The Loonies on Cader Idris.

Big Andy

Big Andy

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Here are the first few images from the latest loonie meet, this time we climbed Cader Idris in the Snowdonia National Park.

As normal the first one is a team shot of the five who climbed to the top.
From left to right, Kevin Obrian, Duncan Disorderly, Ryan (AgentG), Myself, and Simon (sjh2008).




One more for now, Kevin taking pictures down the valley towards Barmouth in the distance.



More images and info to come when time allows.
 
What a memorable day on the mountains!
Sunshine and fluffy white clouds hanging off the peaks.
There were heavy showers that circled the mountains, but never hit us.
We decided to stay up as long as possible to make the most of the incredible conditions.
But as the day progressed, the showers turned into thunderstorms on three sides of the mountain and exhilaration turned into apprehension.
We were finally driven off the mountain tops by midges as there wasn't a breath of wind.
On the way down, one of the monster storm clouds headed our way and hit us badly, so we arrived back at the car part soaked through to the skin, but grinning from ear to ear.

It was Simon's first mountain trip!
He could be walking for years and never encounter anything like this again.
However, we nearly killed him! His legs were shaking like jelly on the descent but he dug deep into his reserves and made it back safely.

Great company; relaxed and friendly - and I think we all now have found much respect for Cader Idris as it is definitely a 'proper' mountain.
As Andy says - piccies coming soon!
 
Had a fantastic weekend, the mountain climb was a real killer for me, but the views on the top were worth it with all the stormy weather around us.
Just need to download the photos and put a couple up on the thread
Great to meet everyone on Cad west on the friday.
 
Certainly did turn out to be a good Mountain day on Saturday , We did have all seasons in one day that Snowdonia could throw at us :D, It was a pleasure meeting you all and great to have some company whilst out on the hills even if you all did have Canons :shake:, so thanks for visiting the North and I look forward to meeting up again in the future.

Andy enjoying the view


From left to right maybe ?


There is a storm in there somewhere


Mynydd Moel








Kevin (y)
 
Very dramatic! (y)

I'm having a little trouble sorting mine out...
I'm really pleased with so many of them I don't know what to share!
Something coming tonight as I've no chance to get back to them until the weekend.
 
Here's my quick and dirty pick from Cader Idris...

1) On our way up and we had just heard our first major rumbles of thunder.
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2) Pause for a group shot with the high point of Cader Idris behind us.
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3) The Chasm of Doom - no way Big Andy was going any where near it!
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4) Kevin on the edge of the summit plateau.
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5) Buttress with climbers on.
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6) Looking into the light along the main ridge.
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7) The sheep is just to fill the corner as the real image is the storm in the distance!
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8) Dolgellau as one of the storms arrives.
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9) Some of the group were in the camp site underneath this storm!
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10) Corris Corner with sunshine and the inevitable storm in the distance.
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11) Kevin with Llynnau Creggennen and Barmouth in the distance.
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12) Believe it or not - the wall of water in the distance was only a light shower compared with what was about to hit us from the dark mother of a storm building on the left of this image! We still had a LONG way to go...
i-BLz4rPZ-M.jpg
 
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Happy days Duncan I have a few captures of yourself shall e/mail them to you this week, you are not wrong about that shower that hit us on the return to the cars.

couple more I Have manged to process and like your self plenty still left in the folder :D




And to top the day off this happened on my return home, could not believe it what a way to end a awesome day pretty much straight from the camera ;)



Kevin (y)
 
Very moody pics! I might get around to editing mine this week at some point.
 
Great images all.
 
Love the images, looks like a good day was had by all and all in the spirit of Talk Photography :clap:

Les :D
 
Some great images Kev, particularly like #2 with the very threatening clouds it looks like the end of the world coming in from the right. We also saw that sunset develop but had already ditched the cameras in favour of a bit of bar room arm bending at the Cross Foxes, glad somebody got a shot though.

I've got to agree with Paul (Pork) that your #4 image is a beauty Duncan, it really shows the scale of things, hope the group shot on the same point comes out OK

Now for a few more of mine.
#1 Liked the light coming from the side to show the detail in this one.



#2 This shows some of the rough ground/bolder field that made walking a little tricky on occasions, but lovely textures.



#3 Another light shot of the clouds. (Simon bottom left I think).


#4 We didn't see many planes on the Friday so Duncan tried to make up for that. :D


#5 Ryan and Simon take a breather on the ascent using the excuse that they're taking photos.


Still plenty more when I can get the time to go through them.
Like Duncan I was very impressed with the location and would love to return to North Wales again in the not to distant future. As I owe Kevin a beer I'd better not leave it to long either.
 
kevin obrian said:
Happy days Duncan I have a few captures of yourself shall e/mail them to you this week, you are not wrong about that shower that hit us on the return to the cars.

And to top the day off this happened on my return home, could not believe it what a way to end a awesome day pretty much straight from the camera ;)
Click to expand...
Wow - what a sunset - fantastic shot (y)

I'll get around to sharing the rest of mine at the weekend including some more of you.
Looking forward to seeing what you got of me :)

Pork said:
Great set of images guys, with clearley very challenging weather!

Just love the compo on this one though :)
Click to expand...

Cheers :beer:
Although the weather looked horrendous - it wasn't !
We only got wet on the way up and the way down. The five or so hours we spent on the summit was windless, warm and dry; but the midges were uncomfortable.
The storms formed and moved around all sides of the mountain but never quite got to us.
We were VERY lucky!

Big Andy said:
Now for a few more of mine.
...
Still plenty more when I can get the time to go through them.
Like Duncan I was very impressed with the location and would love to return to North Wales again in the not to distant future. As I owe Kevin a beer I'd better not leave it to long either.
Click to expand...

Your #1 is way better than the ones I took of the same view :thinking:
Nice one!
Love the mood in #3!

I think we should definitely organise a return to the Mach Loop and Mountains; probably next year.
Don't need to change much as this trip was absolutely brilliant!
 
Matholwch said:
Great set of photos guys, which route did you take up? I think Cader Idris is one of the most punishing climbs in Wales (especially when walking up from the car park by Tal-y-Llyn).
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Yup - that's the way we went; from the car park at Minffordd.
It's pretty much straight up with no easy bits to get your breath back.

Oddly, Kevin and I both thought that compared to routes in Snowdonia the day didn't really rate a 'Hard' grade. For example, Snowdon from Llyn Gwynant is far longer and tougher, and there are lots of other good routes that are similarly tough.
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Oddly, Kevin and I both thought that compared to routes in Snowdonia the day didn't really rate a 'Hard' grade. For example, Snowdon from Llyn Gwynant is far longer and tougher, and there are lots of other good routes that are similarly tough.
Click to expand...

I particularly dislike the number of false summits en-route up Cader Idris.

I've not traversed Snowdon up from Llyn Gwynant (did you go directly from Llyn Gwynant up Lliwedd :eek:??) - I usually head up from Pen-y-Pass, and went up from Rhyd Ddu side for the first time last summer. That Vauxhall Frontera was at the summit (for the 2nd time) to greet us, with a Police Helicopter hovering above. Goodness knows how they had got the thing into where it was parked, couldn't work out how it drove there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15108712

Sorry a bit off topic!

Very jealous (y)
 
Matholwch said:
I particularly dislike the number of false summits en-route up Cader Idris.

I've not traversed Snowdon up from Llyn Gwynant (did you go directly from Llyn Gwynant up Lliwedd :eek:??) - I usually head up from Pen-y-Pass, and went up from Rhyd Ddu side for the first time last summer. That Vauxhall Frontera was at the summit (for the 2nd time) to greet us, with a Police Helicopter hovering above. Goodness knows how they had got the thing into where it was parked, couldn't work out how it drove there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15108712

Sorry a bit off topic!

Very jealous (y)
Click to expand...

LOL - if you want false summits, then head up Ben Nevis via the tourist path - it is horrendous!

One of my favourite routes in Snowdonia is Snowdon via Y-Lliwedd via the Copper Mine on the way up and Bwlch Main on the way down, but agree that it is a tough route.
Another excellent long day out is Ogwen Cottage to Carnedd y Filiast and Elidir Fawr return via Devils Kitchen.

As for the Frontera - you gotta admire their determination and skill even if you don't approve.
There is footage of the Victorians taking a car up Snowdon and by comparison it was 2WD and far less power. That attempt was applauded by the general public for their audacity instead of throwing the rule book at them.
A few series ago Clarkson took a Range Rover up Applecross Mountain; he would have caused far more damage than the Snowdon Frontera, the only real difference is Clarkson would have obtained prior approval.
There is no way he would be given permission to drive up Snowdon!
Anyway - fair play to the Frontera and Clarkson for believing they could get away with it!
 
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Fantastic images posted by everyone, looks just like i remember it looking from the top of Cader Idris. still working on a few of mine have a few favorites i am going to print out
 
A couple of pics i have sorted from the loony meet.


CadreIdris-8.jpg


CadreIdris-13.jpg
 
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fantastic.
brings back many sweaty memories
 
Some lovely shot here but can not think there's some thing missing from these two :thinking:
DuncanDisorderly said:
7)
10) Corris Corner with sunshine and the inevitable storm in the distance.
i-drRsBnX-M.jpg


12) Believe it or not - the wall of water in the distance was only a light shower compared with what was about to hit us from the dark mother of a storm building on the left of this image! We still had a LONG way to go...
i-BLz4rPZ-M.jpg
Click to expand...

Got to be that there's no Low Level Aircraft going around Corris Corner :naughty: also love the sunset shot.
 
Ziploc said:
Some lovely shot here but can not think there's some thing missing from these two :thinking:

Got to be that there's no Low Level Aircraft going around Corris Corner :naughty: also love the sunset shot.
Click to expand...

This meet also had a Mach Loop day on the Friday.
There are piccies up on page 7 of the meet thread.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=421846&page=7

Unfortunately traffic was light, but it was a great day out and I want to return for another visit to the Mach Loop before too long.
Here's one from the Friday of this meet.
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I'm really liking the pics so far, I've started editing mine. The IR pics are coming out quite nicely! Will post after I edit them all.
 
Looking good so far guys, uploading from iPhone first time experiment in work so hope it works

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If failed I apologise will rectify this evening

Kevin
 
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kevin obrian said:
And to top the day off this happened on my return home, could not believe it what a way to end a awesome day pretty much straight from the camera ;)



Kevin (y)
Click to expand...

Great capture mate, well done..!
 
Happy it worked cheers for the heads up, it was a great sunset a day I shall not forget for a long time. Right better get some work done lol

Kevin
 
Lovely pics from all the posters so far, i would have been gutted if i had missed it. and not made it upto the top of the mountain.

Thanks Duncan thats why i like them also, really shows off the rugged scenery

Looking forward to the IR pics from Ryan
 
Finally finished editing my pics. The colour pics were more difficult to edit than the IR ones, too much blue in the scene. Colour ones first followed by IR. The whole set can be found here

1. Flight meeting
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2. Rob
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3. View from the top
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4. View from near the bottom
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5. Steam rising
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6. Light torrent walk
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IR portraits next

1. IR long exposure (1 full second) lit by BBQ coals - The ghost of Simon
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2. Big Andy
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3. Duncan
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4. Si - IR B&W
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5. Simon at the top!
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6. Kevin & Andy? Not sure where I got Simon from!
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Needed food! The editing took a lot out of me.

1. Corris Corner in IR
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2. I liked the textures on the hill in this one
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3. Borrowing Andy's 10mm
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4. Other side of Cader Idris
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5. I really like this pic, framing to the max
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6. Barmouth in the distance
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For the rest you can look at the album
 
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