In case of difficulty, the Seaking from 22 Squadron might need to be refueled at Oggi Base. In the right background is the fuel bowser

Bryn Poeth or 'Oggi Base' as it's known by most people lies near the centre of our area, just off the A5 in the Ogwen Valley. It is manned from 10:00 to 17:30 weekends and bank holidays

Brynpoeth in 2005 with the team vehicle enjoying the sun

Bwlch Tryfan is the saddle between the South Ridge of Tryfan and Bristly Ridge, an excellent scramble, which leads up to Glyder Fach. This is the view roughly north-west looking across Llyn Bochlwyd, along the length of the Nant Ffrancon and beyond to Anglesey (Ynys Mon). This is classic glacial landscape with flat valley bottoms,steep sides with hanging valleys and truncated spurs

To get above the clouds in Snowdonia is a fairly rare event, but the reward of a view like this is a memorable experience. This is actually the view from Snowdon (Y Wyddfa), with the view extending south at least to Cader Idris (Pen y Gadair)

Cwm is the Welsh word for Cirque (French) or Corrie (Scottish). Llyn Idwal was named for the son of one of the Princes of Wales who was murdered by being drowned in the lake. The dark cliffs of Cloqwen y Geifr ( the Cliff of the Goat), with the deep cleft of Twlch Ddu (literally 'Black hole', but known in English as 'The Devil's Kitchen') form an impressive backdrop to the cwm. The 'Idwal Slabs' have a number of classic rock climbs in the easier grades

This is the view from close to the summit of Y Garn looking roughly East over Llyn Idwal to Llyn Ogwen. Tryfan (3010ft, 915m) dominates this end of the valley, the North ridge of which (left hand skyline) is among the finest scrambles in Snowdonia

We are very fortunate to have the assistance of 22 Squadron RAF Valley on many of our rescues. There main role is assisting downed aircraft but if they are available they are always willing to help us

Looking West over Llyn Ogwen to Y Garn (947m), Cwn Cywion and Foel Goch

Blame the greenhouse effect, blame the Humbolt Current, blame El Nino, but whatever the reason, everyone seems to agree that winters aren't what they used to be. 'I remember, when I were a lad, we used t'build igloos int'back yard. Not just one, Oh no. All friends and relations used to come and stay for weeks. And that were in Salford .....' and so on

The view from just outside Bethesda looking up the Nant Ffrancon with the Glyder plateau dominating the skyline

Llyn Ogwen is a lake about a mile long from which the valley (Dyffryn Ogwen) in which it lies, and so the rescue team take their names. Seen here on a remarkably still day. (Photo : Russ Hore)

Where it all happens when we have a callout

Taken from the A5 (Photo : Dave Field)

Team members assisting a fallen climber on Bristly Ridge

Tryfan (3010ft 915m) is the lowest of the '14 Peaks' - the summits in Snowdonia which exceeded 3000 feet in height. Nevertheless, it is probably the most serious as virtually every route up it requires at least some scrambling

Tryfan in winter conditions

A picture of Y Garn under light snow with a frozen Llyn Idwal in the foreground. This was taken by 333 member Paul Gasson during the very cold spell of early January 2009

Y Garn and Foel Goch and a hard frozen Llyn Ogwen. Although the team often claims to be able to walk on water, this was one of the rare occasions that many were actually seen to do so