Glyder? I Hardly Know Her 2025
Details
Date: 24th-27th October 2025
Location: Ogwen Valley, Wales
Hostel: Caseg Fraith Hut
Hikes
Day 1
Torture Hike
(The following article contains entirely factual information, no exaggeration or poetic license was used.)
The Torture Hike was set to climb up the north ridge of Tryfan and continue on to Glyder Fach and Fawr, finally ending in Bethesda. Unfortunately the club neglected to make a sacrificial offering before undertaking the hike and the mountain chose to make our hike more "fun".
Like the warriors of old they set off along the road to the base of the mountain. Upon arrival the group decided the extreme weather wouldn't be challenging enough and a grade 1 scramble would be necessary to maximise the days enjoyment. (This would prove to be a very wise decision perchance).
Having scrambled up to the cloud line, spirits were high. The scramble, altough much more challenging than anticipated had proved to be very rewarding and all members performed exceptionally. However things were about to change drastically.
Go tobann, soon after entering the clouds the winds picked up considerably, bringing hurricane force squalls, which caused some hike leaders to stumble on more than one occasion (allegedly). The rain began again properly and this time without pause, instead becoming more vicious and turning into hail that lacerated the skin on more than one occasion. The torture hikers were not deterred however and soldiered on until they came to the place that would come to be known as "the approach to the slab".
Here during a brief pause it was discovered that one of the hikers had severe frostbite in all of his fingers. Through the efforts of all involved he was thankfully saved and made a full recovery later, (although some say he never truly returned from the mountain, instead it was the ghost of his fingers [this author is a firm believer in this theory]).
Having climbed the "steps" (each many metres high), leading up to the slab a bold scouting crew went in search of some shelter to regroup.
Conditions were extreme on the slab with vertical snow, exposed cliff edges and winds that threatened to rip the hikers from the top of the mountain. Thankfully a small sheltered grassy ledge was found by the brave mountaineers, Matthew and Robert. Here hikers poured tea over their fingers and sang Grace to boost morale.
After a some consideration it was determined that the best and safest way off the mountain would be to continue up to the peak and descend on the other side. Unfortunately no one knew about the leap between 'Sion a Siân' or (Adam and Eve) to gain the freedom of Tryfan, so after a quick photo the descent began.
After a brief but cordial interaction with another mountaineering club, who had taken the easier (boring) route up the descent began. On reaching a stone wall the storm shelters were brought out so lunch could be taken in relative warmth and comfort.
The rest of the hike consisted of the weather clearing and providing some spectacular views as well as morale lifting, so much so that by the time the group reached the main road again, they were quite spread out.
On reaching the hut a shocking discovery was made - the short hikers had taken all of the available drying space, despite the fact that much of their gear was in fact bone dry.
Heinous, nay laughable accusations were also made that the short hike was longer than the torture hike, which obviously couldn't possibly be true, otherwise why would it be called the short hike?
A schism was formed in the group that afternoon however it was thankfully healed quickly through dry clothes, a coal fire and a shared resentment of the climbers who had spent the day in Ibiza.
- Torture Hike by Robert
Fun fact: Tryfan was actually used as a training ground for Everest by many famous historical mountaineers, including the renowned Edmund Hillary.
Short Hike
They got a bit wet but had fun.
Day 2
If people thought the day 1 torture hike was hard, they had no clue what was in stock for them on day 2. With the weather expected to only be worse, high command decided that it was time the hikers ventured where no hiker had ventured before; the Slate Quarry. Usually a climber-only domain, the hikers finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. They braved gravelled paths, slippy steps and the odd cave as they briskly strolled around this alien terrain. It was truly the most superb experience any hiker had ever had on a club trip and possibly the greatest feats of endurance ever recorded.
After a few hours people got bored and so Llanberis was descended on, wherein a few of the gang tried the newly reopened "Pete's Eats", a former climbers restaurant, now turned very bougie. The sunday roast was had, well deserved after a day's graft in the quarry. After this, the club made it's long awaited return to The Heights, where the thirsht was quenched as we waited for the bus.
Climbs
Day 1
After seeing the forecast for the weekend, some desperate research was conducted to find a crag that could provide some climbing despite the atrocious conditions.
The conclusion was the best option was to go Tremadog which supposedly benefits from the "Rain shadow" of the mountains. While that sounded quite fantastical it was the better than the guaranteed rain every else.
On that morning the webcams in tremadog were looked at, with the conclusion it was dark outside so it was impossible to see if it was actually raining. Faced with no better option the drive was begun and lo an behold the weather steadily improved with it eventually stopping raining and the odd patch of blue skies could be seen. The group was praising the genius of the committee and those who had considered going hiking were very thankful of their decision.
The approach was extremely damp but spirits remained high, upon arrival the rock seemed damp but with some climbable routes. The hope at this stage was for the weather to remain dry and in an hours time the rock would be fully dry. However unfortunately every time the rock contemplated drying off a shower would appear. This left most routes with wet cracks and the occasional waterfall from the seeping vegetation.
Despite this, a bottom rope was rigged and with some extremely damp hand jams, the wall was ascended. 3 brave climbers quested up the damp face on lead and made it to the top where their seconds were promptly rain on to ensure the route would be sufficiently challenging.
Half way through the day the sun came out briefly, the torture hike were immediately rung to show them the sunshine. They did not seem very pleased and quickly hung up as they were dealing with some minor frostbite...
Day 2
On the second day the group split between the slate quarry, Bangor and the nearby "Indy climbing gym". The climbing gym was very cool- arguably better than the kingfisher, though I don't think anyone would risk the wrath of the wall by saying that out loud though. Indy had auto-belayers, graded climbs, a 'mushroom' bouldering yoke- (mildly intimidating), and some really rad overhangs.
Everyone had a great time there and was wrecked by the time it came to leave.
Events
Bus Lego
The stop in Tesco before the ferry was the perfect opportunity to buy food for the weekend. However, several mountaineers changed their priorities when they discovered that this tesco also sold Lego, they purchased 3 sets which they then built on the bus and on the ferry. Due to the shocking cost of lego these days (and because of the large quantities of alcohol also purchased) their food shopping was definitely lacking but they survived.
Bus Music
It was discovered that it was possible to connect to the bus speakers through bluetooth. Alex the driver somehow continued to allow people to connect to it despite Killeagh being played every 5 mins at questionable volumes.
An honourable practice of starting a spotify jam was started, which caused many arguments, but overall made for a good balanced playlist- (for the most part).
The Lounge
As a result of Reaney's messing up the passenger list, which was not helped by the dublin gate agents not bothering to check if the list on the way over was correct (it wasn't so that might be a crime but we won't worry about it). Anyways we spent an eternity (30 mins) at the gate trying to convince them certain internationals were real people travelling, not spies with fake identities and there were in fact not two people with the same name and they were actually just on the list twice. However as a result of our extended stay at the check in gate it was noticed that stena lines hand out little cards to people who have booked the plus lounge. These cards contained the code to access the lounge and were in plain view of anyone who knew where to look. The code was mentally noted in case they decided we weren't breaking international law and smuggling illegal immigrants.
Eventually once we got onto the ferry, a group set up camp outside the lounge with a direct line of sight to the door. There was a stena lines employee checking guests in at the door, so the mountaineers continued casing for other sources of weakness. Then after a 30 minutes stakeout the door was left unattended with the only line of defence being the key code to open the door. A few guests were observed putting in the code and entering the lounge with no attention from the staff.
The plan was simple, Niall was our talker, if the heat caught on he might be able to keep it cool and walk away clean. His M.O: Go in, scope it out and report back. The the rest of the crew would follow in two-man teams. The rendezvous point: A table in the centre of the lounge, strategically positioned for maximum sightlines, multiple exits and a clear shot at the target package - the brownies.
However almost the instant we begun, the plan started falling apart. Niall made it inside the perimeter, but was quickly compromised by the tea station. Unable to resist he began making a cup and the comms went quiet. Aodhán and Conor quickly followed but were also distracted by the selection of snacks and brownies. However, they made it to the rendezvous where they made contact with the team on the outside. The rest of the team made their way in and just like that, they were in. They ransacked the buffet and extracted the score (a selection of snacks, cheese, biscuits and hot beverages) all while "enjoying a relaxed ambience with gorgeous sea views".
Liam's Log
11/11/2025
Hello fellow and future mountaineers, my name is Liam (my second name is not Lang), and I have been asked to recount the latest club trip by the (for now) captain Aodhán Gallagher. So, this trip was to Snowdonia-esque area, I think there were big mountains called the Glyders? And a big one called Tryfan? (that is not a joke, I’m no hiker and I refuse to look up the routes (someone may fact check me here is they want)) I suppose the beginning is as good a place to start as any, so we met at the kingfisher at about 10ish and put all the gear on (I am not committee anymore so I feel quite used in this aspect). Then we set off on the bus ride, and what a journey it was. The presidential election was having its vote taken at the same time, so all the conversations were very politically informed. We stopped along the way at some supermarket place, but I ended up going to Marks and Spencer (Notions). Then once we had resupplied our rations we set off once more and eventually made it to the ferry. It was quite an eventful ferry with a lot of poker played, and a grand total of £15 was taken home by yours truly. It was my first time on a ferry that wasn’t the little dinghy that takes you from Kilimer to Tarbart, or Doolin to Inis mor, and I must say what a piece of machinery. If you are thinking about going on the abroad trip for mountaineering, I’d say, just go for the ferry alone. We then made a quick stop in Tesco to get more provisions and made it to the accommodation (finally). And what an accommodation it was. It was a hut in the middle of nowhere, that for that weekend housed 40 odd mountaineers. There was 1 flight of stairs and let me tell you, you were lucky not to take flight every time you went down them. As aforementioned I don’t hike but those stairs were akin to an Everest ascent I believe they were THAT steep. The first night was comprised of more poker (we won’t talk about who won) and getting to now all the new faces that were joining us. We woke up then the next morning at some crazy hour like 7ish. It was PISSING rain, but nevertheless we were all excited to get the day going. Myself and the rest of the climbers got on the bus and were chilling waiting for everyone to be ready, and that is when I saw the funniest sight I have ever seen. All the hikers started to trot past the bus with the grimmest looks on their faces, and I must reiterate the point it was PISSING. Never been happier to see a flock of hikers. We then went on the bus for about an hour and made it to the climbing spot, and the sun was splitting the stones (hehehe). The climbing was grand, the rock was a bit slippy from the rain the night before (which is why I failed on my climbs), but we got some routes done and were happy out. We then went to this random town and got a load of fudge which was good craic. We then went back to the hut and got showered and freshened up. Then it was time for the theme night, which was pyjama night. I wore my bathrobe and if there was a prize for the comfiest, I would have came away with trophies. During that night I am told I devoured a lot of box wine which I purchased on the ferry. The box game was played, and I only remember that from the pain in my groin in the morning. I’d be lying if I said I remembered the whole night but from the flashes I do remember it was a very fun night. The next day the hikers went on a “walk” around the quarry while us real mountaineers went on a trip to a climbing wall. We passed the town with the longest name, and Bangor (I hardly know her… hehe). The wall was actually class and was the best part of the trip to me. We then all met up in the height’s pub, and that too was savage craic. Really wholesome everyone just happy to see each other and buying each other presents in the climbing shops. I personally bought boot bananas (look it up) and was ecstatic with that purchase. We then went back to the hut and on the way, I went fishing in the stream under the driveway for about 2 hours and caught nothing (there was no, like physical way fish could be there). I then met the landowner of the hut, who invited me to go fishing with him and his friends the next morning which was very nice. (I slept in and never saw the man again ☹). The theme for this night was then Halloween costumes, in which I was a fish (cause I’m a great catch ladies). It was a great night and again can’t remember much. But I have photos on my phone in this exact timeline.
- Someone wearing the UGMC logo on their face holding a monster can
- A luigi face planting on the floor mid splits
- A tree taping themselves to a kayaker
- A prisoner climbing through a window clutching some box wine
- Myself shaving my face at 12 o’clock at night
- Me and the devil in a French screaming match
- A detective lurking outside the window
- A nun with chest hair on a dark country lane
Now I Know that sounds like the plot to a bad hangover sequel, but that’s what you get on a mountaineering trip. For the remainder of the night, we played the finger game, then went to bed. The next morning, we got everything done in record time, like the clean up and getting everyone on the bus (because I hid for the whole morning hehe). We then went off in the bus where I caught a few Z’s and was awoken when we got to a seaside town, which was the mystery stop. I went in for a swim for the first time in the Welsh sea, which I thought everyone was doing, but alas I was alone. We then went and got a bite to eat, at a place that had 1/5 stars for hygiene (some say there are still some mountaineers with chronic food poisoning from there) but the food tasted great. We then left and arrived at the ferry and ended up waiting for about an hour due to scheduling issues. The customs then asked for 6 volunteers to be searched (don’t try to understand the Welsh, just roll with it) and we somehow made it without getting caught. We then finally made it onto the ferry, where we played another poker game (again don’t ask), and I heard some of the sneakier mountaineers made it into the VIP lounge ( I was there, its very boring) and then the ferry finally landed on terra firma. (That’s Welsh for Ireland) The bus then made its way back to the kingfisher where our adventure finally ends. Right thank you all for reading this desperate attempt to a recounting, I must go try catch some Irish fish for a change. Slán