Snowdonia Seven
Saturday 20/08/05
Snowdonia Seven (Saith Eryri) mountain race - 23.5miles / 2240metres
1st place - 5hrs 20mins
RHBs (All in section 30B) -
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) 1085mtrs
Glyder Fawr 999mtrs
Y Garn 947mtrs
Elidir Fawr 923mtrs
The team was Andy Beaty, James Hyde, Richard Unwin and me.
We also had Kate B join us from Llyn Cwmffynnon onwards, much to the bemusement of the Welsh.
We were cruising until Pen Y Pass when Richard announced what we'd all been dreading "sorry guys, but my calf has gone again". So we loped on from there as the Irish and North Wales teams passed by. It was then nip and tuck along the Glyders until some misty nav fun found us on steep scree coming off Glyder Fawr towards Llyn-Y-Cwn. The Irish followed us as we blasted down the rocks but unfortunately one of them got crocked (resulting in a chopper rescue and ankle in plaster). We finally got on course to see the Welsh ahead of us and looking safe for their second win in a row on the way up Y Garn. Richard was suffering by now so we didn't push it and decided to settle for second. This carried on all the way until the descent off Elidir Fawr when we came out of the mist to see them below us. This coincided with Richard announcing "my calf doesn't stop me descending you know". So we picked up the speed and were surprised at how quickly we caught and passed the Welsh. A crappy bit of the course which was supposed to be taped but wasn't led us to the promised track to the finish through the hydro eletctric plant. The first locked gate was a bad omen and then we came across Fort Knox, complete with razor wire and security cameras. We decided to scramble up the slate to the side to see the Welsh approach and scale the massive gates. A shout of "we wouldn't have caught you, you've won lads" came from them, but we were taking nothing for granted and kept pushing along the road. A skirmish with the security guard who was quickly palmed off got us back on track to enter the field, greeted by yet another locked gate before we finally crossed the line and Richard promptly keeled over. "Get it up ya Taffies" was close to our lips, but they were quite magnanimous in defeat. Well all except one, who has to be an ex-army corporal, the way he was shouting at the other three all the way round. The Irish had a bit of bad luck but if Richard was fit we would have taken a good half hour off that time. If we are struggling for team members next year, Kate has offered to be the (very) part time cleaner at Alston nick to qualify as an employee!
Swowdonia7 site
The left shot is a drinks stop on the way up Y Garn as we waited for Richard - James left, Andy right and Kate in the background
Snowdonia Seven (Saith Eryri) mountain race - 23.5miles / 2240metres
1st place - 5hrs 20mins
RHBs (All in section 30B) -
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) 1085mtrs
Glyder Fawr 999mtrs
Y Garn 947mtrs
Elidir Fawr 923mtrs
The team was Andy Beaty, James Hyde, Richard Unwin and me.
We also had Kate B join us from Llyn Cwmffynnon onwards, much to the bemusement of the Welsh.
We were cruising until Pen Y Pass when Richard announced what we'd all been dreading "sorry guys, but my calf has gone again". So we loped on from there as the Irish and North Wales teams passed by. It was then nip and tuck along the Glyders until some misty nav fun found us on steep scree coming off Glyder Fawr towards Llyn-Y-Cwn. The Irish followed us as we blasted down the rocks but unfortunately one of them got crocked (resulting in a chopper rescue and ankle in plaster). We finally got on course to see the Welsh ahead of us and looking safe for their second win in a row on the way up Y Garn. Richard was suffering by now so we didn't push it and decided to settle for second. This carried on all the way until the descent off Elidir Fawr when we came out of the mist to see them below us. This coincided with Richard announcing "my calf doesn't stop me descending you know". So we picked up the speed and were surprised at how quickly we caught and passed the Welsh. A crappy bit of the course which was supposed to be taped but wasn't led us to the promised track to the finish through the hydro eletctric plant. The first locked gate was a bad omen and then we came across Fort Knox, complete with razor wire and security cameras. We decided to scramble up the slate to the side to see the Welsh approach and scale the massive gates. A shout of "we wouldn't have caught you, you've won lads" came from them, but we were taking nothing for granted and kept pushing along the road. A skirmish with the security guard who was quickly palmed off got us back on track to enter the field, greeted by yet another locked gate before we finally crossed the line and Richard promptly keeled over. "Get it up ya Taffies" was close to our lips, but they were quite magnanimous in defeat. Well all except one, who has to be an ex-army corporal, the way he was shouting at the other three all the way round. The Irish had a bit of bad luck but if Richard was fit we would have taken a good half hour off that time. If we are struggling for team members next year, Kate has offered to be the (very) part time cleaner at Alston nick to qualify as an employee!
Swowdonia7 site
The left shot is a drinks stop on the way up Y Garn as we waited for Richard - James left, Andy right and Kate in the background
posted by DW at 6:01 pm
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