Firstly, we arrived at the gorge and got kitted up into our waterproof gear and helmets, harnesses and wellies. Then we set off and were met with our first encounter with water. At the time the water was moving very slowly and we quickly made our way up to the first obstacle. We were met with two boulders with a small waterfall flowing through it moving very quickly it was called the ‘elephant’s bottom’ can’t image why [haha]. We all got through this with ease, on the way to the next hard bit, i would swim in any bit of water i could because i was loving it!
Then we got to the next challenge, we had to abseil down a flat rock and onto a rock surrounded in water, everybody was doing it fine until i had just finished abseiling and had unclipped my carabina and was about to step to the next rock and i slipped and fell into the freezing cold water; Harvey did the same thing too! Then whilst we were waiting for the others, myself, Harvey and Mason dunked our heads under a freezing waterfall, we all got brain freeze that was peak! Then we had to climb up a waterfall, i was up first and i tried but had to go the other way, everyone else did the same as me except Eliza, she had done what seemed impossible, climbing up the slippiest rock ever!
Then just five minutes up stream we came across a natural slide into a plunge pool, we all did this a couple of times, it was really fun, then we came across another slide in the rocks and i jumped in a really deep hole. After this we had a ten minute walk up to another steep wall where we needed to use our harnesses and then we saw it… the thing i had been looking forward to most, the plunge pool! It was roughly 3×3 metre pool that was about five metres deep, we jumped in it a couple of times; it was my favourite part of the whole trip! It was a long, wet walk back to the mini bus, where we all got changed and went back to Kent Mountain Centre warm and happy.

By Ollie Aitken

Today we travelled to Anglesey to get stuck into some sea level traversing which many people were slightly worried about. Firstly, we all got up and had a great breakfast of either croissants or a cooked breakfast and then everyone split into their groups and went to complete their activities for the day. After a bumpy journey by minibus, we arrived at the sharp edged cliffs to begin our venture. One after the other, the members of our group clambered around the jagged cliff face to reach a narrow cave which was extremely difficult to get through and took a bit of time for everybody, especially Matthew and Harvey, but after a while they conquered their fears by keeping up and jumping into the water at the end of the day.

We approached a sheer cliff face. Mr. Alderson attached and clipped on all of the caribenas and rope in which Mason had to unclip on the way across after he had finished, we anxiously climbed and clambered along the difficult path across the edge of the cliff.

Next, we struggled into a narrow cave which produced many screams and shouts as the freezing cold water came crashing onto us. Soon after maneuvering into the claustrophobic cave, we came across a huge rock which became a struggle for all, however after many slips and scratches we all ascended over the mighty obstacle. Then after escaping the cave we all sat down and tucked into our pack lunch and the top of the cliff.

After eating our sandwiches and cakes, we set off again, however this time we continued our adventure with another group. our next activity was much more exciting, we were about to scramble over the tyrolean traverse challenging ourselves with different techniques and Matt started off with the hard method thinking that it was easy but quickly realising it wasn’t as he fell off within the firstly 2 meters off his journey but he then attached to the rope over the water to the lower rocks which we were then all able to jump off at the end. Despite being drenched in water, we got changed into our spare clothes and we began our drive back to the center.

On arrival the group members all felt a sigh of relief which was mixed with hunger as everyone was starving from a long day of hard work. After placing our damp clothes into the drying room we sat down and snacked on our delicious roast dinner and either  banofee pie or fruit salad.

By: Todd Henniker and Matthew Weatherley

Today we conquered Snowdon, the largest mountain in the range. We started off at a brisk pace, thriving to beat the other three groups, who were also climbing the mountain. About 5 minutes in, the majority turned around to see Beth about 30 meters behind us, because her tiny legs couldn’t catch up. We then had to stop to let her re-join us.

Later on, we rounded a corner onto a small, stone bridge over some water where Harvey asked his usual question, “Sir, please can we go swimming?” the answer, obviously, left him downhearted. After crossing the bridge we became face to face with a digger and Land Rover which ended up following us up part of the hill before we crossed a small stream of water. We stopped for a quick photo and to check how far in front of the other groups we were, which was about 500 meters!

At this point we faced a steep accent up the rock face. As we scrambled we helped each other pick the right path to get to the next resting point. Roughly a third of the way through our treacherous journey, we realised we were all pretty hungry (as usual) so stopped for a snack.

We carried on climbing, and not long later, Harvey realised he was among the clouds and got really excited (again) and screamed, with a rather impressive voice break. This climb was quite difficult because there was a lot of loose rocks, resulting in a continuous shout of below below below. (Below is a word used internationally by mountain climbers to warn others below them that rocks have fallen, so they can take cover).

After a tiring scale we finally reached the top of Snowdon, where Harvey decided to scream again, which resulted in yet another voice break. Unfortunately the cold got to us and we had to wrap up and only managed to stay at the top for a couple of minutes before descending to a sheltered area to eat the rest of our lunch.

On the way down Beth suddenly had Eliza’s hands over her eyes and mouth while Mason stole her hat (which she didn’t release at the time) which led to Beth walking up to the place where she thought she dropped it and looked back down at the others where Mason was beckoning to her. As she got closer, she realised Mason was actually wearing her hat which resulted in laughter all around including Beth. Then we finished walking down the rest of the hill, with a more slips along the way, and Eliza, Beth and Izzy rolling down the road to the mini bus, where we waited for the other groups with a grin on our faces as we had managed to stay in front of them the whole way.

By: Eliza & Beth

Today we ventured up Tryfan, it wasn’t the biggest mountain we have been up but it was very frightening because of the sheer drops and rocky surfaces. Before we even started climbing Todd felt ill so we took the beginning slow. As we were half way up the first summit, we looked back to check on Todd and Mr Alderson, we saw Todd’s legs flip up to see him lying on the floor but he recovered quickly. We reached a point where it was necessary to use our hands and we started scrambling upwards with a few stumbles along the way.

After being deceived multiple times that we had reached the top, we stopped for lunch and regained our energy. Along the way we learnt to use the term ‘below’ if there were to be a loose rock to fall on the climber below. There were some challenging paths that we took to push ourselves like the big boulders with very few hand and foot holds, during these events we slowed down and were more cautious with our surroundings, we also had to check that the person behind us was ok so we could continue our route.

When we had finally reached the top, we were relieved, so we sat down by the Adam and Eve rocks and had a rest.

Just as we were on our way down, Ollie decided to follow Mason (not a good idea) and take a new route, as he thought he took the best shortcut… he stacked down a steep piece of rock resulting in laughter around the group and a few small bruises.

Everyone had a few stumbles on the descent but Harvey decided to have a little tumble himself! When we came out of the rocky area and onto the uneven stone pathway downhill Harvey decided to jump off one of the rocks not knowing, that in a few seconds, he would be running down the hill uncontrollably, he managed to stop himself by falling to the ground.

As the tiny minibus came into view, we came across muddy pathways, it started to become slippery and the squelching became frequent. As Mason was complaining about having to climb the next day too, he slipped on the mud and fell on his back, not causing himself any pain physically, but more upset about ruining his jumper! Mason seemed to do this frequently, but every time he managed to return to his feet we noticed that his joggers were gradually falling down! Luckily we had finished scampering down the mountain and his pride was to remain intact!

On the way home everyone was filled with exhaustion and most snoozed all the way back to KMC.

By: Izzy brown and Lucy Hickmott

After our scrumptious breakfast, we went back to our room to collect our equipment; we were then ready for the day. Our group leader (Mr Alderson) then called us all down and gathered us together so that we could get our walking boots on (that for me was very uncomfortable).
We were all very excited knowing that we would be going to a mountain to reach the peak. When we finally reached the destination, all of our faces dropped with fear as we saw the height of it. We were all thinking to ourselves that we were going to slip off as it looked so narrow! however, “Brave” boy Harvey was confident that we would all reach the summit.
We “quickly” started up the road which seemed as if it lasted forever. As we were halfway up the road, we stopped for a drink. Next thing we heard was a smash of Mason’s flask, carrying his favourite and only drink, tea… well done Mason!
Half of the time I was at the back, as I tried to use my hands and knees to crawl across the slate during the very narrow bits. The bit that scared me the most was where we climbed up the side of the first mountain and there was a massive drop right next to us leading to definite death. My legs could not stop shaking; I had never felt so alive! Luckily, I had my best mate Todd behind me to keep me going. Last time I felt scared like this was when I was in a plane with huge turbulence.
Travelling behind us were the four ‘mountaineers,’ Todd, Oli, Mason and Lucy; they then caught up to the rest of the group.
Lucy, Beth and Eliza volunteered to go right, near the edge of the path, and were very brave, because if they slipped, they would have gone for a nice swim in the lake!
We had all got to the summit of the mountain and were very cold, however, Oli Aitkin decided to take off his jacket as it was apparently annoying him.

By Harvey McIntyre and Mason Miller