I managed to persuade karl and Pete to brave the gales and rain for a w/e in Wales. Staying at the CC hut in the pass (with only a few others) we settled in with some beers and waiting for Pete – delayed by being a good Samaritan to some Yanks with car problems en-route.
Sat dawned not as terrible as forecast but the winds were fairly high. By the time K&P got out their pits the weather looked dodgy, We headed for Ogwen and up to Glyder Fach for a scramble Dolmen Ridge 3***. Past by a solosist and watching a team traverse the whole hillside for some reason, we arrived for lunch at the foot of the route.
Roped up all went well for the first half before crossing the gully in a waterfall/stream which was, it turns out, the wrong place. (Hint not the foot of the buyress but the side) This made it a pain as we now couldn't make sense of any descriptions! Heading up Grade 1 territory with a step of Grade 3, and mostly in the pissing rain, we picked our way up past some routes towards to the ridge proper, and headed over the top and back down the scruffy path to avoid the worst of the weather.
A mammoth tea and food session and later wine saw us in bed late and up late again. Weather was much better and Karl had spotted the Idwal slabs through the rain and kneee pain. Pete had never done Tennis Shoe so, we ticked it in dry, alternating between warm sun and cold cloudy winds. Bit of short roping practice and descent went fine. Back for tea and quick packing and we headed home.
Oh and the title – after some rope fankle Pete suggested we 'spin around' – some fairly strong visual imagery of a certain antipodean pixie's gold shorts left all 3 of us staring silently into the clouds each with a broad smile – and then it was gone.
Happy days.