A friend has recently purchased a pair of new Scarpa 4 Season boots, in Betws Y Coed, and he persuaded me to think of a decent jaunt, to take advantage of the recent snow.
How about Cwm Eigiau ?, Where's that he asked ? Its pretty special and should be pretty quiet.
Quiet it certainly was, and had it not been for his Audi All Road model Avant, we would never had made the famous carpark.
Those of you who know the narrow Tal Y Bont road, realise how steep and narrow it is, and just past the farm at the top, the road ahead disappeared under thick snow, impossible for any two wheeled vehicle to navigate, it was icey in parts as well, a real skaterink for a two wheeled drive car.
It was not cold, at around 6C, but its been many many years since ive ventured out in such heavy snow.
We only managed around 7miles, as we had intended to make for Foel Grach and the Central Carneddau ridge, but it was very slow going, with the drifts several feet deep in certain parts, and wading through thick snow, is so tiring.
Some lovely sunshine, not that cold, as there was hardly any wind, but it was very slow going.
Time was an issue, so after around a three hour walk, that in summer takes under an hour, we headed back to the car.
My Buffalo Super 6 shirt served me well, as did a seldom used pair of winter boots, but the last time i was out in such deep snow, was well over thirty years ago, in the Beacons.
I was a lot younger and fitter then, but marching through heavy snow is energy sapping, and a walk that in summer, is a straight forward outing.
Anyway, his boots had a great baptism, and proved magnificent, even though it was impossible to avoid getting the snow inside your boots, due to the depth of the white stuff.
Gaiters would have helped a bit, but most of the snow was knee deep.
It brought back great memories of when i regularly went out in such conditions, but i am desperately tired from the walk.
Only saw two people, and they had arrived in their Land Rover, so the snow was certainly heavy.