Snowdonia Links

Weather Links

MWIS. Weather forecast for mountain regions. Only active Friday to Sunday. Highly Recommended.

Met Office. Now it's improved to a 5 day forecast! Great.

Snowdonia Snowline - States the altitude of lying snow in the Carneddau.

Metcheck weather

Advertise your Snowdonia Business here! Email for info.

Accuweather

Snowdon Weather Station Project. Weather data, but is down at the moment. The Webcams show Elidir Fawr and Moel Eilio.

Public Transport

Snowdon Sherpa Bus Timetables

Welsh Highland Railway.

Travelline Wales.

theTrainline - Timetables and online booking

The Welsh 3000s - website just about the 14 peaks.

The BMC - British Mountaineering Council.

The Mountain Bothy Association - yes, there are bothies in Eryri...

TAC - The Angry Corrie Scottish hillwalking fanzine, read it free.

Eryri - Snowdonia National Park.

Oggy Cam . Ogwen Mountain Rescue and a Ogwen Valley webcam.

BBC North West Wales.

Graham's Wales Photos. Loads of excellent pics on Eryri in here.

North Wales Photographs Beautiful photos of North Wales by Simon Kitchin.

Cambrian Mountains National Park A 'Should-Be' fourth welsh national park.

Snowdonia Society Charity which looks after the interests onf the National Park.

eryriway.org.uk Sister site to walkeryri, emphasising long distance trails.

Lightweight Gear 1

The Big 3.

This might be the start of a proper section of the site, devoted to lightweight walking and backpacking gear. There are many sites on this subject already, but tend to be mainly American. My gripe with these sites is all the measurements are in imperial. I know some of you out there still use it, but i defy any of you to tell me what the volume of your rucksack is in cubic inches (unless you're a Yank). Still, there are some useful information on there, despite this little pet hate of mine. Remember that you can click on the sponsored links for Gear-Zone.co.uk , Field and Trek and Cotswold Outdoor to buy the gear (and I'll admit, help cover the costs of the site!). I have bought stuff from all these over the last year (as of 13/11/05).

Some of this might sound extreme, but when you realise that little items like keys, wallet and other things you'd not think of, can weigh as much as a couple of days' food (or more), it starts adding up. Often it is just a case of leaving things behind, such as taking one pan instead of 2, or eating out of the pan instead of carrying a plate. The most obvious place to lose weight is in your big 3 of Tent, Sleeping bag and Rucksack. I'll add the kitchen to this as well, as in total this can easily weigh more than one of the other 3, but will discuss that elsewhere.

1. Tent. This is something you'll have to throw money at. Often, cheaper tents weigh more. The ultimate lightweight tent is the Terra Nova Laser Competition tent that tips the scales at 960g and the bank balance by £235. This is light, and there are compromises. The size inside is claimed to be enough for 2, but that's pushing it. I use it's heavier brother, just called the Laser (1.3kg), and it's spacious inside for 1 person. I have some gallery pages here, that give you a feel for the tent. The compromise is that i don't feel too safe inside in strong winds, and the new lighter Competition is hardly going to be significantly stronger. If you are willing to compromise on weight, then without doubt, the most praised tent is the Hilleberg Akto (at around 1.6kg). This is much sturdier, and is suitable for all year use. Small price to pay for 300g I think. It is significantly more expensive however, at about £300.

If you have less money, then there are bargains to be had. Such as the Eureka
Spitfire Solo, at 1.6 kg and less than £100. There was even a tent available from Argos, but no longer available, that retailed for £30 and was reduced to £5. It was sturdy and weighed in at 2kg, and people raved about it. Unfortunately, the tents Argos tents now sell are not to this standard and I would not recommend them for backpacking. Incidentally, the original Argos ProAction 1 (the same name in new catalogue, but the new one is no more than a play tent) can be bought from e-bay for about £30-50, which shows how much it is valued. Just make sure you get the proper, original PA-1 tent which is double skinned.

Further weight can be lost by the use of tarps and / or bivvy bags. Personally, I don't think the weight gained is significant if you use both, over the tents mentioned above. Especially when you take into account British weather. It's an interesting option, perhaps a good weathered bivvy for a 2 day long walk could be a good idea, especially if you take cold food and remove the need for a stove and pans. As a proud new owner of a Rab Survival Zone, I intend to try the bivvy method out on a couple of summer walks.

2. Sleeping bag. In winter I use a Mountain Equipment Classic Dragon 750 (02/03 Season), it's down filled and good to -12C, and unavailabe now but the Classic 750 is similar. It also weighs 1.3kg, about the same as my tent. In winter, the weight is perfectly ok, it is a warm and comfortable bag. But I do find it a little tight around the chest, and I'm not too sure on that. If it does feel restrictive, I can always invest in a Freedom Baffle which zips in and gives extra space around the chest (well done ME, excellent idea!). However, in summer you're carrying around a bag that's far too warm. Odds are that you might not go camping when the weather gets to -12C, so you need something a little lighter and more suitable. There are many sub kilo bags that keep you warm to just below freezing. Rab Quantum, PHD Miniimus and Cumulus Ultralight all offer suitable bags, but after much deliberation I went for the Alpkit Pipedream 400. It is of similar weight (770g) to what RAB and PHD offer, but it is significantly cheaper at £100 including postage. It also has a half length zip, useful for us less nimble types to get in (and out) and for venting. It's been comfortable for the couple of nights i have tested it so far, but most sleeping bags are snug for an XL body. Alpkit also do a Pipedream 600 that's good for winter, and a couple of budget Alpine Dream bags.

Most people feel the need to use a sleeping mat. If I'm not camping on rock then I find i'm OK. I do have a cheap foam mat that I use when the weather is cooler however, and as i get older I might find the comfort of a Thermarest ProLite 3 short at 370g worth every gram. But at around £60, it isn't cheap. Instead, i decided to dip my toes in the water with an Alpkit (yep those guys again) WeeAiric for £15. This weighs about 450g, and so only 80g of a weight penalty over the much more expensive Thermarest.

3. Rucksack. Again, i'm not too sure on the exact model i was using, other than it was a Karrimor and heavy (2.4kg). So this has now been replaced by a OMM Mountain Mover 50+15, (previously Kimmlite) which weighs only 1.15kg. It can be pared down to 700g by removing the back pad and straps too. I have removed bits from it, and have managed to reduce the weight to 900g. I reckon you need to at least remove the lid to get near 700g, and perhaps even the hip padding. Some sources have suggested you cut off the hipbelt! I find that 900g is OK, and removing the pockets and mesh pocket on the back would remove too much functionality for my liking. It is a comfortable pack, but has not been used to backpack yet, only a couple of winter walks. I've been too busy trying to slim it down. I like the large pockets on the hipbelts that are good for food and your printed map and compass. What I really don't like is the string used to close the pack, when webbing and a buckle would be the obvious choice. I liked it so much, i added a 32 litre OMM Classic Mountain Marathon to my growing rucksac collection. There are even lighter packs by likes of Go-lite, sometimes down to about 400g (the Breeze), the Gust , at just under 600g appears most practical and did appeal, but it does look like a sack of spuds, and lacks useful pockets on the outside. Recently spotted the Golite Trek Pack which looks as if it would do the job, but I was unaware of it until now. The Gregory G Pack is also worthy of consideration at 1.3kg.

Summary.

Aim for a tent that weighs no more than 2kg per person (1kg is good!).

Try and get a summer bag that weighs no more than 1kg, and it will ideally serve you for sub-zero temps too (up to -5).

Rucsacs are heavier than you think, try and keep it well below 2kg, ideally below 1.5.

So a realistic max target weight for the big 3 is 4.5kg. Try and keep below this, mine come in at 3.9kg with scope to lower this to 2.8kg with a new sleeping bag and the rucksac minimised in weight.

Ok, the above list is not comprehensive, it's just an idea of what you can get. I have concentrated on items similar to ones I have, or will buy, as those are the ones you tend to compare when spending your hard earned cash. More than likely there are combinations I haven't considered. If you think so, email me and i'll whack your suggestions on the page too! Especially if you have thoughts on the bivvy / tarp combinations in UK conditions. We need a British aspect on this, lightweight British equipment that's suitalbe and easily available here too (instead of American sites, which provide excellent information, just that its use is limited here over the pond).

Kitchen weight and food to be discussed in the next installment.

P.s. For lightweight podcasts click on backpackinglight.co.uk, remembering you don't have to have an i-pod or install anything apple (thankfully) on your machine to listen.

Note on images. The images are used from manufacturer's webpages as far as i am aware. If anyone has a problem with the images, or want them to link to the manufacturer's website, then email me and I'll get it sorted.

Digital Mapping

Tracklogs IMHO the best mapping for PC.

MemoryMap Still good, but route handling clumsier.

Viewranger mapping for smartphones.

Fugawi and Anquet are also popular.

Quo The new kid on the block.

Multimap - Free online mapping.

Get a Map - Free online mapping from the OS

Access Land in Wales - online mapping from CCW.