Well I nearly fell over when I went down stairs in the Beacon last night, mainly because those stairs are so steep and damp last night to be honest, but also because an international climbing wad was in there bouldering. Stefan Glowacz, was throwing shapes at the Beacon, and making a damn fine display of it as well. To me Stefan was one of those climbers that somehow has always managed to stay in your mind, I think because he is a genuine all-round, but also he has had his image taken against some of the most impressive backdrops in the world by some of the best photographers.
I guess he is probably a bravarian Twid Turner, in that he has been almost everwhere and done a new route or repeated a hard line. So I was a little excited to climb in his presence, as North Wales isn’t exactly the epi centre of world climbing, so rock gods and super heroes are as rare as rocking horse shite.
Anyway, Stefan was a nice bloke, a few of us pointed him at some of the beacons toughest problems, which he dispatched fairly effortlessly. Then just as Llion and I were getting up to speed we went for a link up that I did a few weeks back, that has now become part of the Beaconeering Circuit. I managed it again, it is a great link, two great up problems then down an easier one, to link the two. The second problem is harder than the first so like all good routes the crux is at the top.
Next thing Stefan is walking up and then down the same link up, and just to hammer home the ease he was footless on the easy descent route, although he might not have been able to see the footholds! He then fell off the final problem. He later came and said he liked the link and thought it was tough. To which I replied, yes, but I have spent the entire winter trying to redpoint it, you were one foothold away from flashing it!
Anyway, alway great to see greatness especially when they are so friendly. I think Stefan was over with with either Wild Country or the company he founded Red Chilli or Both