Trum y Ddysgl - GW/NW-024 SOTA (2021)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Saturday 24th July, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Trum y Ddysgl, North Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/NW-024 (6 points).
Summit Height: 709m elevation, 204m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 53.04221, -4.17197. Maidenhead Grid IO73vb.
Distance: 8.4km travelled with 619m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T3 / Grade 1 Scramble.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 3hr 20m (including operating).
Weather: 18°C, 27 mph ENE wind, 70% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 9 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Trum y Ddysgl is the second-highest peak on the celebrated Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales. It is one of two Marilyns that make up the ridge, the other being Craig Cwm Silyn. The mountain has a dramatic rocky appearance with aretes and glacial cwms. It offers views of nearby Snowdonia mountains Mynydd Mawr, Snowdon, and Moel Hebog.

I parked in the small layby on the B4418 heading out of Rhyd-ddu, where there’s space for three or four cars. Having camped locally the night before, I secured a spot early and set off on a clear summer morning.

The route begins on a well-maintained footpath across a public right of way to access the mountain. This path heads west, climbing steeply with about 430 metres of ascent in just 1km, leading to the summit of Y Garn (633m). From here, I turned southward towards the Nantlle Ridge.

The Nantlle Ridge is one of Snowdonia’s classic mountain ridges, stretching from Y Garn in the east to Mynydd Graig Goch in the west. While the route never quite requires any meaningful scrambling, it is rocky underfoot with narrow sections that demand careful footing. The destination of Trum y Ddysgl occasionally appeared between gaps in the rocky terrain as I progressed.

After traversing the ridge, I followed the south eastern spur of Trum y Ddysgl to reach the 709-metre summit. To the west I could see Llyn Cwmyffynnon, near where I had previously wild camped with Andrew M1CJE and Peter M6XPE a couple of years ago.

Despite the early hour - not yet 8am on a Saturday - I quickly established nine contacts on the 2-metre band. Most QSOs were with operators in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, including a summit-to-summit contact with John 2I0FIP/P on GI/MM-002. The radio conditions were excellent with good signal reports from radio stations across the Irish Sea.

Originally planning to continue to Craig Cwm Silyn, I began feeling unwell and decided to cut my route short. Willingness to retreat and how to replan a hike while underway are both important skills in the mountains. After leaving the summit, I descended south down a steep but manageable grassy slope towards Bwlch-y-Ddwy-elor, then followed the network of paths through Beddgelert forest back towards Llyn y Gadair and eventually to the car park.

This alternative shorter route offers an excellent option for those who lack the time or fitness to complete both Trum y Ddysgl and Craig Cwm Silyn in a single outing. It still provides the excitement of the Nantlle Ridge combined with the picturesque woodland paths of Beddgelert forest.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Trum y Ddysgl on Saturday 24th July, 2021.

Walking Route for Trum y Ddysgl

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Trum y Ddysgl. The GW/NW-024 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.

You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Station Log

I logged the following 9 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/NW-024 Trum y Ddysgl on Saturday 24th July, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):

In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Trum y Ddysgl:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/NW-024 Trum y Ddysgl.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Trum y Ddysgl.
• Google Maps Page for Trum y Ddysgl.
• Wikipedia entry for Trum y Ddysgl.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/NW-024 Trum y Ddysgl.

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