Midwinter Expedition 1995

December 1995 was the first time I went Winter hillwalking. Following a blisteringly hot summer we had a freezing winter, so cold that people were able to go Ice climbing in North Wales in December (photos below - I havn't seen it this cold since, recently its been getting too warm in Scotland even). This trip was again with the Scouts, the Wiltshire Midwinter Expedition.

To say it had a big impact on me is an understatement, I am still comparing my experiences today with that trip, and its all down to our second day there (which has the best photos if you want to skip ahead), but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Getting there

The trip started on the 27th of December at Pottern Scout hut, Wiltshire, very very early in the morning, where we were loaded into Minibuses and driven off to North Wales. I should mention that none of us (except the leaders) knew where we were going, it was all very exciting! We got there just before dark, and did a short night hike from the Youth Hostel at the base of Devils Kitchen to the first hut we stayed at, Coetmor Mill (owned by Hertfordshire Scouts). It was a clear night and the moonlight on the snow is something I've never forgotten.

I should mention that every evening each patrol had to entertain the rest of the expedition with a play or a song or a game. Also there was a bit of kidding about (such as kidnapping a toy santa), thats about all I can remember but I hope it helps explain some of the photos.

Images from the first hut

Moel Siabod

Day two, the day two, was a walk up Moel Siabod on a cold clear day, as can be seen by the photos. The views were spectacular and as an introduction to Winter hillwalking I think there could be few better. I do wonder what I would have done during the following years if the weather had been bad, but not much. Ok it was hardly an earth shattering account of the day, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Bad weather walk near Moel Wnion

The weather got steadily worse for rest of the week. The next day, the 29th, winds were gusting at up to 60mph, so we did a low level walk near Moel Wnion. The only thing that really sticks in my mind is seeing someone blown over by the wind and knock over the entire patrol in front of us. That and using a new Christmas present in anger; sunglasses with bits of leather to protect the sides of my eyes from driven snow! Oh and I also remember trying to put on a pair of cheap waterproof overtrousers in a hurricane force wind with driving snow (I so do love the fact I can now afford Salopettes with full side zips).

Devils Kitchen

On the 30th we planned to go up Devils Kitchen and to the top of Y-Gain, however a member of our patrol had a bad leg or something so I went back to the hut with her as the rest of the group completed the walk. By now we were at a new hut (a sports hall in Llanberis), and I was back to see some of the leaders 'return' the kidnapped Santa. That afternoon I got to join the leaders on a night hike up Snowdon to see if there was a decent path, sadly the wind was again very high (I remember it sounding like a jet engine) so we had to pick our way back off the hill. I'm afraid I have no photos of that.

2nd hut photos

New Years Eve

Our last day walking was the 31st. We hoped to climb Snowdon, but the snow had started to thaw and the whole of the upper paths were covered in verglass from the thaw and freezing fog that morning. We finished off the day with a low level hike, and as can be seen from the piccies there wasn't much show left by the following day when we headed home.

Heading home