Category: Activity Groups 2010

Wednesday, Snowdon (Mr. Alderson’s group)

Posted on | By Dominic | 1 Comment

Today was our highest mountain climb. We took a path called the Pyg on the way up which was named after the closest building to the bottom of the path, who’s initials were p.y.g. Mount Snowdon is 1085M tall, the highest mountain in England and Wales. Ten minutes into our ascent we were forced to stop to put on our water proof clothing because the rain started straight away, not scheduled until after lunch. We were faced by many waterfalls during our trip created by the rainfall. We had to step over the water falls, which were very slippery. Some people had a drink from the fast flowing waterfalls. When we were near the summit we found a finger stone ( a large post marking junction in the path) with lots of coins (mostly Pennines) stuck in it. When we past this it was about 20 minutes from the summit and we had a very windy journey up the last leg to the summit.

Mr Alderson's group at the summit of Snowdon
Mr Alderson's group at the summit of Snowdon

When we got to the summit we saw one of the Snowdon mountain railway trains. As you can see in the picture of the summit we were very wet and it was extremely windy. Dan Wells was on his knees at the summit because of the wind and height. 🙂 We walked down from the summit and walked past the Snowdon café, now closed for winter. We took the long Miners path back to our minibus. The path was quite well built and easy to walk on but very tiring. We got to the minibus shortly behind the other group who we saw coming down from the summit. We were soaking wet because of the rain and wind but we had a 10 minute minibus ride back before we could get dry. It was a great achievement being at the top of Snowdon and also being the highest person in England and Wales who was standing on the ground. On the way back we went through the Llanberis pass which was a spectacular veiw. When we got back we put all of our clothes in the drying room and went for dinner. After dinner a group of 9 went to the climbing wall, including Sam and me. When we got back we had a hot drink and went off to bed for the end of a very tiring day.

Wednesday, Afon Ddu gorge (Mike’s Group)

Posted on | By Mr Taylor | 4 Comments

Well today we went ‘Gorge Scrambling’ in the Afon Ddu gorge. This is basically trekking up a very steep river, trying to get to the top. This involves climbing up waterfalls, wading through deep water, thanking the goddess of the gorge for keeping us safe and going up through ‘the elephants bottom’!.

The team have come on great guns since Monday, and it is clear that confidence is building and they are all looking out for each other. This activity in particular highlights the need for people to work together and help others. It also calls for a bit of courage here and there, and this is something that everyone in ‘team zonkey’ is appears to be full of. Both Mike and Myself commented on what a nice day we had at the gorge, and what a nice group of people we have the opportunity to work with this week – so thanks!

Here are a few of our pictures from the gorge………

Wednesday, Mount Whack…Snowdon (Jez’s Group)

Posted on | By Mr White | No comments

Hi liam and Craig writing, we have just got back from climbing Snowdon. The day started by our group following a path called the Miners Track, which was really long. We were ticking off key features on our map to make sure we did not get lost on the way. On the way up some of the group were singing, while  Jez and Mr White were talking about their favourite films…..Watership Down.

When we reached the summit (1085m) we were battered by 40mph winds, very chilly.

Got to go to dinner now, more will follow.

Dinner was good, pizza and wedges and then most of the group are going to do some problem solving with the cool Jez, while myself and Craig are going indoor climbing, someone else will finish this…..

Hello Mr White here to say a few words…. The team are doing very well and are taking on the challenges set with great enthusiasm. Yesterday (its now Thursday morning) myself and Jez felt they did very well as it was tough work, battling our way up Snowdon. It reminded me of the Pass of Caradhras in the Fellowship of the Ring, young brave hobbits facing a world very new but exciting to them. Anyway i need to tuck into my bacon and eggs and find some of the team to continue this.

Morning! Mia, George and Steph here. So now we’d reached the top of Snowdon and everyone was overjoyed! But now we had the trek downwards through the mist and clouds with gusting winds almost knocking us of the mountain! We started off back down the Miners Track past the Ritual Stick singing ”i love rock climbing, put another penny in the ritual stick!” LOL!

After the Zig and the Zag we took the Pyg path back down to the car park, making sure we were still infront of Mr.Alderson’s group! Our highlights of the day were;

Walking stick swapping

All of us continuously singing all the way down to the bottom

Reaching the summit

Having to answer the most ridiculous questions ever (Jez & Mr White)

Mounatin whales!

Speak soon…. Whack

Tuesday, TEAM ZONKEY…long story! (Mike’s group)

Posted on | By Abi | 2 Comments

Once upon a time there were a group of people who had a passion for goats. So they decided to climb Mount Tryfan (the south peak). They had a wonderful time spotting goats and lots and lots of poo! They also managed to get to the top without dying! It was fun (:

First of all the set off up the mountain.It was quite cold and very steep.We failed at this because Maddy was our leader. When we got a bit higher we decided to change our leader to Kayne and Shayan. They were much better at this job and managed to get us half way, where Katie and Abi took over.

After about 1 hour we came across an overhang (a rock coming out of the mountain side). Some of the BRAVE people (including, Me, Maddy and Dan) had our photo taken standing on the top of it.

After a while we stopped for a bite to nibble on, this was in a cave(which was dripping onto MY sandwich!!): then we set of to the summit(the top…..bop bop bop, right to the top, slip and slide and ride that rhythm)

On our way down we had many lovely conversations, 1 of which was about Zonkeys 🙂 and now everyone in our group loves ZONKEYS!!!

We then started on our trek back down the very steep and un-steadddddyyyyyyyy mountain.

When we were near the bottom Maddy decided she needed the toilet… REALLY BADLY, and would not stop going on about it, which got on everybody’s nerve. After a while Ellie persuaded Maddy to go to the toilet, after that everyone was happy that she had shut-up. By then everyone was soaking and swimming in mud, we used this opportunity to splash about and roll down hills (well that was only Maddy…she was a bit….maybe very…. hyper).

By the time we were at the bottom we were all delirious with laughter.

you know you love me….xoxo….gossip girl(Abi & Ellie & Maddy)

talk to you soon, love abi, ellie maddy xxx

Tuesday, Snowdon (Anne’s group)

Posted on | By CBanham505 | 1 Comment

Today we were trekking up the very daunting mountain formally known as Snowdon. Snowdon is 1085 metres above sea level. Some people say being small is an advantage, and in many cases it is, like getting through small spaces or getting a kids bus fair, but when it comes to trekking up mountains this can be a bit of a disadvantage. Trust us, we know! First we went up Pyg path, which was not too bad but was a bit steep and tiring. As we got further up it got, let’s just say it was more than a little bit gusty, in other word gale force winds which tried it’s best to throws us off the mountain. During this there were many times where we nearly fell off the mountain and we had to support each other. Soon it got too dangerous and we had to head down, this is easier said than done. Walking down this very steep slippery bank, with gale winds and tons of rain, not what I would call fun. Slipping and falling all over the place and various people (me and clover), very kindly George (Kup) grabbed the back of my back pack as I was getting swept all over the place and nearly pushed over as well as me (Clover) almost get pushed off the side of the mountain by Vicky who had been pushed herself. We had a very amusing lunch in a yellow parachute like tent thing, which we had to sit on so it wouldn’t fly off, it felt like we were in a steam bath as it steamed up so badly. We headed back to the van on the path called Miner’s path, this was much easier than the way up. As expected we were all wet and windswept when we got back to the van. We were all rather relieved the we were sitting down and soon returned to find we were back first once again so we all had a nice hot showers. So over all it was a rather eventful day!

Tuesday, Tears of Whack Joy (Jez’s Team)

Posted on | By SCherotich622 | No comments

Hi Steph & Phoebe here whacking it out after a good day by the sea. Today we went sea level traversing in the wet, cold, rainy, foamy, barnacley coast of Wales. On arriving at the cliff I was a “little” nervous lol, and felt the need to sit down rather than climb……..Luckily Jez’s team talk about how “exciting” this is soon got me on my feet and bumbling along after the others, with Mr White being my partner in red. Who I soon left behind with no rope to help him….. However he is a pretty good climber! Because he had no rope……

Steph here…. After about 2 hours we took a break and lunch by an old tomb from 2500 BC and saw some old people and a fluffly little cute dog. We then set off back to a small bay which had a rope set across it called a Tyrolean. Jez had set this up while we had lunch and then showed us some tricks that could be done while waves crashed over us. Craig bravely went first across the WHACK gap, but failed to do the spin, just like all of us except Mia (see videos and pictures). Last but not least was Mr White who hung upside down after a successful spin….so whack.

We finished the traverse along the sea cliffs making sure plenty of waves crashed onto us, before clambering to the top again and taking the muddy path back to the bus. It was a whack day with the highlights being;

Mia’s sound effects

Phoebe’s braveness

Mia’s whack help towards Phoebe

Steph, Craig & George being pack horses carrying everyones lunch

Take care, speak tomorrow, Phoebe and Steph Whacking out

Tuesday, Tryfan (Mr Alderson’s group)

Posted on | By SSkirrow306 | No comments
Mr Alderson's group on the north ridge of Tryfan
Mr Alderson's group on the north ridge of Tryfan

On Tuesday we climbed the very difficult mountain called Tryfan the mountain is only 915M high but you need to scramble up the whole mountain straight from when we stepped out of the car park, we were climbing over huge rocks and boulders. The weather was not that bad when we started. We got about half way up the mountain and had a bit of lunch and then it started to rain very heavily so we had to put our water proof clothes on which was very hard because we were already wet and it was hard to get the trousers over our boots. The weather was terrible and it was raining really badly and there were really high winds. With the winds and rain it got very hard to climb the mountain. When we got very near the summit we had to stop for lunch on a very steep and slippery hill because we were protected from the wind there, but not the rain. Many of us got soggy sandwiches 🙁 When we got to the top of the steep hill we started to get blown away by the very high winds. We then had a short trip over some rocks and boulders to get to the summit ( Adam and Eve). Adam and Eve are the two large parallel rocks at the summit which look like people from a distance. We stopped for a minute at the summit and then started our decent down the sister path to the one we had lunch on, this was not so steep but still slippery. By this time the rain was chucking it down and we were drenched, Mr. A said it was the hardest rain he had ever walked in. When we got to a man made path at the bottom of the slippery rocks we started another decent. This was on grass which was very slippery and lots of people fell over, even Mr. Alderson. Melissa decided the fastest way down was by sliding on her face.  When we got to the bottom of the path, after many falls, we started to walk over the rocks to the minibus. When we got back we had to sit in our wet waterproofs which was a horrible feeling.  We got back to KMC and the seats were very wet! 🙂

Monday, Snowdon climb (Mike’s Group)

Posted on | By JBond613 | No comments

Today was our first day here. So, to break us in gently, we went up Mount Snowdon, the tallest mountain in Wales. We arrived there in the minibus, got all our gear, and headed over to the mountain. The weather was really good, but it was so misty, you were unable to see 10 meters in front of us.

But, after a bit, the fog lifted, and we saw some amazing views. Then we saw mount Snowdon, and we realised just how tiring this was going to be.

So, after a bite to eat, we started to ‘scramble’ (which basically meant climb across the side of the mountain only using our hands and feet) up the mountain. It was quite steep, and the wind didn’t help. Ellie Solly was very scared and wanted to come down because she is scared of the heights.

After that, we walked for about 1-2 hours to get to the summit. We couldn’t see the ground at all because of all the mist, but it was still worth it.

After, we made the long treck down, and in the pouring rain. Then walked back to the minibus. We were all exhausted, but it was worth it for this once in a lifetime climb.

Our overall highlights of the day were:

  • Seeing sheep(and talking to them)
  • Ellie Solly falling in sheep poo
  • Touching the summit marker at the top

Love, Maddy&Ellie&Jack:D xx

BTW this blog is very boring. But tomorrow Ellie and Maddy will write the WHOLE thing!!!!!

x-0-x-0 you know you love me…Gossip Girl (Ellie & Maddy)

Monday, Marchlyn (Mr Alderson’s group; the ‘A’ team)

Posted on | By LKear205 | 2 Comments

Hello Lucy and Lauren here!

Today we have been allocated our groups. We are in the ‘A’ team accompanied by: Melissa T, Dan Wells, James T, Dominic, Sam S, Ellie B, Elise and of course our team leader Mr Alderson!

Todays activities for our group consisted of us climbing up 3 mountains; Carnedd y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd and the biggest Elidir Fawr (which we renamed Lydia!). It was a big shock to the system because it was really cold and killed our legs! Unfortunately, Dan was suffering from fear of heights, so we gently encouraged him up the mountain.

After reaching our first summit, we stopped for a snack and hot drink. We saw two ravens and named them John and Edward 🙂 Then Melissa went to the toilet behind a rock and had hugely amused everyone in the process of doing so.


Minutes later we moved on to our second mountain which was not much taller than the last. We managed to sucessfully climb it without leaving anyone behind!

We were freaked out when we saw the size of the third mountain (924m)! No-one wanted to move (especially poor Dan!) The mountain was extreamly steep and looked soooooooooo scary! It was a painful journey upwards but once we climbed over the HUGE, wobbling rocks we were relieved to reach the summit- apart from Mr A, Sam and Dom who carried on looking for the geocache.

They came back 10 minutes later with a manky white plastic container. It contained: a Ninga Turtle (LOL), rubber, pen and a notebook- which we signed our names in!

The way back down was a dangerous experience but it was very funny! Did you hear Lucy’s screams as she took Lauren out on the way down the slate covered slopes and slid down half the mountain.

It was a great day and we are looking forward to tommorow!

Peace out.

Monday, Team Whack (Jez’s Group)

Posted on | By Eilish | No comments

Today we climbed up Tryfan the mountain that all other mountains want to be like when they grow up. It was 915m high, and it took us 4 hours to reach the top. A grade 1 scramble that involved Team Whack (Jez, Mr.White, Alicia, Eilish, Steph, Mia, Phoebe, Liam, Craig, Georgie, George) taking on an exciting (dangerous) adventure.

From the word go, it was ridiculosly high and vertically ridiculous. We had to work as a team to haul each other up steep gorges. Eilish felt sick having to push Phoebe’s rear end every five minutes. Luckily she didn’t have too many beans for breakfast. Half way up we looked down to see fighter jets passing beneath us.

We also bumped into three Norweigen soldiers hacking their way over the mountain.  By two o’clock we finally made it to Adam and Eve and took a short break, sheltering from the 50mph wind gusts and cloud eating.

Photos and descent to follow as we need to eat … Alicia and Eilish…Whack Out

Hi, Georgie and Mia here, just had spag bol, it was WHACK. LOL. So, after we put on our waterproofs we set off to go down the rest of the mountain. It was like a human land-slide, mud, wet rocks, rain, wind, and a lack of balance 🙂

Mia fell 93 times, encrusting her clothes in mud. Craig slid at every opportunity to join Mia in the mud. It was a pathetic exuse for steps, and reminded me of a water-slide, minus the swimming pool.

Highlight of the days were;

  • Georgie doing a forward roll into a bog.
  • Phoebe repeatedly saying ‘i cant do it!’ lol 😉
  • Mr. White’s singing that drove everyone crazzzzyyyyyy.
  • Jez’s definition of ‘dangerous’ being ‘exciting’ lol
  • Liam thinking every rock is worth money, so filled his pockets.
  • And George saving my life (Mia) after I nearly fell down the mountain (“about 32cm’s Mia”- Mr White)

A whack day with a whack group, have a whack night!

Mia & Georgie. Blog tomorrow, WHACKOUT!

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