
Assistance from 'C' Flight, 22 Squadron ensured he arrived
at the hospital as quickly as possible.
|
The day ended with a such a glorious sunset that
you could have been forgiven for thinking that Y Garn had decided
to display a volcanic nature!
|
'C' Flight, 22 Squardon in action
 |
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| 10th February |
The change in the weather for the weekend was hearalded by this
fine Lunar Halo (the bright ring around the moon, close to the top
and right edges of the picture, lost at the bottom, and part hidden
by the trees). This was viewed from Yr Hen Neuadd while we were waiting
for everyone to arrive at the base for the Mountain Skills weekend.
Lunar halos occur when a bright (full, or nearly full) moon shines
through a thin layer of cirrostratus cloud. The cirrus clouds are
composed of ice crystals, and the halo is the result of light being
diffracted through the crystals. For a detailed explanation of formation
of solar and lunar halos try Atmospheric
Optics. |
Lunar Halo |
| After the extended dry period water levels in the Aberglaslyn have
dropped again. Compare this with the levels senn on 4th
November or 18th November. |
Aberglaslyn |
|
| 2nd February |
| The first signs of spring? A roadside bank was covered in snowdrops,
and we are still waiting for a decent snowfall. Normally we get the
best snow around the end of February, begining of March up here. Looking
at the weather reports, north Wales seems to have been enjoying higher
temperatures than the south-east, so perhaps that is what has confused
the plants - or is it one more thing to blame on global warming? |
|
|
| 30th January |
Inland, at least, we had another beautiful, clear, cold day. In
some places the frost never thawed, and there is a noticable build
up of ice on some of the cliffs at the back of Cwm Idwal. Don't
get excited - not enough to climb, yet). Here, the mountains of
Eryri are silhouetted against a haze catching the colours of the
setting sun. |
|
Cryptosporidium
Update
This relates to the warnings and updates of 29th November, 1st,
8th and 12th December.
Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) have announced that it is once again safe
to drink the tap water throughout north Wales. Apart for a few days
of uncertainty, Bethesda has always been in a safe area, but this
announcement means that user of the base need no longer be as cautious
when travelling to other areas local to the base. |
|
| 29th January |
The Search and rescue Dogs and the Ogwen valley Mountain
rescue team were out again at 4.00 in the morning looking for a
person who was believed to have gone for a walk alone on Saturday
afternoon, but had not returned to keep evening appointments. The
clear cold night gave us concern that leaving the search until daylight
might be too late if the casualy was hypothermic. Regrettably, on
this occasion, whie the search was successful, the subject had not
survived. We will have to wait for the inquest to discover the cause
of death.
All in all, a busy weekend. I think I speak for the whole team
when I say that we do not mind turning out for genuine accidents,
even if the casualty was 'bending the rules' by going out alone,
but the increasing number of incidents resulting from people who
are uninjured, and would rather use a mobile phone to call out a
rescue team rather than sort out a problem for themselves is increasing,
and in the long run this will be to the detriment of the rescue
services, and so all hill users. |
Afternoon light on Yr Elen and Carnedd Llywellyn
|
|
| 28th January |
A beautiful day brough a lot of people out onto the hills. Unfortunately
the cold, clear night had led to a frost which was not clearing
if there was no sun. This ended the day early for one unfortunate
walker when a slip on the path led to a broken ankle. C flight,
22 Squadron RAF Search and Rescue assisted in making sure the casualy
arrived in hospital in the shortest possible time.
The team was out again later in the evening, this time to two people
who were fit and well, were walking well with the torches they had,
but found it easier to call out the rescue team from their mobile
phone than to find their own way down. |
Rescue on Tryfan
|
|
| 7th January |
Not a bad weekend, weatherwise. Cold, but light winds meant it did
not feel too bad. An otherwise pleasant day on the hills on Saturday
was marred by the fact we were engaged on the search for Gary Davidson,
whose car was left at Pen y Pass car park on Monday, and who has not
been seen since.
With apparent disregard for all the safety 'rules' we set ourselves,
the implication is that he has gone for a walk, probably on the Snowdon
massif, and failed to return to his car: walking on his own, no note
with a route plan, no messages left with friends. It was only when
he failed to appear for engagements that he was missed.
It would be very easy to be critical, to say, with 20-20 hindsight,
what he should have done, but I know I am not alone in, on occasion,
venturing forth into the mountains with no clear idea of where I am
heading, and allowing my ffet and interests to guide me. The rules
are made for our guidance and safety, and we may experience exhilaration
and a greater feeling of self-reliance ora heightened feeling of 'wilderness'
in breaking them. However, it is incidents like this that help serve
as reminders that the mountains are intrinsically dangerous, and we
must be prepared to accept the consequences of our actions. |
Glyder Fawr viewed across the Llanberis Pass |
|
| 4th January 2006 |
| I always love it when the cloud hugs the hill-tops like a blanket.
|
The Carneddau from near Bangor |
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| 3rd January 2006 |
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Welcome back. I'm starting the year with a picture for the archives.
This is the (former) Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station. It has been
a feature of the landscape of north Wales since it was built in
the 1950s. After opening in 1965, the two 235MW Magnox reactors
contributed electricity to the National Grid for 28 years before
closing in 1993. The reactors are now decommissioned and the currrent
plans are to encase the the waste material in concrete and 'lower
the profile' of the buildings to reduce their impact on the landscape. |
Trawsfynydd (former) Nuclear power Station |
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