Cwm Idwal Ice

The high pressure lingering over us on Saturday and bringing the return of the very cold snap after a slight warming thaw made the mind tick and after a phone call to Baggy, a plan was hatched. So sunday saw an early start and a quick hike into Cwm Idwal. The night had been cold and there was plenty of ice on the ground, giving good hints of what could be about.

We headed for Central Route as we had heard a few ascents had been made recently, even though it didn't look that fat on new year's day. We Soloed this followed by soloing the Ramp.

After descending back into the Cwm we went to the base of the Curtain and climbed this next, it was a lot more solid than it actually looked! Next followed an ascent of the Screen, a little damp, but well formed, with good bottom and top sections.

Lastly, we wandered over to the Devil's Cellar which gave us the best climbing of the day. Sporting two very good pitches and very good ice, it gave a fitting finale to a great day out.

There were apparently over a dozen teams on the Idwal Stream today and i've had reports of lots of action happening on the South Wales ice too, with folks on the Torpantau Falls and RAC Corner.

Conditions look like they are set to stay with us for the forthcoming week, so happy climbing. However, my tools are packed and i'm heading for Ouray on Wednesday.