Team Optimis conquers Mount Snowdon
After some thorough preparation (office training consisted of lunchtime walks along the Embankment in Bedford, the perfect terrain for training) Team Optimis climbed Mount Snowdon as part of a wellness and motivational team building exercise.
We sung our way to Wales last Sunday afternoon and the evening was reasonably restrained by Optimis standards, with some of us grateful that talk of finding a nightclub in Bangor was forgotten about – we did have a big day ahead.
The next morning, we awoke to a clear blue sky, perfect climbing weather – if we were to make all that effort we wanted to appreciate the view!
After a hearty breakfast we were ready to conquer Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands.
We joined the Pyg track then followed the zig zags to the summit. The reward was worth the effort, the views majestic as we tucked into our food and toasted our achievement with a glass of prosecco.
The descent was challenging at times, but for some the lure of a McDonalds and repeat renditions of our favourite tracks on the journey home was enough of an incentive to keep plodding on, that and of course the achievement – it was not for the faint hearted.
The English name “Snowdon” comes from the Old English snaw dun, meaning “snow hill”, as Snowdon often has a covering of snow. The mountain and surrounding area is stunning and worth all the effort to explore, however the terrain is unforgiving, and I am pretty sure all of us were grateful to have not seen the mountain live up to its snow-covered name!
Author: Fiona Baillie
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