Whereas my obvious target in 2008 had been reaching 600 Marilyns and entering the Hall of Fame, the goal for 2009 was to finish all the Welsh Marilyns. I had a mere 23 left and a perfect base in Aberystwyth; pretty much the central point of Wales in terms of reaching the hills.
Aberystwyth (photo: Pam Swales)
The first steps were taken in January with eleven hills, dodging work commitments and the weather. The biggest day was an eleven-hour marathon effort from Tal y Fan to Creigiau Gleision, picking up three new Marilyns and ten new Hewitts. It started as it became light, involved negotiating ice and hard snow across Carnedd Llewelyn, and finished with a lengthy road walk in the dark back to the car; a stunning day on the hills and the last for several weeks. The following months brought steady progress, characterised by fence jumping and forest bashing, both perennial hazards on the lower Welsh hills. A round of Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt sticks in the mind as a lovely afternoon, whilst dodging quarry traffic in the mist was a less pleasant memory of Manod Mawr.
Late July and August saw a welcome change of scene. A work-related trip to Edinburgh brought an opportunity to further explore southern Scotland. A round of the hills near Stobo was the best of several walks. A couple of weeks in the Alps then followed, with several notable ascents including the Zinal Rothorn and the Lenzspitze-Nadelhorn traverse.
Unsurprisingly, the final Welsh Marilyn was Mynydd Enlli on Bardsey Island. One of the benefits of living nearby was being able to wait for good weather, and the perfect day finally came on 12 September. A ferry from Pwllheli started a relaxing two-hour boat trip, with the added entertainment of watching people having to board the boat precariously near Aberdaron (CW: I know the feeling). The island was well worth a circular walk of several hours and was an excellent way to complete this list. The target for 2010 is the Welsh Hewitts - 28 to go.
