40 SUMMITS
To pick out the most beautiful sights from 40 mountains isn't that easy, but here goes. Number one is the view of Cribyn, looming like a fallen pyramid through the low cloud and swirling rain as I approached from the neighbouring peak of Fan Y Big. This vague picture gives you an idea of the murky conditions I was mostly running in.
Second comes the view across the desolate wilderness of The Black Mountain which I glimpsed for only a few minutes while descending Bannau Sir Gaer (then the cloud came back down and my only view of a twenty yard radius). I also loved the spot where a standing stone guards the flanks of Fan Llia. A rare day of clear weather too.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS...
I remember seeing a fox in the frozen slopes of Waun Fach - frost forming on his shaggy coat - a sight like that can be uplifting when you're that exhausted. I alsorecall disturbing a pair of falcons on Fan Nedd, who took off and circled above me as I descended. Catching sight of a snow-capped Pen Y Fan or Sugarloaf from some distant summit was always inspiring. Frozen waterfalls on Pen Cerrig Calch were beautiful - like the mountain's own precious jewels. The summit of Pen Y Fan with its monumentally huge cairn appearing out of the clouds. The ancient twin burial mounds at the summit of Carreg Las. My car, when I was really tired, coming into view at the end of the run...
3 MOUNTAINS WITH THE WORST WEATHER!
Number one is Pen Allt Mawr, with a wind so strong and penetrating it felt like some supernatural force! It sucked all the energy from my body, leaving me tired and frozen. Numer two was the wind, rain and hail on Fan Hir, and three is Waun Rydd with its stinging hailstones and unfeasibly blustery winds.
MISHAPS...
I was truly lost on just a few occasions.....firstly on Fan Hir, when I drifted too far south while looking for Llyn Y Fan Fawr and sound myself at the foot of the cliffs - still, I found the summit soon enough. Secondly on Carreg Las, again with almost zero visibility in a vast area of trackless desolation with deep bogs and endless streams and rivers in full spate - here it took me over an hour to cover a mile and a half. Also, Mynydd Marchywel, where the maze of forestry tracks almost defeated me (and on such a small mountain, too..). I took a few falls - usually caused by ice, combined with tiredness. I fell flat on my back on Waun Fach, as my foot hit an unseen patch of thick ice on the frozen ridge. I realised how easy it would be to get some minor but immobilising injury (ankle sprain etc.) and thats when I decided it was imprudent to push myself quite so far somewhere so remote. I also went face-first into a bog on Coity mountain, just as I was thinking how lucky I had been to stay dry - talk about pride coming before a fall. After painstakingly avoiding the ice on Pen Y Fan, Cribyn and Fan Y Big I relaxed a little on Waun Rydd and, as punishment, slipped on a loose stone and cut my hand up - still, the hand was so frozen I didn't feel a thing.
FAVOURITES
Theres a few of these 40 that I wouldn't bother going to again - especially the "urban" mountains such as Coity and Carn Y Cefn where access over private land makes things tricky and the views are more post-industrial than pastoral. On the other hand, I can't wait to get back to Bannau Sir Gaer and that whole Black Mountain area which I'd never visited before. So far, every time I've been there the ckoud ceiling has been too low to permit any kind of view. Perhaps that adds to the allure.
Also, Pen Y Fan deserves a visit in clear weather, and the Sugarloaf is the kind of mountain you need to run up from all angles just to appreciate the superb shape and exhilarating final climb:
Mynydd Troed was also a great run up an imposing pyramid-like face, and the whole Black Mountains area around Waun Fach needs some more exploration. Anyone fancy coming for a run in some hills?