JANUARY 2025 · GROUNDED
Mountain camp
Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales
Pen y Fan gets all the attention. It's on the list, it's where people go. Cribyn sits adjacent — 795m, the quieter summit on the central ridge, connected by a worn path that traverses between the two. In January, with ice on the path and fog sitting below the ridge, it was where I wanted to be.
The approach from the south: a stone footpath beside a wooden fence, moorland on one side, the tree line lost in fog. The path is old and worn, the stones set into the ground by many passes. In January they were slippery. Trekking poles useful.
The mountain reduced to what's immediately underfoot — ground, the next step, the rock under the ice.
Cribyn — January 2025
Higher up: a snowy hiking path, ice at the edges, coniferous forest to one side in dense fog. Frozen stream and rocky terrain, low visibility. The frost-covered grasses at the margin where the snow hadn't quite stuck — the vegetation pale and stiff, each blade outlined in white.
On the ridge: the frost-covered crest receding into mist and low cloud ahead. You can see the next section of path, thirty metres. Beyond that, the ridge dissolves. The mountain reduced to what's immediately underfoot — ground, the next step, the rock under the ice.
The bare mountain slope comes back in the descent: grasses and rocks, mist and low cloud overhead, the valley still invisible. The scale of the Beacons is only apparent when the cloud lifts. In January it didn't.
The frozen stream in the valley below. Rocky ground, snow. Visibility minimal.
Stone footpath and wooden fence beside overgrown moorland, misty forest beyond
Frost-covered mountain ridge receding into mist and low cloud
Snowy hiking path with ice and frost, coniferous forest in dense fog
Frozen stream and rocky terrain with snow, low visibility mountain conditions
Frost-covered grasses and moorland vegetation in winter conditions
Bare mountain slope with grasses and rocks, mist and low cloud overhead