Mia Walker - 1428254

logs 211

Awards Completed

ML

Walking Record

Details

Date : 26/03/2023

Duration : 5-8 hours

Style : Leader / Supervisor

Type : Quality Mountain Day (QMD)

Weather : Clear - sunny - good visibility

Wind : Moderate Wind

Camping Type : N/A

Nights Camping : 0

Mountains : Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)

Flagged :

Description

Led my visitor (an experienced walker) and my husband (an ML) up Rhyd Ddu path to summit, down South Ridge to the bwlch, then back to Rhyd Ddu station through the disused mines. This was a new route for me, and my first time supervising people on Yr Wyddfa. I paid attention to their energy levels, knowing they'd just done two full days of walking while I had opted for a rest day in between Day 1 and Day 3. On the South Ridge down-scramble I watched our visitor carefully, knowing he had little scrambling experience. I was able to explain better footwork tactics to him and advised climbing face to rock for safety. But the bigger issue was that my husbands right foot and knee became very painful on the descent, especially when down-scrambling and taking bigger downward steps. I administered painkillers (twice) and led from behind, letting him set the pace so that he could move carefully to avoid triggering further pain. I advised RICE on arrival home. We made it back to the car park without incident and in good spirits.
Another thing I noted is that our visitor was very much in the habit of walking beside the path rather than on it. Having noticed this early on, I hinted that it's better to stay on the path to prevent erosion. Later on I mentioned that I personally try to stay on the path or on rocky bits to prevent erosion. His behaviour didn't change in the least, despite my words and my demonstrating by my own action while leading from the front during parts of the ascent. It makes me wonder whether this is because I was being too subtle, because he didn't care, or... no idea. I'd like to communicate about environmental impact more effectively in the future, but don't really know how.

Area : Snowdon Massif

Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) in Gwynedd, and has been described as "the busiest mountain in Britain". It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna.

Map

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Distance : 12.83 km
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