There in the distance. To the right of the summit, is an arete that strikes steeply upward, bursting from the screes above Llyn y Gadair. Mostly solid and yet, in places, quite loose and useless. It makes a fine climb. It's a four season climb. Equally at home on a lazy summer's evening as it is, caked with snow and ice in winter.
My first ascent was in February 1994. Full winter conditions. The only gear: a rope, a handful of steel carabiners and a selection of slings. The rope tied around the waist with a bowline and slings and Munter hitches for belays. No crampons, no-ice-axes and no gear. It certainly wasn't the first time I had been climbing, but it was certainly the first time I had ever climbed like this. Before long I was climbing it often. Sometimes even seven days a week. Sometimes with clients, sometimes with mates and more and more often solo. I am going back.
Through a series of progressions, it is my intention to get to the top once more. I have to explain that after a few years my physical condition is not great. That is rather the point. I have a great deal of experience. How do I overcome my current limitations in order to succeed? That is the story being told here. The steps taken. The successes and failures en route. What sort of role can someone like me adopt in their declining years. It seems a waste for all the experience that I have to pool around my ankles as I sit in front of the telly feeling sorry for myself).
I am keeping this short as much of what comes next will be much longer, much deeper and more rigorously academic.
Join me on this journey - I need all the support I can gather
Jameson