Page 32 - 2005 AMA Winter

O
ver the AMA Annual Weekend at the end of September 2004, I was able to enjoy three quick forays into the hills. With the
Welsh Wanderings
aid of digital camera, I thought I would try to provide a short summary.
First, on my way to Indy, I had time to stop at Ogwen to head up Y Gam, aiming for the intriguing East Ridge that skirts Cwm Idwal. It was fun picking a route up the various sections, as good views opened up all round. I found it tricky finding a way round the difficulties higher up. After finally hopping over a distinc­ tive rib, I was able to exit Cwm Clyd to reach the upper slopes of Y Gam. I was soon on the windy top, from where the two photos were taken as reminders of a memorable outing: for a couple of hours I had the whole hill to myself.
Paul Edwards joined me on my second trip, which took us to the Nantlle Ridge, On the drive there via Rhyd-Ddu, the clear weather made the scenery quite stunning. The first photo looks back at Craig
y Bera and Mynydd
Mawr, while the second was taken from the ridge above Cwm Silyn looking towards Snowdon. We carried on, making a fine circuit, on which we passed just one other hill- walker.
Sadly, the weather changed for my third outing, but Cath Davies and I headed toTryfan, where we crossed over the North Ridge to gain Heather Terrace. We found a good scramble up the wet Little and North Gullies, which provided shelter from the wet, westerly wind. As we gained the ridge just as other AMA members were proceeding on the North Ridge traverse: a few moments either way and we would have missed each other. Despite the poor weather (hence no photos), it was another satisfying expe­ rience.
These ventures were of limited duration, and each might be questioned as a
Quality Mountain Day’ . However, most of the other criteria were met, especially the last one: the end result is having a sense of achieve­ ment and a feeling of satisfac­
tion and enjoyment
on the day. I remember several years ago requesting that this be added to the suggested criteria, and I am delighted to see this in JSP 419.
For me, each hill-climb was different and enjoyable, and I felt I had made the most of a longweekend. Iwasalsoable
to squeeze in some AMA
By Lt Col Martin Bazire, AMA Chairman