2 Nights in the Storm! An Unexpected Thunderstorm

DAY 1

I arrived in Eryri prepared for interesting weather, but not knowing that the bad weather system due to come in had actually been named – Storm Bert was approaching. It was a cold and snowy November afternoon as I hauled myself with my heavy winter rucksack up to an open shelf in the mountains, up at around 400m elevation and perched above a Welsh mining town
​
The scene was beautiful; everything sparkly white and snow-covered, the sun shining in a still, blue sky, and the Moelwyns sitting pretty in the distance on the other side of the valley. But my gut told me that this was not a place to stay. This peace and prettiness was deceptive; it was the calm before the storm. A text pinged through from Ash, letting me know that the oncoming storm had been given a name, and to be careful

I pondered that when the weather came in up here, surrounded by all this snow and ice, I might find myself in blizzard conditions. The snow hid the ground below it, leaving me unable to tell what I was walking on, or what I would be pitching on. There were small, partially frozen lakes dotted around, and ruined mining buildings. I decided to head back down the mountain. Overnight, the temperature was due to rise. The snow would melt. I’d spend tonight in my car, and head out the next day

I drove round to one of my favourite laybys on a quiet, single-track road, made my tea and settled down in my cosy car bed

click on 'read more' below to continue the story..

Gear list

This gear list contains amazon affiliate links. This means that WildBeare makes a small commission from any sales made via these links, at no extra cost to yourself - a great way to support the channel. Thank you

You can also see lots of my gear in my Amazon Gear Shop :)
 
*I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and have not accepted any of this gear as a gift. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I have chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it and experiences with it are completely impartial
 
TENT
Tent Hilleberg Soulo + Footprint (Bad Weather Test & details about this tent here: https://youtu.be/mUi1IGskBig)
+ extra pole set
​Mini Binder Clips https://amzn.to/47IJACR
Delta Ground Anchors 

TREKKING POLE
Fizan Compact https://amzn.to/3ggE1Gj

SLEEP SYSTEM
Sleeping Bag Rab Ascent 1100 https://amzn.to/3ATy3lM
Sleep Mat Neoair Thermarest Xtherm Max https://amzn.to/3uSjiLt
Trekology Aluft Delux Pillow https://amzn.to/3xwuhM1
Light AF Mat https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk
Alpkit Hunka Regular Bivi Bag https://amzn.to/44LEaVf
 
RUCKSACK & PACKING
Deuter Aircontact 60+10L SL Women’s Rucksack https://amzn.to/3MqRvcW
Nylofume Pack Liner - https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk
 
WATER & HYDRATION
x2 1L Bottles (Filthy & Crystal)
LifeStraw 650m Filter Squeeze Bottle https://amzn.to/3TSeDVe
 
CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR
Boots Peter Storm Caldbeck https://amzn.to/3JtYPFp
Sealskinz Waterproof Knee Length Winter Socks https://amzn.to/3ZCxUgU
Fine Merino Socks https://amzn.to/3F66vvp
Hikenture Gaiters https://amzn.to/49idbo1
Montane Levity Women’s Gortex Rain Jacket https://amzn.to/3NaZn5l
High Waist Leggings Heather Grey https://amzn.to/41Rplko
Gloves Sealskinsz https://amzn.to/3w75hew
Down Puffy, Fleece hat, gloves & neck warmer Decathlon
 
Grey Microfibre Towel https://amzn.to/43qSZwh
 
SIT MAT
Cheapo one https://amzn.to/3yP22u8
 
COOKING
Stove https://amzn.to/3cM173q
Jetboil Gas 230g https://amzn.to/3z5qV5L
Gas Canister Stand https://amzn.to/3GLhHh4
Toaks 900ml Titanium Pot https://amzn.to/3j5Mwot
Matches https://amzn.to/3t0eRzN
Lighter
XBand https://amzn.to/43SVFE8
Microfibre cloth https://amzn.to/47ltZIq
Opinel Pocket Knife No.5 https://amzn.to/45P33RH
Tito Titanium Spoon https://amzn.to/3xgwcqi
Bag for rubbish
 
MED KIT
Pain relief
Antihistamine
Plasters
Torniquet (only use with knowledge of how to use safely)
Wound Dressing
Small Bandage https://amzn.to/401pHUI
Alcohol Wipes
 
TOILETRIES & PERSONAL CARE
Tissue
Baby wipes
Hand sanitiser
Trowel https://amzn.to/3etBVz9
Palm Hair Brush https://amzn.to/3QIUumd
Hair band
Lip balm
Talc
Toothpaste
Tiny mirror
Mini Tweezers
Tiny Pots https://amzn.to/3aJytgC
Toothbrush https://amzn.to/2LqwgxY
Sleep Mask https://amzn.to/3tD2lUs
Ear Plugs https://amzn.to/40swCVh
 
TICK PREVENTION
Lifesystems Ex4 (tick treatment for outer clothing coming into contact with long grass etc) https://amzn.to/38XozuB
 
HEAT
Ocoopa Electronic Hand Warmer https://amzn.to/3BDyels
 
ELECTRONICS
20,100 mAh Anker Power Bank https://amzn.to/3jqTQr2
Headtorch Petzl Bindi (200 Lumen) https://amzn.to/3wl9DlM
Light Goal Zero https://amzn.to/32RI1pR
Thermometer https://amzn.to/3MFPSu5
Anemometer (wind speed meter) https://amzn.to/400wiyF
Lyocel towel for drying hands & gear in wet weather https://amzn.to/45t7tO6
 
GPS / EMERGENCY
Garmin Inreach Mini https://amzn.to/3sVBi9f
Compass https://amzn.to/3Ynir6t
Phone Galaxy A15 https://amzn.to/4edS34p
Waterproof Phone Case for A15 https://amzn.to/3Trfizj
Whistle https://amzn.to/3uRvwbM
 
FILMED WITH..
Camera Sony ZV1 https://amzn.to/3t4VamJ
Ulanzi Wide Angle & Macro Lens https://amzn.to/3CC6Jaq
ZV1 Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3tYOnPA
Rode Lav Mic https://amzn.to/44Qte8M
Lav Mic Wind Muffs & Clips https://amzn.to/3TkNQUJ
1.8m Aux Cable https://amzn.to/3WIVsS9
128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/3tckuY8
Tripod https://amzn.to/3nxGg7p
Mini Ball Head https://amzn.to/3UYGBlD
Rain Cover https://amzn.to/3VctprU
 
x2 GoPro 10’s https://amzn.to/3T9CDUB
Wind Shields https://amzn.to/3TesuWA
Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3ww70Lf
Suction Mount https://amzn.to/4dI6EoB
Selfie Stick https://amzn.to/3zRjDTh
Rucksack Mount https://amzn.to/32Ojy4M
128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v
Gorrillapod Tripod https://amzn.to/3u9Tb3j
Suptig Sml LED Waterproof Light https://amzn.to/3GUwzLL
Suptig Lge LED Waterproof Light https://amzn.to/3EPqTQC
 
EDITED WITH..
Editing Program – Davinci Resolve Studio
PC Vibox VIII https://amzn.to/3WaIUTG
Monitor LG Ultrafine 32” https://amzn.to/3H6lXsg
Studio Speakers https://amzn.to/4f2FOIs
Seagate 12TB External Hard Drive https://amzn.to/42cSW7U

Soundtrack

Thank you to these amazing artists for producing such beautiful music - it is such an important part of my videos and a joy to help me tell my lil adventure stories..
 
Velvet Sky – Ariel Shalom
Balance – Bedroom
Aphrodite – Jimit
Space Water – Kooma
I Want the Wind to Carry Me – Narrow Skies
Remotely – Okaya
Together with You – Salt of the Sound
Lullaby before Christmas – Franz Gordon
 
All from Artlist & Epidemic Sound with license
​

DAY 2 (NIGHT 1 OF THE STORM)

On the morning of the second day, I was woken to wind and heavy rain lashing the car. The storm was here. The day was mild and I’d had a great sleep, and set off from the layby into the weather – I decided to stay close to my car for this one. I didn’t have to walk far until I came to an open section of low ground. Sheltered behind a grassy rise, I put up my most hardcore tent, my Hilleberg Soulo, fortified further with an extra set of poles borrowed from Ash and ground anchors on each of the six guy lines. This thing was surely not gonna budge. The Hille is usually rock solid, but set up like this, it felt like a fortress. I stripped off my sopping wet clothes and settled down for the night in my secure little pod, my sleeping bag protected in a bivi bag in case the tent did actually get wrecked. But instead of the stormy weather that I’d prepared for, my choice of sheltered pitch may have been too safe (if that’s such a thing?)
​
I could hear the wind whipping around the hills at higher elevation, but missing me entirely. My set-up wasn’t getting the good testing that I was hoping for. It was a surprisingly uneventful night

​
​DAY 3 (NIGHT 2 OF THE STORM)

I woke on day 3 after a good sleep, to a still and tame morning. Feeling a little disappointed, I decided to pack up, head back to the car and drive back around to where I started the day before last. I’d try the big, open mountain platform again, but now that it was warmer, the snow would be gone, and I felt like I could better handle anything that might go wrong.

​
Back up on the 400m platform, the winds gusted at a constant 40-50 km/hr. The snow had gone and the scene was now bleak and exposed. This was more like it. Now that I could see the ground, I chose a pitch with an easy escape route in case something went wrong during the night, and the tent went up with the same extra poles and ground anchors. It barely even shook in the winds, and I made my tea and enjoyed the excitement of camping out in the extreme weather. Diagonal rain pelted the tent. It felt slightly chaotic, but the tent stood firm

​I was getting ready for bed around midnight, when a bright flash lit up the hills, and I heard one of the sounds I dread the most.. thunder.

​Thunderstorms are one of those things that both fascinate and terrify me. I love them, but I definitely don’t want to find myself directly underneath one while up on an open, 400m mountain shelf

The first strike was accompanied by a sickeningly loud, cracking boom. It had hit close, in the direction of the small lakes and mines just a few hundred metres behind my tent. My heart pounded in my throat as I waited, not moving, barely daring to breathe, hoping that it was just an isolated strike

But then came another. The thunder rumbled heavily across the hills and I knew, I had to get down. I had to get off of this platform, and I had to lose elevation. Rain swept over my tent in the electric air, gurgling across the fabric. Everything I’d prepared for to make my camp so storm-worthy, suddenly became useless. There was nothing up here that could protect me from lightning, except luck

It was the fastest that I’d ever packed away. The sky rumbled as I launched my things into my rucksack and hurriedly made my way across the frightfully huge, open expanse. As I passed the shallow lakes in the dark, I was aware that here, I was the tallest thing. I daren’t even look around, for fear that I would see the bolt that was about to hit me. As if the lightning were a monster, crouching in the dark, just waiting for me to make eye contact before it would strike

I kept my eyes down, walking swiftly, hoping, hoping, and then I was off the platform and heading along an easy track, surrounded by rock on both sides, heading back down toward the town in the valley. I was no longer the tallest thing, and although I was still not safe, my fear faded with each metre of elevation lost

​​The descent was fast, thanks to my planning an easy escape route. I was thankful for that as my elevation dropped, and before I knew it, I was clambering over a metal gate and wandering through the streets toward my car. Down here in the town, there was no weather at all, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I collapsed into my car. Safe at last
​
I drove out of town and pulled over in a random layby to stop for the night. It was now the early hours of the morning, and pitch black. I had no idea where I was, but my car bed felt so welcoming and warm. I listened to the wind whistling gently about the car, and saw stars sparkling in the sky above. The storm was passing

​DAY 4

I barely slept this night, still feeling the effects of adrenaline, and hating that despite my best efforts, I’d unwittingly put myself in fairly serious danger. I was prepared for the wind and rain, I was prepared even for the tent to get smashed to bits, but I hadn’t considered lightning. It didn’t even enter my mind. It’s not something I experience often, especially in the colder months. Lightning is usually something that I consider in the summer. I‘ve stood in a mountain valley before in a summer storm, and watched lightning repeatedly hitting the surrounding higher ground. Last night, I had found myself up high like that, and my survival had come down to chance. It was an uncomfortable realisation that I could have been hit, and there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it, apart from not putting myself up there in the first place

So as usual, my gut had been right. It had told me when I first walked on to the big open platform in the mountains, that it was not a place that I should stay. But I had rationalised, that now the snow had gone and the temperature was mild, all would be ok. And it was ok in the end, I suppose, but it might not have been.
​
I wondered how much of my life is actually down to chance, and got my bearings – I was parked up somewhere near the Arenigs. I started the drive home, passing flooded fields and valleys, feeling grateful to be all in one piece, with another tale to tell. ​And realising that it’s almost always the thing that I don’t expect that’s gonna make me question my life choices