Cad West - 24/02/2009

When my good friend Morley Lester announced his intention to head to Wales on this date - his last opportunity to get out before the arrival of twins! - I thought it'd be rude not to join him.

I got to Geoff's place in Loughborough for 0600 and we were soon on the road for Welsh Wales. Already conditions weren't looking great with low cloud and some drizzle in the air as we drove over the border.

As we approached the roundabout that for us signals the entrance to the Loop, Morley texted to say not to hurry as the valley was shrouded in cloud. We were only five miles away at this point and this merely confirmed our fears.

We arrived in the car park at about 0830 and were soon joined by John "The Ferrit" Higgins, Tom Gibbons and Scott Rathbone.

Despite the presence of cloud in the pass we still elected to make the climb - my first since July of last year - an occasion that produced a 'blank'. The first part of the climb at Cad West is fairly easy, almost traversing along the side of the hill, climbing at a nice shallow gradient. Where the path starts to come back on itself is where the fun starts! For me it really takes its toll on the tops of the thighs, but despite that I was still up the hill second of our party and not that far behind Geoff, who's everso slightly competitive in such situations!

Around 1100 there was a noticeable shift in the wind and the first signs of the cloud clearing from the pass. Half an hour later and it was perfectly clear. Still nothing happened though.

1330 did signal the first movement, a Hawk from round the corner at Dolgellau. He wasn't really interested in going through the pass however, pulling out and over us.

1530 came and Morley decided he'd get an early start on the five hour journey home. He was our self-appointed sacrificial lamb, and it worked! As he reached the bottom a 45(R)Sqn King Air appeared from out of the Bwlch and headed our way.

We were genuinely made up! A very nice pass and a guarantee that it wouldn't be a blank (the earlier Hawk didn't count as it merely offered 'sky shots').

A little while later another Hawk appeared, again from Dolgellau. He too elected to miss the pass out, instead flying straight over our heads. Impressive to see, but not what we'd come for!

By now the light was pretty grim - ISO400, f4.5 and 1/200th of a second. Finally we did get one Hawk who played ball - his nose light visible for some time as he appeared from Bala. I think I must've been quite cold by this stage as I came away with nothing even remotely salvageable.

So that was that! A disappointing day from an aviation viewpoint, but a really good craic and constant giggle from start to finish!

Thanks to Geoff for the driving!