Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Bullers

Someone remind me which month it is! Yesterday had a superb outing to the seaside when Jon and I made the long drive to the Lleyn. Jon suggested the classic Golden wall link up at Dorys which sounded good but I fancied something a bit less normal. I'd always been attracted by the description for Pared Mawr in the guide 'the rock is particularly unsound, the worst (or best according to your bent) in the guide.' The route 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Bullers' HVS 5a also intrigued with it's unique write-up 'Start in the middle of the crag, at the most obvious of features. Probably climbed before by sheep, birds, etc. The relationship of this route to the crag may change with time, with blocks turning into boulders on the beach etc. Wedge up to the overhang, possible belay in poor weather. Swarm over the overhang and exit through a cornice of rock to the top' - Irresistible!
The Line
The Ivy
The loneliness
The view
The next crag - Dorys

After that fun we went to Dorys, where I failed on the planned start up Knowing Her, the back up start up Vroom 23 and then finally succeeded on The Faltering Hand HVS 5a which we climbed to half height, before traversing...
Fascinating Witches HVS 5a
...and finishing up Knowing Her E2 5b and improvising a belay on top.
Lleyn we love you.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Slate Questing

Enjoyed a pleasant outing this week on North Wales Slate. Despite arriving by early afternoon and having only my floppy boots (not wanting to squash my still nipped toes) we set off on a link up recommended by the superb new (ish) guide from Ground Up. Dubbed the West Face of Australia it climbs a mixture of trad and sport lines on each of seven tiers emerging at the top of quarries.Tier One: Looning the Tube HVS 5b (no pic of Tier Two which is climbed via Surprise, Surprise a 6a)Tier Three: Jon leads Sodor a 5cTier Four: M.I.L Arete an E1 and supposedly the psychological crux of the link up.Tier Five: Razorback (HVS 5a) this had the toughest and scariest climbing of all the pitches Tier Six: Act Naturally VS 4b superb 40m pitch and felt more like a mountain route than a quarry climb
Tier Seven: Goblin Party (VS 4b) to finish - better than it looks and perhaps worth a star.
After spending much of the afternoon in cold mist, it was nice to top out to blue skies and sunshine over Snowdon.
Happy Bunnies. There are quite a few similar links in the guide - I can't wait to get back.