Extreme dog walking on Snowdon...

Gyp the mountain dog

I'm a luckier dog than most (Si says...) as I get a lot of time outdoors lashing around on the local hills. In fact, the first time I met Si he took me out on the mountain above the farm In the Lake District where I lived with Derek and his family and my dad, Laddie. I should have seen then how it was going to be...

Anyway, I've bagged (a word Mountainfeet customers use a lot) a fair few hill and mountain summits now and ragged around behind Si's mountain bike all over North Wales too. But the recent snow was challenging as it's been so deep and I'm only a little 'un by collie standards so when Si said he was taking me up Snowdon again I was worried...

Mick and Kath – bed, but no breakfast!

Lizzie was full of a cold so she told me and Si to go have fun but be safe in the mountains given the winter conditions. Si said he would go stay with my Uncle Mick and Aunt Kath at their farmhouse in Wales for the night and then go up Snowdon in the morning. Think Si only goes down for the night so he and Uncle Mick can drink beer and eat kebabs but as long as he's happy then I am too.

The snowdrifts between Llandegla and Corwen were MASSIVE! Mick and Kath's lane had only just been ploughed – they'd been snowed in for four days and our van only just made it up to the house.

Mick said he'd make breakfast for Si before setting off but at half seven the next morning there was only the sound of snoring coming from Mick's room so we set off. Si wanted to get to Pen y Pass early to get a parking space but by the time we got there at 8.15 there were only a couple of spaces left. Si then told me he was going to get a parking ticket but was away for a quarter of an hour and when he got back he smelled of bacon! I quickly forgave him though as he put the red 'harness of adventure' on me – then I knew it was going to be a top day...

Let's get going!

Si seemed to be carrying a heck of a lot of kit but then he does own an outdoor shop and he also told me he was training for his summer trips so he'd chucked in a rope and climbing hardware to weigh him down a bit. I hoped that some of the excess weight was extra food for me and in a pioneering collie mood we set off onto the wintry looking lower slopes. Within minutes Si was putting spikey things on his feet (Kahtoola Microspikes) although I was scornful because my claws are far better at gripping things – or so I thought...

He let me roam ahead while the terrain was safe and I had a brilliant time shoving my snout into knee deep snow and running like the lunatic I am until a seagull started swooping down to launch attacks on me before gliding off down to the lake below. I was shocked at this – the seagull was nearly as big as I am and all Si did was watch and laugh his head off!

Looking down to Llyn Llydaw

After three quarters of an hour's trogging, Si stopped and drew out a long daggery thing that he called an axe. I was puzzled. Derek at the farm had an axe but he used it for cutting wood. Where were the trees here in this white, barren landscape? Si explained that slipping on this next section was risky without the axe and it could be used to slow down a slide. To me it didn't look steep or dangerous but Si said when the snow pack was hard because of wind and sun, even a fairly gentle slope could cause injuries. He called me to heel and I followed in his tracks up the next steeper section which he called the zig zags. Being a rebel I decided to zag zig instead and he threatened me with the ultimate indignity – a lead...

We walked past several people who were slithering around and struggling 'cos they didn't have claws or spikey things and then a big chunk of ice came whistling down past my ears. It appeared to have been disturbed by a bunch of lads larking around higher up. Si's quite nervous of things dropping from people above as he's been avalanched twice and fallen over 500 feet as a result of one of them so he told the guys in no uncertain terms that he wasn't amused! They were very apologetic and when we got to them they gave me a stroke and admired my harness.

My new friends on the summit!

Ten minutes more of traversing some steepish ground and passing more struggling and poorly prepared people, we reached the junction of the main path from Llanberis and I recognised where I was as this was the third time I've climbed Snowdon. The wind was strong as we strode the last quarter mile to the summit past amazing ice features and fantastic views.

At the top I charged up to the iced up summit cairn. There was a nice young couple at the top enjoying their achievement and Si took my photo with them as I braced myself against the fierce wind that threatened to dislodge me from the cairn. They kindly offered to take a picture of Si and me and I hope they see my blog and the photos we all took.

Si and me on the summit

Now it was time for a bit of shelter to get some of the scram that Si was undoubtedly carrying. We headed to the summit building which was enveloped in snow and rime ice forming incredible patterns in the subzero temperatures. Round the back it was calm and we huddled up in Si's spare duvet to scoff Kath's picnic and my rock hard biscuits. Si poured much needed water for me from his bulging rucsac – normally I just neck the stuff from streams but everything now was frozen including Si's hands! Two lads were hunkered down behind the building too and asked Si about climbing in France and Switzerland, telling him they were training for the Matterhorn. A huge raven was playing in the turbulence – tumbling and falling and just levelling out before plunging into the rocky ground.

Rime ice formed on the summit building

Si told me he planned to go down a more challenging route than the one we'd come up and that I'd have to be good and listen to his commands. We kitted up again and set off steeply down the far side of where we'd come up. After a little while we turned sharp left and the footprints in the snow became sparse and the slope steepened seriously. Si clipped a special leash to my harness and told me to follow him as he very carefully started downwards. Even I could see that a fall here would be serious and my paws began to sweat a little! Si had kept his mini spikes on from the way up but after watching a guy with big spikes on his feet pass us he decided to change into his. Once they were on we put a burst of speed on and it was obvious the Grivel Air Tech crampons gripped better than the Kahtoola Microspikes that had been sufficient for the more trafficked path on the other side.

Again we got behind some people – a family whose teenage kids were nervously and tentatively crossing a slope with care but without crampons or axe. The father seemed to be oblivious of their problems but luckily they turned off before the terrain got serious again on the climb up Lliwedd.

Descending off Lliwedd

Now even my claws wouldn't touch areas of the rock hard crusted snow that Si said was almost like something called neve. He pulled me much closer on the webbing strap and I felt safe from falling and in good hands. Lizzie had told him to look after me and he was taking her seriously for a change!

On the left of the ridge only three or four feet away was an enormous almost sheer drop down to a lake. I strayed a bit close to peer down and immediately felt the harness tighten as Si whipped me back from the edge with a stern look. I decided to go exactly where he told me from now on as the glimpse I'd had of the cliff was pretty scary. Si spent some time walking and talking to three nice local folk who were kitted out in similar fashion to him – a man and two ladies. They took photos of me and Si and he told them about my blog which I hope they find their way to. The five of us met a guy coming the other way who was carrying an enormous camera but very little else. He asked us what the terrain was like that we'd just come up and we told him it required extreme care in the current weather. To be honest, we were amazed he'd got as far as he had and wished him well for his journey back down whilst secretly fearing for his safety.

Sadly, just after reaching one of the two summits of the Lliwedd ridgeline, we looked across to the Glyders where an RAF helicopter was dealing with the aftermath of a fatal accident. I suddenly appreciated despite the fun we were having in this winter wonderland, there was a fine line that could easily be crossed into danger. I also realised that since we left the easy paths at the base of Snowdon, we hadn't seen any other dogs!

The Lliwedd ridgeline

Now we were picking our way trickily down on boiler plate ice crust which sometimes would bear our weight and sometimes not. Occasionally, traces of the slate and scree which litter the slope in summer could be seen but the snow pack was still deep even though it was nearly April. One last long slope opened up before us on the way down to Llyn Llydaw and we tacked backwards and forwards to descend it before Si let me off my safety leash and I went bombing towards the icy water.

Now the way back was clear and easy. Si stowed his daggery thing and took off the spikes before setting off down the track with me at a trot. Within half and hour we were back at the van, getting warm and scoffing the rest of Kath's vast picnic. Tired but satisfied after a great day, we turned our back for the time being on Snowdon and headed back to Mick and Kath's via Capel Curig where Si visited the Ellis Brigham shop at Capel Curig where he used to live. The staff there probably wondered why he walked around looking at the walls, doors and ceiling instead of the exciting mountaineering offerings on the rails but it was because Si was trying to work out where his bedroom was before they converted the house into a shop!

The house where Si used to live...

I slept all the way back to Corwen but livened up when the cats started baiting me. We had a brew with Uncle Mick and Aunt Kath and headed back to see how Lizzie was getting on without us after an absolutely top day in the hills...

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