a period of time, sometimes years. But eventually, you find a combination that works best for you. When you do, stick with it. Just as important, when you settle on the type of clothing that suits you and decide to kit yourself out, go for the best you can afford. Quality really does count when it comes to outdoor clothing.
What to carry
So, what is considered essential? It is not intended that this list should be slavishly followed in every detail by every person in a group, but is suggested as a guide or checklist. Small groups may manage without some items, but if the group is such that it may become fragmented, then it pays to have the key items throughout the group.
Map – everyone should carry a map for the area of the walk, and know how to read it.
Compass – much the same; map and compass are essential.
Whistle – every individual should carry a whistle; it is vital as a means of communication in the event of an emergency. There are numerous, inexpensive mountain and survival whistles available, but any whistle will do.
Torch – you may not intend to be out after dark, but a torch will prove useful if you are. Make sure that every individual carries their own torch, even if there are only two of you. There are many suitable pocket torches on the market, and be sure to carry spare batteries, too. A torch is also useful for signalling in an emergency.
First aid kit – there is nothing worse than a developing blister, or a bad scratch from a bramble. Even the smallest of first aid kits contain plasters or skin compounds like Dr Scholl’s® Moleskin, or Compeed® Blister Packs that can ease the irritation. The kit does not need to be huge, but should include a good cross-section of contemporary first aid products, including ointments and creams suitable for easing insect stings and bites. Today’s outdoor market offers plastic first aid ‘bottle’ kits containing everything you are likely to need for minor emergencies.
Food – it is important to carry day rations sufficient both for the walk you are planning to follow and for emergencies. Every rucksack should contain some emergency foods, like Kendal Mint Cake, chocolate bars or glucose tablets, that remain forever in your pack – although it is a good idea to replenish them at regular intervals.
Drink – liquids are vital, especially in hot conditions, and in winter a stainless steel Thermos of hot drink goes down a treat. Cold liquids can be carried in water bottles or a pliable water container with a plastic suction tube that can be led from your rucksack over your shoulder.
Spare clothing – there is no need to duplicate everything you wear or would normally carry, but some extras kept permanently in your rucksack will prove beneficial – T-shirt, sweater, scarf, spare socks (to double as gloves, if necessary), spare laces
Other bits and pieces – strong string (can double as emergency laces), small towel (for drying post-paddling feet during summer months), notebook, pencil, pocket knife and a thermal blanket or survival bag for emergencies. With luck you will never use it, but half a roll of toilet tissue in a sealable plastic bag can ease many an embarrassing moment.
Cwm Eigiau from Craig yr Ysfa (Walk 15)
RECREATION AND THE MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT
[Reproduced with the consent of the Countryside Council for Wales. More information about the need to protect the mountains of Snowdonia, and how that can be achieved, is available from the Council.]
Carnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) in winter (Walk 1)
Mountains have withstood the rigours of millions of years of geological processes – including mountain building, erosion and glaciation, but, paradoxically, their environments are fragile and very special. Their fragility comes from the harsh climate and landforms which affect the way in which plants and animals can survive there. And they are special because mountains are one of the least human impacted environments. The mountains of Britain support a number of rare species of plants and animals. The effects of ice during the last glacial advance are responsible somewhat for the botanical wealth, producing steep, north facing rocks which provide a suitable habitat for relict arctic–alpine plants which need the cool conditions and freedom from competition from more aggressive grassland species. They also provide a refuge from the attentions of sheep, which manage to graze vegetation in most places in the British uplands, except steep rock faces and fenced enclosures. It is no accident that the best sites to botanise in the uplands are often on rock faces and very steep ground which are effectively mountain ‘islands’, with little surviving woodland or scrub and surrounded by agricultural and urbanised lowlands.
Heather
Tenacious hawthorn
Although the effects of recreation in the uplands may appear insignificant compared to those of other, more substantial and widespread pressures on the countryside, the potential impact is magnified because of the very nature of the sports which we undertake in some of the hitherto least affected areas. These cliffs and summit areas are precisely those last remaining refuges which are so valuable and which conservation organisations are trying to protect. Whether is it ground nesting birds, arctic–alpine flora, blanket bog or the fragile montane heath on the very highest summits, there is a need to be aware of and to protect the special features of the environment we use. There is also the added burden of possible climate change and the results this may have for our upland species.
Generally, most walkers and climbers are sensitive to these concerns and co-operate fully to avoid damage to the special vegetation found in Snowdonia. Examples of damage are rare, but an awareness of the issues is important, particularly as not everyone knows of the special sites or the potential for damage.
Rock lichen
Wild pony, Eastern Carneddau (Walk 12)
SNOWDON AND MOEL EILIO
Llyn Llydaw from Bwlch y Ciliau (Walk 1)
Snowdon summit from Bwlch Ciliau (Walk 1)
The popularity of Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, has scarcely diminished since the first recorded ascent by the botanist Thomas Johnson in 1639. However, the 18th-century Welsh historian Thomas Pennant mentions a ‘triumphal fair upon this our chief of mountains’ following Edward I’s conquest of Wales in 1284, which, if true, indicates the likelihood of significantly earlier ascents. And although all the early ascents were by scientists of one breed or another, by the time Norfolk-born author George Borrow appeared on the scene to quote Welsh poetry from Snowdon’s summit in the middle of the 19th century, he and his companion were ‘far from being the only visitors to the hill…groups of people, or single individuals, might be seen going up or descending the path as far as the eye could reach.’
Yr Wyddfa is known to everyone as ‘Snowdon’, the highest and arguably the most popular summit in England and Wales. The name Yr Wyddfa, like that of Pen y Gadair to the south, is a name with origins in legend. It is said, although there is no archaeological evidence to support it, that the summit of Yr Wyddfa is the tomb of Rhita Gawr, a fierce, king-killing giant