The Gogarth experience
Earlier this week I had a quick dash over to Snowdonia to meet up with good friend and fellow outdoor instructor, Vicky. The plan being to get plenty of rock climbing done, including routes and crags not previously visited.
The weather was relatively kind, albeit with a very chilly breeze!
Day one became a mission to find dry rock, thankfully we were successful at the second crag in the Moelwyns. 2 wonderful multi-pitch climbs enjoyed before our fingers froze!
Day two was warmer, but only just. We headed to the coastal cliffs of Gogarth. Plan A being the magnificent 'Dream of white horses' although it was definitely still too cold for this one. So we opted for the Castell Helen area and 2 multi-pitch VS routes. Lighthouse arete direct followed by Pel. Both wonderful routes and highly recommended for anyone VS leading VS and above. The approach walk to the routes is less than 5 minutes and all downhill, to the abseil station. There's then the added bonus of a good cafe at the top of the route, win win!
The weather was relatively kind, albeit with a very chilly breeze!
Day one became a mission to find dry rock, thankfully we were successful at the second crag in the Moelwyns. 2 wonderful multi-pitch climbs enjoyed before our fingers froze!
Day two was warmer, but only just. We headed to the coastal cliffs of Gogarth. Plan A being the magnificent 'Dream of white horses' although it was definitely still too cold for this one. So we opted for the Castell Helen area and 2 multi-pitch VS routes. Lighthouse arete direct followed by Pel. Both wonderful routes and highly recommended for anyone VS leading VS and above. The approach walk to the routes is less than 5 minutes and all downhill, to the abseil station. There's then the added bonus of a good cafe at the top of the route, win win!
The trip was over all too quickly, but great times had, some new areas explored and a nice re-visit to Castell Helen.
Always good to catch up with Vicky, and share ideas and skills, thank you Vicky.
Mark
Abseiling in to Castell Helen, Gogarth
Another sunny day of rock climbing in the Moelwyns, Snowdonia