Sunday 18 November 2018

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Bannau Brycheiniog


21.08.18  Fan y Big (SO 036 206) and Cribyn (SO 023 213)  

Cribyn (SO 023 213)

The news that Fan y Big is no longer classified as a Hewitt seemed to stir the imagination of many in the news media with pieces in The New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune, it also received attention from a number of British news outlets including The Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror.

BBC Wales interviewed me on their afternoon radio show and asked me to take part in a live broadcast from the foot of the hill which was only pulled at the last moment as a horse had run amok in the Pembroke show and injured a number of people, therefore their outdoor broadcast van was diverted west to cover this story.

It’s always interesting dealing with the media, and they do seem to have a healthy appetite for such things.  However, it is only occasionally that these news events reach the echelons of television, and for Fan y Big this opportunity came when Channel 5 News expressed interest in filming from its summit, and along with a representative from the Brecon Beacons National Park I was invited to be a part of the forthcoming filming.

We met in the car park just south of the Upper Neuadd Reservoir early in the morning, and although the mist was low on the higher summit’s the weather forecast predicted dry conditions and a chance for the mist to lift later in the day.

James Williams represented the Brecon Beacons National Park, and he is their Communications Officer, he met me with a beaming smile and said that he’d already been interviewed on Radio 1 earlier in the morning and they wanted another interview with him from the summit, James had come prepared with a pole and Radio 1 flag and proved completely in tune with this news story and had written a wonderful piece on the National Park’s website about the sad loss of one of their Beacons.

Soon afterward Dominic Reynolds; Channel 5 News Reporter, and Rui Costa; Channel 5 News Cameraman arrived, after introductions and packing of last minute essentials we headed off walking the short distance up the remainder of the tarmacked road to where a gravelled track leads up on to open hillside.

(L-R) Dominic Reynolds - Channel 5 News Reporter, James Williams - Brecon Beacons National Park Communications Officer and Rui Costa - Channel 5 Cameraman

This track leads to the bwlch between Cribyn and Fan y Big and as we gained height it occasionally made an appearance out of the low cloud that stubbornly hung to the higher tops.  We stopped on a couple of occasions for Rui to get footage of us walking past the camera up the track.

Heading toward the connecting bwlch between Fan y Big and Cribyn

I can remember when an experience such as this was new for me, and I still unashamedly enjoy it, for me it’s not the opportunity to appear in front of a camera that enthuses me as I have arranged things like this before and taken a back seat and not appeared, it’s the aspect of trying to enthuse other people about the hills and their weird and wonderful classifications that attracts me, and this when coupled with the challenge of doing so, and dealing with a different medium outside of the usual hill bagging community gives an opportunity to light heartedly talk about the hills and their classifications.

By the time we arrived at the bwlch we were in mist and the prospect for good footage with extended views from the top of Fan y Big did not look good.  However, we pressed on as Dom and Rui were operating under a strict schedule as the footage needed to be edited and sent to London for the 5.00pm news.

On our way up the steep flagged path leading to the summit Dom engaged with a passing walker, his professionalism instantly took hold as he drew Lee Major in to the news about Fan y Big, Lee was one of a number of people who Dom gently brought in to conversation, each in turn would give their view on this hill’s sad demise.

Dominic interviewing Lee Major

When we arrived on the summit there was no extended view and plan B was put in to operation, with this concentrating more on interviews rather than showing the dramatic landscape of the Beacons.

However, as more people arrived on the summit giving Dom and Rui opportunity for more interviews there were signs that the mass of cloud and mist was slowly rising, as the drops from the hill’s north-western slopes were now exposed as they plunged down in to Cwm Cynwyn.

The mist slowly rises

Over the next hour the land was slowly stripped of its cloud and mist veil, this was a slow process and not instantly dramatic in nature, but the outcome was nonetheless stunning, and to be on top of Fan y Big and see this happen was something that will remain with me for a long time.

This now meant that plan A was operational and Dom and Rui went in to organisational mode, with Rui planning what views he wanted to film, where each person should be positioned and how the story about this hill’s sad demise should unfold.

James preparing to be interviewed by Dominic

During this James had numerous calls from Radio 1 and he was an absolute natural, getting instantly in to the spirit of the story, I listened to some of the conversations and laughed and smiled as James described how the National Park had lost one of their Beacons, but it still remained one of the most beautiful places in Wales to visit.

James with his Radio 1 flag

When we arrived at the summit I had set the Trimble up on the high point to gather data, and it was still there beeping away in the background, I had little anticipation for the data set to produce adequate data as many people who visited the summit whilst we were there had approached it and stood beside it, I even sat beside it for a photograph.  

The Trimble produced a remarkable data set considering the obstructions it faced during data collection

Miraculously the data set proved one of the best ever gathered by the Trimble as it produced Estimated Accuracies of 0-5cm: 100.00%, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a result as the norm is 5-15cm at 100.00%, the result of the day’s survey is in good correlation with the two ten minute data sets previously gathered, these appear below:

1st ten minute data set:  716.800m

2nd ten minute data set:  716.676m

55 minute data set:  716.754m

It was soon my turn to be interviewed and I explained what a Hewitt is, who compiled the list (Alan Dawson) and who initially analysed LIDAR data produced by the environment agency (Aled Williams), however the part that made the final edited footage is me owning up to having obsessional tendencies and that I would probably have to change my nationality due to the loss of a Hewitt and Beacon.

(L-R) James, Dominic, Rui and me on the summit of Fan y Big.  Photo: Wouter Georges

It was now time to leave the summit of Fan y Big as Dom and Rui were under a tight schedule and still had much to do if the footage was to reach Channel 5 on time to make the 5.00pm news.

When we reached the connecting bwlch with Cribyn I shook Dom’s, Rui’s and James’ hand and thanked them for a great day on the hill as I wanted to survey the critical bwlch and summit of Cribyn, which until today was the only 2,000ft hill in the Beacons that had not been Trimbled.

As they headed back down the track toward the car park I used the contouring path around the southern bulk of Cribyn which comes out at the bwlch between it and Pen y Fan.  I placed the Trimble close to a small pool at the bwlch and hoped that no one would walk near it as swarms of people were appearing from all directions.  Once five minutes of data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, packed it away and looked up at the steepening slope of Cribyn and started my slow plod up toward its summit.

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cribyn

Pen y Fan with a darkened profile

The steepening slopes of Cribyn

Behind me, Pen y Fan, as ever, looked majestic with its north-eastern face plunging down to the upper part of Cwm Sere, as I arrived at the summit of Cribyn two couples were leaving, I was now thankfully alone on the summit as asking people to stand away from the Trimble as it gathers data is not something I savour.

Pen y Fan

The high point of Cribyn is easy to identify and consists of rock, I positioned the Trimble with its internal antenna aligned with the highest part of the hill, activated it to gather data and stood away from it.  Five minutes later I closed it down and during this time I only asked one couple if they minded staying where they were for the next few minutes until the Trimble had done its stuff, they kindly obliged.

Gathering data at the summit of Cribyn

The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Cribyn

My route down was via the south-eastern ridge, stopping frequently to admire the views as the great mass of upland suddenly falls away to the north, today it had no dramatic light on it, but still transfixed me as I made progress down to the bwlch where I had waved my goodbye’s to Dom, Rui and James a couple of hours previously.

Cribyn from its south-easterly ridge
I felt tired walking down the track back to my car, it had been a long day as I’d been up before my 4.30am alarm call and I’d been on the hill for over eight hours, but it had also been a good day.

I arrived back home and discovered that Dom and Rui and their colleagues at Channel 5 News had already uploaded their footage to YouTube, it made good viewing and this link will take you there.



Survey Result:



Fan y Big 
 
Summit Height:  716.7m (converted to OSGM15, average of three summit surveys [two on 30.06.18 and the third on 21.08.18]) (significant height revision)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 03652 20658

Bwlch Height:  688.2m (converted to OSGM15, previously Trimbled)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 03773 19876

Drop:  28.5m (700m Twmpau reclassified to 700m Sub-Twmpau) (Hewitt deletion) (Simm reclassified to Subsimm)





Cribyn

Summit Height:  794.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 02392 21313

Bwlch Height:  666.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 01935 21152

Drop:  128.0m

Dominance:  16.12%






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