Leaving South Wales, we were full of emotion. Sad to be leaving La, she had been so patient and generous during our time there and it is always hard to say goodbye to family. Relieved to finally have the van finished yet anxious to see how well it will actually hold up. But most of all, just super excited to be on our way.
The drive to North Wales was really pretty. We went via Hereford so that we could stop at Banana Fingers, a totally rad climbing store, where we picked up new boulder pads, a new rope and some clothing that you just can’t get in Australia. Totally stoked, we continued our journey to North Wales. We were headed for Plas y Brenin, a mountain training school near Snowden where green summer mountains roll as far as the eye can see and streams and rivers flow out of little valleys in the woodland. A truly picturesque place and one the most beautiful places I’ve been.
The training centre was insane. I don’t actually know what I was expecting but it exceeded everything! It was mind blowing. Smack bang in the middle of the mountains on a gorgeous lake with bar that over looked it all! I couldn’t believe how amazing it was and how lucky we were to be able to train there. We signed up, then walked into town and bought a new pair of trail shoes each in an outlet mountain gear store just down the road. How convenient. We wanted to try them out straight away so went for a hike in the hills behind the centre which was a great way to explore the surroundings a little before the course started the following day. We finished off the day with a cider in the bar that night and were feeling pretty chuffed.
Next day we met our group and instructor Dino. He was a boss. Hill walker, mountain leader, rock climber, ice climber... the works. We were so stoked to have someone taking the course that had so much experience. For the entire 3 days, Rich picked his brain, borrowed all the local climbing guides and got as much info as he possibly could. Our group was very diverse in age, sex, occupation, experience and agenda but pretty cool all round. Having never even looked at a map, let alone navigated a hill walk, I felt quite out of my league but let everyone know from the get go and they were all very helpful and understanding of my continuous questions. Day two was my favourite day of the course. We navigated through thick woodlands and then out onto an expanse of hills. I never understood why so many air fresheners were scented ‘Pine Fresh’ until then. Standing deep in the middle of a pine woodland and taking a massive breath in was just amazing! The moss looked so thick at times that it seemed you could have peeled it back and lay down to use it as a blanket. I was sure that I would see a little forest faery at any moment.
By the end of the course I felt pretty comfortable with what we had learnt and I am very keen to staring consolidating everything. We have to log 40 days before we can sit the assessment and move onto mountain leader. I’m super excited to move forward and so is Rich. We were extremely impressed with the training centre, its course, the instructors and all the facilities. They offer a four month intensive training package where you train to be an instructor in everything they offer which includes climbing, mountain leading, mountain biking, kayaking; pretty much everything outdoors as well becoming an International Mountain Leader. If it wasn’t £10K we would both do it in a heartbeat but unfortunately that is totally out of our budget.
Now though, our journey continues to France to get spanked in Fontainebleau. So excited to be back on the rock and ready to build some serious strength.
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