23.03.19
Cnicht (SH 645 466) and Pt. 690.2m (SH 647 468)
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| Cnicht (SH 645 466) |
Cnicht is rightly
considered one of the iconic mountains of Wales; it rises above the small
community of Croesor in a steep pyramidal and eloquent shape. However, this view hides its extended
north-eastern ridge that descends in grassed slopes toward the tranquil
surrounds of Llyn yr Adar.
Many years ago it seemed
as if I almost lived on this hill having visited it already on a number of
occasions, as when its north-easterly top was promoted to Nuttall status in
spring 1997 it meant many more visits to its ever appealing summit to bring my
Welsh Nuttall total up-to-date. However,
those times are now long gone, and it has been nine years since I last visited.
Four of us set out from
the car park in Croesor and with a forecast of dry conditions with hazy
sunshine the day ahead was one to enjoy.
Two of our party; Abi and Ann-Marie had Mountain Leadership
qualification so any semblance of navigational skill that I may possess was happily
put to one side for the day.
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| Heading toward the hill |
As height was gained the
profile of Cnicht was forever in view, with tiny figures of people on its upper
slopes and summit adding perspective to the scene. We had a number of stops enjoying the
intermittent sunshine and early spring warmth, during which I took the
opportunity to set off ahead slowly plodding my way up the ridge knowing that
Jude, Abi and Ann-Marie would catch me up before the summit, and so they did,
just before the last steep section.
The summit of Cnicht
consists of a number of up thrust small rocks with the central of three our
candidate for the highest and within a few minutes of arriving on the summit
the Trimble was aligned with the highest bit of rock and quietly beeping away
collecting its individual datum points.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cnicht |
During data collection
the girls sat just below the summit with Ann-Marie seemingly seated on the edge
of the world from the vantage point I stood at, once the last of the allotted
data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down and we headed on the continuation
of the ridge to the bwlch between the main and subsidiary peak of Cnicht.
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| Ann-Marie perched on the edge of the world |
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| Ann-Marie, Jude and Abi at the summit of Cnicht |
This bwlch is easily
identified and the Trimble was soon positioned on top of my rucksack and the
offset between its internal antenna and the ground below measured and noted. It remained there for six minutes gathering its
all-important data.
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| The Trimble set-up position at the bwlch of the subsidiary peak of Cnicht |
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| Moelwyn Mawr |
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| Gathering data at the bwlch for the subsidiary peak of Cnicht |
The ridge path continues
north-eastward and bisects at the base of the next top, with one branch
bi-passing the uphill section, whilst the other climbs through rock toward the summit
of this next hill.
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| Jude heading toward the summit of the second hill of the day |
This hill has an untidy
flattish cairn signifying its summit, these few rocks were soon removed and
with the ground below now exposed we could determine its very highest point,
which proved to be about 0.75 of a metre from where the untidy cairn had
obliterated and messed an otherwise natural scene.
Again the Trimble was
placed with its internal antenna aligned with the summit and it remained in
place for the next eleven minutes gathering data as the four of us sat and
chatted. During this a few people walked
the ridge from Cnicht and none visited the point where the Trimble beeped away
gathering its third data set of the day.
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| Gathering data at the subsidiary peak of Cnicht |
The last survey of the
day was the critical bwlch of Cnicht which is placed overlooking Llyn yr Adar. The broad north-eastern ridge descending from
Cnicht soon turns in to moor grass and its path leads direct down to this
bwlch.
Within a few minutes the
Trimble was placed on top of my rucksack and it was gathering its last data set
of the day. As I stood away from the
equipment Canada geese skimmed across the near lake giving a backdrop with
their wagh-onk call piecing an otherwise quiet scene.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cnicht |
All that remained was
the walk back via a boggy path leading down to the abandoned workings of the
Rhosydd Quarry and the continuation below the Croesor Quarry to the valley below. Once back at the car and changed we headed
south toward Cross Foxes where Ann-Marie’s husband; Mark joined us for a good
meal before heading home, a great way to end the day.
Survey Result:
Cnicht
Summit Height: 690.7m (converted to OSGM15) (significant height revision)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 64545 46613
Bwlch Height: 585.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 65589 47707
Drop: 105.0m
Dominance: 15.20%
Pt. 690.2m
Summit Height: 690.2m (converted to OSGM15) (significant height revision)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 64799 46864
Bwlch Height: 670.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 64681 46742
Drop: 19.3m
Dominance: 2.79%
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