Snowdon

I don't think I've ever travelled by National Express before. I've never had to- there's always been a train or a car or even a plane going where I want to go, but Friday I took off from work and headed straight to Victoria coach station. Destination: West Country.


Next morning, doorstop bacon sandwiches dealt with, Paul and I made our way up to Snowdonia to meet Si, who had slept in a tent in the rain the night before. The sunrise had made it all worthwhile.



Half an hour or so later, hail hammering down and wind blasting indiscriminately, we were facing down Crib Goch (one of the tougher ridge ascents of Snowdon). We decided against the route and took an easier way, along with everyone else climbing on the day.



The hail continued for a while and we trudged on, hooded and bowed. At one point I wondered aloud what we were doing it for. People climb mountains for different reasons: to get to the top, for a nice view, for the air, for the exercise, some even climb them just because people climb mountains. Others climb simply because the mountains are there. I hadn't even envisaged climbing Snowdon when I planned this trip- I was interested in seeing some of the autumn colours. We had settled on hiking Snowdon almost without discussion.