The Bala Challenge                                                           UK Ultras

The object of this round, also known as the Wild Wales Two Thousands, was to ascend 32 of the two thousand foot summits which lie within the Arenig, Aran and Berwyn hills of southern Snowdonia and form the watershed around Lake Bala. It involved some 80 miles with 18,000 feet of ascent in a traverse of some of the most arduous terrain south of the Scottish border.  The route was devised by Colin Brooke and Kevan Guest using George Bridge's tables of two thousand foot summits published in 1973. It was completed by Colin Brooke and Tony Wimbush in 1988 in 23 hours 38 minutes and launched as a formal 24-hour challenge on similar lines to the Bob Graham.  There was the option of adding another 15 tops to create an ultimate round of all 47 two thousand footers in the Arenig, Arans and Berwyn groups.

The route is included here primarily for historical interest as Bridge's summit tables are now out of print and The Mountains of England and Wales by John and Ann Nuttall has since become the standard reference for the two thousand summits. It did, however, inspire The Dragon's Tongue, a more moderate and informal challenge that traverses the five Welsh Corbetts in the area.

Route

Schedule

Click the icon to view or print a schedule of summits and actual times.

Use in conjuntion with OS  Maps 255 Llangollen & Berwyn and OL23 Cadair Idris & Llyn Tegid

Completions

No formal register is kept but any further attempts can be notified by email to: info@gofar.org.uk  

Links and Further information

□   The Mountains of England and Wales, George Bridge (West Col Productions,1973).  - Tables of the mountains of two thousand feet or more in altitude. The Bala Challenge summits are listed under The Arenigs, The Berwyns and The Arans section of North Wales. Out-of-print but maybe available through second-hand bookshops.