The Welsh 3000s

It's 03:58 and I'm stood at Pen y Pass contemplating the challenge ahead of us. My three hill buddies have about 5g of body fat between them and a collective height advantage of 2 feet and 9 inches over me. I know I'm in for a tough day.

I can't complain though, doing the Welsh 3000s was my idea. Having been on my bucket list for years, one inspiring book saw my enthusiasm newly refreshed and I started asking who'd be up for it. One doodle poll later and I had a team just as keen as me.

Pen y Pass. L-R, Debs, Pete, Tristan, Amy

Tristan is an ultra machine. Three weeks ago he came fifth at the Hardmoors 110 (that's 110 miles!) so he's got some serious calibre. Tristan - like most ultra runners - loves to eat, and is very good at reminding everyone else to keep eating too because he just can't imagine why someone wouldn't be eating. He is also constantly cheerful which is excellent for team morale.

Amy is the Queen of prep, clocking up several big days in the hills and a few 30km training runs for good measure. She'd even been out and actually recce'd some of our proposed descents from opposite valleys. Amy hosted our planning session and turned a whiteboard full of scrawl into a meticulously organised spreadsheet of travel and kit logistics, down to the very important detail of each person providing their own poo bags and wet wipes.

Pete is the ultimate mountain man, years of experience in the hills and an uncanny skill of glancing at the map and remembering the entire route. Has been known to rock up to 50 mile events on a whim but he doesn't do any tech and rarely races, so he has this stealth aura where none of us truly know the extent of his physical capability.

Our secret weapon however, is Debs. Debs is the one who's volunteered to drop us at the start, pick us up at the finish and meet us at two checkpoints with food and supplies. She's a crew extraordinare and has made the whole adventure much simpler for us to plan.

For anyone who isn't aware, the Welsh 3000s is a challenge to summit all the mountains in Wales over 3000 feet. There are 15 of them and there's no set route. Our estimated mileage was about 30 for our chosen route. Our strategy was to fast hike, with the possibility of a bit of gentle running on any good downhill or flat bits.

The Welsh 3000s

1. Crib Goch 3028ft

2. Garnedd Ugain 3494ft

3. Snowdon 3559ft

4. Elidir Fawr 3031ft

5. Y Garn 3106ft

6. Glyder Fawr 3284ft

7. Glyder Fach 3261ft

8. Tryfan 3011ft

9. Pen yr Ole Wen 3208ft

10. Carnedd Dafydd 3425ft

11. Carnedd Llewelyn 3490ft

12. Yr Elen 3156ft

13. Foel Grach 3202ft

14. Carnedd Gwenllian 3038ft

15. Foel-fras 3090ft

The Snowdon Massif

A few big groups had set off before us, and whilst many probably weren't destined for Crib Goch, we were determined to try to get to the ridge before all of them. 

Enjoying 'sunrise' over Crib Goch

Pete set the pace and it took all of about three minutes before we had to strip layers. Leaving the safety of the Pyg Track for the climb up to Crib Goch, we were rewarded with a clear route ahead.

The fog rolled in as we neared the top, and stayed with us over Garnedd Ugain (where we caught up with another group and Pete had a mini reunion with some of his mates who were leading).

From there it was busy busy busy on Snowdon, but the clouds did clear just as we reached the summit, I think the first time of maybe six visits where I've ever seen a view from the top!

We didn't hang around though, we touched the top and started tottering straight back down along the Llanberis Path, tracking the railway line beyond Clogwyn Station and then picking our way down the steep, grassy slope towards Nant Peris.

We arrived at the village in exactly 3 hours, and Debs took on the extra role of 'pole fixer' whilst we all refuelled and rehydrated. Amy did have two poles, but they were not a matching pair so trying to make them equal height was a challenge. I'd brought out my 12 year old walking poles and one of them was kaput. Pete managed the tighten the bottom section and handed it back to me, hopeful that it would be enough. I don't think he understood the difference in height between a 5ft person and a 3ft person. With a plethora of poles between us, we set off for a big climb.

"You've just done most people's whole day hike and it's only just 7am!" (Debs)

The Glyders

The grassy, sunny climb up Elidir Fawr

It was a long, grassy climb up Elidir Fawr. In fact it's the single biggest climb of the whole route. We were freshly fed, we had the hill to ourselves, the sun was on our backs and it was just lovely.

From there it was a lovely gently undulating section skirting under Mynydd Perfedd (we weren't allowed bonus climbs, team rules) and contouring south before the next climb up to Y Garn. Five mountains down!

The next descent was equally lovely, and even a bit runnable as we picked up the pace. Then suddenly at the bottom, near the Llyn y Cwn tarn at the bottom of Glyder Fawr, more people started appearing again.

The climb up Glyder Fawr was tough. It was all loose rock and sandy shale which gave way as you stepped on it. There wasn't a secure foothold in sight, it was an energy-sapping ascent and was scattered with people who'd just given up and laid down right on the trail. 

One woman apologised for her slightly inconvenient resting location but mostly wanted to vent about her friend who was "definitely trying to kill her" and then just wearily wished us luck as we carried on plodding our way up. The shale eventually ended where the chunkier loose rocks began and we stopped for a snack at the top.

Somewhen around here, Pete realised that one of his shoes was falling apart. He'd accidentally transformed it into a flip flop hybrid and no amount of gaffa tape was going to fix it. Unfortunately he hadn't put spare shoes in the support car, but one call to saviour Debs and she made a round trip back to the campsite to grab them.

From Glyder Fawr it was barely any descent along the plateau to Glyder Fach. Pete nearly got taken out by an over-enthusiastic spaniel as we enjoyed a little bit of proper trail before it was giant boulder time! The big boulders were great fun, leaping across cracks and clambering around. I was having so much fun I didn't even realise we'd reached the top, but when I looked up I saw the wonder that is Tryfan right in front of us. 

Tryfan from the south

Tryfan looks beastly. I suppose it is quite beastly. I had unfinished business since the last time I was here was December 2010 and I was airlifted off. But before we could contemplate getting up there, we had to get off Glyder Fach; it was a steep, loose, scree gully and it was slow going. Nobody told Pete that, he was straight down and sunning himself on a nice rock waiting for the rest of us. I was enjoying listening to Tristan chat away behind me whilst I focused on my feet, and staying upright.

With that tricky descent out of the way, it was a mixture of scrambling and big steps all the way up Tryfan. It felt good to finally get to the top but we didn't hang around long as it was nearly lunchtime and we could pretty much see Checkpoint 2, a lonnnng way down.

It was another difficult descent, with two incidents of note. One where Tristan tripped and had a little lay down, but after taking a moment, regained his composure and dusted himself off (no injuries, only his trousers).

The second was a mini downclimb which I struggled with because I couldn't see how far away the floor was as I hung on with my arms. I got down and watched Amy have exactly the same struggle. Tristan was attempting to explain where she needed to put her feet and guide her down but it was taking too long for Pete, who shouted "just grab her arse!", and Tristan did just that. It worked, it was all fine and Amy really didn't mind. 

It was a joy to see Debs, who'd managed to bag a parking spot right opposite the exit of the trail. She'd laid out a proper table with drinks, snacks and spare shoes, what a hero. 27.5km completed, 8 mountains climbed and everything was great (apart from Tristan's trousers and Pete's old shoes).

The Carneddau

This was the long bit. We had a short stretch of flat tarmac to get the legs going again after our lunch stop and were joined by Debs who was off for a yomp around Llyn Ogwen.

The climb up Pen yr Ole Wen was enormous, very steep and rocky and more scrambley than we had anticipated. It took us a while to get up there but the view from the top was just incredible; you could see right the way back to the Snowdon Horseshoe and across the Glyders, as well as out to the Carneddau where we were headed next.

This should have been the really runnable bit, but my knee wasn't having any of it after taking a battering on the previous big descents. A fast walk and occasional skip was the best I could do and since it was a glorious afternoon with beautiful views, nobody minded.

It was comparitively easy going up and down Carnedd Dafydd, then we contoured across to Yr Elen. Even though it wasn't 'hard', I actually hate contouring and all the foot and ankle twistyness of it, but it didn't take us too long and before we knew it we were at the top. From here we could see the rest of the route and it really didn't look that far, woo!

From Carnedd Llewelyn it basically felt like it was all downhill, bar the mini lumps of the final three hills, it was mostly grass and just lovely for tired feet. 

The final trig!

I was so happy when we reached Foel-fras that I gave the trig point a giant hug. The whole section From Carnedd Lleweyln and then descent via Drum (we WERE allowed a bonus peak!) would have been a stunner of a run had it not been for my gammy knee. I managed a totter and just thoroughly enjoyed the long, steady downhill.

As we turned the final corner into the very last downhill, we could see the red Goodgym t-shirt of Debs waving from the gate, we'd made it!

Pete was down well before any of the rest of us and still looked totally fresh, like he'd just been for a short walk to the pub. Amy and Tristan came down with massive smiles on their faces too and we all had a little celebration which mostly involved a lot of stretching and putting on clean socks.

Another massive shout out to Debs, having a crew member support meet you right at the end of the trail is totally dreamy and 100 times more enjoyable than a long yomp on tarmac or a load of car faff. 

We were so fortunate to have great conditions for the day, and I was especially grateful to Pete for doing all the nav (though I had helped a slightly lost fell runner to figure out where he was). We'd finished pretty much bang on my "very ambitious" target and apart from the usual aches of a big day on the hills, everyone was feeling great. So great, that we already started contemplating what challenge we could do next...

Pete pretending he was suffering at the end (he was not).