Ras y Moelwyn 2013

Not only does the sun shine on the righteous but also on the runners of Ras y Moelwyn. It’s got to be the most atmospheric of all the Welsh mountain races.  In 2013 just over a hundred set off on the 10.5 mile route rising 2,800 feet before plunging back down to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The winner was home in 79 minutes. Thanks to Antur Stiniog, all the marshalls, first aiders and members of South Snowdonia Mountain Rescue for making it a great event. 

If you fancy having a go, this is what the 2013 race was like:

Foster lamb

This time of year the field at the end of our drive is where the farmer gets lambs adopted by ewes that have lost their own. Skinning a mother’s dead lamb and draping it over the lamb to be fostered is a bit gruesome but a trick of the trade that seems to work well. This lamb looked as though she or he was wearing a wedding dress with a long trail.

Moel Dduallt on Fire

Six fire crews were out tonight dealing with the fires on the foothills of Moelwyn Bach - thank you. Both sides of Moel Dduallt were ablaze with knee high bilberry. I hope the old oaks survive the scorching.

How did it start? I guess we'll never know, although there were rumours. Another rumour says a landowner was stopping fire tenders entering or leaving his land!

Fox's Glacier Mint on Moelwyn Bach

Last weekend walking up Moelwyn Bach the ice sculptures were fantastic, wind-shaped and modified with successive thaw-freeze. From about 600 metres up the snow was covered with a thin layer of ice glistening in the sun, crunching beneath our boots with chunks sliding down the mountain. The summit cairn looked a bit like a half-sucked Fox’s Glacier Mint on one side with bare rock the other.

Walking down towards the coast we followed the wavy trail of a snowboarder as far as the snow line when out popped a badger in a hurry to get down or away from us. It reached the stone wall above the forest, trotted (and skidded) over the drifted snow until it reached its spot, dug down and squeezed through the stock wire and a badger sized gap in the base of the wall.  They look such bulky creatures I didn’t expect them to get through such small openings. Here it is a bit wobbly at 18 x zoom with no tripod.