First known Winter South Wales Traverse

Winter South Wales Traverse – 5 December 2019.  Completed in 19:58 (approximately 75 miles with 17,000ft ascent).

As a lover of running in the hills that lives in Bristol, the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are ideal.  Just over an hour from Bristol, I’m lucky to have spent a lot of time there running and working and have got to know the area well.  I’ve been interested in the South Wales Traverse for some time but decided to make plans for a winter traverse in the summer of 2019.  Due to commitments at work and home for me and my support crew we had to fix the date of the attempt in advance and take our chances with the weather.  A week out the weather was looking calm, cold and settled – almost perfect conditions!  However, that weather system lasted until 4 December after which everything changed – a storm with heavy rain and winds of up to 70mph was due to come in.  We moved the start time of the attempt forward by 6 hours but that was the most flex we had – the aim was to get through the Pen y Fan section of the route (the highest and most exposed section) before the storm really took hold. 

All calm on the first section

I started with the first of my support runners, Joe, at 8.57am on 5 December.  The first two sections were run in almost ideal conditions, the ground was quite firm, there was a westerly wind on our backs and the hills and miles ticked by almost unnoticed.  At the Storey Arms I was due to change pacers for the first time but because of the good time we had made my second support runner was still an hour’s run away.  Happily, Joe continued on with me saying he’d stay till we met the next supporter (David).  As we climbed towards the high point of the traverse the wind increased and the rain started to come down.  By the time we were on the ridge it was getting dark, the wind was at full strength and the rain was very heavy.  At times we were stopped in our tracks.  We knew from the forecast that this weather was set in for the rest of the day/night.  We kept ploughing on partly because I was attempting the SWT and partly because the route of the traverse was the easiest way to get to our support vehicle!

The wind picked up on Pen y Fan

After we got off the Pen y Fan section to our support point, I was feeling good but concerned about the weather.  Nick now had pacing duties and we both knew that next section is much lower and more protected (with a long road section) so without any discussion we kept going to the next support point.  This was uneventful and by the time we arrived at the Black Mountains the wind had dropped slightly and things were looking good. After climbing up to the ridge the wind and the rain returned but the terrain is easier on the ridge and we pushed on.  Despite an awful line through the Mynydd Du Forest we arrived at the support point on schedule for just over 20hrs.  I was having some stomach issues but we got out and got going as soon as we could.  Back on the ridge and I was feeling better so we pushed hard to get within 20 hrs.  A quick stop at Gospel Pass and then the seemingly endless section on the Offa’s Dyke path before descending into Llanthony.  The wind and the rain came back with a vengeance on this section – so we pushed harder to finish quicker.  The final fields down to the Abbey were saturated and after falling and sliding down this section I was covered in what was hopefully only mud for when we ran through the car park to touch the Abbey with 2 minutes to spare for the sub-20hr completion. 

It felt like an epic adventure.  The weather was grim but that made it all the more memorable.  We saw 3 other people in the hills all day.   I’d go back and do it all again in a flash.  The first known winter completion of the South Wales Traverse in winter is complete.  Hopefully this will encourage others to try a winter completion and I’ve no doubt the time can be reduced significantly.