Bombshells And Bounce-Backs

When You've a Cause Worth Fighting For
You Always Find A Way

Friday 29th June 2024: Four Days To Alpine Adventure 2024

Bombshell No. 1

We were driving Dione to Felindre Hospital in Cardiff for her monthly injection. I was discussing my concerns that I hadn't heard from Aaron, our climb leader, despite having messaged and trying to call him on several occasions over the past week, to nail down details of where to meet, kit checks etc. Dione was saying that knowing Aaron as we do, he'd probably message us on Saturday night with his usual, 

"Evening Chaps. Are we all fit and ready..." pep talk.

Then PING! My phone went in the car. A quick look at my watch displayed, 'Aaron Thomas'.

'Thank fuck for that!', were the exact words that came out of my mouth and I asked Dione to read the message for me. 

It was not what I needed to hear. The message was short and to the point. Aaron could not make the trip.

'He's fucking winding us up' I said to Dione. 

I'd been messaging all week, he could sense the growing urgency in my messages and he was going to have a bit of fun with it.

Dione's response, 'Aaron doesn't do wind-ups. I think he's serious' 

I knew she was right.

Then, still on the journey to Cardiff, my phone rang again. It was Nathan, the third member of our team, in an obvious state of shock and just a little panic. I told him not to worry, if it wasn't a wind up, we would sort something out.

Over the next two days, it became blatantly obvious that Aaron was not winding us up. His messages remained short, vague and to the point. 

He couldn't come but would support us in any way he could.

Now, if this had been anyone else, I would have been supremely pissed off and angry beyond belief. However, knowing Aaron as I do, I could only ascertain, as he was giving nothing away, that it was for a very, very, serious reason. 

However, I was bitterly disappointed. 

I don't know what Aaron and Nathan's prep had been like, but I had trained my ass off since November 2023 to be fit enough for the huge challenge we had set ourselves. In hindsight, those challenges were possibly unrealistic, but I was as ready as I could be and fitter than I'd been since my twenties and I was absolutely ready and gunning for those mountains.

Whatever the eventual outcome would have been, success or failure, lack of fitness and motivation on my part would not have been a factor.

Resilience: The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness

Bounce-Back No.1

With Aaron out of the picture, the next pressing issue was what could myself and Nathan achieve in going to Chamonix. I was confident in leading us as far as the Goutre Refuge on Mont Blanc but beyond that was unknown territory for me and I wasn't in any way willing to frivolously risk our lives in pursuit of the summit. Added to that, Nathan lacked some essential pieces of climbing kit that he was going to borrow off Aaron. For our own sakes, it was clear that we could not summit any of the mountains or make any of the climbs that had been planned without Aaron's expertise and experience.

I was almost ready to call the whole trip off, but as always, Dione convinced me that I should get out there with Nathan, who seemed super keen to still go, and have a bloody good time. Even if it meant going on the lash for ten days.

As tempting as that option was, I hadn't trained like a mad-man for seven months, to drink my fitness away in the outdoor adventure capitol of the world.

So what to do???

My next big challenge following Chamonix was to train for, and this time complete, the Brecon to Cardiff Extreme trail race.

Chamonix is a 'Trail Running Mecca', the home of the UTMB world championship, attracting the very best athletes.

I got online and immediately found over a dozen incredible routes that would give some crazy ascent, see some incredible sites and possibly make up in some way for losing the opportunity of summitting some 4000'ers. 

With the GPX maps already loaded into my watch, Apps and GPS device, I put the plan to Nathan, he appeared happy with it and Chamonix 2024 was once again back on track/trail.

Monday 1st July 2024 22:00 - Less than twelve hours from Departure to France

Bombshell No.2

'All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go' - John Denver

Yep, My bags were absolutely packed and I was super-excited for our new Chamonix, trail run and hike itinerary. This could could really be 'a most excellent adventure' after-all.

PING! My phone chimed from the kitchen. Probably Nathan just confirming meeting place and timings etc.

Yes. It was Nathan. Confirming that he'd replaced a rear light on his car at a cost of £200 and it now needed another rear light and two new tires at a cost of a further £500 plus. He'd have to get it done in the morning and he really wasn't sure that he could get it booked in.

Utterly deflated, I read between the lines and just replied 

"Mate, let's just knock it on the head"

I totally understood Nathan's predicament in having to spend such a large amount of money so soon before leaving, but I couldn't stop my frustration and not a little anger from bubbling to the surface. Dione, seeing the look on my face and I'll admit, a tear in my eye, made the honest and well-intentioned mistake of asking me what was wrong.

I don't think I shouted but I definitely went into Oscar winning, tragedy, end of the world, fuck my life mode. 

Poor Nathan had it both barrels. He was probably getting a fair percentage of the frustration and upset that had been initialised by Aaron's late withdrawal from the trip. If you're reading this Nathan, I apologise unreservedly.

'I don't fucking believe it! He's had five fucking months to get his fucking car ready for the trip and he's left it all until the fucking day before!'

Apologies but I did say a lot of fucks and fuckings over the following five or six minutes.

Bounce-Back No. 2

Once I'd completed venting and sulkily sat down, Dione, sensing that the next few weeks would be intolerable if I didn't get away and do something, did what she does best and started to make the best of a bad situation for me. 

She asked me what I'd like to do in this country instead.

We sat, discussed and within an hour I had booked a hotel in Caernarvon with the intension of finally bagging Crib Goch. That would be a huge achievement for me. I'd also booked the Base Camp Hotel (highly recommend) just outside Fort William with the intension of climbing the North Face of Ben Nevis via Gully Four, something I had previously done in the winter with both Aaron and Nathan. What a trip that was!

I did a little more research on the Scotland trip and found what looked like a fantastic route, taking in two Monroe's, the first being Carn Mor Dearg, then traversing the mighty CMD Arete to get to the summit of the second, being Ben Nevis.

For a lot of more experienced people, the above hikes would be no big deal. For me though, it was quite a nervy undertaking. I'd always done all my major hikes and climbs with Aaron leading. This was the first time I'd be navigating myself around unknown territory and it was thoroughly exciting for me.

In the back of my mind, I was also contemplating a little visit to the Lake District and a first ascent of Scafell Pike. But I'd wait and see how I felt about that one on the drive home.

Okay! Happy Andy was back again, calm Andy was back again, and as always I had my resilience to thank. My resilience being Dione, of course.

The following day, with a cooler, calmer head and knowing how disappointed he was about the situation, I messaged Nathan and asked him if he'd like to come to North Wales with me. He jumped at the chance, just happy that we'd get to do something with the time we had taken off from work. I said to get to my house early and we'd get an ascent of Cadair Idris in on the way up.

That turned out to be a much longer day than intended.

Wednesday 3rd July 2024 - Cadair Idris

Arriving at the Mindffordd Path car park at around 13:30, the weather was a little overcast and muggy, so no need for trousers or mid-layers, just skins, shorts and t-shirt. As always though the waterproof jacket was tucked away in the rucky. I generally never wear waterproof trousers as they tend to overheat me and make me really uncomfortable.

We set off, looking forward to a pleasant four hour, trek up to the summit, a cuppa in the bothy and then take a circular route back. The first section takes you up steep steps past some very picturesque waterfalls until you get to the actual mountain path.

Until you get onto the mountain proper, the path is clearly marked as it is laid with stone all the way. 

By the time we got on to the 'mountain proper', cloud was beginning to descend and a few gentle spots of rain could be felt on my rain detector  i.e. my massive bald head.

From this point on everything got a little worse. The cloud cover really closed in, the rain began to fall and for those of you who know Cadair Idris, the terrain changed to the unstable rocky ground that takes you to the summit. A summit that we didn't realise at the time, we'd get to see twice.

Quite A Pleasant Start

The Best View All Day

By the time we summitted, we were soaked to the skin. We took some quick photos at the trig point and headed to the bothy for a warm cuppa and some much needed carby snacks. As soon as we stopped, I began to shiver uncontrollably and realised I was in danger of possible hyperthermia. So as quickly as I could I stripped, threw on my merino wool mid layer and waterproof coat and sank some hot coffee. Thankfully the shivering came under control and we prepared to get the hell off the mountain as quickly as possible.

One For The Cause At The Bothy

As we left the bothy, the visibility was down to around ten to fifteen meters and we headed off at pace. The circular route was out of the question as I was unfamiliar with it and the poor conditions would have made it reckless, so we headed down the path we thought we came up. After twenty minutes, Nathan suggested that he thought we had gone wrong somewhere and I had to agree. The route we were descending on was far more pleasant than the one we came up. However, as we could get zero GPS signal, and the thought of ascending the mountain again wasn't that pleasant, we decided to keep going and see if we could find a route back to the car park lower down.

As it turned out we should have ascended there and then.

By the time we got GPS signal back, we had descended a mile and a half down the wrong route and the map showed that we'd have a hefty hike back to the car park from where we'd end up. So, with a deep breath and a bit of laugh about it, we headed back to the summit. As it turned out, we'd simply missed a slight left turn to take us back to the Mindffordd Path.

Cadair Idris Summit

So our planned three or four hours up and down Cadair Idris, turned into a cold, wet, up down up down, eleven miles  and over six hours of cloud covered, scenery devoid slog. 

But isn't this what adventures are made of?

Thursday 4th July 2024 - Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) via Crib Goch

Summary Video of Route

I'll let the video above do most of the talking on this one but.....

Both myself and Nathan had been waiting to bag Crib Goch for a number of years. I'd had four recent visits to the region over the past couple of years and for one reason or another, the famous 'Red Ridge' had never been claimed.

We started up the Pyg Track early in decent weather. Stopping briefly at the famous marker stone for pics, we made our way to the first tower section scramble. 

Crib Goch Marker

I'm not a lover of Yr Wyddfa as a mountain. I find it to be an utterly tedious ascent, having only ever hiked it via Pyg and Miner's.

'But this was more like it!!!'

Traversing Crib Goch gives everything that is exciting about hiking, scrambling and climbing. 

• You have to concentrate on gaining good hand-holds before pushing on, so there is no time for boredom
• The first part of the ridge provides just enough exposure to drops that give you that adrenalin rush and sense of your mortality.... But not too much. You never feel in danger.... If you've a head for heights.
• The views are spectacular

What A View

Coming off Crib Goch, you're presented with the towering spires of Crib Y Ddysgl. At this point, the weather began to turn. The wind picked up, cloud cover engulfed us and the rain began to fall. We briefly considered finding a quick route back down but two guys we had tagged on to, both well into their sixties, continued to plough onwards.

Nathan on The Move

'If they can do it, we can do it mate'

There seemed to be spire after towering spire, each one gradually and ominously revealing itself through the thick blanket of cloud, until finally the ground levelled out and we hit the trig point.

From there it was another twenty minutes in atrocious weather and poor visibility to the summit of Yr Wyddfa. There we had to, quite annoyingly, queue behind trainer and t-shirt wearing, 'choo-choo train to the summit tourists', having there pictures taken at the trig point, like they climbed it. 

But I'm not bitter...

Another for The Cause

We had a brief warm and some refreshments in the cafe before getting down off the mountain, to the hotel and into the pub as quickly as possible.

Crib Goch made me, if not love, then at least give me a reason, to visit Yr Wyddfa again.

North Wales leg done and dusted

Friday July 5th / Saturday July 6th 2024

I had Friday evening and all day Saturday to get my kit cleaned and spend time with Dione before driving up to Fort William on Sunday. So a chilled night on Friday was followed by an utterly enjoyable nine mile local hike with D and the dogs on Saturday.

During that walk, a new Chamonix plan was hatched. D, following her recovery from cancer surgery, had started training for a half marathon. Having seen my trail run and hike itinerary for our failed 2024 Chamonix trip, D suggested that she start doing some bouldering with me, and get on some trail runs and longer hikes.

Then, in 2025, we could get out to Chamonix and if I wanted, I could invite Aaron out, or hire a local guide and finally get Mont Blanc done.

We'll leave that one there for now.... but needless to say... Plans are afoot.

Sunday July 7th 2024

A long drive.... A really long drive... then arrival at The Base Camp Hotel. 

This is a ski resort and mountain bikers heaven. The ski lifts take MB enthusiasts to the top of some pretty rad bike runs. Well, pretty rad by my standards.

You arrive in to an absolutely enormous, car park and are faced with what looks like a cross between a factory unit and an aircraft hanger. My initial thoughts were, 

'Oh shit'.

I needn't have worried, the aircraft hanger, was a huge communal area, with bike hire, restaurant/bar and a cafe.

The room was clean, comfortable and the shower room is the best I've had in any hotel.

They also give you a truck load of coffee, tea, herbal teas and hot chocolates with plenty of milk. At £110 per night, I was more than happy.

The best thing about it for me though, was that there was a very picturesque walk to the Ben Nevis, North Face Path and my gateway to CMD Arete Route that I was to undertake on Monday.

Fort William is a five minute drive away, but I didn't venture out. I've been to Fort William before and it reminded me of Pontypridd in the 90's to be honest.

I highly recommend this hotel to you out-doorsy types. 

When I improve on these little travel logs, I'll make sure I take photos of rooms and facilities. However, I did get the footage below.

Base Camp Hotel

Monday July 8th - Ben Nevis via The Corn Mor Dearg Arete

With my kit and clothing all prepared the night before, I was up and out the door by 07:00. The weather was dry and a little overcast but not at all cold.

Summary Vid of CMD Arete Route

The Mighty CMD Arete Coming In To View

What can I say about this route. Well it was an eleven hour, seventeen mile slog, through bog, over rocky unstable ground, along a mighty and totally engaging arete, which included a pretty arduous, very steep climb over huge boulders to the summit. 

In areas where the heat of the sun could not penetrate, there were still pockets of winter snow, which the kids at the summit area... and grown-up kids, took great delight in playing in and taking the obvious photo opportunity.

For much of the climb there was a lot of cloud cover and a little rain, meaning poor visibility, obscuring the views.

But..... When that cloud cover broke.... My God! The views were absolutely incredible, especially from the arete and the summit.

A Break In The Clouds from The CMD Arete

The descent was a little less enjoyable as it was on the more popular 'Mountain Path' meaning, more people and a very long descent on pretty uninteresting paths. Again though, the views were spectacular. 

I then realised that my GPS was taking me back up towards, the CIC Refuge, which would have further extended, my walk by a twelfth hour.

Memory kicked in. I remembered that in 2017, Aaron had followed the stream back down to the forestry where you cross the Allt a 'Mhullin, a large and fast flowing mountain... river, more than a stream, which, if in 'spate', can be impossible to cross. However, I'd clocked a couple of crossing points at the early part of my ascent and knew it was okay. I also took the opportunity to have a good rinse and cool off in these chrystal waters.

After Seeing No-one en route. The amount of people at the summit came as a bit of a shock.

Tired now, all I had left was the forestry walk back to the hotel. I struck up conversation with a local man with a distinctly English accent. He and his French companion had  done the same route and had been with me on a long stretch of the descent, but when I deviated along my boggy stream route, they had continued on to the CIC Refuge path. They far preferred my deviation and would be doing that next time.

The young French-man proudly told me how his mother had climbed Mont Blanc the week previously. I didn't let on how much the mention of that mountain caused me a little pang of anxiety, the fact being I should be there at that very moment.

On The Way Home

Exchanging hand-shakes and goodbyes, my temporary companions went off in the direction of the North Face Car Park as I continued on the picturesque forestry route back to the hotel. This part of the hike seemed be taking ten times longer than it had that morning, but eventually, the hotel came into view and I headed straight to the bar for a well-deserved, ice cold diet coke, followed by two well-deserved ice cold local lagers.

This hike really did go a long way to making up for my Alpine disappointment. I'd navigated myself on an unknown route to me, and had got to my destination and back safely. 

For me.... It had been ...

'A Most Excellent Adventure' - William S Preston Esq and Theodore Logan

Another for The Cause

Now... To Scafell Pike or Not To Scafell Pike? ... That is the question.

Tuesday July 9th - Scafell Pike? - Or Straight Home

Of course I did Scafell Pike!

It was a five hour drive from Fort William to Wasdale Head. I left at 07.30 surmising that I could get to Wasdale Head by 13.00 at the latest, giving me plenty of time to tick the mountain off and get on with the further six hours of driving back to wonderful Wales.

I asked Carol Kirkwood what the weather would be like, and she said that there was a lot of rain travelling quickly northwards but would clear the North of England by early afternoon.

Perfect!

It turns out that lovely, smiley, butter wouldn't melt, Ms. Kirkwood, tells  big fat ones.

As I crossed the border from Scotland to England, it began to rain. Then it rained some more, more, and more. It was throwing it down. But I was okay, Carol said it would clear by early afternoon and there was still plenty of time.

When I got to the car park at Wasdale Head, the rain had lightened but the skies looked seriously ominous. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I never wear waterproof leggings because they make me overheat, I perspire prolifically and it just gets really uncomfortable.

On this day though, with it raining steadily, the sky looking like it had a lot more to give and a long way to go, I decided I'd wear my waterproof trousers as well as the jacket and just take my time.

I set off. No back-pack, water, snacks or GoPro. I just wanted this one done quickly.. Across fields and on to the mountain I went. I met hiker after descending hiker, all of whom looked thoroughly wet through and fed up and none of whom wanted to respond to my cheery greetings. 

'This is looking good' I thought to myself

The route was a real trudge, up lots and lots of stone steps, then as you get over the half way point, very loose and unstable rock.

The wind was verging on gale force, the rain was lashing down, stinging both my face and hands. I could feel my clothing beneath the waterproofs was drenched in sweat and I'd never appreciated the very expensive raincoat I was wearing more than right then. It was stopping the wind from cutting through me and sending me into hyperthermia. More than a couple of times, thoughts of saying 'stuff this' and turning back just popped briefly into my head. 

You know and I know that isn't me however, so onwards I went.

The visibilty on Cadair Idris a few days ago had been bad, but the visibility on Scafell Pike today was another level of poor. Without my GPS watch and some very well placed cairns, it would have been a dangerous place to be for sure.

One for The Cause

I eventually reached the summit and got my #macmillancancersupport pic. I'd have headed straight down but got talking to a young man and his girlfriend at the top. This guy had cycled from his home in Manchester to Snowdonia and climbed Yr Wyddfa via Crib Goch. He had then cycled to the Lake District to climb Scafell, and the following day, was cycling to Fort William to do the CMD Arete route I had done the day before! All for a forces charity. I forget which one.

Now that is an insane challenge!

Anyway, chat done, I just wanted to get off this miserable mountain. Having taken nearly three hours for the ascent, I got back to my car in a little over eighty minutes. 

Now I had to get changed somehow. There was nobody around, so I stripped naked outside my car, toweled down and got dry clothes on ASAP before I was charged with indecent exposure. The clothes I was wearing were absolutely soaked in sweat.

That wet gear I hate wearing so much, had stopped me from getting seriously cold.

All in all, I had a pretty miserable experience of Scafell Pike. I took the most used route which, on any mountain, tends to be the most boring/tourist route. However, on this day, the quickest and easiest way up and down was definitely the correct option. I had a job to do and it helped me get it done.

Would I do it again? 

Yes I will but not via that route. A little more research has found me a couple of far more interesting routes taking in a few more hills and a lot more distance. These will be done as a full day out at some point in the future.

For now though... Farwell Scafell.

Wednesday July 9th 2024.

I got home just after midnight and found a beer and pizza waiting for me. What a woman!

I had a fairly good nights sleep and was looking forward to a very chilled day; bacon sarnies for breakfast, nice gentle walk with the dogs, catch up on the British Grand Prix and maybe go for a pint in the local in the evening.

By midday however, I was bored out of mind. 

So what to do?

Well, I'd done the three big ones, so why not to get the highest mountain in southern Britain done as well.

I shot over to Pen Y Fan as it's literally fifteen minutes away, and ran a route I'd unbelievably never done before. Past the phone box at Storey Arms, up to Corn Du then on to Pen Y Fan, before pegging it down to Pont Ar Daf in a little under eighty minutes.

The weather stayed true to form with extremely poor visibility again, but I just enjoyed this one.

I was satisfied. Pen Y Fan had nicely 'bookended my week of hikes and climbs all to raise awareness of the incredible work of Macmillan Cancer Support and I raised over £500 in the week for them as well.

A huge THANK YOU to you all for that. I shout out their name and you guys put your hands in your pockets time and time again.

Epilogue: The Brilliance of Resilience

A week that started disastrously had completely turned around. I had to majorly adapt and vary my plans twice, due to circumstances beyond my control and that are still a mystery to me. By bouncing back and taking control of this trip, I had:

• Taken on tasks I would normally trust others to control: Itinerary, routes and maps, hotels etc
• Discovered my own skills and knowledge were far greater than I had realised.
• Gone solo on adventures I'd have never undertaken alone previously
• Advanced my navigational skills and knowledge
• Boosted my self-confidence no-end
• Seeded a whole lot of new adventure ideas for the future
• Avoided marital tension due to the potential of me being a right misery

This had been a very good week for me, all because of 'being resilient'.

My resilience has a name... Dione. 

My Resilience 💖

She is the one who made me sit down, put the difficulties to one side and find a way to get over each obstacle that was presented to me. She had taken on cancer for fuck sake! She had taken cancer head-on and never once faltered.

My big problem was that I couldn't go for a walk where I wanted to.

So find somewhere else to walk ya nimrod!

Dione is a firm believer in the power of the universe and that everything happens for a reason.

After this incredible week and the huge amounts of good it did for me.... I think I may be coming a believer in the power of the universe too.

Now another question has been posed....

WHAT NEXT???