TRAIL 100
RUSS MOORHOUSE is on a mission to camp out on every Trail 100 peak – a challenge that spans four countries, 100 of the UK’s finest hills and mountains, and a punishing 88,339m of ascent. This month Russ introduces some newcomers and avoids calamity.
WILD SLEEPS THIS MONTH
Moel Siabod Tryfan Glyder Fach Cat Bells Scafell Pike
TRAIL 100 BIVVY COUNT 65/100 ow old were you the first time you
Hspent a night sleeping in a bivvy bag? With stars for a duvet before waking up as the sun rises from behind a mountain, it’s one of life’s greatest pleasures and an unforgettable experience. If you haven’t yet, it’s never too late.
Family affair
On every grandma’s favourite mountain, Cat Bells, I’m joined by my Mum, aged 75, for her first ever bivvy experience. Only after setting off does she take the opportunity to tell me her doctor said she had a minor stroke earlier this year. She still wanted to come, as in her words: “The top of a mountain is as good a place as any to die.” At this point I try to prevent the unfortunate from happening and take her rucksack, while my son (first bivvy age 13) guides her up the tricky rock sections. Three generations of bivvybaggers enjoy a very pleasant sunset gazing at the lakes and mountains, eating granny’s flapjack. Rain arrives with the darkness and it’s tough for a first bivvy experience. Still smiling in the morning, my Mum tells me she’ll be ready to do it all again – in another 75 years time.
Eryri summits
Rob (first bivvy age 37) doesn’t fancy the Daear Ddu scramble on Moel Siabod with his heavy pack containing 4.5 litres of water and several beers. That doesn’t spoil the fun though, because the hike through the miners’ cottages to the dried up Llyn y Foel is a pleasure. You hardly notice you are going uphill. It’s a hot day but rain and thunder are forecast. Our summit pitch can see 14 out of the 15 Welsh 3000s, but sadly there is a haze that never lifts. The shape and outline of the mountains is magnificent but the detail never reveals itself. This is close to perfection but leaves me wanting more.
Ain’t no fool
Jenny (first bivvy age 48) is back, and this time we have sunshine after scrambling up the north face of Tryfan. Undeniably the prettiest mountain in Eryri, with its brooding ridges and biblical summit, we set up our bivvies on a ledge just below the summit. You may know that in order to gain the freedom of Tryfan you have to jump across the two large monoliths on the summit, Adam and Eve. What you may not know, is that if you do it a second tim
