In the end we headed down, and went for another minor classic Blue Remembered Hills, an E3 5c, 5c. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be up for it to be honest, as 5c on this rock is pretty intense due to the gear at times. As it was Dave lead the meat of the route, which was way harder than you’d think as it was fresh from any chalk meaning he had to battle his way upwards figuring out the rock as he went.

He did and amazing job, and the cliff lets you keep going as you shuffle from ledge to ledge with just enough rests to make you forge onto the next ledge. As he inched up the climbing looked to be pretty sustained for an E3 up there. I had sat on the belay, enjoy the glorious sun, and had all but convinced myself to back off the last pitch.

A quick pep talk from dave, and I gave it a look. After an age deploying half my rack in the first 30ft, I commited. Dave mentioned the body language I had when I first got there compared to when I commited. I have to admit that until I had all the runners in, I was pretty keen to veer left and up the top pitch of Wendigo. Having got some kit in, and decided that there was holds out right, I commited to the move up to the flake and onwards.

It was probably the first time I have really pushed myself into climbing something near my limit this year, and it was great to feel more or less in control out there, as you have some serious space below your feet as you move into teh bottomless groove, beyond which the climbing was blind. However it all worked out, and having commited I have to admit to feeling comfortable on that kind of terrain again.

Again, above the hard climbing with the end in site the type II fun style of climbing became apparent to me. I also ticked my 96th route at Gogarth, four more to do. A friend scared me the other day, as he asked what my 100th route was going to be. It is strange because I saw his point, what route should I choose when reaching this massive milestone. To be honest it will probably be just another route, but it would be nice if it was special, so any suggestions please add a comment.

The long abseil into red walls

Well, today was the day, I had been tracking it my diary since the middle of last month. It sat there like a veritable red-letter day. It read only ‘The Glorious First – Red Walls?!’, it was the first time for a few years that I was able to both not be working and have a climbing partner.

The day was a grey one, and it was drizzling in Llanberis, and according to the BBC, Met office, Met Guess and the Heights Hotel weather slate, said it was drizzling on the island as well. It was not looking good, but the charts also promised improving weather, so we drove through a few light rain showers and arrive at South Stack at about 11.30.

We head to the wall half expecting to see a mass of people rushing down there to get the first route in of the season. From the viewing gallery we saw a bare wall. As we racked up in the car park another climber rush to see if we were heading to Castell Helen and Light House Arête, much to his relief and ours we weren’t going to be fighting over our chosen routes.

I know the place is scary but I damn near jumped over the top of the cliff as I walked to the abseil, when I nearly trod on an Adder. I don’t know which of us was more scared; I’d like to think it was me. So by the time I had rigged the abseil the adrenaline was already coarse round my body.

There are two ways to reach the base of the wall, both are terrifying, with a 100m abseil rope we headed straight down the wall, which is quick and reasonably painless, however you get to see the cliff for and angle that really doesn’t fill you with confidence. Those large holds look looser from 1m out on space, the wall is steeper and the climbing looks insane.

Llion lead of first and manage to find pretty much every ledge, but the right on to belay on. Which was of course a major hilarity to the whole day. As we had taken a North Wales Rock first edition, where the topo for right hand red wall, is about the size of a postage stamp, and does more harm than good, as the topo lines are about the width of four climbers!

Anyway Llion basically led the first pitch of blue remembered hills and then reverse down to another ledge, before deciding this was the wrong one and finally finding the right one. I of course had to follow his meandering that turn out to include reversing the first 40ft of the second pitch of Red Wall.

By this time I was convinced that what I thought I knew about this route was wrong and we were in fact on a harder neighbour, as I started my vertical shuffling, only when I saw a peg did I realize that I was on a route at least.

It is only when you see that peg the real route finding starts, and for the life of me I couldn’t see a way through. For a while Bamboo was ascending faster than I was and for the life of me I couldn’t remember which way to go, as all looked utterly unappealing. For some reason I remember a foothold out left and thought it would be a good idea to stand on it, only to find another foot hold further left. As I inched my way left away from the last thing the was trying desperately to resemble a runner, there was only one thing going in my favour, and that was I could no longer see how bad the runner was. Despite my trying to visualize it as a bolt, the crumbling sandy rubble I was holding onto was making that quite hard.

Contender for the 'Worst Belay in Wales'

Eventually I am above what was below, and stood in balance on a ledge covered from head to foot in sand and dust. I have not felt that dirty since I watch Baywatch as a teenager, this thought amused me as I made the last few move to the belay. Well I call it a belay, the guidebooks call it a belay, in reality is somewhat like that toilet in Train spotting, in that as you pull onto the ledge a large typeface appears in front of your eyes that simply reads ‘The Worst Belay in Wales’, or it would if it wasn’t for the belays of Cilan Head.

Three tied off pieces of rust, a poor cam lodged in sand, a spike and what I can only described as a braced stance similar to one you might take if you found yourself in that toilet in Scotland, and the lock was bust. Pushing up and inwards with you feet whilst trying not to shit yourself is not the best belay I found myself somehow attached to.

Llion follows whilst I dig that heel in!

Llion follows and joins me at the stance, I encourage him not to look at the belay, as I am worried the pegs might snap under his glare, as they are barely holding the superlight DMM quickdraws that I used to clip them and tie them off. He disappears up and over more rubble and sand; this isn’t a place for builders, as it would just feel like work.

As he tops out the relief that the end is in sight for me as well as him is a bittersweet pill to swallow. As this is serious type II fun, the kind of experience that becomes better through the rear view mirror of life, but as I follow the pitch to freedom, I am left with the overwhelming feeling that despite the loose, sandy rock, the run outs the feeling of being adrift on a turbulent ocean of rock, that somehow that was a fun day out.

Everyone one else this season will have to eat my chalk on that route, although you’ll probably also eat a good half-kilo of sand, if the grit in my mouth was anything to go by. A nice day and great to open the Red Wall account this season.

Llion exiting the crux traverse on pitch 2

It is no sweet shop down there, the routes are never easily won, as you do battle with soft sandy rock and harder red rock, the moving in and out of the mediums make it a difficult place to adjust to.

For those six months we are barred from entering this arena of the unwell, the cliffs are home to a menagerie of sea birds, birds that only return to land for those months to raise a brood and help them fledge before they head to the skies and the sea one more time.

Internationally it is one of the largest known breeding sites of sea birds in Europe, and twitcher’s come from all over to marvel in the natural wonder of thousands of birds lining every available perch. The rock is turned white with guano, the air filled with the cacophony of calls, and then like clockwork at the end of July the birds fledge and the site is left abandoned.

In a form of vertical hot desking as one tenant moves out another moves in, the climbers who dare to play there bizarre and risky game move onto the walls and start to add there own sharp calls that break through the sound of the waves and wind.

Climbing here is nothing if not adventurous, there is gear, but how good it is one would not like to find out. The routes have reputations, and like the supporters of various football clubs, some are more notorious than others. Abseiling into the red zone is like teleporting yourself into the thick of it, on the top of the cliff is life and all the worries of existence, below is a world where the next 6ft are all that matters.

Some love the place, others will never get to grips with the style of climbing, as adventure climbing is a strange world, where all the skills of a climber come into play, the belays are hard to arrange, gear can be a joke and the climbing so delicate and absorbing that like Alice you can lose yourself down there. It is another roadside attraction for the brave, whilst holiday-makers and bird lovers watch from Ellen’s Tower with their ice creams you are locked in a battle that can feel like life and death.

As you descend the abseil rope to the base, the gravity of the place take shape as you hang in space feet from the wall watching the holds pass you by. By the bottom your pulse is racing and the excitement is starting to reach fever pitch, as you wait for the whistle to blow and the game to start.

Bring on the Red!

It was only as we arrived at Holyhead that we decided that South Stack was the crag of choice, as it had a cafe for more panads (tea/coffee for my readers the otherside of the Offa’s Dyke). The Cafe is amazing, it was taken over last april, and now opens year round, and the RSPB people who run it are really pro climbers, they are even getting a few bits and bobs for climbers, like chalk, quickdraws and other stuff you might forget. They seem very happy for us to park in the far side of the car park and have a brew before heading on down, although they said that the car park is free for everyone, but its nice to support the RSPB.

Anyway with the crag decided we then had to think of a route, so we looked in the old 1986 guide, and I found Were Puffin’s Daren’t a high level girdle traverse from Castel Helen to Yellow Wall. It got a star, and was in the graded list. We ended up starting from the Castell Helen uber ledge, as I had started the route before from Lighthouse arete area.

The route was awesome and worth at least two stars, a bit loose in places but easy in those places. The highlights are the pitch that follows North-west Passage and then goes to the True Moment Freebird Belay. After that a easy pitch gets to the start of a rampline running across yellow walls to the exit corner of Creeping Leema. Although easy, is it nothing if not exposed.

The final pitch is meant to be a reverse down right to a good hold on the arete, before heading left up the groove, I headed direct, which wasn’t that hard or bold. After looking at the guide again I realised that due to 15ft of different climbing on our first pitch we had climb the Castel Helen Girdle a great E1, although Were Puffin’s Daren’t at HVS has an identical finishing 3 pitches. So seeing as I have climbed all the pitches I could have claimed My 94th and 95th routes at Gogarth.

However I settled for 94, the 95 route was a pokey little E1 on the left handside of Yellow Wall called, The Savage.

A great day out.

Remember there are seven days, and eight sleeps till the glorious!

Traunt a spectacular VS climb in Fallen Block Zawn - Rhoscolyn

Well, I spent last night and today over at the great campsite in Rhoscolyn with quite a few friends, on what is the second father’s day meet. Obviously I am not there because I am a father, but so I can go climbing with the fathers who get to spend a day over the weekend on the rocks after spending the night before getting off the rocks!

I ended up climbing with Huw, who is also not a father, but there was good team out, and we ticked through the usual Rhoscolyn Classics, although it looked to be quite busy at the main crag so whilst a small team broke off to the main crag. Huw and I abseiled into the very atmospheric Fallen Block Zawn, where a good sea made for booming and crashing waves. Fortunately there was a good ledge high above the breakers!

Anyway after that I took some pictures of Martin on Fanfare, the same route I took pictures of him on before, then we all went and soloed Symphony Crack, before exploring over at the White Arch, where Martin and I got stuck into a rather poor and loose VD.

Sadly Llion had to work, and was goosed so we didn’t get to go out cragging in the evening as we were planning. It will have to wait for a couple of days. Anyway I hope you like the images.

Huw is enjoying the swell and atmosphere Fallen Block Zawn as he climbs up Truant.

Martin space walking up one of the steepest HVS rock climbs ever - The classic Fanfare

Team Solo on Symphony Cracks - The Greatest Sea Cliff Diff in the world?!

Llion on the classic E2 on Wen Slab - The Quartz Icicle

Someone climbing the best HVS pitch in the world - Dream of White Horses

As Llion and I drove, he started telling me tales of how the route was used as a sandbag on guide assessment courses. Another friend told of it being a hard route, and with that this great line started to grow in reputation, it wasn’t just another route now, it was a right of passage.

Abseiling in, the warm air blew pleasantly across us, and at the base the sun was only just breaking the yardarm as llion scampered up the first pitch. looking across at the amazing looking arete, weird horns, rounded dimples and steep rock abound. The route definitely didn’t look easy anymore, it was turning into the sandbag, the only thing was we had sandbagged ourselves. Well, I had sandbagged myself!

Looking out from the belay the angle had not changed, the rock definitely overhung, traversing out below whats above you forget whats below, and charge ever onwards. Around the arete, and rejoice in its slabbiness. ‘This ain’t no sandbag’ my mind says, as I work my way back across the arete to the now steep wall, the line above is obivous, the gear not, a quick side step and the world is now a nicer place.

There is still the problem of the next 12 ft to a large fang undercut, it is a target and the climbing flowed upwards to this thankful jug. Passing it with relief the crack above looms, is this the sandbag? No, sinker jams relieve the tired arms and lead onto the tiny perch on the arete. Looking down, the sea, the rock, a dolphin and then remember that your duties aren’t done there is a Llion to bring up.

Llion passes pausing at the ledge for a relax handing over of the rack, with an almost changing of the guards efficiency. Then up again to our bags, another three hours has passed, the sun moved but that boat fighting that current of north stack hasn’t! At the top we saviour the adventure, the route and those moves.

So there it is our story of becoming Nightriders, and avoid the worse form of sandbagging that which you do unto yourself! Picture to follow hopefully

No sooner than we were walking in then the misyt clear out across holyhead, still Rhoscolyn is an awesome place. So we went down and Simon hadn’t climbed the The Sun an absolutely classic E3 up a steep groove. He practically ran up it, unlikely me, where I came unstuck entering the off-width slot half way up! Nevermind, its is still early season, and I am really feeling the lack of climbing hard that I have missed out on by travelling around south america and then walking in Scotland. It is going to take a bit of a fight to get back to anywhere near the form I was on last year.

After The Sun which was bathed in a the sun, we headed round to sea cave zawn via fallen block and climbed ‘Tomorrow has been cancelled (due to lack of interest), which was my 90th route at gogarth from the old 1986 graded list. Not bad seeing as like today I have done some routes many times, so climbing 90 different routes at the crag is about 16 years of effort!

After Tomorrow… I attempted the first pitch of Mask of the Red Death, and my confidence in my ability not to get too pumped wained, so I scuttled back from the start of the hour-glass slab, and Simon finished the day by running up some left hand variant to the Little Queenie slab. A grand day out, looking forward to tomorrow, which definitely hasn’t been canceled!

Me high on Scavenger, trying to warm my face!

After yesterdays battle Tom and I decided that we should have a rematch with the Far End of Main Cliff, and that we should get on Scavenger, which is supposed to be one of the classic of Gogarth, but since it is at the far end, requiring not only the walk in from South Stack but and Epic traverse across the base of Main Cliff at low tide, I had yet to climb the route.

We went with a different plan of approach today, whereby instead of taking one of the two halfs of the rope that yeasterday we neatly cut in two, instead we would take both and tie them back together. You have got to laugh at our stupidity, but it worked and the descent was a lot easier, and we arrived dry on a ledge about 8 metres away from the start of the route, and then traversed back to its base.

From below, scavenger really doesn’t look that much, main as you simply can’t see the groove line that it takes from the ground. However the short crack leads up a corner to a great belay ledge, before it heads on up and then traverse out right to the most amazing groove feature. We did some bad plannign again as the belays were in the shade, so I shivered whilst Tom lead the main pitch.

Again we headed into the twilight zone and emerged some 3 hours later into our glowering spot high on the edge of the abyss that is that far end of main cliff. Soaking up the sun, and cowering from the wind. Another great day, and having climbed the route, not only is the route classic, it is one of the best HVS’s anywhere, and if you use our approach beta from day two its relatively easy to get to, and if the tides in you could climb the first pitch of Nightride to get to the large sloping ledge at the top of the first pitch.

Tom bridges up the initial corner on pitch two of Scavenger

Looking down the stunning final groove of pitch two of Scavenger

Me Enjoying the final groove of pitch two of Scavenger

A few years older, and a lot rustier it took nearly that time to do all the problems, and aprat from the long pump traverse. I got everyone first go, I have to admit that I failed to redpoint that one problem, gutted, but there will definitely be a next time. Although I now mostly go there with students on rock courses, doing some great caoching movement sessions with them.

Anyway Sunday was an ML assessment day, me assessing a couple of very nice people, we headed into Cwm Glas and up to Blwch Coch, before heading along the ridge to Carnedd Ugain, and back down the Cryn Las ridge. A lovely day with t-shirt weather on the summits.

If you rewind back a month or so in my blog, you’ll remember the hideous Winter ML assessment I was on, well after we returned from the ming. I met up with the MIC training course, who had had a lovely time climbing. One of those was a Tom Chamberlain, he is a good freind with several of my colleagues at Plas Y Brenin. However I have never climbed with Tom, and we hatch a plan, a very drunken plan to get climbing together this year.

So last night I met with Tom, and a few friends for a BBQ by the Lake in Llanberis, and then we went out to Gogarth today. The 9.30 start in V12 Outdoor, wasn’t the best, as it was raining hard. A quick check of the webcams, meant we were sure it was currently raining at Holyhead. However teh rainfall radar had the weather clearing from just after 9.30.

Our mission was to make a long 100m abseil into the Hustler Area. Tom had managed to get a long rope from his school, where he was told he could cut the 200m rope in half to make us one 100m rope. So V12 supplied the rope cutter and only as I was coiling one half did the doubts hit me, this was an extremely light 100m abseil rope.

It rained all the way there and armed with a arial phototopo from here, we found the block and I went to abseil in 55m down on a ledge, I looked down and saw our problem, of lack of length. We had turn a 120m rope into two 60m! I made a quick belay and we then faffed about with first one then two ropes to make the abseil to the base of routes. All of this was probably taking longer than we thought as we enter the twilight zone of Main Cliff.

After pulling wet ropes, one of which was at one point swimming like some giant sea serpent out to sea, Tom set off on the first traverse pitch into Mestizo, he managed to belay in the wrong corner, so I lead through, and he then did the alleged 4c pitch. It felt more like 5a, although the rock was a little damp. I then lead the 5b pitch, which was rather full on, featuring sustain 5a/b climbing, with big high steps onto good foothold, and mostly on layaways.

It was interesting, as it was my first Gogarth trip for over 8 months, and I have lost that confidence that Gogarth needs. Facing a long swim, or me manning up and topping out. I tucked my skirt in, and powered up placing gear above my head at every, and I mean every oppotunity. Until I had a grasp of the finishing jug, where I was fight to fiddle in a wire as my arms felt like they were about to explode, my whole body shaking, as I threw my leg onto the last hold and rocked over back into a world of walking.

The time check had it at 2.30 in the afternoon, our initial plan had been to do a few rotues, one would have to suffice, so we scrambled up and out. My word, my fitness is awful, although I suspect the 8 months lay off from the gogarth weirdness counted for a lot of the nerves, as I definitely remember the fear as I stepped up and off the belay ledge towards that steep final pitch! Great route, and great day!