Jack James

By JackJames

Wet wet wet.

This photo does not sum up my day in the slightest, but is the only one I took with my phone. Lots more of the actual days experience, but I'll have to see if I can track them down from the centre's cameras, if they still have them...

Thought I was in for a standard day at work, but got a trip up Snowdon sprung on me. The weather forecast was atrocious - heavy persistent rain and low cloud, so it wasn't looking like it would be the most pleasant of walks.

As we drove up to Pen-y-pass the cloud got heavier and rain started to streak along the coach windows. A look of determination set in on the tutors and helpers faces, while the children seemingly didn't know what they were in store for.

And it was WET. My group, lead by Matt, headed up the Pyg track to the summit. We were soon all soaked through, and before we'd met the miners track coming up from below the joy had been sucked out of the children and it was a case of simply encouraging them enough to keep going. Before long the fake injuries and tears were coming, but we persuaded them on. By 1:30 we were on the top on Snowdon - with nothing but white cloud for a view and howling, wet wind for company.

We lunched in the emergency shelters on the top, in the lee of the train station (no train today), and the kids got so cold that they didn't even want to eat. By the time we were starting down, the cold had got to me, too, as my waterproofs are now old and no longer waterproof. I had to really make an effort to continue to cajoule the kids along.

As we went down into the lee of the hill and onto the downhill stretch, we saw another group, led by Tom coming up and over into the wind. Tom asked if I would help out with his group, seeing as they'd lost a few staff. Not dead or over the edge, but had to go back with the children who couldn't make it to the top. So, I had to suck it up and head back up to the top. Luckily, we didn't stick around on the top, and we were soon heading down.

Lots of hustling the children and the slow ones later, we were down at the bottom of the mountain, just as the clouds started to clear and the sun came out, and 20 minutes after the whole group were down the whole of the mountains were in brilliant sunshine, while we looked on, steaming as we dried off.

Back at the centre, we lit a bonfire, and for a glorious few minutes I lay in the heat of fire and evening sun before the (now hyper) children surged round with sticks and marshmallows and chanting. I slunk off to read my book in the staff lounge and awaited 11 o'clock when I could go home and sleep.

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