I always promised I would return to Snowdonia each year and indeed to Mums spot overlooking Llyn Padarn, Llanberis and Snowdon. This year two years on from Mums death was going to be no exception.
In 2018 along with Dad I returned to Snowdonia to stay at the farmhouse Mum and Dad enjoyed their last couple of holidays together in. It's a lovely farmhouse on Dinas Farm, only a couple miles away from what was Mum's favourite beach Dinas Dinille.
In 2018 we stayed the week there exactly one year on from when Mum passed away, hence why we went that week to pay our respects on the mountainside at Mums spot.
I also used the week to train for the 2018 fundraiser I did in Mums memory. You can read all about that in the previous chapter, Chapter Six.
Now June 2019 and two years on, we returned to the farmhouse again for another week so that we could pay our respects and enjoy some holiday time in the area whilst thinking of Mum.
I have promised to do a fundraiser each year in Mums memory in Snowdonia if possible each year and this year I decided that as I loved the mountains so much just like my Mum, that I would incorporate this with a week of going up mountains. But it had to be something significant in order to become a worthy fundraising challenge to get people to donate to the chosen charity, the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team.
That is where I decided on the mad idea of not going up Snowdon once, but 7 times! There was just enough time to travel there, do 7 days of climbs and travel home too.
I don't drive but thankfully Dad still can, and time allowed me to be dropped of at Pen y pass on the way through to the farmhouse at a reasonable time on day one for me to still get up Snowdon and down again by tea time ready to be picked up by a rested Dad.
The fundraising link was set up on Just Giving in the months prior to the event and shared as often as I could without annoying friends and family. Getting donations is getting harder and harder nowadays, and challenges have to be harder and harder to compete with other peoples causes, as your family and friends don't have endless amounts of money for donation links.
As per usual the London marathon had been on in April and a lot of peoples donations had headed that way, so I tried to plug my link from the end of April onward after payday. As I said donations were slow, and to be honest disappointing for such a hard challenge. I did however rely on the fact that a lot of people don't donate until the week before, during or after the event.
I am a strong believer of paying forward or indeed paying back, so I donate to people I know who have donated to me in the past in the hope that they will return the favour each time we all go out and put ourselves out there for a good cause.
This year as the week progressed the donations started to come in nicely, but it was a big donation from my Dad that enabled me to achieve a decent target. As always my Dad is my biggest and most generous supporter and I am truly thankful for this.
If it wasn't for Dad driving me there and indeed to Snowdon each day for my climb and descent, then none of this would have happened.
Another aspect of this challenge was me using it as a tool to help me deal with my often day to day struggles of anxiety and social anxiety, something my Mum also struggled with in her later years.
Having something to focus on in the months leading up to the challenge is a vital aid and a distraction from what can be a mundane and anxious daily life. Having a focus and a cause also give you a self worth, something vital for anyone who struggles with any mental health issues, especially any that can involve depression.
Thankfully for me depressive periods are short and infrequent and are not something I need medication or treatment for. Thankfully my physically active lifestyle can help me soldier on daily with regular sessions of fresh air and getting out and about in the great outdoors to help relax any stresses and anxieties. This is something a week in Wales up mountains is actually quite vital for, to create live long memories and experiences to remember in the future and to remind myself what I am capable off despite any mental health issues.
The carefully crafted plan was to climb to Snowdon summit each day for 7 days hopefully via a different route each day to make it more difficult, varied and to give myself a true all round Snowdon experience. Also to take a good amount of photo's to help maintain future memories and to be able to look back on. Routes where chosen the night before subject to forecast weather conditions. This allowed me to choose the most scenic routes on the clearer days to enable better pictures.
I also wanted to be able to share the photo's about to encourage people to get out up the mountains and to de-stress a little from their busy lives. I especially wanted to share them on the new Facebook group and mental health project 'Mountains for the Mind' which is a project run by Trail magazine and Mind the mental health charity, a very valuable charity indeed.
I would also be writing blog posts about the experience on several of my blogs, especially the mental health based ones as I am keen to try and help those in need wherever possible, however possible.
Back to the daily plan and the descent each day would always be down the Llanberis path so that I could have a gradual descent to save my knees a lot of damage and so that I could walk into Llanberis and get some food from a cafe etc as a treat and for my tea.
Eating as soon as I came down from Snowdon was vital to start getting my energy levels back up for the next climb the next day. I would also consume a Tailwind protein recovery drink each night to help repair the muscles etc overnight.
I am a plant based eater so don't eat meat and dairy. So the protein recovery drink was a vital element and I had several portions of peanut butter on toast each morning and a 2nd breakfast of porridge with oat milk to power me up the mountain each day.
I did find that once at the summit each day I didn't really need any food and often went straight down again after a few pictures, especially the few days the cafe was closed at the top.
On days the cafe was open I would just buy myself a cup of hot coffee to warm me up again nicely ready for the descent, I also had a few chat's with people about what I was doing, which was nice. As a sufferer of anxiety it can be hard to start or even engage in some conversations, but I had a captive audience as they were genuinely in awe of what I was doing. This helped spur me on tremendously.
I always carried a bottle of Tailwind energy drink for the climbs and a bottle of water for the descents and a couple of snacks if I ever needed them, especially as water isn't available at the Summit cafe unless you buy it in a plastic bottle. Best to be prepared and take your own rather than get up there and it is shut.
One thing I will say is as a sufferer of anxiety and social anxiety I was able to gain a sense of self worth and pride back this week, something I often lack as life washes over me. As the week progressed and after a failed attempt to walk into a busy Pete's Eats on my own I actually managed to go in on day three I think it was, and I am so glad I did as the food was great. I was able to walk straight in no worries on subsequent days too once that anxiety of a new place had been broken. The power of the mountains to rebuild our strengths is truly amazing. If I have gained anything this week it was this.
My main blog site 'The Gru' has links and access to all four of my blogs which cover different but also related blog subjects of fitness, mental health via running, mental health via mountain walking etc and of course this blog. I also post plant based recipes on there too which people find really helpful. I've managed to create a few core tasty dishes for new starters to the plant based meal.
Another emphasis of this challenge was to get up each day to the summit as quick as I physically could, as in I would run or jog some sections if possible to improve my time. I would also be taking lots of photo's too though and not stopping the clock as I did so, so every minute was vital for me.
On my descents I would record the time too, but the descents were not a race as I was supposed to use them as the start of my recovery ready for the next day.
I did however jog down on Day one and Day two in a very respectable 51 mins on Day one , and 53 mins on Day two.
On Day three however I decided to be sensible and ensure I hiked it at a responsible pace. Believe it or not this was the day I twisted my ankle as I went right over on it. It was painful for 5-10 minutes but as I continued on it did seem to ease. It did however start to egg up whilst sat outside the cafe in Llanberis afterward, and that night it was not looking good, but I was feeling positive about the lack of pain.
I was very fortunate it went down again the next day and from that day forward ensured I wore my walking boots every day to ensure my ankle was adequately supported, and I ensured I didn't do any more jogging either up or down.
I did still go over on it a few more times during the week whilst standing on rocks etc, but thankfully I survived each time. Mum was definitely watching over me every step of the way!
So how did I get on and how long did it take to do each route?....
This is the break down of the week and the ascent times for each route up to the summit:
Day one - The Lliwedd path - 4.28 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 55mins.
Day two - The Miners path - 4.86 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 30mins (I jogged a bit).
Day three - Rhyd Ddu path - 3.7 miles - Total ascent time to the summit 1hr 22mins.
Day four - Llanberis path - 3.86 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 26mins.
Day five - Watkins path and South ridge - 5.77 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 54mins.
Day six - Snowdon Rangers path - 3.97 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 24mins.
Day seven - Pyg track - 3.49 miles - Total ascent time to summit 1hr 23mins.
Of all the ascents it is hard to say which was my favourite. Rhyd Ddu and Rangers had great views and vistas of that side of Snowdon and the valley and indeed the splendid mountains on the opposite side of the valley and all the lakes etc, not forgetting the lovely road approach to Bedgellert.
Watkins also had a nice wood at the start and a lush green valley approach alongside the river/stream and waterfalls as you make your way up towards the final climb up to Snowdon itself, but beware the final shale ascent at the top section of Watkins.
Lliwedd is a tough one and involves a climb with some scrambling, but if you like ridges then it's a really good one to try and it gives the most spectacular views in multiple directions including across the horseshoe to Snowdon summit and down to Llyn Llydaw also.
Miners has a long pleasant more gentle approach and I jogged most of that, but then you hit a steep climb upto the Pyg track, but it's over relatively quickly. Miners and Pyg both have great views up to Snowdon summit and it's steep cliffs etc and plenty of views over the many bodies of water at Snowdon including King Arthurs alleged final resting place. The Pyg track apparently is the shortest route and has the least climb overall.
My daily walks down into Llanberis itself at the end of each descent were all a treat, especially my visits to The Pantri for coffee and cake and the odd pack of Welsh cakes too.
My visits to Pete's Eats for my tea were superb as was my Hummus roll with salad and their wonderful chips to die for, not forgetting the massive mug of filter coffee!!!
Just being in Snowdonia for the week allowed me to feel like I was spending time with Mum and I found myself on multiple occasions saying to myself 'Look at that view Mum' as I knew she would truly appreciate them. I am only sad I never got to climb Snowdon with Mum in my earlier years. But I know she will always be with me every time I return to Snowdon.
Several visits to the lakeside after my descents were an ideal opportunity to sit and reflect and remember Mum and our many happy family holidays at Llanberis, and indeed at a holiday cottage on the other side of the lake Llyn Padarn where we took multiple walks along the hillside and down through the wooded hillside past the slate museum etc and down into Llanberis itself.
I could see all this from the bench at the lakeside next to the lakeside car park at Llanberis. I could feel my troubles melt away and my inside filling with replenished treasured memories freshly recharged and topped up by my time with my Dad that week, and my time up and down that wondrous sight we call Eryri, Snowdon to you and me. Long may it be my second home along with it's bustling haven of Llanberis.
