Ty Powdwr - Llanberis Mountain Film Festival

Members: Laura Collier, Dave Dillon, Emily Pitts, Dave Shotton

Guests: Sandro Gromen-Hayes, Joe, Jasmine Pitts, Danielle ‘Danny’ White

Due to an unexpected fall of snow on the Friday, not all those planning to attend were able to reach Ty Powdwr, or indeed leave their homes, over the weekend!

Sandro and Joe were the only ones to arrive on the Friday. Dave Dillon acted as chauffeur for Emily (on crutches while recovering from knee surgery), Jasmine and Danny, arriving during the day on Saturday. Laura and Dave Shotton left Manchester on Saturday afternoon and arrived about 5.30pm.

Meanwhile Sandro and Joe spent Saturday in an ascent of Cnicht.

Everyone at the hut attended the BMC & Womenclimb's ‘We Do Adventure’ film show at the Electric Mountain visitor centre on Saturday evening. 17 short films were shown from the Women in Adventure film competition 2016 in this event, which also raised funds for Climbers Against Cancer. Our own Emily Pitts presented the films, including a raffle prize draw, and was joined on stage by various of the film makers and subjects, including mountain runner Kate Worthington (profiled in ‘Women in Adventure – Kate Worthington’), Hannah Price of ‘London to the Lost World’, and Sandro, who had co-made the ice-climbing film ‘Vicki Warke – My Cathedral’. The films, many of them inspiring and covering a range of subjects relating to outdoor sports and activities, can be seen at
http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/videos/?channel=women-in-mountain-adventure-film-competition

Afterwards most people went back to the hut, but Laura, Dave S and Danny went for a pint or three at The Heights, which was hosting an aftershow party featuring live music, with various of the film makers in attendance. The partying possibly contributed to them taking a scenic and rather long route on the walk back up to Ty Powdwr, where they ate some of Laura’s delicious birthday carrot cake after arriving back in the early hours!

On Sunday, which started dry but didn’t stay that way, Laura, Danny and Dave S, inspired by the previous evening’s ‘London to the Lost World’ film, went into the Dinorwic slate quarries to have a recce of some of the features of the Snakes & Ladders chain/tunnels/ladders exploration route. They went through a couple of tunnels from Dali’s Hole and found the chain in California, but didn’t go up it or indeed up any ladders; they then walked back through the tunnels and along the main track to go up the slate incline (beyond Twll Mawr) in the SE of the quarries, to the winding house and the ‘Bridge of Death’ railway track (now collapsed), then walked back down the same way, while light snow started to fall. They left TP after lunch.

Meanwhile Emily, Jasmine and Dave D left on Sunday morning to get back to Manchester. Sandro and Joe set out to climb up Elidir Fawr, but gave up due to weather, so had a look round the slate quarries instead.

Dave Shotton