Well, it was a bit of a damp weekend in Snowdonia, I have a few things that have got my goat this weekend. Firstly was the traffic warden who unlocked thPay and Display parking meters in the morning and then instantly ticketed the cars that had been parked there overnight or turned up early, unable to Pay and Display because the machines weren’t working. A total disgrace, a kind of F U to the few unlucky tourists.
I also saw the £10 price for the Pen Y Pass car park, and the new pay and display meters at the Pen Y Gwryd. Which again is a great way to put tourists off coming to the area. Which I am sure is what some of the old and not so old xenophobes that seem to hold office in the local councils.
I only saw the new £10 sign at Pen Y Pass as I headed out on a rescue on Saturday, walker crag fast in shorts and trainers on Crib Coch. There was about 6 inches of snow up there! What on earth they felt they were doing up there god only know, one expects that involuntary suicide might have been on the cards. If that wasn’t bad enough, as we waited for the RAF to make a risky winch off the ridge, we saw three ‘yoffs’ in jeans and trainers.
One of the team made a polite comment that they might not be equipped to go up Snowdon as the top of the PYG track will be very treacherous with the amount of snow up there. You would had thought we had told them to F off and Die rather than give them some friendly advice to lengthen there life, given there reactions of virtually ignoring us. We had after all not told them to turn round just to think twice before commiting to the top of the PYG track.
Image our surpirse when an hour and a half later we ran into them on a second rescue that the RAF couldn’t get to, on the top of Crib Coch. These three idiots, and to be fair it wasn’t just them I saw many people not wearing appropriate foot wear or clothing up there.
Lets just say I thought one of the team was going to knock the little twats out there and then, I wanted to vent on them as well but three of the team already had, and I had nothing new to offer other than swear words. Totally unbelievable, these guys and many others just seem to think it is one big playground, which I have to admit that it is, but in those conditions it is like a inner city playground with broken glass, seringes, smackheads and pedo’s everywhere. So basically a place to go only when well equipped and aware of what is what and who is who!
Anyway totally shocked and appalled. Interestingly the team chairman was on TV the previous night trying to get the message across that this weekend the conditions were gong to be serious. Nice to see that the message got out to these few idiots!
Anyway I wound down by cooking a mexican feast for a few friends!