ACCESSIBLE HILLS
For some people, the simple enjoyment of the mountains seems beyond reach due to age or disability. But if you know where to look, there really are mountains for everyone.
I wouldn’t call myself an old man but in the first flush of youth I most certainly am not. And recently, in the midst of a mid-life crisis, I’ve been wondering how long it might be until I have to hang up my boots. 10 years? 20?
I find it difficult to imagine a time when I can look at, but no longer touch, the mountains. For the past two decades, walking and climbing in the British hills has been an all-consuming passion, providing immense joy when things are going well, and great solace when the slings and arrows of life are aimed in my direction. My love of ancient lumps of rock and my need to be around them was so strong that 10 years ago I moved to Eryri (Snowdonia) to build a life with them at its core. I’ve even made a living out of them as a writer, photographer and mountain leader. If it all ended tomorrow, I could have few regrets in following my dream, for while my bank account may be empty, my heart is full, and the memories I have amassed can’t be taken away. It’s fair to say that I’m one of the lucky ones.
A large component of gratitude is considering those less fortunate than myself; in this case it is those who have long felt the call of the hills but for one reason or another have never been able to climb them. During one such period of reflection my thoughts turned to a good friend of mine, Lydia. At least once a week we enjoy long drives around the National Park, and more often than not our conversations are dominated by the stunning beauty of the landscape and how she wished she had physically engaged with it in her younger years. At 63, Lydia lives with a number of debilitating conditions, including spondylosis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and high blood pressure, which prevent her from straying too far.
Last year, however, I began to wonder if Lydia’s myriad ailments were the ultimate limiting factor in her ability to enjoy the outdoors, or was there also a psychological hurdle to be leapt? How could she really know where her limits lay until she had nudged right up against them? I intended to find out and tasked myself with compiling a list of fun-sized expeditions that would give Lydia authentic mountain experiences while keeping the risk of misadventure to an acceptable level. But where to begin? We would need to establish a benchmark from which to assess future walks, and where better to start than the awe-inspiring Ogwen Valley?
Cwm Idwal – the first one 4km (2.4 miles) 120m ascent
Before embarking on our first mission, I laid down some ground rules: wa
