Parsley Fern Gully

and a day above the clouds

Little did we guess what the day had in store for us when we arrived in Cwm Glas to climb Parsley Fern Gully. It was cold but the sky was already beginning to show the promise of a decent day. Even so our expectations never rose higher than a hope that it would stay dry. We were to be richly rewarded for our efforts.

The ascent of the frozen watercourse and then the gully was very enjoyable without being too difficult. A cornice ran along the rim of the top of the gully and gave a little extra interest to the final section of the ascent.

Upon reaching the summit of Crib y Ddysgl the true splendour of what the sky had hinted at earlier in the ascent was made aware to us. All around and beneath us lay a sea of white cloud with just some of the more prominent parts of Snowdon and other outlying mountains sticking through. A great swathe of cloud seemed to wash over Bwlch y Saethau isolating Lliwedd from the rest of Snowdon.

Walking around to the summit of Snowdon and then on to Lliwedd the views never lost there appeal with every corner turned revealing another fascinating angle on the mountain.

We all knew too well that you had to be very lucky indeed to experience the spectacle of cloud inversion more than a handful of times over years in the mountains. We had been fortunate enough a few years earlier to have been in the right place at the right time to enjoy a similar experience on the Rhinogs and it was with great reluctance that we eventually descended from that mountain on that day.