Walking Forum
Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: chris jones on 15:15:33, 21/11/17
-
hi can some one give me advise on walking pen-y-fan at night for 4 woman two haven't done it before
-
Best advice I can think of is to enjoy it. Walking at night is a superb experience.
If you're an experienced and competent low-vis navigator, there's nothing specific to add for Pen-y-Fan. If you're a bit unsure but generally good at navigating, pick a route with really obvious landforms as you can feel slopes in the dark. Otherwise, avoid something that big until you are ready - it's fairly innocuous in good visibility, but there are plenty of ways to go wrong and end up way away from where you meant to be.
-
hi can some one give me advise on walking pen-y-fan at night for 4 woman two haven't done it before
Are you planning on a circular walk at night, or a simple out and back? If you have not been to the Beacons or Pen y Fan before, are you experienced walkers? If you are determined to walk it at night, do it from Pont ar Daf, there and back, it’s the easiest and most straightforward with nothing technical involved. Go prepared with headtorches and appropriate clothing for the time of year and stick to the main path.
-
I concur with the above suggestions that having the appropriate kit and experience is really important you could plan to walk on a full moon as this will make the experience more enjoyable and possibly make the visibility and navigtion easier.
Watch out for the werewolves ;-)
-
I would suggest going early morning so if you get lost you will not be stuck up there for hours in the cold / dark.
I`ve done a few ascents in the dark and it is nearly always misty with poor visibility sometimes you can only see a few feet and it is easy to get disorientated even if you know the mountain well.
Take spare head torches and do not believe manufacturers run time claims. 3AAA batteries will not last long on higher power settings.
A GPS would be useful to retrace your track if necessary also a cheap emergency shelter if you need to wait for daylight.
the easiest navigational mistake coming back down is probably missing the path back down to Pont ar Daf but there is now a cairn at the junction so it is now easier to spot.
-
If you do an out and back from storey arms, with good headlights and proper clothing it's pretty straight forward. The only issue is likely to be on the summit pushes the corn ddu and pen y fan. Other than that it's very nice path all the way with not much route finding needed
-
The only advice one can offer, is not to attempt your first ascent of the mountain in darkness.
Nobody should traverse totally new terrain, at the dead of night, even with a head torch, there is every possibility that mist may come down, and obscure the way.
A traverse of Pen Y Fan in daylight hours, is very straightforward in the right weather conditions, but one has the security of daytime to make a hasty retreat if the weather or visibility turns nasty.
Most years, i venture to the summit of Snowdon for New Year, but have turned back several times, simply because the weather further up the mountain proved challenging, and never having had any walking related accidents, i know when to turn around.
I know Snowdon and Pen Y Fan very well, ive visited both their summits so many times, ive lost count, but making an attempt on a mountain that is nearly 3000ft in altitude, having never been to its summit, at the dead of night.
Its not advisable.
-
“ I know Snowdon and Pen Y Fan very well, ive visited both their summits so many times, ive lost count“
Recently?
-
... but making an attempt on a mountain that is nearly 3000ft in altitude, having never been to its summit, at the dead of night.
Its not advisable.
Why not? In any case the route is basically straight up/down from Storey Arms or Pont ar Daf. Probably one of the easiest night routes I know.
-
hi can some one give me advise on walking pen-y-fan at night for 4 woman two haven't done it before
At what time of the year? How experienced are the two who have done it before? Have you walked together as a group before?
-
I'd say if you are asking the question, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it, or at least go with someone who has done it before.
-
A direct ascent via the Pont Y Daf route, is very straight forward, its virtually impossible to loose your way in good visibility, except that the path approaching the summit, is well above 2800ft in height, and receives some of the most extreme weather in southern Britain.
During the long summer months, its easily achievable, but in the winter, probably not, without prior knowledge of the mountains terrain.
From the early 1975 up until 1996, the Beacons were my main stomping ground, so i can claim to know them pretty well.
The weather can be pretty hostile on the summit of Pen Y Fan, far better to climb it in daylight hours.
-
So not recently then, the memory fades quite a bit I would think in 21 years.
-
I'm coming down on the side of those advising caution. There is little detail on the experience of the group, when it is going to happen and so on.............to be in a position to properly advise without being irresponsible more information is needed. I tend to agree that weather conditions and dealing with those conditions is experience dependent particularly at night. Those advising there is no issue may well be experienced and so can deal with tricky situations and it may be that those asking are too but until we know then our advice should be caution.