WAUN RYDD
Eastery winds and swirling cloud, but no rain as I set off from a car park in the forest just north of Pentwyn reservoir. The path was flanked by gorgeous high waterfalls, and was easy to follow - anti-erosion work consisting of packed slate steps makes it easy going on the way up, but a bit of a jolt coming down. Anyway, I was at the top of the ridge of Craig Y Fan Ddu in ten minutes of pretty anaerobic running. Here my old friend the East Wind got serious - my route along a north-south ridge was about as exposed as you can get - just as on Pen Allt Mawr a few weeks ago - I soon found myself encased in goretex and with balaclava pulled down over my face, fighting to stay balanced on the edge of the ridge. The forecast was for the wind to swing round to the west later, so hopefully life would be easier when I retraced my steps on the way back. The ridge of Craig Y Fan Ddu joins the greater ridge running east-west that forms the main masif of the Brecon Beacons, with the principle peaks at intervals along its length - here I turned right to bag the less frequented summit of Waun Rydd - the path doesn't even go there, so I broke out across the desolate hilltop to find a small cairn with commanding views - I could see beautiful profiles of Fan Y Big and Cribyn with Pen Y Fan behind - these were my next destination (Pen Y Fan being the heighest of my 40 summits).
FAN Y BIG
Seen here with Crybin looming in the mist behind, it doesn't look like theres much climbing to do between the point where I grabbed this photo and the summit of Fan Y Big, but theres a deep saddle followed by a steep, steppy climb to negotiate. Here the paths are well worn - I saw a party of thirty or so army recruits with full pack on a swift jog/march at one point, and two lone walkers - thats a lot of activity for a Welsh mountain on a Monday morning in March.With the summit quite exposed, I didn't linger, but carried on towards Crybin - what a beautiful mountain...
CRYBIN
Cloud and mist were descending fast, as you can see from the murk in this photo, but the noble outline of Crybin still shows. As with Fan Y Big, the ridge descends to a low "saddle" before a very steep scarp leads you to the summit. Steep cliffs fall away to the north, and gentler slopes to the south, but most traffic is along the ridge, so paths here are wide and full of loose stones. The other danger today was ice - sheets of it in patches on the path - so I had to keep my head down and watch every footstep. While doing these mountain runs I've come to view ice as a most lethal threat - twice I've falled headlong on an unseen patch and been lucky to get away with scratches. No running footwear will grip on ice while still being suitable for all the other terrains you encounter, so you have to pick your way through it carefully. Beyond the windswept summit of Crybin, Pen Y Fan was totally enshrouded in cloud, so sadly I could get no meaningful photo - I'll nip back for one another day...
PEN Y FAN
Twin peaks - Pen Y Fan and its "sub-peak" Corn Du. Picture taken a couple of weeks after on a clearer day.
By the time I descended Crybin and started on the last big climb of the day I was pretty wasted - carbo gels were keeping me going, but I've found that running in high winds really saps your strength. Even if its a sidewind not a headwind, the effort of staying upright is really draining. I realised I was running short of time (with a train to catch in Cardiff at 1.30) so I gave it everything and reached the summit breathless, finding myself in thick cloud with visibility about 30 metres (I worked that out by counting my strides from the time I first saw the summit cairn to the time I stood on it). The summit is a small, bleak plateau with the mother of all cairns at its heart. No vestige of shelter. As I stood and contemplated being at the highest point in South Wales, horizontal hail began to drive in on the swirling wind. The route back to the car was easier than the ascent, as you can take a "bypass" along the dip slope of the ridge, without having to climb back over Cribyn or Fan Y Big. On the ridge to Waun Rydd I tripped on a loose stone, gouging a chunk out of the palm of one hand when I fell (having negotiated all those ice patches I relaxed, and paid the price! Also, tiredness makes these things more likely). Fortunately, my hands were totally numb with cold from the intense wind, and I didn't feel a thing. Another carbo gel kept the body moving until I found the "crossroads" where you turn right for Craig Y Fan Ddu - here the wind, which had not changed direction, again made my life very difficult as I had to balance safety versus energy levels: the path was easy to run on, but exposed to a steep cliff edge which I wanted to avoid in such high winds. I opted for the off-the-path route and but stayed within sight of it so I didn't lose my way. Once I was off the ridge and descending the steps to the car park, the wind disappeared and feeling returned to the extremities. Three hours in all for the four peaks, and the highest of my 40 summits in the bag.
The most inspiring thing about today was the view of Pen Y Fan and Crybin - awesome in profile, part-hidden in swirling cloud; beautiful, mysterious, powerful and majestic.