Tip top!

As the first snows appear on the Carneddau and across Snowdonia, the Ogwen Mountain Rescue team are looking to see even more rescues than the 120 they've carried out this year alone. The latest event was a young couple who called for help when the weather turned nasty (a little glimpse of - what's it called?  Oh, the weather forecast - might have helped) and, despite being well equipped, a little more training in map and compass work might also have helped, as they weren't where they said they where when they called for help (Carnedd Dafydd is a tad tricky to miss). 

It's easy to ridicule folk who come here and make a mess of things, of course, but there is still a worrying tendency to assume that Snowdonia doesn't have 'real' mountains.  Of course part of the blame lies with Snowdon itself, with a train running up it and a restaurant on top. It's easy to see how those unfamiliar with the area could assume that Snowdon is simply a local park, with no real dangers.  But the same can't be said for the neighbouring Carneddau. Even though they present a comparatively gentle ascent from the North, there's a reason a mountain shelter lies half way through the peaks, and many a walker has had cause to welcome the foresight of those who first constructed the place in the lee of Carnedd Fach's peak.  But it's still a wonderful place to live.