Proceedings started with a huge day out in Cwm Silyn. On the mighty Craig yr Ogof are not 1 but 2 classic routes of outstanding quality. Kirkus's route, a VS of around 100m gave us 4 pitches of brilliant climbing in a glorious setting. I'd never been to Cwm Silyn so all was new to me. It's well worth the extra drive and walk in and likely you'll be rewarded with a very quiet setting.
After lunch we climbed 'Outside Edge route' a VDiff of equally good standard and interest. Carrying our bags on this one, we were able to take a leisurely walk down from the top of the climb and straight back to the car park. An excellent mountaineering day out.
The following day brought more fine weather and we took advantage of this with a rock scrambling day in the Ogwen valley. Beginning near to Idwal Slabs and ascended almost to the summit of Glider Fawr via various scrambling routes from grade 2 - 3+ this was a 'full on' rock day. The East Arete of Glider Fawr provides an extremely exciting scramble that is not for the faint hearted, as belays and protection are almost non-existent!! Neil did a fine job of keeping his cool whilst leading us up this particular section. We finished the day with a descent of Seniors ridge and the Idwal Slabs gully. Another proper mountaineering day.
Next day brought rain, so more scrambling for us, although this time we stayed lower in the valleys. Owen was the venue of choice once more. The Milestone buttress scramble and its continuation provided all the uphill action, whilst I was in charge of the descent this time, this was via the North Ridge of Tryfan. All of this became very interesting (and greasy) in the wet after such a prolonged dry spell.
A return to sunshine the next day saw us back on steeper terrain at the Tremadog crags near Porthmadog. Me & Kim climbed Poor mans Peuterey and Scratch. Both fine routes, although they require a level of perseverance for the initial pitches a dirty and vegetated. The final pitch of Scratch in particular is quite fantastic.
For the final day we opted for the sea cliffs of Anglesey. However the routes we planned to climb were proving to be very popular that day, despite very high winds and a rough sea state. So we retreated from Castell Helen at Gogarth and drove the short distance to Rhoscolyn. Here we climbed the easy 'Symphony crack' which was exciting given the huge swell below us, the noise from the sea was intense.
To finish we returned to the Llanberis Pass and climbed 'Crackstone Rib' on Carreg Wasted. An ever popular classic and deservedly so.
A really good week with lots of new ground explored and adventures enjoyed. Big thanks to Kim, Neil, and Kelly for joining me on this one.
Mark
